When presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich first objected to House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) Medicare proposal, there was a collective gasp in the political sphere. Until a few weeks ago, many Republicans thought the budget, which included a controversial provision to overhaul Medicare, was untouchable. The proposal, which appeared to be endorsed by most of Republican leadership, had been gaining support.
And then it happened: Gingrich criticized the proposal publicly. And almost overnight, Ryan’s plan looked vulnerable.
Granted, the fallout from Gingrich’s remarks has not been overwhelmingly positive for the former Speaker of the House. But Gingrich falling out of line with the remainder of the GOP seemed to signal to others in the party that not everyone was on board with the plan. Today, five Republican Senators publicly joined those ranks. In the final vote on the budget, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AL), Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) voted against the proposal. Two other Republicans, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KY) did not vote. The lack of support from those seven Republicans contributed to failure of the proposal, which was voted down, 50-47 (in case you’re wondering who the other non-voting Senator was, it was Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY)).
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was self-congratulatory after the vote, saying, “The Republican plan would kill Medicare.”
In response, the Republicans noted that the Democrats have yet to pass a budget for this year or the next.
Expect the drama to continue.
