Ol’ Joe may find the facts about such things as a nuclear armed Iran, the irresponsible leadership that left 4 Americans dead in Benghazi, and 24 million Americans out of work to be funny, but most Americans can’t seem to find the lighter side of those issues that allowed our Vice President to laugh, chuckle, and cackle his way through the first and only vice presidential debate that took place this past Thursday.
That point is driven home in a recent ad from the Republican National Committee. (See ad at the bottom of this post)
The commercial powerfully states “Vice President Biden is laughing…”,before stating “Are you?”
The ad is an ingenious use of the extraordinarily smarmy and disrespectful demeanor exhibited by the Vice President during the debate. And it goes a long way in driving home the point that his unstable attitude is not exactly what most American want to see in a Vice President.
The first and only vice presidential debate consisted of substantive questions that were occasionally met with equally substantive answers, at least in the case of a well prepared Paul Ryan. Unfortunately the content in the answers were overshadowed by the awkward, bizarre, and often discomforting laughing fits that Vice President Biden consistently launched in to for the first three quarters of the forum. (See video of the full debate here)
Each time Paul Ryan offered an answer to a question, ol’ Joe reacted with a disturbing, uncontrolled, obnoxious, laugh that often made him look like the crazy guy on the bus that mother’s shield their children from. At one point, Biden’s grimaces and forced cackles made him a perfect candidate for Jack Nicholson’s role in a remake of Stanley Kubric’s “The Shining”‘. All that was missing was a wild eyed Biden writing “Redrum” across the desk that he sat behind on the stage of debate.
In between Biden’s exaggerated and disrespectful, chortling and snickering, the two men did ignite fireworks as they hammered each other on such issues as Libya, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, taxes, and Medicare.
The sparks flew immediately after moderator Martha Raddatz asked the first question on the hot button issue of the terrorist attacks that killed four Americans in Benghazi, Libya on the anniversary of 9/11. Raddatz essentially asked if there was a failure of intelligence leading up to the attack. For his part Biden, never directly answered that question but he tried to claim that the Administration knew everything it needed to know and acted responsibly and appropriately to the circumstances leading up to the attack, and in the response to the attacks in the days following them.
Congressman Ryan took the opportunity to hammer the Obam-Biden ticket on the issue as he launched in to a familiar but well stated criticism of the way Benghazi was handled.
“It took the president two weeks to acknowledge that this was a terrorist attack,”
Ryan said;
“This Benghazi attack would be a tragedy in and of itself, but unfortunately it’s indicative of a larger problem,” adding that Obama’s policy toward the Middle East is“making the world more chaotic and us less safe.”
Ryan also charged;
“What we are watching on our tv screens is the unraveling of the Obama foreign policy,”
Laughing Joe responded “Not true,”and added;
“With all due respect, that’s a bunch of malarkey,”
The Vice President continued his attack on Ryan’s remarks by also falsely suggesting that proposed Republican cuts in embassy security of $300 million were the reason for the lack of security that made the attacks possible. Biden further lied by claiming that the Administration knew of no requests for additional security in Benghazi.
Paul Ryan came back by making it clear that we now know there were requests for additional security but the requests were denied by the Administration.
One of the best lines of the night came from Ryan who reminded voters of just how often Biden puts his foot in his mouth. After the Vice President tried to distort Mitt Romney’s past controversial remark at a fundraising about 47% of voters, Ryan fired back;
“With respect to that quote, I think the Vice President very well knows that sometimes the words don’t come out of your mouth the right way”
To which a still laughing Joe responded”
“But I always say what I mean”.
For his part, throughout the debate, Paul Ryan was articulate, knowledgable, convincing, respectful, confident, and firm. As for the Vice President, he was quick but disingenuous, as he performed in a way that was childish, disrespectful, arrogant, smarmy and at times goofy . While Biden often made remarks that contained a perfect working class pitch to his base, between his demeanor and attempts to interrupt Ryan a total of 82 times, any possibly strong statements made by the Vice President were overshadowed by his disrespectful, cocky and often flippant attitude. All of which was compounded by his disconcerting, wacky fits of laughter.
It was clear to me that after President Obama’s disasterous debate performance last week, several strategic decisions forced the Obama-Biden campaign to approach this debate in a way that was intended to make Ryan seem like he did not know what he was talking about and that his ticket was detached from reality. So they decided to have Biden go on the attack. Then they also decided to try to take advantage of Biden’s lengthy political career and advanced age as compared to the younger Ryan who was only four years old when Biden was first elected to the Senate. They had hoped that by laughing at Ryan, Biden would look like the experienced elder statesman who was facing off against the clueless, young punk. The strategy could have work were it not for two things. The first being that Ryan knew what he was talking about and lacked the type of arrogance that could have allowed him to fall into that trap. The second problem with the Biden strategy was that Biden’s laughing was taken to a level so exaggerated and flamboyant, that it came off as unnatural , dismissive, and inappropriate. In the end, the strategy backfired on Joe and his ticket.
In the final analysis this debate did not reveal anything new to us about the candidates or their positions. But it did go a long way in leaving voters with another negative impression of the Obama-Biden ticket and another positive impression of the Romney-Ryan ticket. And while Joe’s shots at Paul Ryan did whip up liberals who were already voting for Obama, he failed to make the case for why another four years of Obama-Biden will be any better the last four. As for Paul Ryan, his steady demeanor and performance combined with his command of the issues, went a long way in convincing the all important independent and undecided voters that the Obama-Biden ticket is failing us.
“Without a change in leadership, why would the next four years be any different from the last four years?”
That was just one of the many compelling arguments put forward by Congressman Paul Ryan as he delivered his vice presidential nomination acceptance speech speech. His rousing words presented voters with a clear choice between two diametrically opposed paths and visions for America. (See full text and complete video of the speech at the bottom of this post)
Ryan’s speech was a superb summation of the facts that was laid out in sharp but harmonious terms, and laced with good natured humor and dripping with a sense of sincerity and conviction that few contemporary politicians have the ability to convey when discussing politics. His speech not only drove home a convincing and inspirational case for the Romney-Ryan vision for America, it also established an election agenda for voters that put Democrats on a losing playing field.
Paul Ryan began by proudly grabbing my generations mantle of leadership. He became the first individual to define the purpose and mission of my generation, a generation that must prepare to care for the baby boomers and greatest generation before them and at the same time be sure to leave the generation to follow us with a nation that is as good or better than the America that the generations before handed over to us. Its a cause which has needed attention but which our current President and his policies of bankruptcy have failed to properly consider. Last night, Paul Ryan not only prepared his generation for that mission, he became its leader.
“I accept the duty to help lead our nation out of a jobs crisis and back to prosperity – and I know we can do this. I accept the calling of my generation to give our children the America that was given to us, with opportunity for the young and security for the old – and I know that we are ready.” said Ryan.
Ryan’s message was strategically brilliant. In addition to his smooth and genuine delivery, his eloquent and forceful words formed a case for Republicans and against Democrats that was a harmonious mix of the factual failures of the Obama agenda and the fundamental truths of the Republican vision for our nation. It left listeners with a compelling case for Republicans while simultaneously offering a scathing yet undeniably honest indictment of the President’s policies. And Paul Ryan did so in a way that lacked the malice and anger that often turns off an American electorate sick of the bitter and harsh rhetoric of today’s politic al discourse. In his speech Paul Ryan not only laid out a mission and responsibility for an entire American generation and a principled path for all Americans to travel down together as one nation, he also inoculated Republicans from the desperate and pathetic liberal class warfare strategy they are interjecting into this election. After spending hundreds of millions of dollars trying to define Mitt Romney as inherently evil because of his self-made successes in life, Ryan reminded of us the American dream and how up till now, that dream never resented success. Ryan turned the the tables on Democrats by subtle demonstrating how contrary the Obama Administration’s campaign against success is to American life and how success is a good thing that needs to be appreciated and held up as an example, not resented and looked down upon as a form of greed. According to Ryan;
Mitt has not only succeeded, but succeeded where others could not. He turned around the Olympics at a time when a great institution was collapsing under the weight of bad management, overspending, and corruption – sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
One of the most powerful sections of Ryan’s speech came when he offered voters an assessment of the Obama Administration that encapsulated the contradictions between the ideological approach to government of President Obama, and the inherently American principles that have guided our nation to greatness. It was a section of his speech that also captured the essence of liberal elitism which tends to believe that government knows better than the people. It also hammered home the point that this election is a referendum on the reality that President Obama has created and that Election Day is day of reckoning which should hold President Obama and his Parry accountable for their record. As Ryan put it;
“None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us.
Listen to the way we’re spoken to already, as if everyone is stuck in some class or station in life, victims of circumstances beyond our control, with government there to help us cope with our fate.
It’s the exact opposite of everything I learned growing up in Wisconsin, or at college in Ohio. When I was waiting tables, washing dishes, or mowing lawns for money, I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life. I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself. That’s what we do in this country. That’s the American Dream. That’s freedom, and I’ll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners.
By themselves, the failures of one administration are not a mandate for a new administration. A challenger must stand on his own merits. He must be ready and worthy to serve in the office of president.
In the final analysis, last night, Paul Ryan introduced himself to the nation in a way that gave voters confidence in his knowledge of the issues, understanding of our problems, and his ability to lead along side of Mitt Romney. Strategically his speech also served as a direct appeal to the independent voters who will determine who wins this election. Ryan’s remarks failed to paint the picture of the woman hating, radical leader of conservative extremism that the left is trying to portray him as.
