Why I like the Ryan pick
I was out of the house all morning and didn’t have a chance until now to blog about Mitt Romney’s pick of Paul Ryan as a running mate. But now I have time, and I must say: Ryan is an excellent pick.
I have made a few mentions during the past couple of months about my enthusiasm for putting Bobby Jindal on the ticket, and I still think he would have made a good choice. But he and Ryan, who for a long time didn’t appear to be on Romney’s short list, are like a No. 1 and No. 1a for me.
Some people will say Ryan is a risky pick because he has laid out the most detailed plan of just about any elected official — from either of the two major parties — about how to put Washington’s fiscal house in order. That means he brings a lot of targets with him onto the ticket, about Medicare in particular. To those people I say: You are crazy if you think the Obama campaign wasn’t going to make Romney answer for Ryan’s plan anyway.
For one thing, Romney already had endorsed the biggest aspects of the Ryan road map. For another, it’s already abundantly clear that the Obama campaign, which has already suggested Romney is a felon and tried to pin a woman’s death on him, considers nothing off-limits in this race. Romney could have disavowed Ryan’s plan altogether, and there still would have been a TV ad at some point showing Romney helping Ryan push Granny off a cliff.
So, I don’t think the risk is as great as you might be led to believe. But the potential reward is all there.
Paul Ryan has been the face of the GOP on these issues for more than two years now, and he has proven unafraid of taking arguments about taxes, spending, deficits, debt and entitlements straight to President Obama. He will boost tea-party enthusiasm about the GOP ticket, and he might be just the edge Romney needs to win in key Midwestern swing states: not just his home state of Wisconsin, but also Ohio, Michigan and perhaps Minnesota and even Pennsylvania. Giving him a national platform to talk about these issues and his plans to address them, and putting the Romney stamp of approval on those plans, means Obama won’t have to answer only about his mediocre record in office. He’ll also, finally, have to tell us exactly how he would tackle these problems.
Sorry, Mr. President, but the Buffett Rule won’t be enough.
It’s incredible, really, that the man who has presided over three straight trillion-dollar budget deficits, and whose proposed budgets make no attempt to rein them in, has been allowed to skate by as easily as he has on this topic. Even Obama’s own party, which still controls the Senate, makes no attempt to work with his budget proposals, much less approve them. He is very vulnerable on this issue.
Mitt Romney is not going to win a popularity contest, and he’s not going to win a small-issues election. Michael Dukakis tried to win on “competence” and couldn’t even beat George “The Vision Thing” Bush. Even the stagnant economy is not enough to put Romney in the White House — although he must still keep hammering at that issue. Incumbent presidents lose when the public thinks the challenger has a better idea of where to take us, and how to get there. Putting Ryan on the ticket means Romney intends to fight a big-issues election, and that he has the running mate to help him lay out that vision.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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468 comments Add your comment
Tap Out
August 11th, 2012
7:17 pm
Tell us again why you really liked Gingrich…lol.
Jay
August 11th, 2012
7:20 pm
If you voted for bush..twice, pay the universe what you owe us by taking a .44 magnum and stuffin it in your cornhole and pullin the trigger..
the red herring
August 11th, 2012
7:20 pm
I simply hope ryan will give romney enough backbone to really stand up and turn this economy around—the first years will be difficult as we try to wean ourselves off the borrowing 40 cents of all our spending. still it must be done. the way to do it is decrease the size of federal government and decrease the spending. Particularly the spending on multiple welfare programs— one program or reduced amounts for two programs is enough—we shouldn’t have people on food stamps, earned income tax credits, rent credits, free health care— there has to be limits to some of these freebies—- not to mention limits to paying healthy people not to work. simply stated that is not the principles america was founded on and should not be how we proceed as a nation. ryan, rubio, or christie all would have been good picks. any of the 3 are head and shoulders better than joe biden…. he’s a joke.
cc
August 11th, 2012
7:22 pm
Jeffrey:
“Romney and Ryan have as much foreign policy experience as a mama grizzly bear.”
