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BY ALANA YOUNG



ANCHOR JIM FLINK

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced plans to hold a vote on Representative Paul Ryan’s budget -- drawing a figurative political line in the sand. 



In a conference call with reporters, Senator Reid said passing Representative Ryan’s budget would be - quote - “One of the worst things that happened to this country...”



Highly publicized town hall meetings have been marred by public backlash over Ryan’s budget plan -- which would restructure Medicare and Medicaid, lower corporate tax rates, and repeal the Affordable Care Act -- which the GOP has dubbed Obamacare.



In an interview on MSNBC, political commentator and writer Ron Reagan says Ryan is getting what he deserves in the town halls, and Americans should be thankful his budget exposes - quote - “the real Republican agenda.”



RON REAGAN: “I think the Republicans were playing their constituents for chumps for so long, that they thought that they could actually attack Barack Obama saying, you know, ‘He’s gonna destroy Medicare so you gotta watch out for this Marxist socialist guy’, and then turned right around a few months later and deep sixed Medicare as part of their plan. And what, nobody was going to notice?”


But Republican Senator Pat Toomey tells Fox News, the budget isn’t as “draconian” as it’s being made out to be.


PAT TOOMEY (R-PENN): “Let's look at just how cynical this is if Harry Reid does this. This is the man who led the Senate last year and chose not to even offer a budget... Paul Ryan and the House Republicans have offered a very, very responsible plan... I don't know if we'll have a vote. I support what they have done. Now I'm working with some of my colleagues to have a Senate version. I hope that we Republicans will have an alternative in the Senate. Frankly it will borrow heavily from the very constructive ideas that Paul Ryan and the House Republicans advance.”




Although most Americans say they want a political compromise on the budget, they aren’t as comfortable with reducing or eliminating programs for the elderly.




In an ABC/WSJ poll conducted in April, 59% of voters said they support cutting 38 million from the budget, 78% oppose cutting Medicare, and 69% oppose cutting Medicaid funding.


Ryan’s plan has already passed the Republican-controlled House -- (VOTE).

But the politics of putting it up to a vote in the Democratically-controlled Senate are strategic. Firedoglake’s David Dayden calls it a smart move by Senator Reid.

“Republican Senator Susan Collins has already said that she would not vote for the Ryan budget. ... More broadly, Reid wants to stick Republicans with the Ryan budget to create a clear alternative for the next election. … Reid [is] holding up the Ryan budget for ridicule...”


A Hot Air blogger points to a recent Gallup poll, saying seniors by a small majority prefer Ryan’s budget plan to President Obama’s. He says, Reid’s move to push a Senate vote could go either way.


“...both parties are rolling the dice to a certain extent. Neither Obama nor Ryan muster majority support... There’s plenty of room for both sides to maneuver here.” 





The U.S. Senate is scheduled to reconvene May 2nd at 2 p.m.

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