Full Text of Paul Ryan’s Speech
Congressman Paul Ryan
Republican National Convention
August 29, 2012
Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens: I am honored by the support of this convention for vice president of the United States.
I accept the duty to help lead our nation out of a jobs crisis and back to prosperity – and I know we can do this.
I accept the calling of my generation to give our children the America that was given to us, with opportunity for the young and security for the old – and I know that we are ready.
Our nominee is sure ready. His whole life has prepared him for this moment – to meet serious challenges in a serious way, without excuses and idle words. After four years of getting the run-around, America needs a turnaround, and the man for the job is Governor Mitt Romney.
I’m the newcomer to the campaign, so let me share a first impression. I have never seen opponents so silent about their record, and so desperate to keep their power.
They’ve run out of ideas. Their moment came and went. Fear and division are all they’ve got left.
With all their attack ads, the president is just throwing away money – and he’s pretty experienced at that. You see, some people can’t be dragged down by the usual cheap tactics, because their ability, character, and plain decency are so obvious – and ladies and gentlemen, that is Mitt Romney.
For my part, your nomination is an unexpected turn. It certainly came as news to my family, and I’d like you to meet them: My wife Janna, our daughter Liza, and our boys Charlie and Sam.
The kids are happy to see their grandma, who lives in Florida. There she is – my Mom, Betty.
My Dad, a small-town lawyer, was also named Paul. Until we lost him when I was 16, he was a gentle presence in my life. I like to think he’d be proud of me and my sister and brothers, because I’m sure proud of him and of where I come from, Janesville, Wisconsin.
I live on the same block where I grew up. We belong to the same parish where I was baptized. Janesville is that kind of place.
The people of Wisconsin have been good to me. I’ve tried to live up to their trust. And now I ask those hardworking men and women, and millions like them across America, to join our cause and get this country working again.
When Governor Romney asked me to join the ticket, I said, “Let’s get this done” – and that is exactly, what we’re going to do.
President Barack Obama came to office during an economic crisis, as he has reminded us a time or two. Those were very tough days, and any fair measure of his record has to take that into account. My home 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 GM 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 hundred 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. And that’s how it is in so many towns today, where the recovery that was promised is nowhere in sight.
Right now, 23 million men and women are struggling to find work. Twenty-three million people, unemployed or underemployed. Nearly one in six Americans is living in poverty. Millions of young Americans have graduated from college during the Obama presidency, ready to use their gifts and get moving in life. Half of them can’t find the work they studied for, or any work at all.
So here’s the question: Without a change in leadership, why would the next four years be any different from the last four years?
The first troubling sign came with the stimulus. It was President Obama’s first and best shot at fixing the economy, at a time when he got everything he wanted under one-party rule. It cost $831 billion – the largest one-time expenditure ever by our federal government.
It went to companies like Solyndra, with their gold-plated connections, subsidized jobs, and make-believe markets. The stimulus was a case of political patronage, corporate welfare, and cronyism at their worst. You, the working men and women of this country, were cut out of the deal.
What did the taxpayers get out of the Obama stimulus? More debt. That money wasn’t just spent and wasted – it was borrowed, spent, and wasted.
Maybe the greatest waste of all was time. Here we were, faced with a massive job crisis – so deep that if everyone out of work stood in single file, that unemployment line would stretch the length of the entire American continent. You would think that any president, whatever his party, would make job creation, and nothing else, his first order of economic business.
But this president didn’t do that. Instead, we got a long, divisive, all-or-nothing attempt to put the federal government in charge of health care.
Obamacare comes to more than two thousand pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees, and fines that have no place in a free country.
The president has declared that the debate over government-controlled health care is over. That will come as news to the millions of Americans who will elect Mitt Romney so we can repeal Obamacare.
And the biggest, coldest power play of all in Obamacare came at the expense of the elderly.
You see, even with all the hidden taxes to pay for the health care takeover, even with new taxes on nearly a million small businesses, the planners in Washington still didn’t have enough money. They needed more. They needed hundreds of billions more. So, they just took it all away from Medicare. Seven hundred and sixteen billion dollars, funneled out of Medicare by President Obama. An obligation we have to our parents and grandparents is being sacrificed, all to pay for a new entitlement we didn’t even ask for. The greatest threat to Medicare is Obamacare, and we’re going to stop it.
In Congress, when they take out the heavy books and wall charts about Medicare, my thoughts go back to a house on Garfield Street in Janesville. My wonderful grandma, Janet, had Alzheimer’s and moved in with Mom and me. Though she felt lost at times, we did all the little things that made her feel loved.
We had help from Medicare, and it was there, just like it’s there for my Mom today. Medicare is a promise, and we will honor it. A Romney-Ryan administration will protect and strengthen Medicare, for my Mom’s generation, for my generation, and for my kids and yours.
So our opponents can consider themselves on notice. In this election, on this issue, the usual posturing on the Left isn’t going to work. Mitt Romney and I know the difference between protecting a program, and raiding it. Ladies and gentlemen, our nation needs this debate. We want this debate. We will win this debate.
Obamacare, as much as anything else, explains why a presidency that began with such anticipation now comes to such a disappointing close.
It began with a financial crisis; it ends with a job crisis.
It began with a housing crisis they alone didn’t cause; it ends with a housing crisis they didn’t correct.
It began with a perfect Triple-A credit rating for the United States; it ends with a downgraded America.
It all started off with stirring speeches, Greek columns, the thrill of something new. Now all that’s left is a presidency adrift, surviving on slogans that already seem tired, grasping at a moment that has already passed, like a ship trying to sail on yesterday’s wind.
President Obama was asked not long ago to reflect on any mistakes he might have made. He said, well, “I haven’t communicated enough.” He said his job is to “tell a story to the American people” – as if that’s the whole problem here? He needs to talk more, and we need to be better listeners?
Ladies and gentlemen, these past four years we have suffered no shortage of words in the White House. What’s missing is leadership in the White House. And the story that Barack Obama does tell, forever shifting blame to the last administration, is getting old. The man assumed office almost four years ago – isn’t it about time he assumed responsibility?
In this generation, a defining responsibility of government is to steer our nation clear of a debt crisis while there is still time. Back in 2008, candidate Obama called a $10 trillion national debt “unpatriotic” – serious talk from what looked to be a serious reformer.
Yet by his own decisions, President Obama has added more debt than any other president before him, and more than all the troubled governments of Europe combined. One president, one term, $5 trillion in new debt.
He created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing.
Republicans stepped up with good-faith reforms and solutions equal to the problems. How did the president respond? By doing nothing – nothing except to dodge and demagogue the issue.
So here we are, $16 trillion in debt and still he does nothing. In Europe, massive debts have put entire governments at risk of collapse, and still he does nothing. And all we have heard from this president and his team are attacks on anyone who dares to point out the obvious.
They have no answer to this simple reality: We need to stop spending money we don’t have.
My Dad used to say to me: “Son. You have a choice: You can be part of the problem, or you can be part of the solution.” The present administration has made its choices. And Mitt Romney and I have made ours: Before the math and the momentum overwhelm us all, we are going to solve this nation’s economic problems.
And I’m going to level with you: We don’t have that much time. But if we are serious, and smart, and we lead, we can do this.
After four years of government trying to divide up the wealth, we will get America creating wealth again. With tax fairness and regulatory reform, we’ll put government back on the side of the men and women who create jobs, and the men and women who need jobs.
My Mom started a small business, and I’ve seen what it takes. Mom was 50 when my Dad died. She got on a bus every weekday for years, and rode 40 miles each morning to Madison. She earned a new degree and learned new skills to start her small business. It wasn’t just a new livelihood. It was a new life. And it transformed my Mom from a widow in grief to a small businesswoman whose happiness wasn’t just in the past. Her work gave her hope. It made our family proud. And to this day, my Mom is my role model.
Behind every small business, there’s a story worth knowing. All the corner shops in our towns and cities, the restaurants, cleaners, gyms, hair salons, hardware stores – these didn’t come out of nowhere. A lot of heart goes into each one. And if small businesspeople say they made it on their own, all they are saying is that nobody else worked seven days a week in their place. Nobody showed up in their place to open the door at five in the morning. Nobody did their thinking, and worrying, and sweating for them. After all that work, and in a bad economy, it sure doesn’t help to hear from their president that government gets the credit. What they deserve to hear is the truth: Yes, you did build that.
We have a plan for a stronger middle class, with the goal of generating 12 million new jobs over the next four years.
In a clean break from the Obama years, and frankly from the years before this president, we will keep federal spending at 20 percent of GDP, or less. That is enough. The choice is whether to put hard limits on economic growth, or hard limits on the size of government, and we choose to limit government.
I learned a good deal about economics, and about America, from the author of the Reagan tax reforms – the great Jack Kemp. What gave Jack that incredible enthusiasm was his belief in the possibilities of free people, in the power of free enterprise and strong communities to overcome poverty and despair. We need that same optimism right now.
And in our dealings with other nations, a Romney-Ryan administration will speak with confidence and clarity. Wherever men and women rise up for their own freedom, they will know that the American president is on their side. Instead of managing American decline, leaving allies to doubt us and adversaries to test us, we will act in the conviction that the United States is still the greatest force for peace and liberty that this world has ever known.
President Obama is the kind of politician who puts promises on the record, and then calls that the record. But we are four years into this presidency. The issue is not the economy as Barack Obama inherited it, not the economy as he envisions it, but this economy as we are living it.
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. Everyone who feels stuck in the Obama economy is right to focus on the here and now. And I hope you understand this too, if you’re feeling left out or passed by: You have not failed, your leaders have failed you.
None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us.
Listen to the way we’re spoken to already, as if everyone is stuck in some class or station in life, victims of circumstances beyond our control, with government there to help us cope with our fate.
It’s the exact opposite of everything I learned growing up in Wisconsin, or at college in Ohio. When I was waiting tables, washing dishes, or mowing lawns for money, I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life. I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself. That’s what we do in this country. That’s the American Dream. That’s freedom, and I’ll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners.
By themselves, the failures of one administration are not a mandate for a new administration. A challenger must stand on his own merits. He must be ready and worthy to serve in the office of president.
We’re a full generation apart, Governor Romney and I. And, in some ways, we’re a little different. There are the songs on his iPod, which I’ve heard on the campaign bus and on many hotel elevators. He actually urged me to play some of these songs at campaign rallies. I said, I hope it’s not a deal-breaker Mitt, but my playlist starts with AC/DC, and ends with Zeppelin.
A generation apart. That makes us different, but not in any of the things that matter. Mitt Romney and I both grew up in the heartland, and we know what places like Wisconsin and Michigan look like when times are good, when people are working, when families are doing more than just getting by. And we both know it can be that way again.
We’ve had very different careers – mine mainly in public service, his mostly in the private sector. He helped start businesses and turn around failing ones. By the way, being successful in business – that’s a good thing.
Mitt has not only succeeded, but succeeded where others could not. He turned around the Olympics at a time when a great institution was collapsing under the weight of bad management, overspending, and corruption – sounds familiar, doesn’t it?He was the Republican governor of a state where almost nine in ten legislators are Democrats, and yet he balanced the budget without raising taxes. Unemployment went down, household incomes went up, and Massachusetts, under Mitt Romney, saw its credit rating upgraded.Mitt and I also go to different churches. But in any church, the best kind of preaching is done by example. And I’ve been watching that example. The man who will accept your nomination tomorrow is prayerful and faithful and honorable. Not only a defender of marriage, he offers an example of marriage at its best. Not only a fine businessman, he’s a fine man, worthy of leading this optimistic and good-hearted country.Our different faiths come together in the same moral creed. We believe that in every life there is goodness; for every person, there is hope. Each one of us was made for a reason, bearing the image and likeness of the Lord of Life.We have responsibilities, one to another – we do not each face the world alone. And the greatest of all responsibilities, is that of the strong to protect the weak. The truest measure of any society is how it treats those who cannot defend or care for themselves.Each of these great moral ideas is essential to democratic government – to the rule of law, to life in a humane and decent society. They are the moral creed of our country, as powerful in our time, as on the day of America’s founding. They are self-evident and unchanging, and sometimes, even presidents need reminding, that our rights come from nature and God, not from government.
The founding generation secured those rights for us, and in every generation since, the best among us have defended our freedoms. They are protecting us right now. We honor them and all our veterans, and we thank them.
The right that makes all the difference now, is the right to choose our own leaders. And you are entitled to the clearest possible choice, because the time for choosing is drawing near. So here is our pledge.
We will not duck the tough issues, we will lead.
We will not spend four years blaming others, we will take responsibility.
We will not try to replace our founding principles, we will reapply our founding principles.
The work ahead will be hard. These times demand the best of us – all of us, but we can do this. Together, we can do this.
We can get this country working again. We can get this economy growing again. We can make the safety net safe again. We can do this.
Whatever your political party, let’s come together for the sake of our country. Join Mitt Romney and me. Let’s give this effort everything we have. Let’s see this through all the way. Let’s get this done.
After a successful first night, the 2012 Republican National Convention gears up for a second try at winning over the hearts and minds of those voters who have not yet decided who to vote for in November. (See the schedule of speakers below this post)
While the last night’s focus was placed mainly on the speeches given by Mitt Romney’s wife Ann and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie who closed the evening with his rousing keynote address, Wednesday night will be largely consumed by Congressman Paul Ryan’s acceptance of the Republican vice presidential nomination. But look for some exceptional performances in the lead up to Ryan’s acceptance speech from people such as Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and most of all, former National Security Advisor and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. On Tuesday, several speakers gave presentations that helped to establish them as rising national stars. One such speaker was Mia Love, a young Utah congressional candidate who is currently the Mayor of Colorado Springs, Utah. Another memorable speech was given by diehard conservative, Texas U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz, a popular T.E.A. movement figure. On Wednesday, expect Florida’s Pam Bondi, who has already established a solid reputation for herself, to catapult her rising star much further nationally. And while I fully expect Condoleezza Rice to deliver a speech that will have some pondering how good a vice presidential nominee she could have been, I suspect that New Mexico’s Governor Susana Martinez will deliver a speech that will make her political stock rise sharply.
Other notable prime time speakers on the docket who could surprise us with powerful performances include South Dakota Senator John Thune and former Minnesota Governor and candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, Tim Pawlenty. The remarkable Marco Rubio will also appearing tonight but his main speech will be offered on Thursday night, prior to Mitt Romney’s acceptance speech.
But regardless of who may soak up the limelight earlier in the night, it will be Paul Ryan who quickly reclaim s the headlines for himself and the Republican presidential ticket that he will lead with Mitt Romney. As the most important speech of his political career, Paul Ryan will not disappoint. He will sum up the importance of this election in a way that will make it impossible for voters to avoid the legislative larceny of the current spend-more-than-we-have tax and spend liberal policies that are bankrupting our nation’s treasury and our personal prosperity. paul Ryan will explain the fiscal free fall we are experiencing in a way that will allow Americans to understand the urgent need for an immediate change of command in America and he will do so in a way that will make significant inroads with the all important independent voters who will ultimately determine who the next President will be.
To view tonight’s program, tune in to White House 2012’s livestream of the convention here.
Wednesday Night Convention Schedule
7:30 p.m.: Convention convenes
Call to order
Introduction of Colors
Pledge of Allegiance
National Anthem
Invocation
Remarks by Senate Republican Leader and Convention Temporary Chairman Mitch McConnell (KY)
Performance by Beau Davidson
Segment to be announced
Remarks by Senator John McCain (AZ)
Video
Remarks by Attorney General Pam Bondi (FL) and Attorney General Sam Olens (GA)
Remarks by Senator John Thune (SD)
Remarks by Governor Jeb Bush (FL)
Remarks by Senator Rob Portman (OH)
Remarks by Steve Cohen, Screen Machine
Remarks by Governor Luis Fortuño (PR)
Remarks by Governor Tim Pawlenty (MN)
Remarks by Condoleezza Rice
Video
Remarks by vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan
Mitt Romney is going to have a hard time selling his tax plan. Not because it’s a bad plan, it is actually a very good plan which I have enthusiastically endorsed. But it does call for tax cuts and guts special interest group power. It also makes the tax code simpler. I think Reagan would approve of Mitt Romney’s tax plan. Then, Romney came out with his energy plan. I think it is getting harder to deny that Mitt Romney is actually a bold conservative.
Let me contrast Obama and Romney on energy with two pictures. These two pictures show practical economic common sense versus pure ideology. They show why every person concerned about our economic future should vote for Mitt Romney and not Barack Obama.
Mitt Romney’s energy plan is a real all of the above approach. He lets states control the energy resources on federal land within their borders, effectively giving states the choice whether they want jobs, energy independence for their state, and vast economic growth, or they can continue with the failed Obama subsidized green energy idea.
The key to this graphic is the figure in the upper left hand corner. 3.6 million jobs. Of course, that is solely based on the energy sector and doesn’t take into account economic multipliers and the effects of using energy to drop unemployment below 8%, the increased tax revenue involved, or the additional spending power of families who no longer have to pay close to $4 a gallon for gas so that Saudi princes and Libyan terrorists (who Obama tried to befriend) can get rich off of our commutes.
Romney also doesn’t forsake green energy, but includes it as part of his all of the above approach. He also includes increased nuclear energy, which is clean and efficient.
Contrast this with Obama’s rebuttal.
Obama doesn’t like Romney’s energy plan because it would cost 37,000 jobs in the US Wind industry. Can you see what the big problem is here with Obama’s ideology? Romney’s plan would provide 3.6 million jobs. Obama complains that in the process 37,000 wind energy jobs would be lost. Do the math, should we abandon the Romney energy plan to save those 37,000 wind jobs?
Two more key problems with this graphic:
1. Was Obama concerned with saving energy jobs when he cancelled the Keystone Pipeline? The US Chamber of Commerce estimates that Obama’s decision to cancel the Keystone Pipeline cost 250,000 jobs.
2. Notice the verbiage. Obama-Biden supports 75,000 jobs. In other words, Obama’s green energy plan is based on government subsidization of the industry. Instead of the Romney plan that would create 3.6 million private sector jobs supported by private enterprise, Obama wants us to support his government program where taxpayer foot the bill and get 75,000 jobs. That’s a pretty weak rebuttal, Mr. President.
In the meantime, we have already gone through four years of Obama’s energy plan and we know it doesn’t work. We have actual, historical evidence that it doesn’t work. Forget Solyndra for a moment, what about the jobs Obama has created through his green energy initiatives? The Gateway Pundit estimates a pricetag of $4.8 million per permanent job. That isn’t how much each employee makes, that is what the government has spent per new employee. That is unsustainable.
