RNC 2012: Ryan finishes off a powerful second night
TAMPA — Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention was drifting along unremarkably for a couple of hours. For Georgians, even Attorney General Sam Olens’ speech — the only one this week by someone from our state — suffered from his pairing with his Floridian counterpart, Pam Bondi; the tag-team format just didn’t work all that well. Speeches from Sen. John Thune, the South Dakotan whose name was bandied about (inexplicably, I’d say tonight) as a potential presidential candidate, and Sen. John McCain, the 2008 nominee, were flat.
Then came the wave.
It started with Mike Huckabee, the former Arkansas governor and 2008 presidential candidate. To be honest, I wasn’t able to catch much of his speech, but I could tell that the crowd responded to it with much more energy than any of the earlier speakers generated.
Then came Condoleezza Rice. The former secretary of state is highly regarded for her intellect and experience, but I don’t know anyone who expected a set-piece speech from her like the one she gave tonight. She’s obviously known as a foreign-policy expert, but her topics ran the gamut: immigration, education and school choice (which Rice, who grew up in Jim Crow Birmingham, called “the civil rights issue of our day”), and the federal debt. She was powerful on the moral aspects of American leadership in the world and the threat that our finances pose to our ability to exercise it: “There is no country, not even a rising China, that can do more harm to us than we can do to ourselves if we do not do the hard work at home.” She was firm in speaking against the “narrative of grievance and entitlement,” which she described as alien to America. She was wholly impressive and utterly convincing as a future politician (though she’s served in government, she’s never run for office).
New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez followed Rice and, having never heard her speak before, I wasn’t sure about the wisdom of putting her between such a powerful speech by Rice and the night’s headliner, Paul Ryan. But Martinez was very impressive. She spoke of her upbringing in a family with its own small security business — and of working, at age 18, as an armed guard for it. She had one of the lines of the night, describing her surprised reaction after she and her husband met with Republicans trying to convince her to switch to their party years ago: “I’ll be damned. We’re Republicans!”
But Ryan, of course, was every bit the closer the GOP wanted this night. He took on President Obama directly and forcefully, as the vice presidential nominee traditionally is expected to do. He spoke of wasted stimulus money that went to companies “like Solyndra, with their gold-plated connections, subsidized jobs and make-believe markets.” He welcomed the confrontation with Democrats over Medicare: “Our nation needs this debate, we [Romney and Ryan] want this debate, and we will win this debate.” He described the Obama campaign as “a ship trying to sail on yesterday’s wind.”
He defined himself as the youthful candidate on the ticket and in the race, playfully comparing Romney’s songs, which he’s heard “on the campaign bus and in many hotel elevators” with his own playlist, which “starts with AC/DC and ends with Zeppelin.” But more importantly, he made a play for young voters with the line of the convention, maybe the campaign, so far: “College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life.”
Two nights in, this campaign is taking a shape that it sorely lacked before Ryan joined the ticket and, to some degree, even until this week. It will be interesting to see not only how Romney closes it out Thursday, but how the Democrats react in Charlotte next week.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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318 comments Add your comment
getalife
August 30th, 2012
1:34 pm
“When will you be even handed in your punishments?”
Good question.
In the Middle
August 30th, 2012
1:35 pm
Lil B,
Show me where he said he promised to keep it open. You can’t because he didn’t. I bid you adieu!
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 30th, 2012
1:38 pm
11-0 yesterday.
11-1 today.
Jefferson
August 30th, 2012
1:39 pm
Bush III and Cheney II can’t do anything different, and they have bad track records. What fools they make of their admirers.
Verbal Kint
August 30th, 2012
1:39 pm
Here’s a fact check, getalife:
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2012/08/30/obama_camp_melts_down_over_ryans_speech
zeke
August 30th, 2012
1:40 pm
you righties better read matt taibbi on bain company…..guys like the one hosting this post just trying to ingratiate themselves with the overlords.
Verbal Kint
August 30th, 2012
1:44 pm
Funny, zeke, that music mag doesn’t mention any of Bain’s success stories. Bill Clinton could probably share a few.
