Bruce Bartlett (The Fiscal Times), Tax the Rich: The Battle Cry Paul Ryan Rejects:

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of Rep. Paul Ryan’s widely discussed budget plan, which all but 4 House Republicans voted for on April 15, is that it cuts taxes for the rich and pays for it by raising taxes on the middle class. Whatever one thinks about the economics of this, politically it is a nonstarter. Indeed, not only is there no public support for what Ryan is proposing, there is strong support for going in the other direction and raising taxes on the rich. …

There is simply no place in a deficit reduction package for big new tax cuts. We can’t even afford the ones we have, which is why former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan called for getting rid of all the Bush tax cuts in an April 17 interview. Nor does it make any sense to do significant deficit reduction without higher revenues making a contribution. As Reagan budget director David Stockman put it in an April 11 interview, “It is simply unrealistic to say that raising revenue isn’t part of the solution. It’s a measure of how far off the deep end Republicans have gone with this religious catechism about taxes.”

Ryan is starting to get pushback from his own constituents on his effort to cut taxes for the rich while slashing Medicare. On April 19, he was jeered at a town hall meeting in Milton, Wisconsin, by citizens demanding that the rich pay more. I think the more people learn the details of the Ryan plan, the more all Republicans are going to start hearing jeers from voters.