Wouldn’t you prefer a plan where private companies invest the money to hire people to produce energy that actually works and has practical significance for the American consumer? The Obama plan is to take tax dollars to produce energy we don’t use on a large scale so that we are stuck buying our gas from people in the Middle East who don’t particularly like us. I’d much rather buy American. For Obama, the environmental lobby make that an impossibility.
Mitt Romney has proven that he is not just the anti-Obama. He is not just a status quo politician who will keep from making things worse. The Romney-Ryan tax plan and energy plan are not tired RINO talking points. They are bold change.
About a year ago the G.O.P. seemed to be in an endless and desperate search for a presidential nominee that had many wondering if Republicans would ever be able to find someone they could enthusiastically get behind. The political world was still a buzz over Michele Bachmann’s victory in the Ames Straw Poll which resulted in Tim Pawlenty ending his candidacy and withdrawing from the race. We were also talking about the potential of Texas Governor Rick Perry who announced his candidthe presidential the day before Pawlenty dropped out of it.
Yet many Republicans were still holding out for someone else to surprise us with their candidacy and win us over. The media’s talking points were that Bachmann was too nuts, Santorum and Cain were too dangerous, Romney would not be able to overcome his creation of Romneycare, Newt Gingrich was too extreme and undisciplined, Perry was to closely associated to George W. Bush, and the others were just not known or liked enough to be in serious contention. So many Republicans were looking for a White Knight. We had urged people like John Thune and Mike Pence to run but Thune decided to forego the race and Pence decided to run for Governor of Indiana. Some were urging names like Sarah Palin, Mitch Daniels, Haley Barbour, and Chris Christie to come forward and save the day. Others, including myself, were urging House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan to run.
“I sincerely appreciate the support from those eager to chart a brighter future for the next generation. While humbled by the encouragement, I have not changed my mind, and therefore I am not seeking our party’s nomination for President. I remain hopeful that our party will nominate a candidate committed to a pro-growth agenda of reform that restores the promise and prosperity of our exceptional nation. I remain grateful to those I serve in Southern Wisconsin for the unique opportunity to advance this effort in Congress.”
Just days before this announcement, word was out that Ryan had been giving a run for President some serious consideration and many fiscal conservatives were buoyed by the prospects. In one post entitled ” Heavy Hitters Urge Paul Ryan to Run for President“, White House 2012 detailed the high praise being offered for Paul Ryan’s potential candidacy from such political luminaries as Mitch Daniels, Jeb Bush, Bill Bennett and Scott Walker. And in that same post I wrote;
“If Paul Ryan were to be our Republican presidential nominee, he will begin a national dialogue that will consist of tough truths and sellable solutions, not bumper sticker slogans and hapless hyperbole. If Paul Ryan runs, the question will not be is he ready to do the job, the question will be is America ready for Paul Ryan. We already know that the guy who currently has the job was not ready for it. But I know Paul Ryan is.”
On this day a year ago, Paul Ryan released an announcement that put an end to all the speculation. He would not be a candidate for President. But a year later even though Ryan is not not running for President, his vice presidential candidacy is doing exactly what I indicated his presidential candidacy would do. He has changed the narrative of this election by getting us away from the dialogue of distractions perpetuated by the left and President Obama, and thanks to his expertise, and credibility on matters of fiscal responsibility, Paul Ryan has gotten us to talk instead about those sellable solutions on the economy that he is now promoting on the campaign trail quite well.
In just one year the road to the White House has seen more twists and turns than England’s famous Longleat Hedge Maze. Names like Huntsman, Gingrich, and Bachman have become faded footnotes of a nomination contest that few remember with great detail. Few recall the promise of the Perry candidacy that petered out within a moment of his momentary memory lapse. Faded memories of the derailment of the Cain train over unproven sexual harassment charges have left most Americans asking “Herman who?” And the past’s surpise surge of Santorum which was rolled back by the consolidation of support for the slow but steady momentum of the Romney campaign has people now wondering if the nomination contest was ever really close. Now, one year ago to the day that Paul Ryan declared he would not be a candidate for President, Mitt Romney has taken that momentum he had in the primaries and increased its pace by getting Paul Ryan to run for Vice President.
See Ryan’s Complete Speech at The Villages in the Video Below This Post.
With no limits to the depths that Democrats will go in an attempt to maintain control of the behemoth federal bureaucracy that they seek to transform our nation with, the left has made the use of scare tactics a signature part of their election efforts. Liberals have targeted the elderly since the 1980’s when they tried to campaign against Ronald Reagan and Republicans by trying to convince older voters that Reagan and the G.O.P. were going to destroy Social Security . According to liberal’s the policies of Reagan and his fellow evil Republicans were going to force granny into such economic dire straits that she she would be placed on a steady diet of cat food. The same attacks were used against George H.W. Bush in 1988 and ’92, Bob Dole in ’96, George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004 , and now Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan in 2012.
On many occasions Democrats experienced varying degrees of success with that strategy. In 1982 and agin in 1986, they did exceptionally well among seniors by exploiting the fear of our oldest and most vulnerable goldenagers. But that success was in part due to the G.O.P.’s poor political responses to those scare tactics. But in 2012, that doesn’t seem to be the case. Some thirty years after liberals began warning us that Republicans were going to kill our grandparents, people of my age have seen Grandma and Grandpa survive the Reagan years and the Administration’s of both Bush presidencies and not once was Fluffy forced to share her can of 9 Lives with them. That real life experience alone has taken a bit of the edge off the sword of lies leveled by liberals regarding senior citizens but in 2012, what really hurts the left is the addition of Paul Ryan to the Republican presidential ticket. With Ryan onboard and upfront, the G.O.P. and Mitt Romney have a silver bullet that is aimed right at the heart of this now old and tired liberal line of attack.
Ryan’s mastery of economics and matters of budget combined with his Kemp-like passion for conservative economic theory and principles makes him the preeminent voice for fiscal responsibility in the nation. When discussing his economic beliefs, Paul Ryan demonstrates an innate enthusiasm for his ideas that conveys a wonderful sense of vitality for our nation’s future. And no one can explain those ideas as well as Paul Ryan can.
Whereas Jack Kemp, the conservative giant who actually sold Reaganomics to Ronald Reagan, often spoke about conservative economic policies in technical terms that seemed to make his audience’s eyes glaze over, Paul Ryan’s approach to explaining economic growth and fiscal responsibility tends to generate the same type of enthusiasm for those ideas that he conveys when discussing them. This makes it hard for the left to discount Paul Ryan’s strengths on the issue but making it even harder for them this is Paul Ryan’s personality and image.
For Democrats the problem with trying to make senior citizens fear Paul Ryan and the ideas of the Romney-Ryan Team is that when senior citizens look at and listen to Paul Ryan, they have a hard time visualizing Paul Ryan as the demonic figure whose hands are pushing Grandma off the cliff in her wheelchair. When seniors see and hear Paul Ryan they don’t quite see him as the kid kicking their walker out from under them before running away and laughing. Instead what they see is a smart, respectful, thoughtful, well spoken, humble, handsome, young man with a beautiful young family, and some pretty good ideas. What they see in Paul Ryan is their own grandson, or at least what they wished their grandsons was more like.
That unavoidable impression makes it impossible for Democrats to find any success in the application of their now traditional senior citizen scare tactics. In fact, this time around, their fear mongering will likely backfire.
Today’s senior citizens are not the same ones that Democrats tried to make fearful of Ronald Reagan. The senior citizens who were voting during the Reagan and George H.W. Bush years, were of a generation that once voted in big numbers for Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a political hero of their generation. But the senior citizens voting in 2012 are of a different generation. An increasingly large number of today’s seniors are the same people who voted in big numbers for Ronald Reagan, the political hero of their generation. That also dilutes the left’s attempt to scare today’s senior citizens.
And it is part of the reason why the Romney/Ryan team’s bold decision to make many of the budget problems that lie at the heart of our national economic crisis, a main focus of the presidential campaign is being well received. The Republican ticket’s willingness to address the entitlement programs which under their current structures require more to be paid out than the government takes in, strikes at the heart of the issue that should be in the forefront of this campaign….fiscal responsibility. And instead of resorting to fear tactics and the pursuit of a political strategy of distractions and shallow political platitudes, Romney and Ryan have decided to elevate the campaign and its dialogue to that of a substantive, adult conversion that forces Americans to confronts our problems. In doing so, this past Saturday, the Republican presidential ticket sent Paul Ryan to discuss the issue of Medicare at The Villages in Florida.
The Villages is an age-restricted, master-planned, retirement community that sprawls across the counties of Sumter , Lake, and Marion in the battleground state of Florida. The Villages is a retirement community for people 55 years of age or older and according to the 2010 census figures, it boasts a population of 51,442 residents. Given the demographics of that community, sending the liberal’s poster boy for senior genocide to The Villages to discuss aggressive reforms on Medicare might seem to be more like throwing Daniel in to the lion’s den than a campaign stop, but as seen in the video below, Paul Ryan proved that today’s senior citizens are driven more by a desire for changes that lead to real solutions than they are by some fictitious fear of the solutions that Democrats are hoping for.
In what can only be described as a well received explanation for both the need of Medicare reform and the reforms proposed by the Romney/Ryan ticket, Paul Ryan went to The Villages and offered an inspirational call to arms that demonstrated his generation’s need to preserve Medicare for the generations that precede it and follow it . His speech also ushered in the end of an era, the end of the era of successful fear mongering of senior citizens by Democrats. Paul Ryan’s ability to have American’s rationally discuss the issue of entitlements reforms actually takes that particular liberal scare tactic away from Democrats and finally forces them to be held accountability for their unwillingness to deal with such issues effectively. As a result, where liberals once may have been successful at scaring old people, with the seniors of today when people like Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden and even President Obama, jump out of the bushes to scream “boo”, all they will succeed at doing is making themselves look foolish.