Do you think they might do something particularly stupid such as sending the bust of Winston Churchill back to England? Maybe they would give the Queen dvd’s of their speches or Wal-Mart movies? Or could they back the rebels in middle eastern countries in order to see the muslim brotherhood establish power? Maybe they will just bow to the middle east rulers? I guess they might give billions to Brazil for oil exploration while refusing to allow exploration on public lands in the U.S.?
Yep, they won’t have any more experience than the Beloved Ruler had before he was coronated . . . but I’ll bet they don’t do the stupid things that Obama/Hillary have done.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
August 11th, 2012
7:23 pm
red herring
You forgot the Obama phones. No self respecting poor person should leave home without it.
bluecoat
August 11th, 2012
7:27 pm
How mant vetoed bills under W ?
mike
August 11th, 2012
7:28 pm
That’s not the Jay I know.
Jay
August 11th, 2012
7:28 pm
We are all OWNED lock, stock and barrel by The Rothschild’s, so just get over yourself, you self absorbed slaves…Until we get rid of the “Federal” Reserve and their faux currency we are just crabs in a barrel.
Thomas Heyward Jr.
August 11th, 2012
7:31 pm
Jay
August 11th, 2012
7:28 pm
We are all OWNED lock, stock and barrel by The Rothschild’s, so just get over yourself, you self absorbed slaves…Until we get rid of the “Federal” Reserve and their faux currency we are just crabs in a barrel.
———————————————-
.
Ha Ha.
Looks like Bookman got roughed up by some costumed federale on his recent fishing trip.
.
He’s finally seeing the light.
Jay
August 11th, 2012
7:32 pm
The “federal” reserves just announced that there is 9 TRILLION dollars missing and you idiots are babbling about a few billion dollars. By the way, you can’t get into their underground cities that was built with your money..idiot rescums..
MarkV
August 11th, 2012
7:33 pm
“Do you think they might do something particularly stupid such as sending the bust of Winston Churchill back to England?”
Perhaps such as belittling the Olympic preparation while in London?
Hillbilly D
August 11th, 2012
7:35 pm
The moon is in the last quarter but if I didn’t know better………..
MarkV
August 11th, 2012
7:38 pm
“Do you think they might do something particularly stupid such as sending the bust of Winston Churchill back to England?”
Not to mention the little fact that the above charge is a lie.
Del
August 11th, 2012
7:40 pm
Jay unhinged
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
August 11th, 2012
7:40 pm
Ryan wants to dismantle the New Deal. Not going to happen.
md
August 11th, 2012
7:50 pm
“You pick Paul Ryan, you defend his budget. It is that simple”
What kind of logic is that? Romney has the say so, not Ryan. If he’s smart, he’ll take the good points and combine them with other good points to make a better plan……..that’s the theory behind surrounding oneself with smart people…….it’s a collection of ideas.
mike
August 11th, 2012
7:50 pm
$9 Trillion isn’t really that much. Just a couple of years federal budget. Not much to worry about.
Jay
August 11th, 2012
7:53 pm
The “Fedreal” reserves just announced that a “GooglePlex” of cash is gone missing…Now is that enough for you to get concerned?
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 11th, 2012
7:55 pm
Why I like the Romney pick: He’s an American.
Obozo is merely a citizen.
md
August 11th, 2012
7:56 pm
And it seems many on the prior pages like the Greek version of austerity. Just keep spending until it is the only option………..Obama’s done next to nothing in terms of cutting back on spending, and as spending increases it makes it that much harder for the economy to gain traction as it also has to pay for all that spending………..
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 11th, 2012
7:58 pm
Democrats didn’t defend Obozo’s budget–they defeated it.
Republicans already passed the American, er, Ryan budget.
Jay
August 11th, 2012
7:59 pm
Wrong answer you ignorant idiot, the record show that PRESIDENT Obama has spent LESS money than any President since FDR..
Hillbilly D
August 11th, 2012
8:01 pm
If my calculations are right, if you spent $10 million a day, it would take you over 2400 years to spend $9 trillion.
mike
August 11th, 2012
8:02 pm
Jay, don’t bother me now. “The Wedding Planner” is coming on. I’ll worry about that stuff “tomorrow.”
Del
August 11th, 2012
8:05 pm
Caution Kool-Aid drinker on board.
Jay
August 11th, 2012
8:07 pm
Well Hillbilly,that means they are spending well over 10 million a day.
