Mike Haridopolos, a Republican running for Senate in Florida, got so tangled up in answering a question the Paul Ryan budget in a radio interview that the host dropped his call mid-show.
Interviewer Ray Junior repeatedly pressed Haridopolos for an answer on whether he would vote for the Ryan plan if he became a Senator.
“Talk to me. Don’t talk around me, don’t talk over me,” an exasperated Junior asked at one point. “The question is simple: You’re a Senator today, the Ryan plan comes across your desk, are you voting yes or no?”
“I’m not going to get into that today because it’s not the vote I’m dealing with” Haridopolos replied.Junior refused to let the issue go, asking over and over again how Haridopolos could not have sufficient information to give a straight answer as to whether he would support the bill as Senator. After Haridopolos tried to deflect the topic to his record and his support for a balanced budget amendment, Junior dropped him from his show.
The exchange underscores the difficulty GOP candidates for everywhere from Congress to the White House have had discussing the House budget and its plan to replace Medicare with a private voucher system.
Benjy Sarlin
Benjy Sarlin is a reporter for Talking Points Memo and co-writes the campaign blog, TPM2012. He previously reported for The Daily Beast/Newsweek as their Washington Correspondent and covered local politics for the New York Sun.
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