Let me start by saying this: were I the supreme commander of the United States with absolute control, the Romney tax plan would not be the final product. I have been and will always be a fan of a pure, simple flat tax where anyone can file with anyone else and the government cannot punish or reward you for how you choose to live your life.
Preface #2: I am a licensed tax professional with experience in preparing thousands of personal, corporate, state and some types of international tax returns, so I do have a little bit of street cred on this issue.
The Romney tax plan is something Paul Ryan can proudly run on
All that being said, I love Mitt Romney’s tax plan. First, it is not wimpy. It is not RINO, status quo policy. The Romney tax plan will be easy to run against for someone like Obama, who is willfully choosing to run as dishonest a campaign as he possibly can. It has necessary trade offs and it destroys the leverage of special interest groups. It makes it so that billionaires can no longer zero out their tax returns. It will be a small tax hike for people like Mitt Romney, who can sit back and collect carrying interest and dividends and live comfortably on that income. It will be a tax break for the middle class.
The best thing about the Romney tax plan is that it ends the power of special interest groups that is built into the tax code. Currently, people and corporations are punished and rewarded by the tax system for certain behaviors. For example: if you go to school, you are rewarded. If you rent your home, you are punished. If you put all your money in interest-free muni bonds, you are rewarded. If you sell your capital assets with less than a year holding period, you are punished. While there is still uncertainty as to which credits, deductions and loopholes Romney would eliminate, the key is that he will be eliminating many and trading them for a 20% tax cut across the board.
That brings me to the second best thing about his plan: it means a simpler tax return. Just when you thought it was impossible enough to do your own taxes, with Obama’s plan, now you will have to record your health insurance on your tax return, and if you make a certain amount you will have 3.8% in extra taxes on investment income and .9% extra on wages. Have fun with those IRS schedules, and don’t screw it up or they’ll catch you two years from now plus interest and penalties.
The Romney plan will eliminate pages of schedules and forms from your tax return and trade them for a simple across the board rate reduction.
If Democrats knew enough about the tax code to understand what this plan does, they would support it too. Instead of lobbing an extra 4.7% tax increase at taxpayers (including small business owners) who make $200,000, plus an additional 3-4.6% if Obama has his way with the Bush tax cuts, the Romney plan eliminates the tricks that the mega rich use to cut their tax rates below 15%. It is a targeted change to the tax system, not a hatchet rate increase that harms employers.
If Romney is raising taxes on the super-rich who shelter their income, won’t that hurt growth? No, and especially not compared to Obama’s plan. Obama’s plan is to increase the dividend rate to the income tax rate. That’s a tax hike of up to 19.6 percentage points. Obama plans to hike capital gains taxes by 5 percentage points. Romney would leave those taxes as is for the wealthy and eliminate them for people who make less than $200,000. In other words, if you are middle class you will be able to invest money without paying 15% off the top to the government. That will change the risk reward ratios for millions of middle class investors and shift capital ownership while encouraging saving among the middle class and not discouraging investment among the rich.
Then there are the tax cuts for businesses to make the US more competitive with other countries. Also, by switching to a territorial tax system, Romney let’s multinational companies invest in American growth without being penalized and removes the incentive to keep investments off-shore. This will allow companies to bring overseas profits back to the United States to build headquarters, offices, and manufacturing plants here instead of keeping it in other countries to avoid a US tax hit. Then the income from this new American growth will contribute to American tax revenues going forward. With the current system, we tax multinational companies if they want to invest dollars in the US, even if they have already paid foreign taxes on those dollars.
Romney will have some difficulty with certain groups. For example, if he takes away the $250 deduction for teachers buying teaching supplies in exchange for a 20% tax cut, you can bet there will be ads run with poor children holding out their empty backpacks and a subtext about how they used to have school books but Romney took them away. If Romney touches the mortgage interest deduction in exchange for a 20% tax break, you can bet the National Association of Realtors will be running ads with homeless people talking about how Romney took their opportunity at home ownership away. Those special interest groups will hang on tough. Democrat city mayors who would normally decry the rich for sheltering their income will suddenly discover that tax free interest on municipal bonds is the only thing keeping society from turning into some sort of post-apocalyptic jungle. Never mind that middle class families will pay less in taxes under the Romney plan; threaten to take away their mortgage interest deduction and most do not know enough to be OK with that.
Then there is the valid argument that the rich already pay their fair share of taxes. But the Romney tax plan doesn’t target the rich who invest their money in American businesses like Obama’s plan does; it targets the rich who get high life insurance payouts tax-free, who shelter their money in tax-free municipal bond interest, who invest in oil and gas wells to shelter income through high amortization expenses, and so on. Won’t that hurt investment in oil and gas, you may ask? Not with Romney as President instead of Obama, because he will open up the avenues for exploration to the point where major companies can hire and get involved. Then average citizens like you and I will have more opportunity to invest in companies that buy and develop oil fields. And on top of that, we won’t have to pay taxes on our dividends and capital gains from those investments.
I’ll be honest: I liked the Bush tax cuts, but I didn’t love them. They made some things more complex and left much of the rest of it at the same complexity. Meanwhile, they cut taxes across the board. I applauded their passage and re-passage under Obama, but they didn’t fundamentally change our tax code from the garbled, complicated special interest buffet that it is right now. I hated Herman Cain’s plan; it would have been a more complicated mess than what we have now, and would have been a huge tax hike on the poor and middle class. I’ve written extensively about it here at Whitehouse12.com.
I love Mitt Romney’s tax plan, and I never imagined that I would. Additionally, he hired the right guy, Paul Ryan, to explain it, because it will be much easier to distort his plan for political gain than to spell it out in a way that people can understand. To be sure, it is an over-all tax cut. There is no denying that. However, if it inspires growth as it is designed to, the revenue increase will make up the difference and keep it revenue neutral as promised. Even the Tax Policy Center, which originally claimed Romney would hike taxes on 95% of Americans, has come clean and admitted his plan is viable.
In my mind, no tax plan will be perfect until it is flat and cuts spending by at least $2 trillion. But this is the next best thing.
In his first one-on-one televised interview as Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate, Congressman Paul Ryan demonstrated just why Romney’s first major decision of his potential presidency was a home run. (see the complete interview in the video below)
In naming Paul Ryan his running mate, Mitt Romney made a statement that was far louder than any words could be. It was statement that made it clear that as President, Romney will be focused on addressing the issues that up to now, Republicans and Democrats alike have ignored, our nation’s debt and the entitlement reforms which tend to be responsible for the largest portion of our debt.
In the interview conducted by Britt Hume for Fox News, Congressman Ryan directly addressed the controversial issues of Medicare reform, Obamacare, budget balancing, tax cuts and everything which the left is preparing to demonize the Romney-Ryan ticket for. And in addressing those issues, Ryan proved to be an artful master of the economic crisis confronting our nation.
Ryan successfully put Democrats on the defensive and made it clear that while President Obama and his Party are exacerbating our problems, he and Mitt Romney are proposing actions that will lead to solutions to our problems.
According to Ryan;
“We’re the ones who are offering a plan to save Medicare, to protect Medicare, to strengthen Medicare. We’re the ones who are not raiding Medicare to pay for Obamacare. We’re the ones who are repealing President Obama’s 15-person bureaucratic board that will put price controls on Medicare that will lead to denied care for current seniors. We’re the ones continuing the guarantee of Medicare for people in or near retirement. And you have to reform it for the younger generation in order tomake the commitment stick for the current generation. President Obama is actually damaging Medicare for current seniors. It’s irrefutable. And that’s why I think this is a debate we want to have, and that’s a debate we’re going to win.”
While the interview was filled with enlightening answers on a host of issues, the last sentence of the above response was probably the most telling.
It was an indication of the Romney-Ryan ticket’s decision to put their money on the American people’s ability and desire to finally deal with the devils that are in the details of our economic woes. It was a sign that Mitt Romney might actually be serious and courageous enough to touch the third rails in politics that most politicians have spent more than 3 decades dancing around. As such, Romney and Ryan are taking a gamble on whether or not the American voter is willing to admit that harsh decisions must be made and that fundamental reforms have to be applied to a broken federal bureaucracy that is steering our economy in a dangerously erroneous direction. It is an electoral gamble that indicates Romney and Ryan are courageous enough to be politically and intellectually honest with the America and provide them with bona fide choices in this election. And the interview with Ryan verified that if anyone can explain those choices to the people and lay out the case for what needs to be done, it is Paul Ryan.
Throughout Ryan’s televised discussion he displayed an incomparable command of the issues, a command of the issues that came off as being so natural to Ryan that it helped instill in viewers a level of confidence and trust in him and his proposals that few other politicians could establish in such a small amount of time. Between Ryan’s non-abrasive demeanor and the innate enthusiasm that emanated from him when addressing the ability to implement real solutions to reverse our nation’s downward spiral into debt, one couldn’t help but sense a degree of sincerity from Paul Ryan that Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and as hard as it is to admit, even Mitt Romney, fail to convey when they are addressing the same issues. While all three of those men come across as politicians, Ryan comes across as a problem solver and that is what America is looking for in 2012. This interview provided evidence that Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan may actually be those problems solvers.
