"WASHINGTON -- Senate Democrats are furious at their lead budget negotiator for crafting a blueprint that they think moves the party too far to the right, a senior Democratic aide said.

Sen. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) has been bargaining for months in secret with Republicans in the so-called Gang of Six to craft a budget that might win bipartisan acceptance. On Tuesday, Conrad abruptly dropped the veil and rolled out his own offering for party colleagues -- to brutal reviews.

"He's going to be a man without a country," the Democratic aide said, describing a contentious Tuesday briefing.

The problem for Democrats is that, rather than put down a firm Democratic marker from which the party can negotiate, Conrad has adopted a plan that resembles the work he's done with legislators across the aisle.

In bringing it forward himself, Conrad sets the starting point for the Democratic position in a more conservative spot than President Barack Obama's budget -- and that was already a compromise. Obama's plan includes a spending freeze for federal workers, among many other concessions to the GOP.  [snip]

“It borrows some of the ideas of the fiscal commission on revenue,” Conrad added, saying that tax rates would be lowered. But his plan would “broaden the base” of taxpayers, he said. It would do that by eliminating certain corporate tax loopholes and special treatment for particular industries and targeting offshore tax havens.

“You would not need to raise rates. You could actually lower rates along the lines of what the commission does,” Conrad said.

Conrad’s plan pulls “some savings” from Medicare, he said, but does not include a specific spending target, as Republicans have called for.

A significant difference between Conrad’s plan and the fiscal commission plan is that Conrad does not address Social Security, which, he noted, is on a separate budgetary track. Social Security is paid for by payroll taxes rather than general revenue, so it does not contribute to the deficit."

Dave Dayan says: 

"The Gang of Six simply didn’t finish the job, and indeed, it was built to not finish the job, with Republicans desirous to drag out talks so Senate Democrats looked like they didn’t have a plan. In this sense it was no different than the Max Baucus-led Gang of Six on the health care law. So Conrad is becoming the Gang of One. He’s basically carrying Bowles-Simpson. The lack of changes to Social Security is a relief, but the plan overall is right of center. It has a 3:1 spread on spending cuts to revenue hikes. Moreover, there’s no guarantee that Republicans will come aboard, leaving Conrad truly as a Gang of One, without a unified Democratic Party or key Republicans behind him."

Bipartisan, bicameral meetings with Joe Biden begin tomorrow.

Reminds me of this: