In a somewhat unusual move, Rep. Raul Ruiz is publicly calling on his Republican challengers to reveal how they would vote if they had his job.
Ruiz, a Palm Desert Democrat, announced in a campaign statement that he is opposing Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget proposal, saying it “unfairly hits hard-working American families and seniors, undermines the economic recovery, and ends Medicare as we know it.”
He also called on Assemblyman Brian Nestande and former state lawmaker Ray Haynes, the two Republicans running against him, to reject the budget proposal as well.
“Instead of working to find fiscally responsible, pragmatic solutions, this proposal seeks to balance the budget on the backs of seniors and middle class families,” Ruiz said in a statement. “If they are truly willing to put the interests of our local residents ahead of party politics, Brian Nestande and Ray Haynes should step up and publicly reject this reckless budget that would devastate seniors in California and across the country.”
In an email, Nestande expressed support for the crux of Ryan’s plan but did not specifically say how he would vote.
“Certainly the nation needs three of the Ryan plan’s pillars – avoiding further tax increases, reducing non-military spending and replacing Obamacare with sensible reforms,” Nestande said in a statement.
“One of the defining differences between me and Congressman Ruiz is that I believe we are spending too much and he does not. We have a $17 trillion debt, yet he refused to cut spending by even 1 percent. It is time for common-sense spending restraint — and a balanced budget amendment.”
Haynes did not return a call for comment Thursday.
Ruiz, Nestande and Haynes are on the June 3 ballot for the 36th Congressional District, which spans the Coachella Valley.
Ruiz’s critique of the Ryan budget plan echos the theme of a new web ad campaign that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched in the district.