In what can only be considered the epitome of the liberal hypocrisy that is a fundamental component of the thought process that Democrats undergo, Barack Obama’s campaign manager, Jim Messina recently issued a letter to supporters which tries to convince them to make a financial donation to the President’s reelection effort by claiming Paul Ryan was selected as Romney’s running mate for the sole purpose of raising money from radical Republicans for his own campaign.
Laced throughout the letter are a litany of lies, a host of hysterically hypocritical claims, and a dubious dose of deceitful distractions designed to do for the Obama campaign all that the letter claims Romney is trying to do by selecting Paul Ryan as his running mate. It even asks “why the hell” did Romney pick “this guy” and claims that the reason is so that Romney could “reassure and inspire ultra conservative ideologues and corporate interests that they will have one of their own a heartbeat from the presidency”.
With the President’s campaign spending money at a pace that is quickly becoming faster than his ability to raise money, this letter is simply trying to fire up his base and motivate them to finally start donating. The letter also seems to indicate that many people who have been Obama supporters in the past have not yet made any donation to his campaign this time around. That would help explain the air of desperation that this letter reeks of and why President Obama is finding himself having to even deceive even his own supporters.
To understand just how deceptive the President is being, let us break the letter down.
A.- “Congressman Paul Ryan is the poster boy for the extreme Republican leadership in a Congress whose overall approval rating is 12 percent”:
If that were true, Congressman Ryan would never have drawn brutally harsh criticism for his 2008 vote for the Troubled Asset Relief Program and subsequent vote for the auto bailout, both of which seem to fly in the face of Ryan’s conservative based economic ideology. However, at the time when the world economy teetered on an unprecedented collapse because of crumbling financial institutions which were freezing lending and thereby halting worldwide commerce, Paul Ryan allowed himself to temporarily forsake ideological purity for what was seen as the immediate need for practical measures to avert a crisis. TARP was a massive interference in the free market that was sold to Ryan and 90 other House Republicans as a necessary evil to prevent an economic collapse caused by greedy bankers and toxic assets. Predictions that ATMs would be empty, payrolls would be unmet, and that checks would be valueless, provided the incentive to believe that civil disobedience would become the norm and that Armageddon was just one evolution of the earth away, allowed Ryan to compromise his traditional approach to such matters. But that ability to compromise is not an indication of rigid extremism, it was the sign of a man who was willing to make the hard choices needed to provide what at the time were perceived to be suitable and necessary solutions for unique problems involving unique circumstances.
If Paul Ryan was such an extremist, how does Team Obama explain away Ryan’s winning of seven elections in a congressional district that went for Michael Dukakis in 1988, Clinton in ’92 and ’96, Al Gore in 2000, and Obama in 2008?
If Paul Ryan is so radical how is that Erskine Bowles, a liberal described Paul Ryan as “amazing” and called the Ryan Budget that liberals are trying paint as too extreme, to be “sensible, honest, and serious”? Bowles a two time candidate for U.S. Senate from North Carolina happens to have been President Bill Clinton’s Chief of Staff and was President Obama’s co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. According to some on the left, if given a second term in office President Obama is likely to have Bowles replace Timothy Geithner as Treasury Secretary.
Cleary, Paul Ryan is not the irrational, radical, extremist that liberals are falling over themselves as they rush to make him out to be and it is also quite obvious that Paul Ryan is far more popular than the left want you to think.
B.-“His plan to dismantle Medicare is deeply unpopular with the general public, and especially undecided voters”;
First, Paul Ryan’s budget plan, does not dismantle Medicare, it reforms it by making it solvent and preserving it for future generations. President Obama is the one who reduces Medicare spending under Obamacare which creates what he calls the Independent Payment Advisory Board, a panel of 15 unelected government bureaucrats, who will ration care to seniors by underpaying doctors and hospitals. Ryan’s plan gives seniors more control over their own health dollars by allowing them to choose the plan that provides them with the best value for their money through free market competition. Furthermore; those who are over 55 will have the option to stay under the old plan. The Ryan plan simply allows future beneficiaries to put a voucher toward “private health plans,” which would be regulated by the government and required to offer coverage to all beneficiaries. So the Ryan plan, does not dismantle Medicare!
Second, the claim that Ryan’s plan is unpopular, especially among undecided voters, is to say the least am unreasonable stretch of reality. A Wall Street Journal/NBC poll asked Americans whether they would be more likely or less likely to vote for a candidate who “supports changing Medicare for those under 55 to a system where people choose their insurance from a list of private health plans and the government pays a fixed amount, sometimes called a voucher, towards that cost.” 38% are more likely to vote for a candidate who supports Ryan’s Medicare reform, 37% are less likely to vote for that candidate, while 18% say it makes “no difference” in determining their vote, and 7% are not sure. This does not paint the picture of the electoral death wish that liberals are painting for Romney’s decision to select a running mate who has the courage to present an actual plan to reform a broken system that needs fixing.
A new Gallup/USA Today poll shows that the age group that Democrats would hope to scare the most by Ryan’s Medicare reforms, senior citizens, are actually most receptive to his budget which outlines those Medicare reforms. The poll finds 48 percent of seniors (those 65 and over) support Ryan’s plan over President Obama’s plan, while 42 percent back the president. That’s the highest total among the age groups tested.
That all tends to contradict Jim Messina’s claim that Ryan’s proposals are as unpopular as the left would like us to believe.
C.- “Here’s the calculation: Mitt Romney doesn’t need or expect Paul Ryan to convince even one undecided voter to cast their ballot for him. That’s not what he’s on the ticket for.”:
Forty percent of voters identified themselves as politically independent in 2011. According to a 2011 Gallup poll more voters identified themselves as politically independent than ever before. The poll showed that 40 percent consider them independent, a new high that surpassed previous record of 39 percent in 1995 and 2007. Gallup’s historical data shows that the proportion of independent voters in 2011 was the largest in 60 years and little has occurred to change that in 2012. So why would Mitt Romney assume that he doesn’t need a running mate who can appeal to self-described independent voters?
A USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Sunday and released Monday indicated that among independent voters Ryan’s favorable rating jumped 20 points, from 19% Wednesday through Friday, to 39% over the weekend. Does that sound like the selection of a running mate who will not be used to appeal independent voters?
If selecting Paul Ryan for Vice President is not in part, an attempt to appeal to independent voters, I must again ask how Team Obama explains away Ryan being elected and reelected six times in a swing district that has voted for every Democrat presidential candidate since Michael Dukakis in 1988?
Most independent voters are fiscally conservative and appreciate the type of fiscal responsibility and sanity that Paul Ryan represents.
Those factors demonstrate the illegitimacy of the second claim in the Obama campaign letter. To suggest that Ryan can’t appeal to independents and that Mitt Romney is not even concerned with winning independent voters is either an indication of just how profoundly unintelligent Team Obama is, or of how absolutely disingenuous they are.
D.- “That means tens or even hundreds of millions more dollars for the Romney campaign and the array of outside groups supporting him — and if current trends hold, more than 90 percent of that money will be spent on TV ads — lying, distorting and trashing Barack Obama”;
As demonstrated by Politifact even before the 2012 campaign began, President Obama was already the reigning king of negative campaign ads. No candidate has run more negative ads in American history than Barack Obama did in 2008. It is how he defeated Hillary Clinton for the Democrat’s presidential nomination and how he won the presidential election. Given that undeniably truth alone, is not obvious that President Obama is guilty of using the majority of his money for the same thing he suggests is an evil practice that Republicans will conduct?
President Obama has now officially spent more money on his campaign and done so more quickly than any incumbent in history. So far he has spent well over $100 million on television commercials, outspending Mitt Romney by 5-1, and in some battleground states Obama has outspent Romney by as much as 8-1. Even more damaging is the fact that as reported by Forbes, 85 percent of the President’s advertising has been a barrage of negative attack ads aimed at Mitt Romney.
So can someone please tell me why President Obama’s campaign is trying to actually demonize Mitt Romney for following the President’s example and competing in the climate that he created?
The answer is simple. The President and his supporters have a tremendous problem. It’s the President’s record. It’s a record so dismal that it makes it impossible for the Obama campaign or their surrogates to promote his candidacy with any positive reasons to vote him. Can the President run ads touting the longest sustained high rate of unemployment we have seen in history? Can he run ads promoting his accumulating a national debt that is greater than the sum total of the debt accumulated by Washington to George H.W. Bush combined? Can Barack Obama offer Americans a “Morning In America-like” Ronald Reagan style ad? Hardly. This has demoralized the left and the President’s supporters. As such, polls indicate that Republicans are far more engaged in the campaign than Democrats or unaffiliated voters are and this Obama fundraising is indicative of that. The only way Obama can inspire his vote is to breed a degree of hatred for his opposition that provides the motivation for them to go to the polls and vote against the Romney-Ryan ticket.
This fundraising letter from the Obama campaign manager is a sure sign of just how desperate things are getting for Team Obama and the Democrat Party. This letter not only incorporates all 3 aspects of the left’s 3D strategy of distortion, distraction and division, it also highlights the degree of absolute hypocrisy and total lack of integrity behind the Obama reelection effort. But what I find most striking about it is that the Obama campaign finds it necessary to raise money among his own supporters by offering them so many lies and distortions. If Obama is willing to decieve his own supporters in order to raise money from them, how far you do you think he will be willing to go in decieving undecided voters?
