Mitt Romney: I’m Running With Paul Ryan, But Not On The Ryan Budget

Mitt Romney: I’m Running With Paul Ryan, But Not On The Ryan Budget

Evan McMorris-Santoro August 11, 2012, 10:58 AM 1542Within minutes of physically embracing his new running mate Paul Ryan on a Norfolk, Va., stage, Mitt Romney was distancing himself from Ryan’s controversial House budget proposal.

From Romney campaign talking points, distributed to reporters after Romney’s first appearance with his VP pick (emphasis added):

Does this mean Mitt Romney is adopting the Paul Ryan plan?

• Gov. Romney applauds Paul Ryan for going in the right direction with his budget, and as president he will be putting together his own plan for cutting the deficit and putting the budget on a path to balance.

• Romney’s administration will go through the budget line by line and ask two questions: Can we afford it? And, if not, should we borrow money from China to pay for it?

• Mitt Romney will start with the easiest cut of all: Obamacare, a trillion-dollar entitlement we don’t want and can’t afford.

The Ryan budget is the reason why both conservative Republicans and Democrats are over the moon at the Ryan pick. Conservatives think the pair of tough budget packages written for the House GOP by Ryan since 2011 mean Romney is ready to run on potentially unpopular cuts to government programs in the name of fiscal responsibility. Democrats see the Ryan pick as a chance to return to the fight over Medicare cuts they used to great success last year.

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