Senate's Republican Presidential Hopefuls Come Out Swinging Against Budget Deal
Source: Bloomberg
By Sahil Kapur
October 28, 2015 — 11:58 AM EDT
Three Republican senators running for president have come out swinging against a bipartisan budget deal as an emblem of everything that's wrong in Washington, making it a likely piñata in the party's third debate on Wednesday evening in Boulder, Colorado.
“This is not a ‘grand bargain’ or negotiation—it is complete and utter surrender,” said Texas's Ted Cruz. It's a “severely flawed deal” that “irresponsibly increases the debt ceiling” without cutting safety-net programs, said Florida's Marco Rubio. “Horrible,” said Kentucky's Rand Paul, adding, “It's hard for me not to use profanity describing it.”
In a primary race dominated by political outsiders Donald Trump and Ben Carson, any hint of compromise with Washington power brokers is dynamite for the conservative base. The deal provides an opportunity for presidential candidates to assail a party establishment that voters have soured on—a tricky needle to thread for establishment-oriented hopefuls such as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and Ohio Governor John Kasich, an ex-chairman of the House Budget Committee chairman, who will both appear on stage with the three senators, Trump, and Carson on Wednesday night.
An AP-GfK poll last week found that 62 percent of Republican voters nationally say outgoing House Speaker John Boehner's successor should stick to conservative principles, even at risk of government shutdowns, while 37 percent said the next speaker should compromise with President Barack Obama and Democrats to pass a budget.
Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-10-28/senate-s-republican-presidential-hopefuls-come-out-swinging-against-budget-deal
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