Saturday morning, Romney announced his VP pick to be Ryan — no, not Ryan Seacrest — Paul Ryan, budget wizard and Wisconsin representative. Ryan is arguably the most prominent Republican in the House. He is young (42), personable and energetic and has over a decade in Congress. He knows how Washington works and why it doesn’t.
Also, like Romney, he appears to be clean. Everyone has skeletons, especially politicians, but as far as anyone knows to date, the Romney-Ryan ticket may be the cleanest duo since Batman and Robin. It would be a surprise if a real scandal related to either man was uncovered. This may not win them an election but it should win them some fence-sitters.
Ryan is considered the go-to-guy regarding the budget. Nobody in Congress possesses the detailed knowledge he does which is why he chairs the House Budget Committee.
Ryan also knows how to campaign, in fact, he’s never lost an election. He’s 7-0. He has successfully defended his seat against both Democrats and Libertarians. During his first campaign Ryan received 57% of the vote. This is the lowest of his career. Since, he has never dipped below 63%, typically pulling in 67-68% range. In 2010 he earned 68% of the vote.
He is one of the three co-founders of the Young Guns Program, an electoral recruitment and campaign effort by House Republicans. He, along with Rubio, Walker, and other young conservatives is symbolic of the future for the Republican party.
But like all of us, Ryan is not perfect.
He has been on Romney’s short list for months so there’s no doubt the Left has a dossier and media packet on Ryan already prepared for shipping. The Left will also unroll articles comparing Ryan to other short-list folks like Portman (much more “real” experience) or Rubio (could have delivered Florida) to make Ryan appear a weaker pick than he is.
A lack of foreign policy experience will be something the Left tries to exploit. This will create a few headlines but Republicans should be capable of over-coming the criticism by pointing out this election is more about getting our house in order than world affairs. Besides, Obama had no foreign policy credentials a few years back and he was running for the top spot, not VP.
Ryan has proposed an aggressive plan that includes substantial changes to entitlements. Obama mocked it on live television — with Ryan seated in the front row — and the Democrats have already sliced and diced it. Now, with Ryan directly involved in the election, this plan will become a prominent issue. Already distorted, the Left will continue to have at it. To his credit, Ryan is a communicator, so if anyone can effectively walk the common folk through some of the plan details, it’s him.
He’s also likely to be labeled extreme or a hard-Right tea-bagger with draconian outlooks. This is a heavy distortion as Ryan’s “yes” votes on the bank bailouts and on Medicare expansion program prove. But it fits in well with the Left’s tired rhetoric — ‘Republicans want dirty water, polluted air and will abandon the old and poor’.
Many will ask if Ryan on the ticket will put Wisconsin in play? Except it already is. Sure, Obama won Wisconsin by 14% in 2008. That’s huge. But today, that has been trimmed down to about 6%. And don’t forget the message Wisconsin sent during the Walker recall. The better question is — can Ryan deliver Wisconsin? That is unknown but what is known is that Obama and the Democrats, still black and blue from the beating they took during the recall, will now be compelled to spend time and money in Wisconsin, perhaps to the detriment of a different swing state.
Because Ryan is a communicator he should hold his own during the VP debate. Ryan is not a punch-line kind of guy so Biden may score a jab or two. But if properly prepped, Ryan should be able to counter. And if the debate actually delves into issues of substance, Ryan is likely to badly embarrass Biden and show him as the buffoon he is. Ryan’s expertise on budget matters should help bring Romney up to speed, too.
Romney’s selection of Ryan has, intentionally or unintentionally, changed the nature of election. Probably not as much as most pundits think. The economy will remain the primary issue but now political ideology has been introduced. Team Romney must be confident the common folk want to hear about fiscal responsibility and changes to entitlements — complete with fine details. Ryan offers this. Obama wins here also as he now has ideological distortions to exploit. Both sides, particularly the super PACs, will play to this — do you want the anti-America radical Left or the rich loving polluters on the Right — but the reality is voters that answer to strict ideology have already made their decision. Independents aren’t likely to be swayed by the well worn cliches. It is likely to boil down to who the voters feel can get us out of this mess.
People vote for president not VP. But if there is one politician in America currently capable of explaining America’s nasty financial situation, in painful detail, it is Ryan. The Left, by pushing ideology, will guarantee Ryan has to break out the charts. But that’s a Ryan strength.
Like every candidate, Ryan has some shortcomings. But his positives far out distance his negatives. And compared to Biden as a VP, he’s gold. Ryan is informed, intelligent, and a proven leader. He isn’t an elite live audience orator but there are few better with television interviews and presentations. Romney definitely could have made a worse choice. He may not have been able to make a better one.
The morning of the Ryan pick, Obama already had a graphic up from the “truth” team declaring that Ryan was going to raise taxes on 95% of Americans, ban birth control, end Medicare, end green energy, and so on. The only things they left out were shoving Grandma off a cliff in her wheelchair and poisoning us with e.coli. But why go overboard when Mitt Romney can already use cancer to kill people.
It’s not that Obama is the one that cut $700 billion out of Medicare. It’s not that Obama’s green energy initiatives remind everyone of Solyndra. It’s not that Obama is lying when he says Romney/Ryan would raise taxes on 95% of Americans. It’s not that Most Americans don’t want to force pro-lifers to pay for other people’s $5 birth control that destroys after conception. It’s more that Ryan is smarter and more articulate than the other three on the tickets.
Don’t hate me, Palin fans, but Ryan is not a cheerleader. He is a teacher. He turns platitudes into tangible facts that people can hold on to. Obama and the Democrats are running around with the mantra that Ryan will get rid of Medicare. But anyone who is paying attention knows that it was Obama who cut popular programs like Medicare advantage.
Ryan, on the other hand, wants to give seniors the same options for healthcare that Congress has. He wants to put choices in their hands. The scary thing about Ryan is that he actually is understandable on these points, and he has the credibility. No one has worked more on the US budget and solutions to Medicare, Social Security, and healthcare than Paul Ryan.
Democrats aren’t scared that Biden is an inarticulate gaffe machine. They have the media on their side. All Biden has to do is coherently string ten words together in a debate without telling someone in a wheelchair to stand up or make an Indian 7/11 joke and the press will announce he exceeded expectations.
Democrats are scared because the media can only do so much. Eventually Paul Ryan will be heard, and he speaks a language even independents can understand.
Hours after Mitt Romney announced his decision to nominate Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan to be his vice presidential running mate, the Romney campaign released the following introductory web ad on Ryan. It uses segments of the speech which Ryan made on Saturday, August in Norfolk, Virgina after Mitt Romney officially announced Ryan as his running mate.
The following post provides a complete video of the ceremony announcing Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney’s vice presidential running mate. Beneath it you will find the complete transcript of the Romney’s remarks announcing the decision and of Paul Ryan in his remarks accepting the nomination.
The well executed ceremony surrounding the announcement of Paul Ryan as Romney’s running mate was marked by an atmosphere of excitement and hope and the reamrks made by both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan were sharp, and promising. The event set the stage for a presidential campaign that will force Democrats to be held accountable for their failed economic stewardship of our nation and their lack of leadership in the areas of reform which our nation must make if we intend to be solvent. Visit this WH12 link for a more detailed look at what Paul Ryan brings to the Republican presidential ticket.
Mitt Romney’s remarks announcing his selection of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate, as released by the Romney campaign:
Ladies and gentlemen:
It’s great to be back in Virginia and here in Norfolk. Your city’s beauty is only matched by its proud heritage as a defender of freedom. Today we take another step forward in helping restore the promise of America. As we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead the nation to better days, it is an honor to announce my running mate and the next Vice President of the United States: Paul Ryan.
Paul Ryan is a leader.
His leadership begins with character and values. And Paul is a man of tremendous character, shaped in large part by his early life.
Paul’s father died when he was in high school. That forced him to grow up earlier than any young man should. But Paul did, with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister, and a supportive community. And as he did, he internalized the virtues and hard-working ethic of the Midwest.
Paul Ryan works in Washington — but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in Janesville, Wisconsin. He is a person of great steadiness, whose integrity is unquestioned and whose word is good.
Paul’s upbringing is obvious in how he has conducted himself throughout his life, including his leadership in Washington.
In a city that is far too often characterized by pettiness and personal attacks, Paul Ryan is a shining exception. He does not demonize his opponents. He understands that honorable people can have honest differences. And he appeals to the better angels of our nature. There are a lot of people in the other party who might disagree with Paul Ryan; I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t respect his character and judgment.
Paul is in public life for all the right reasons — not to advance his personal ambitions but to advance the ideals of freedom and justice; and to increase opportunity and prosperity to people of every class and faith, every age and ethnic background. A faithful Catholic, Paul believes in the worth and dignity of every human life.
With energy and vision, Paul Ryan has become an intellectual leader of the Republican Party. He understands the fiscal challenges facing America: our exploding deficits and crushing debt — and the fiscal catastrophe that awaits us if we don’t change course.
Paul Ryan combines a profound sense of responsibility for what we owe the next generation with an unbounded optimism in America’s future and an understanding of all the wonderful things the American people can do.
Paul also combines firm principles with a practical concern for getting things done. He has never been content to simply curse the darkness; he would rather light candles. And throughout his legislative career he’s shown the ability to work with members of both parties to find common ground on some of the hardest issues confronting the American people.
Paul and I are beginning on a journey that will take us to every corner of America. We are offering a positive, governing agenda that will lead to economic growth, to widespread and shared prosperity, and that will improve the lives of our fellow citizens. Our Plan to Strengthen The Middle Class will get America back to work and get our country back on track.
