Democrats’ budget a ‘left-wing manifesto,’ says Mitch McConnell

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he asked Democrats to bring forth “a thoughtful budget” that tabled tax hikes and worked toward balancing spending with cutting. What he got, however, was a far cry from that.

Or, as the Kentucky Republican put it, The Hill reports: It’s a “left-wing manifesto masquerading as a responsible budget.”

On the floor on Thursday, Mr. McConnell blasted Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray’s balanced budget plan for $1 trillion in new taxes, with offsets of cuts in about the same amount of the next decade. House Republican Paul Ryan’s plan, by contrast, cuts $5.7 trillion over 10 years to balance the budget. Mr. McConnell scoffed at Ms. Murray’s definition of balanced.

“They will see a bold reformist Republican budget … and an extreme Democrats’ budget that appeals to Washington bureaucrats,” he said, as The Hill reported. “We need to grow the economy not the budget.”