I demand to see Cheesy Grits Birth Certificate- Long Form Please
August 30th, 2012
1:45 pm
Mainly the handout programs for those who don’t work for a living. Those are the big hitters in the budget.
Defense spending is twice that.
Its the real big hitter in the budget.
Verbal Kint
August 30th, 2012
1:47 pm
It’s a good thing that providing for defense is one of the top priorities of gov’t per the Constitution.
zeke
August 30th, 2012
1:47 pm
doubt you read it there verbal, but if you did you think mitt really knows anything about building companies? you probably thought gordon gekko a swell guy too
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 30th, 2012
1:47 pm
I thought we were talking corporate welfare, and you go off about a legit function of government.
Try again.
md
August 30th, 2012
1:48 pm
It’s not difficult Finn…..when one uses the word “if” in a sentence and then proceeds to remove the “if” through action, all one has to do is re-read the statement without the “if’s” since they have in essence been removed.
I demand to see Cheesy Grits Birth Certificate- Long Form Please
August 30th, 2012
1:48 pm
If you guys want to know where your taxes go it isn’t to the lazy minority down the street getting a government check.
Its to build a laser hover tank that we dont even need.
I demand to see Cheesy Grits Birth Certificate- Long Form Please
August 30th, 2012
1:51 pm
It’s a good thing that providing for defense is one of the top priorities of gov’t per the Constitution.
This is the heart of the Republican party.
Spend billions on weapons everyone knows are obsolete and wont be used.
Thats fine.
But give a couple bucks so some poor minority kid gets a decent meal at lunch.
They go crazy
Very telling. Very Jesus like.
getalife
August 30th, 2012
1:51 pm
Fact check ruin’s speech:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/fact-checking-the-gop-conventions-second-night/2012/08/30/128cbe9e-f260-11e1-adc6-87dfa8eff430_blog.html
He is a blatant liar just like robme.
They are counting on ignorance of the American people.
They will lose.
getalife
August 30th, 2012
1:52 pm
Enter your comments here
Jefferson
August 30th, 2012
1:52 pm
The reason the GOP is high on defense is
1) They are scared
2) They want other to do the work for them.
I demand to see Cheesy Grits Birth Certificate- Long Form Please
August 30th, 2012
1:52 pm
It’s a good thing that providing for defense is one of the top priorities of gov’t per the Constitution.
So is promoting the general welfare.
Its right there in the preamble.
zeke
August 30th, 2012
1:53 pm
how many former generals and admirals work in lobbying for military industrials? when i was real young i thought these guys were just the best. then i served and found out they are as full of it as the rest of us
I demand to see Cheesy Grits Birth Certificate- Long Form Please
August 30th, 2012
1:55 pm
The reason the GOP is high on defense is
1) They are scared
Xenophobia does drive that a little.
Ive always said if the illegal immigrants in this country were from a white country you wouldn’t hear near the complaining.
md
August 30th, 2012
1:56 pm
Good link there get……shows all these folks on here saying the plant “closed” in Dec 2008 are incorrect……that link says it closed in April, 2009……which means Ryan was correct.
Kyle Wingfield
August 30th, 2012
1:57 pm
Kamchak: Have you emailed those complaints? Because a) that is the way I’ve asked people to bring problems to my attention rather than taking up space on comment threads, and b) that’s especially important this week, when I’m not sitting at the computer as many hours of the day as usual to monitor the comment threads.
@@
August 30th, 2012
1:57 pm
Heck! I thought Ryan was pretty even-handed.
First he acknowledges that Obama inherited a bad economy, then goes on to say he (Obama) was unable to keep his promise he made on the campaign trail (2008).
President Barack Obama, came to office during an economic crisis, as he has reminded us a time or two. Those are very tough days. And any fair measure of his record has to take that into account. My own state voted for President Obama. When he talked about change, many people liked the sound of it.
Especially in Janesville where we were about to lose a major factory. A lot of guys I went to high school with worked at that G.M. plant. Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said, “I believe that if our government is there to support you, this plant will be here for another 100 years.”
That’s what he said in 2008. Well, as it turned out, that plant didn’t last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day.
“As it turned out” isn’t the same as saying Obama shut ‘er down.
