Schumer ‘welcomes back’ Ryan with blistering attack

Since the GOP convention in Florida, Democrats have worked overtime to paint the picture of “lying Ryan,” setting off a barrage of claims and counterclaims between the Obama and Romney campaigns about the details of Ryan speeches, including whether or not he blamed Obama for the closure of a GM plant in Wisconsin. Some of the alleged lies revolve around differences on budget baseline assumptions.

{mosads}“It’s nice to see Paul Ryan back in Congress. It will be even nicer to see him back here as full-time member in January,” Schumer began.

He claimed that “the least credible claim about Congressman Ryan is that he is a serious deficit hawk” and that cuts to social services, including the block-granting of Medicaid and a premium support option for Medicare in Ryan’s budget, all go to tax cuts for the rich.

“In terms of deficit reduction, the Ryan plan is a fraud,” he said. “This should come as no surprise.”

He noted that Ryan supported the Bush-era tax cuts and war in Iraq, which was not paid for.

“He seems like a nice man, nice family … when it comes to the big debates facing this country … he either has an extremely short-term memory or he plays fast and loose with the truth.”

Schumer reiterated Democratic criticism of Ryan’s Republican National Convention speech, arguing that Ryan unfairly attacked President Obama for not supporting the Bowles-Simpson deficit plan that he himself voted against.

The New York senator hit new statements by Ryan that attack Obama for the looming defense sequester

“There you go again Paul Ryan,” he said. “All one can do is shake your head … you haven’t learned anything from your mistakes of the last few weeks.”

The Mitt Romney campaign fired back Thursday.

“With President Obama’s failed leadership leaving us with 43 straight months of unemployment above 8%, another trillion dollar deficit, and looming defense cuts that will devastate our military, do his allies in the Senate have nothing better to do than engage in stale political attacks?” spokesman Brendan Buck said.