DannyX
August 11th, 2012
8:09 pm
“Why I like the Romney pick: He’s an American.”
Paul Ryan was born in Manitoba Canada is not eligible to be president!
Where is your birth certificate Paul Ryan???? Release it.
You too Mr Romney, release those tax returns!!!!
NOW!!!
Jay
August 11th, 2012
8:10 pm
$9,000,000,000,000 MISSING From The Federal Reserve .. Shocking Footage
http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread866914/pg1
DannyX
August 11th, 2012
8:11 pm
“Republicans already passed the American, er, Ryan budget.”
Quiet Barry, Mitt doesn’t want people talking about the unpopular Ryan budget scam.
JF McNamara
August 11th, 2012
8:12 pm
They are going to run completely on taking benefits away from the masses and giving tax cuts to the rich. That is literally what the Ryan pick says. I guess that’s a good message?
Also, stop whining about Obama’s tactics. Republicans ran blatant lies about health care (death panels) and fed into birtherism and other messages meant to play into the racist element. Right now, Romney is talking about healthcare increases under Obama when they basically stopped him from doing anything about it and know Obama had nothing to do with it.
I don’t ever recall you complaining about Republican tactics. In fact, you’ve fed the fire and many on this blog called him soft. You started the fight, don’t complain when you get hit.
md
August 11th, 2012
8:15 pm
“Wrong answer you ignorant idiot, the record show that PRESIDENT Obama has spent LESS money than any President since FDR..”
Not sure I should even respond to someone that uses name calling as a debate tactic, but I’ll do it once to see how things go.
This is the same poster that declares we’ve all been duped by the fed reserve yet seems to have himself been duped by the article claiming Obama was a spend thrift.
Go back and look at the actual spending bills, and you will see that 2009 was primarily Obama spending……and that doesn’t include the tarp money Bush approved on the request of Obama.
md
August 11th, 2012
8:24 pm
Just a fraction of the fallacy about 2009 not being charged to Obama:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aXTl_q8nIqk8
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 11th, 2012
8:26 pm
DannyX: Quiet Barry, Mitt doesn’t want people talking about the unpopular Ryan budget scam.
————————-
It’s not exactly a surprise that the parasites get agitated when their freebies are threatened.
Old Timer
August 11th, 2012
8:30 pm
Jeffery
Romney & Ryan have as much as Obama & Biden but they lack Chicago type politics. Haven’t heard Romney or Ryan tell a fib yet.
Just saying..
August 11th, 2012
8:42 pm
@@
August 11th, 2012
6:14 pm: Well, that’s awkward.
No it’s not.
Then tell us what Paul Ryan personally did to EARN (word of the month) that SS benefit?
Then tell us you expectation of that particular survivor’s benefit, under a Ryan budget?
JamVet
August 11th, 2012
8:44 pm
There are plenty of reasons to not vote for Ryan.
He is a gutless t*rd and chickenhawk for starters.
That massive and misguided nearly 100 page “budget’ that he submitted?
Take a wild guess exactly how many time it mentions the word VETERAN?
Zero. Not one time.
And more to the point it would cut $11 billion from veterans spending, or 13 percent from what President Obama proposed.
These never-served neocons are all the same. They hate out troops, until they want to send them somewhere to get them killed needlessly so that these disgusting fake conservative, Bushbot, toy soldiers can feel like real men.
F the whole bunch of them…
Caveat emptor (Translation - "Don't Fall For The Old Okey Doke")
August 11th, 2012
8:45 pm
If you think that the RYAN BUDGET will NOT affect YOU or YOUR MAMA,
your FAMILY you better THNK AGAIN.
The Ryan Budget will AFFECT ALL RACES.
EVEN YOURS.
HIS BUDGET IS COLOR BLIND.
Caveat emptor (Translation - "Don't Fall For The Old Okey Doke")
August 11th, 2012
8:49 pm
@Old Timer
August 11th, 2012
8:30 pm
Jeffery
Romney & Ryan have as much as Obama & Biden but they lack Chicago type politics. Haven’t heard Romney or Ryan tell a fib yet.
**************************************************************************
Ol Timer don’t insult our intelligence.
Romney has lied during his campaign.