Liberals are guilty of an illegal shift on the field. A false start on the track.
Ryan must really have you libs shook up.
td
August 30th, 2012
1:59 pm
Ezra Klein was bust lying about the GM plant closing during the Bush administration. When his blog was confronted by twitchy he pulled the lie down.
http://twitchy.com/2012/08/30/ezra-kleins-lie-now-you-see-it-now-you-dont/
I demand to see Cheesy Grits Birth Certificate- Long Form Please
August 30th, 2012
2:01 pm
Ryan must really have you libs shook up.
Yeah. Quaking.
@@
August 30th, 2012
2:02 pm
Oh lawd-ah-mercy, Kyle.
Please don’t encourage Kamchak. He’ll be over here yellow carding and red carding everyone except liberals.
He needs to go out and find a real job. Being a blog monitor won’t get him very far.
Kamchak - "Socialism" is just a code word for "fear," the monster under you bed ~ Kamchak
August 30th, 2012
2:05 pm
Kamchak: Have you emailed those complaints?
Nope, ’cause running behind everybody’s back like a tattletale crybaby is not the way I do things.
You can start by reading it here.
td
August 30th, 2012
2:18 pm
Kamchak – “Socialism” is just a code word for “fear,” the monster under you bed ~ Kamchak
August 30th, 2012
2:05 pm
‘Nope, ’cause running behind everybody’s back like a tattletale crybaby is not the way I do things.”
Thanks for the laugh. Funniest thing I have read today.
Bob
August 30th, 2012
2:20 pm
This may be your view of the speech but one thing that must be addressed is the number of blatant lies in the speech. They are documented in numerous New outlets including Fox News. It was one of the most dishonest speeches ever made and will end up hurting the conservative cause. This is the guy we have put forward as an intellectual leader and he stoops to this? When he or any conservative runs in 2016 this will be rerun. pathetic.
@@
August 30th, 2012
2:23 pm
Nope, ’cause running behind everybody’s back like a tattletale crybaby is not the way I do things.
Say wh-a-a-a-a-a-a!!!!!?????!!!!!
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 30th, 2012
2:26 pm
Why did Obozo’s Chevy Volt plant close down?
Fail.
David R. Boag, DDS
August 30th, 2012
2:27 pm
Cheesy @ 12:49
Still counting by race, Cheesy?
Yes. In Politics
————————————————-
So, Cheesy, if I also only selectively count by race when it suits me, say when I’m hiring people or approving them for loans, then–like you–I’m not a racist either, right?
Look at that! It DOES cut both ways!
td
August 30th, 2012
2:28 pm
Bob
August 30th, 2012
2:20 pm
“This may be your view of the speech but one thing that must be addressed is the number of blatant lies in the speech”
Fact checking the fact checkers:
http://townhall.com/tipsheet/guybenson/2012/08/30/obama_camp_melts_down_over_ryans_speech.
@@
August 30th, 2012
2:30 pm
So is promoting the general welfare.
A very ambiguous term, that.
I don’t think it means what some have come to expect.
Suffice it to say, the enumerated powers that follow DO provide for the general welfare. Anything beyond those are a reach and overly so.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
August 30th, 2012
2:30 pm
Cheesy: Very Jesus like.
———
Please keep your religion off the blog.
David R. Boag, DDS
August 30th, 2012
2:37 pm
Finn @ 1:15 pm
“I slept with Scarlet Johannson last night!
ooops, I pulled a Ryan!”
Look, Finn, if you want to have a sheep for a pet and name it Scarlett Johannson or whatever you want, and do to it whatever you want, two things:
1. No one on here wants to hear about it.
2. You can’t go around accusing Paul Ryan of also doing it without evidence.
Thanks in advance for your future discretion.
@@
August 30th, 2012
2:40 pm
I slept with Scarlet Johannson last night!
H-e-e-e-eyyyyyy!
Finn and Kamchak have something in common. Kamchak’s always claiming to have done something special.
schnirt
@@
August 30th, 2012
2:45 pm
I must be out of the entertainment loop. I’ll have to google Scarlet Johannson.
