Rubio’s Ryan Budget Defense: There’s Nothing Else

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Florida Sen. Marco Rubio offered up a defense of the Ryan budget, telling CNN’s Candy Crowley in an interview that aired Sunday that it’s unfair to criticize the Ryan budget because there’s no alternative.

Would he be comfortable “running on the specifics of the Ryan budget”? Rubio pivoted, saying: “You know why it’s unfair to criticize the Ryan budget for anyone? Because there’s nothing to compare it to. Where’s the Democrats’ budget?” 

President Obama has proposed a detailed budget this year, as Rubio acknowledged. And as TPM has reported, Republicans’ insistence that Democrats’ haven’t proposed their own budget omits some key facts.

Rubio defended the Ryan budget as a “serious” effort to fix problems like Medicare but seemed cautious about the budget as well. “I’m not being critical of the Ryan budget,” Rubio said, adding “I think we always have to be careful about impacting our safety net because I think there’s a proper role for a governmental safety net to help those who cannot help themselves.”

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