Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin released a sweeping plan to reform much of the way government raises and spends money--two years ago. It has received a great deal of notice, and it has cemented his position as the most thoughtful policy guy in the Republican caucus.
But in a speech at Brookings yesterday, Ryan wondered aloud where the other Republicans were--why had there been so little movement on his proposals?
The story (and Ryan) give us the answers. While I really, really like Ryan's plan--it is just far too sweeping for any one Congress to pass. He needs to do a better job of thinking through the linkages of the pieces of the plan, and then come forward with a phased approach, one that appreciates the difficulty in doing that many big things all at once. Ryan's the real deal, and his plan is a serious one. We all need to become more familiar with its ideas, as they will likely have a big place in the domestic policy debates in the 2012 primary.
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