Reid to put Senate GOP on the spot

Steve Benen
Political Animal

We talked the other day about why it'd be a smart move for Senate Democrats to bring the House Republican budget to the floor for a vote. This afternoon, we learned that's exactly what's going to happen.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced on Wednesday that he would host a vote on Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) budget as a means of forcing moderate GOP senators to weigh in on the legislation's controversial proposals. He did not provide a specific date for when that vote will take place.

"There will be an opportunity in the Senate to vote on the Ryan budget to see if Republican senators like the Ryan budget as much as the House did," Reid said on a conference call with reporters. "Without going into the Ryan budget we will see how much the Republicans like it here in the Senate."

This is a plan with no downsides, at least for Democrats. The Senate majority caucus will be unified in opposition -- even Ben Nelson and Joe Manchin won't go along with a proposal that ends Medicare -- and Republicans will be on the defensive.

(Original here.)