Well on this blog I have (in order) praised, criticized, and now must praise again Paul Ryan. My praise does not necessarily stem from agreement with all of his prescriptions for solving the budget deficit problem. But he now says that the House Republican budget, due in April, will go where the Obama budget did not, to entitlement reform. As a political matter some would say that the Republicans are falling into a political trap, but Ryan has simply dismissed those concerns, saying that he and the caucus will provide leadership where the President did not. Let us see what is proposed, but Ryan is talking the right talk. Also talking that talk, nationally, is New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. He gave a talk in Washington that was highly anticipated, and it did not disappoint. He criticized both parties for being afraid of the politics of entitlement reform, and talked about some of what needs to be done in that area. Although I have not written about Mitch Daniels a whole lot he is another Republican Governor who is speaking about things that need to be done to bring our fiscal house in order. Daniels even had the temerity to raise revenues in Indiana, but he has made some tough decisions and put Indiana on the right track fiscally. In New York Democrat Andrew Cuomo is stepping up and making some tough calls, along with a lot of straight talk. He has advocated for a property tax cap, and is calling for some real and painful budget cuts. These folks have one thing in common: they are telling the truth about the fiscal situation, and they are doing things that many felt were not doable politically. And their poll numbers are rising, not falling.

I have whacked around the Republicans when they deserve it, but today I must cede a bit of ground. Tomorrow is another day. Read the Politico story on Ryan here.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640

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