McCain Rumored To Be Working His Own Budget

The buzz on Wednesday morning is that Sen. John McCain will introduce his own, alternative budget, perhaps sometime this week, to serve as a contrast to the one proposed by president Obama.

ABC's The Note posted the chatter on its twitter feed and the Huffington Post has been hearing similar -- though unconfirmed -- talk. Sen. McCain's office did not return a request for comment or confirmation.

Should McCain actually go forward with the plan, it would be a symbolic continuation of the economic debates of the presidential campaign. It would also put him a step further than his own party's leadership in the Senate, which has pledged to simply offer amendments to Obama's budget. House Republicans, after issuing a budget without numbers last week ("Budgetish," as the DNC called it), plans to introduce a more detailed proposal today.

This past Sunday, McCain did tell "Meet the Press'" David Gregory that an alternative budget was in the works. But his proclamation -- "we're working on it, working very hard on it" -- was widely interpreted to be in reference to Senate Republican leadership, which subsequently ruled out a budget of its own.

In retrospect, "we" could have meant: "my staff." After all, McCain's aides have been soliciting ideas for a major economic platform. His chief of staff recently sent an email to an economic adviser from the campaign for help putting together a "ten principles" program, along the lines of Newt Gingrich's Contract With America.

UPDATE: Jonathan Allen, over at CQ, has more detail on the infighting going on between McCain and his Senate Republican colleagues over whether or not to put out an alternative budget.

The DNC, meanwhile, has wasted no time jumping on the friction, with press secretary Hari Sevugan blasting out a sharp quote: "Given Senator McConnell's repeated declarations that Senate Republicans will not be offering a budget alternative and Senator McCain's insistence that they will, it's safe to say that the fundamentals of the Senate GOP Caucus are not strong."

Comments

[whitehawk]

12:00 AM on 04/10/2009

"PRICELESS"

[SOLERSO68]

11:32 PM on 04/02/2009

whats next after the mac attack? glen beck submits a budget proposal? then chuck norris? might as well.

[RobinSeattle]

08:18 PM on 04/01/2009

Yeah, I want to see a budget from a guy who has confessed that he doesn't understand economics, finished in the bottom of this class at the Naval Academy and who has been a collaborator in the ballooning of our national debt to the point where we are the greatest debtor nation in world history.

Next thing you know, Elizabeth Hasselbeck will come out with her budget proposal, such is the dearth of real ideas in the GOP and those they are propounding have been shown to be unworkable. Maybe Victoria Jackson can help Hasselbeck with that to ensure it doesn't accidentally tread into socialism territory. Providing, of course, that Jackson can even spell that word.

[Brightlight]

07:43 PM on 04/01/2009

is it written in crayon?

[Bafun]

07:36 PM on 04/01/2009

good! hopefully he will be busy and disappear for a couple of months!!!

[underoath]

07:19 PM on 04/01/2009

Even mccain new the GOP budget was to radical!

[Phxflyer]

06:56 PM on 04/01/2009

There he goes again . . . rushing to save the economy which he knows very little about.

[auramac]

06:29 PM on 04/01/2009

But, of course- his specialty: economics!

[HC4BO]

06:08 PM on 04/01/2009

Maybe he should have tried to WIN the election first ...

Introducing his budget now will be working assbackwards ...

[learntofly]

07:16 PM on 04/01/2009

That never has stopped The Maverick before

Does he still call himself that?

[iamvalid]

05:30 PM on 04/01/2009

He might as well. After all , he lives in his own world, so his budget should reflect the same.

[powerlift2201]

05:10 PM on 04/01/2009

Isn't it McCain that said he didn't know the economy very well. Isn't it McCain who kept saying that the economy was strong all the while the recession/depression was happening? Wasn't it McCain who paused his campaign to help the economic crisis that he said wasn't happening? Is it me or is this typical GOP grandstanding?

[SNT1244]

05:10 PM on 04/01/2009

Will someone please remind this guy that he lost the election and the campaign is over.

[judiNJ]

05:02 PM on 04/01/2009

His 10 pricipals:
Cut Taxes for the Wealthy
Cut Taxes for the Wealthy
Cut Taxes for the Wealthy
Cut Taxes for the Wealthy
Cut Taxes for the Wealthy
Cut Taxes for the Wealthy
Cut Taxes for the Wealthy
Cut Taxes for the Wealthy
Cut Taxes for the Wealthy
Oh, and Cut out Ear Marks

[LiarLiarIraqsOnFire]

05:33 PM on 04/01/2009

You forgot Tax cuts for Corporations.

[RobinSeattle]

08:19 PM on 04/01/2009

You also forgot clothing subsidies for governors of Alaska.

[privategirl]

05:01 PM on 04/01/2009

Is McCain really a maverick or just a person seeking his own spotlight whenever he can. For a guy who lost an election so convincingly, he is on all the News Talk Shows almost every week. With this "alternative budget" plan, he is either undermining his party or is still in denial about losing the election. Either way, it appears to be sheer entertainment for the never-miss-moment-to-create-controversy loving media.

[lynettema]

04:50 PM on 04/01/2009

Would this be the old Bush administration writing the budget? Remember, when the Bush's were in office, Congress did not write the budget. Bush sent it down the Hill and the GOPers rubber stamped it. GOPers in Congress would not have the faintest notion how to write a budget - including McC..