The Hill News

While speaking to a gathering of conservative activists in Washington on Friday, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) slammed President Obama and Senate Democrats for failing to lead on the economy.

Speaking at Christian conservative activist Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom Conference, Ryan decried a "leadership deficit" that now exists in Washington.

{mosads}"We know the government cannot keep spending money we don't have," said Ryan, adding that instead "we're playing politics."

"There is a leadership deficit in Washington," he added. "We don't have a leadership deficit in the [GOP-controlled] House."

Ryan talked up his budget plan before the packed room of conservative activists in an effort to fire up the base about his plan ahead of the 2012 elections. The House Budget Committee chairman received a standing ovation from the crowd before he started speaking.

But Democrats have looked to turn Ryan's plan against the GOP, crit! icizing it for making steep spending cuts and drastically transforming Medicare.

Democrats have applied the plan as a "litmus test" against Republicans on the campaign trail, especially GOP candidates for president, some of whom have said that they will present alternative plans to Ryan's.

Ryan did not mention the 2012 presidential field, but praised the class of freshman GOP congressmen as a "breath of fresh air" since they "came [to Washington] not for a career, but for a cause."

One of the lawmakers he mentioned by name, Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.), spoke before Ryan and said he would "give up my seat gladly" if he could make a difference in shifting the 2012 race in the GOP's favor.