Watch as Townhall's Political Editor, Guy Benson, sits down with House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan for a wide-ranging discussion of his Path to Prosperity budget, deficits, debt, federal spending, entitlement reform, and conservatives' fundamental ideological differences with President Obama:
Highlights:
00:30 - Rep. Ryan discusses the risk of a US credit downgrade, and how to avert the "most predictable financial crisis" in US history.
02:38 - Rep. Ryan summarizes the economics and demographic math behind his plan.
05:30 - Guy asks Rep. Ryan about specific criticisms of his budget plan; the Congressman responds.
10:12 - Asked about President Obama's rhetoric about, and alternatives proposals to, the Path to Prosperity, Rep. Ryan says the president has utterly failed to lead. He also warns about the IPAB -- the president's rationing board, comprised of unelected bureaucrats.
14:00 - Rep. Ryan compares and contrasts the Path to Prosperity with Senate Democrats' rumored budget outline.
15:45 - Having seen his budget defeated in the Democratic Senate, Rep. Ryan answers the crucial question, "where do we go from here?"
18:15 - Rep. Ryan weighs in on the Balanced Budget Amendment -- offering his support for the measure, and explaining why the Path to Prosperity wouldn't be incompatible with a potential BBA.
20:00 - With talks still underway, Rep. Ryan throws cold water on prospects for a "grand deal" emerging from the debt limit debate.
21:30 - Rep. Ryan says he's "not a fan" of the McConnell compromise, but won't rule it out.
23:30 - "We [Republicans] are not interested in playing with default." Why not? Rep. Ryan explains, followed by a denunciation of President Obama's class warfare tactics.
Editors' Note: We apologize for the darkness of the footage. It was shot in a Budget Committee meeting room without very much natural (or artificial, for that matter) light. We're confident that Rep. Ryan's ideas are sufficiently enlightened to compensate for this minor technical shortcoming.