Bozell chastises Ryan, other prominent Republicans
(CNN) - House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's latest Republican proposal to balance the federal budget and reform Medicare predictably drew sharp reviews from Democrats.
But at the Conservative Political Action Conference - which Ryan described Friday as a place where he could "catch up with friends" - he was slammed on Saturday by conservative activist Brent Bozell.
[twitter-follow screen_name='politicalticker']
"Do yourself and your country a favor. Take that budget back and return with a new one," Bozell said, urging Ryan to make a yet more conservative proposal.
"Come with one that truly does reduce the size of government, that puts us on the path not to a balanced budget by reducing deficits, but a path to solvency by eradicating the national debt. Then watch what happens not just to your political aspirations but to your legacy."
Bozell did not deliver a harsher line against Ryan, which was in his prepared remarks provided to CNN: "This is not conservatism. It is, literally, Democrat Lite."
Bozell leads the group ForAmerica, which recently launched an effort to dissuade conservative donors from backing GOP strategist Karl Rove's group American Crossroads. At CPAC, Bozell dressed down Rove as a strategist who "had the worst political year in the history of man" in the form of 2012 and found "the worst investment return since the market crash of '29" in his campaign spending.
"The last thing the GOP needs is for the anti-conservative professional political consultant class infecting its ranks, and the last thing we conservatives want is then infiltrating ours," Bozell said, referring to GOP political strategists in a broad sense.
Bozell said the GOP should do away with those strategists because of their losses in November.
"If you need someone to pilot your ship, do you ask advice from the captain of the Titanic?" he asked rhetorically.
He also saved tough words for House Speaker John Boehner and his House GOP leadership, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, and former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. In most instances, he accused them of betraying promises made to the conservatives who elected them.
While Ryan and Bush delivered high-profile speeches, the others did not appear on the conservative main stage.
- CNN's Gregory Wallace, Paul Steinhauser and Ashley Killough contributed to this report.
From CNN Politics
- Lawmakers reluctant to pursue gun control measures following Nashville school shooting
- 10 Cards Charging 0% Interest Until 2024
- DeSantis plans to travel to Jerusalem as tumult strains Netanyahu-Biden relationship
- Harris faces painful Black history in emotional slave outpost visit
- Kentucky law aimed at increasing parental oversight in education takes effect
- New York grand jury won't hear Trump case again this week
Ryan and friends: Where are all of those loophole closures you're always yammering about? Let's see the list starting with eliminating the carried interest provision for hedge fund managers and doing away with tax breaks like the oil depletion allowance for oil companies and going after the likes of General Electric Corporation who pay no federal income taxes whatsoever. Do all of that and then maybe, maybe we will begin to take you seriously,
It's great to see these guys hacking each other to pieces! It's quite a contest to see who can be more right wing than everyone else.
Here they go again. God bless USA.
Paul Ryan makes me sick. He's lived his entire life on gov't handouts. Now that he's made a huge profit using "those" handouts, he takes his big feet, kicks others in the rear and tells us we're government dependent. Really? This guy represents all things wrong in Washington and it's too bad, Wisconsin allowed this slimebag to run in two elections instead of booting him out when they had the chance. Hopefully, the people of Wisconsin have awakened and will toss Ryan out in the next election once and for all.
Further evidence of the chasm deep within the Republican party. They didn't learn a thing last year, did they?
Oh please. Yes, what the GOP should do is double down on the same failed policies that got them thumped in 2012. That will help democrats keep the senate and the White House for years to come.
This would actually make sense if Bozell really were a liberal plant.
It's fun watching the GOP self-destruct.
these right winged hacks are either mad or clueless. lesson folks: these folks bitch about the budget deficit for 5 years, obama said lets have a grand bargain to lower the deficit, you guys give us some taxes and we will give you entitlement reform. NO and the in the same breath, oh the budget is killing us, so obama said hey lets grow the economy by building our country and putting millions to work, this will bring in revenues, NO, oh the budget is killing us, and all we need to do is cut cut cut, the repubs belly ached. these repubs is all about cut cut cut. the government discretionary spending is the lowest in history, yet the repubs just cut another 50 billion dollars away from it during the sequester. now their constituencies are crying out and guest who they blame. i wont even say his name because this is getting too rediculous. how can you cut 50 billion dollars from discretionary spending and expect not to feel pain.
So gutting medicare and Medicaid, education, healthcare and environmental and financial regualtions while giving tax cuts for the wealthy is not conservative enough? Maybe Bozell should move to Somalia or some other country without a government.
Isn't that interesting? Rep. Ryan needs to rethink his budget, period. He needs to find ways to ramp down programs slowly so that a safety net is there for his fellow citizens. He could also look at the size of the work force which supports, senators, representatives and congressional committees. Our senators and representatives seem to have a lot of time to travel around the country promoting themselves. Maybe they should be working 40 or more hours a week as most of their constituents do. They should also look at their perqs and try cutting back. Then and only then, they can start looking at all the programs which are aimed at citizens.
These republicans see themselves as saviors!!! Very sad and even a bit scary!!! If Reagan hadn't closed all the mental hospitals they would be full of these wackos.
He has a point. Reducing the growth in spending, does NOTHING about the 16 trillion dollar deficit, now growing at the rate 1.3 trillion per year, ADDITIONAL deficit.
"If you need someone to pilot your ship, do you ask advice from the captain of the Titanic?" he asked rhetorically.
Thats the problem with the GOP , too many admirals and nobody on the bridge ,nor engine room .
I'd say the GOP resembles the Carnival Cruse Line .
The crash of '29'...another conservative economic disaster just like 2007.
when will these repubs understand that the way to govern is to give a little and take a little. theyve been in office for two years now if it werent for the bush tax cuts ending, they would have not given up anything. why is the american people keep hiring these backward people, who beleive in one thing. cut cut cut cut cut. lets boast the economy, no cut. let ballance the budget in bypartisan way, no cut. every thing come out their mouth is cut. lesson repub every thing is not black and white.
gop.....you are standing in the river yet the water has passed you by......
WOW!! Such talk from the party that deregulated the finacial industry, slashed taxes mostly for the wealthy, started 2 unfunded wars spending like crazy. And now they are the party to make the debt go away. Tell me another bedtime story Grandma.
Obviously this guy hasn't gotten the message or understood the needs of the country.
This is so wonderful it is beyond words. It is so sweet to see the GOP eat each other up and spit out what remains. Could not happen to a more worthy group of people.
Do us and our country a favor, Bozell. Take your 'conservatives' and form your own party. You already have the name, why not make it official? Show us all how the "Tea Party" could stand on it's own, independent of the GOP teat. Until then, don't act like you are not GOP because you are.
After the 2014 elections, what will they name the new political party ?
The "Tea Party" infected the GOP and the infection has now festered. The only choice now is to amputate. I, for one, cannot wait for that to happen. I want to see how fast the "Tea Party" sinks without the GOP teat to keep it feeling relevant.
So our next big plan is to eat eachother? This should open up the eyes of the GOP. I have been screaming for two years now about the tea party. they simply want to take over the republican party. If they think Rand Paul, can win a national election their even more crazy then i thought. their is a place for the tea party,we need them.we just dont need in leading,because they will lead us all straight to hell!
So apparently a budget plan that cripples the middle class, guts social security, medicare, and medicaid, and gives massive tax breaks to the wealthy isn't conservetive enough. Wow.
Can't say I disagree with him.