As Mike Allen notes, Paul Ryan is working to educate his fellow Republicans on Social Security and Medicare cuts:
Fearing they may be walking into a political buzz saw by proposing cuts to Medicare and Social Security, House Republican leaders are working to build support among rank-and-file members and among constituents before releasing the House GOP budget next month. House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), who has spent years giving chalk talks on entitlements, is schooling his colleagues with a PowerPoint presentation, “The Choice of Two Futures,” designed to educate them about the problem before he proposes specific solutions.
This reminds me: Last week, Ryan had a sit down chat with the folks at National Journal to talk about his plans to tackle the debt. In between moralistic deficit scolding and misleading analysis, Ryan praised the conclusions of President Obama's fiscal commission and chastised the president for not endorsing them, especially as they related to Social Security. Of course, Ryan also opposes Bowles-Simpson; not only did he sit on the commission, but he voted against the final report, and called it a step "backwards."
In short, when offered a big opportunity to endorse a solution for Social Security, Ryan refused. Between this, and his willingness to mislead the public, I'm continually stunned by the Beltway's willingness to take him seriously.