IF THEY ARE ELECTED I HOPE YOU ARE READY FOR YOUR
HEALTHCARE VOUCHER OL TIMER.
I HOPE YOU STAY HEALTHY AND NOT GET SICK.
If you think that the RYAN BUDGET will NOT affect YOU or
your FAMILY you better THNK AGAIN.
The Ryan Budget will AFFECT ALL RACES.
EVEN YOURS.
HIS BUDGET IS COLOR BLIND.
md
August 11th, 2012
8:51 pm
You folks are funny…..of course Ryans budget will effect everybody…..but so will any budget. If we don’t do something and the agencies downgrade us again, then just wait to see hoe everybody is effected.
Greece thought they could just keep doing what they were doing too…………
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 11th, 2012
8:52 pm
Ryan schooled Obozo at his own healthcare summit.
Don’t hate Ryan just because he’s smarter than Obozo.
ragnar danneskjold
August 11th, 2012
8:52 pm
Ryan is my favorite; I also like Rubio quite a lot, and in eight years the Ryan-Rubio ticket will be worth consideration.
Caveat emptor (Translation - "Don't Fall For The Old Okey Doke")
August 11th, 2012
8:53 pm
@Lil’ Barry Bailout – Vote American
August 11th, 2012
8:26 pm
It’s not exactly a surprise that the parasites get agitated when their freebies are threatened.
_____________________________________________________
If you think that the RYAN BUDGET will NOT affect YOU or
your FAMILY you better THNK AGAIN.
The Ryan Budget will AFFECT ALL RACES.
EVEN YOURS.
HIS BUDGET IS COLOR BLIND.
There is NO CLAUSE in his budget that reads FOR OTHERS ONLY.
Rafe Hollister, suffering through Oblamer's ineptocracy
August 11th, 2012
8:56 pm
Just saying
Paul Ryan’s dad paid into SocSec for years and did not collect one dime, because he died too young. You begrudge the man’s children getting a few years of support. People should have a choice, whether they want to contribute to the ponzi scheme. Ryan’s father had no choice and his children should have received benefits. Had he been allowed to keep that money, he might have bought life insurance with it, that would have benefited the children for more than 2 years.
Ryan would like to keep Soc Sec for those who are now getting close to retirement and give younger workers the choice. Dems seem to like choice for women to terminate their pregnancy, but oppose all other choices. Why is that? Why is my freedom to choose not as important as a woman’s?
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 11th, 2012
8:56 pm
Caveat, somehow my family got along quite well even when the federal government was “only” spending $1.5 trillion a year, or $2 trillion a year, or $3 trillion a year. President Romney and Vice President Ryan could cut the budget by two thirds and my family wouldn’t notice.
We work for a living. Just like all Real Americans, and quite a few Democrats.
md
August 11th, 2012
8:57 pm
Caveat…..with 16 trillion in debt and a 1.5 trillion deficit every year, do you think there is actually a way that everybody won’t be affected??
Please……it’s time to take our medicine……..
Just saying..
August 11th, 2012
8:57 pm
Old Timer
August 11th, 2012
8:30 pm
Jeffery
Romney & Ryan have as much as Obama & Biden but they lack Chicago type politics. Haven’t heard Romney or Ryan tell a fib yet.
Then listen when they speak.
mike
August 11th, 2012
8:58 pm
Yes, but Medicare recipients have paid into the system for years. Now you want to change the rules on them.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 11th, 2012
9:01 pm
mike: Now you want to change the rules on them.
——————————
Or we could simply ignore reality…the preferred libtard response to a Medicare system going bankrupt.
md
August 11th, 2012
9:02 pm
“Yes, but Medicare recipients have paid into the system for years. Now you want to change the rules on them.”
Cuts have to be made……no if’s and’s or but’s……Simpson and Bowles worked long and hard to try to make it fair and were thrown under the bus by just about everybody.
Folks need to understand that we all need a little pain now to avoid massive misery later……your choice.
Just saying..
August 11th, 2012
9:02 pm
Rafe- You take a lot a words to say it, but I see you do understand the point: Paul Ryan personally did nothing to Earn the SS survivor’s benefit he received.
And your answer to the question about the survivor’s benefit under the Ryan budget?