Kamchak - "Socialism" is just a code word for "fear," the monster under you bed ~ Kamchak
August 30th, 2012
2:51 pm
Sleeping with Scarlett Johannson isn’t special.
At least not to me, I just call that event typical Thursday.
@@
August 30th, 2012
2:56 pm
…typical Thursday.
Shouldn’t you be putting your money to better use, Kamchak?
Kamchak - "Socialism" is just a code word for "fear," the monster under you bed ~ Kamchak
August 30th, 2012
2:58 pm
Shouldn’t you be putting your money to better use, Kamchak?
Why?
She pays me.
Hillbilly D
August 30th, 2012
3:01 pm
@@
August 30th, 2012
3:02 pm
ew
A gigilo? Times MUST be tough for the both of you.
Let’s end this “little” exchange.
@@
August 30th, 2012
3:03 pm
Sorry, Hillbilly.
(ISH)
@@
August 30th, 2012
3:05 pm
Take note, Hillbilly. You’re one of the very few who will ever receive an apology from me but don’t go rolling yore eyes too often.
I have limits.
Verbal Kint
August 30th, 2012
3:06 pm
Bob – I’d advise you to expand your horizons on your choice of media outlets. The Fox News piece was an opinion from a democrat/liberal.
gm
August 30th, 2012
3:08 pm
The rep party once again looked like 1959, at the convention, wow this rep party really want to make minorites included , lets see why blacks are lining up Mitt and Paul have no minorites on their staff any where and one of the black rep reported no blacks were anywhere in the RNC.
Oh, I forgot you had disconnected blacks like Davis, and Rice, whats funny is Rice goes on about how she made it thru jim crowe but the people that voted against civil rights movment John Mcconnell and McCain and others are siting next to her.
Robert
August 30th, 2012
3:23 pm
The most notable thing about Ryan’s speech was how free he felt to stretch the truth and leave out obvious context. We’ve seen that tactic in 30-second TV ads from both sides, but for a party’s vice presidential nominee to do so on the biggest stage of the campaign was stark.
The web is filled today with analyses breaking down Ryan’s speech. We’ll save you some time and effort and just summarize a handful of the most misleading things we heard (and we’ll do the same when the Democrats come to Charlotte next week):
•The stretch: Ryan said Obama promised to keep a GM plant in Janesville, Wisconsin open, but that plant is now closed. The truth: GM decided to close the plant in December 2008, when George W. Bush was president. And Ryan opposed Obama’s GM bailout, which is now widely credited with saving the company and the industry.
•The stretch: Ryan said the Bowles-Simpson debt reduction commission sent Obama “an urgent report” that he then ignored. The truth: Obama certainly ignored Simpson-Bowles. But Ryan himself was on the commission and voted against the Simpson-Bowles plan. The lack of support by Ryan and others on the commission relieved Congress of having to act on it.
•The stretch: Ryan referred to “$716 billion, funneled out of Medicare by President Obama,” saying it came “at the expense of the elderly.” The truth: Obama’s cuts to Medicare do not reduce benefits to seniors. They reduce future reimbursement rates to hospitals and insurance plans. And they haven’t happened; they take place over 10 years. Ryan included the same cuts in his budget plan. In fact, Ryan’s Medicare plan reduces spending on the program more than Obama did.
•The stretch: Ryan blamed Obama for the S&P downgrade of America’s credit rating. The truth: The downgrade happened because Republicans in Congress took the nation to the brink over raising the debt ceiling. In its downgrade after that showdown, S&P blamed Republicans in Congress, like Ryan, who “continue to resist any measure that would raise revenues.”
Neil Newhouse, a pollster for the Romney campaign, this week said: “We’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers.” And Paul Ryan proves it.
I demand to see Cheesy Grits Birth Certificate- Long Form Please
August 30th, 2012
3:25 pm
So, Cheesy, if I also only selectively count by race when it suits me, say when I’m hiring people or approving them for loans, then–like you–I’m not a racist either, right?
No then you are. When you are just observing an obvious trend in Politics you are not
I demand to see Cheesy Grits Birth Certificate- Long Form Please
August 30th, 2012
3:26 pm
Please keep your religion off the blog.
No