Door wide open for GOP defections in Senate on Ryan plan

The Hill:

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) is leaving Rep. Paul Ryan’s (R-Wis.) budget plan to its own fate in the Senate by not whipping his GOP colleagues on the vote.

Republican senators say McConnell has made it clear he will vote for the House Budget Committee chairman’s plan, but has said rank-and-file members should vote as they want on the 2012 budget proposal.

Let's see how many run for cover. One sign: It's the Dem leader, Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.), not McConnell, who's calling for the vote on the Ryan plan. He wants to get as many Republicans as possible on record.