We offer solutions that are bold, specific, and achievable. We offer our commitment to help create 12 million new jobs and to bring better take home pay to middle class families.
To strengthen the middle class, we will provide our workers and our children with the skills to succeed. We’ll cut the deficit, have trade that works for America, and champion small business. And finally, we will unleash our energy resources to achieve North American energy independence.
We will help care for those who cannot care for themselves, and we will return work to welfare. As poverty has risen to historic and tragic levels, with nearly one out of six Americans now having fallen into poverty, we will act to bring these families into the middle class. Unlike the current president who has cut Medicare funding by $700 billion, we will preserve and protect Medicare and Social Security. Under the current president, healthcare has only become more expensive. We will reform healthcare so that more Americans have access to affordable healthcare, and we will get that started by repealing and replacing Obamacare.
And at a time when the President’s campaign is taking American politics to new lows, we are going to do things differently. We are going to talk about aspirations and American ideals; about bringing people together to solve the urgent problems facing our nation. And when that message wins in America, it will be a victory for every American.
Today is a good day for America. And there are better days ahead. Join me in welcoming the next Vice President of the United States — Paul Ryan.
Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s remarks in accepting Romney’s offer to run for Vice President:
“Thank you Governor Romney, Ann. I am deeply honored and excited to join you as your running mate.
Mitt Romney is a leader with the skills, the background and the character that our country needs at a crucial time in its history. Following four years of failed leadership, the hopes of our country, which have inspired the world, are growing dim; and they need someone to revive them. Governor Romney is the man for this moment; and he and I share one commitment: we will restore the dreams and greatness of this country.
I want you to meet my family. My wife Janna, our daughter Liza, and our sons, Charlie and Sam.
I am surrounded by the people I love, and I have been asked by Governor Romney to serve the country I love.
Janesville, Wisconsin is where I was born and raised, and I never really left it. It’s our home now.
For the last 14 years, I have proudly represented Wisconsin in Congress. There, I have focused on solving the problems that confront our country, and turning ideas into action; and action into solutions.
I am committed, in heart and mind, to putting that experience to work in a Romney Administration. This is a crucial moment in the life of our nation; and it is absolutely vital that we select the right man to lead America back to prosperity and greatness.
That man is standing next to me. His name is Mitt Romney. And he will be the next president of the United States
My dad died when I was young. He was a good and decent man. I still remember a couple of things he would say that have really stuck with me. “Son you are either part of the problem or part of the solution.”
Regrettably, President Obama has become part of the problem,…and Mitt Romney is the solution.
The other thing my dad would say is that every generation of Americans leaves their children better off. That’s the American legacy.
Sadly, for the first time in our history, we are on a path which will undo that legacy. That is why we need new leadership to become part of the solution – new leadership to restore prosperity, economic growth, and jobs.
It is our duty to save the American Dream for our children, and theirs.
And I believe there is no person in America who is better prepared – because of his experience; because of the principles he holds; and because of his achievements and excellence in so many different arenas – to lead America at this point in its history.
Let me say a word about the man Mitt Romney will replace. No one disputes President Obama inherited a difficult situation. And, in his first 2 years, with his party in complete control of Washington, he passed nearly every item on his agenda. But that didn’t make things better.
In fact, we find ourselves in a nation facing debt, doubt and despair.
This is the worst economic recovery in 70 years. Unemployment has been above 8 percent for more than three years, the longest run since the Great Depression. Families are hurting.
We have the largest deficits and the biggest federal government since WWII.
Nearly 1 out of 6 Americans are in poverty–the worst rate in a generation. Moms and dads are struggling to make ends meet.
Household incomes have dropped by more than $4,000 over the past four years.
Whatever the explanations, whatever the excuses, this is a record of failure.
President Obama, and too many like him in Washington, have refused to make difficult decisions because they are more worried about their next election than they are about the next generation. We might have been able to get away with that before, but not now. We’re in a different, and dangerous, moment. We’re running out of time — and we can’t afford 4 more years of this.
Politicians from both parties have made empty promises which will soon become broken promises–with painful consequences–if we fail to act now.
I represent a part of America that includes inner cities, rural areas, suburbs and factory towns. Over the years I have seen and heard from a lot from families, from those running small businesses, and from people who are in need. But what I have heard lately troubles me the most. There is something different in their voice and in their words. What I hear from them are diminished dreams, lowered expectations, uncertain futures.
I hear some people say that this is just “the new normal.” High unemployment, declining incomes and crushing debt is not a new normal. It’s the result of misguided policies. And next January, our economy will begin a comeback with the Romney Plan for a Stronger Middle Class that will lead to more jobs and more take home pay for working Americans.
America is on the wrong track; but Mitt Romney and I will take the right steps, in the right time, to get us back on the right track!
I believe my record of getting things done in Congress will be a very helpful complement to Governor Romney’s executive and private sector success outside Washington. I have worked closely with Republicans as well as Democrats to advance an agenda of economic growth, fiscal discipline, and job creation.
I’m proud to stand with a man who understands what it takes to foster job creation in our economy, someone who knows from experience, that if you have a small business—you did build that.
At Bain Capital, he launched new businesses and he turned around failing ones – companies like Staples, Bright Horizons and Sports Authority, just to name a few. Mitt Romney created jobs and showed he knows how a free economy works.
At the Olympics, he took a failing enterprise and made it the pride of our entire nation.
As governor of Massachusetts, he worked with Democrats and Republicans to balance budgets with no tax increases, lower unemployment, increase income and improve people’s lives.
In all of these things, Mitt Romney has shown himself to be a man of achievement, excellence and integrity.
Janna and I tell Liza, Charlie and Sam that America is a place where, if you work hard and play by the rules, you can get ahead.
We Americans look at one another’s success with pride, not resentment, because we know, as more Americans work hard, take risks, and succeed, more people will prosper, our communities will benefit, and individual lives will be improved and uplifted.
But America is more than just a place…it’s an idea. It’s the only country founded on an idea. Our rights come from nature and God, not government. We promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes.
This idea is founded on the principles of liberty, freedom, free enterprise, self-determination and government by consent of the governed.
This idea is under assault. So, we have a critical decision to make as a nation.
We are on an unsustainable path that is robbing America of our freedom and security. It doesn’t have to be this way.
The commitment Mitt Romney and I make to you is this:
We won’t duck the tough issues…we will lead!
We won’t blame others…we will take responsibility!
We won’t replace our founding principles…we will reapply them!
We will honor you, our fellow citizens, by giving you the right and opportunity to make the choice:
What kind of country do we want to have?
What kind of people do we want to be?
We can turn this thing around. Real solutions can be delivered. But, it will take leadership. And the courage to tell you the truth.
Mitt Romney is this kind of leader. I’m excited for what lies ahead and I’m thrilled to be a part of America’s Comeback Team. And together, we will unite America and get this done.
By picking Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate, Democrats will claim that Mitt Romney, a wealthy and heartless robber baron who has killed people through his business dealings, has picked a running mate who pushed grandma off a cliff and is trying to make the wealthy richer by starving the poor. Democrats will claim that the Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan aligns the G.O.P. with it’s most damaging and ideologically extreme policies.
Less than two hours after nominating Romney for Vice President, the Obama-Biden campaign went up with a new website that can be found when one goggles Paul Ryan or ask the questions who is Paul Ryan? Typing that question on your keyboard will bring up barackobama.com/paul-ryan, an Obama website that defines the Romney-Ryan ticket as the “go back team” and claims that Paul Ryan is the architect of a plan to end Medicare as we know it and which raises taxes on the middle-class in an attempt to create tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.
An hour after Romney named Ryan as his Vice President, Obama campaign manager Jim Messina issued a statement claiming that Congressman Ryan “is best known as the author of a budget so radical The New York Times called it ‘the most extreme budget plan passed by a House of Congress in modern times’.”
So it is clear that Democrats are ready to do exactly what they were expected to do ——- escalate their political terrorism and double down on their class warfare tactics. But they do so at the risk of falling right into the trap which Republicans have baited with with a tempting target that has hidden in it the issues that lie at the heart of the 2012 election —– the budget and the economy, the two issues which Democrats must avoid if they want to be elected.
By endorsing Paul Ryan as his running mate and embracing the Ryan approach to fiscal sanity, Romney has dared Democrats to continue their fear mongering. And if Democrats continue to take the bait, they will be ensuring that the very issues they are trying to make voters fear the Romney-Ryan ticket for, are the very issues brought to the forefront of the campaign. The selection of Ryan as his running mate is both courageous and brilliant. It demonstrates that Romney is committed to fiscal responsibility and unafraid of defending conservative economic policies against the harsh distortion and demonization of demoncrats. But by selecting Paul Ryan as his running mate, Romney has also plotted a brilliant strategy that now puts him in control of the political agenda by reframing the campaigning on the big issues which lie at the heart of our nation’s future.
While Obama and his fellow demoncrats try to describe the fiscal responsibility of a Romney-Ryan ticket in divisive class warfare terms, they will be forcing the Romney-Ryan ticket to explain their ideas and shed the truth on those ideas. By going on the attack, demoncrats will be forced to actually have to debate the economy and the budget, something which they would rather not address. The liberal strategy of distractions and distortions will give Republicans the opportunity yo fully explain the big fiscal decisions that will have to be made but which demoncrats refuse to address.
The demonization of the Romney-Ryan economic policies will provide Republicans the perfect chance to explain why it is not Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney who are endangering Medicare, but that it is the status quo of the the left and their nominee President Obama, which is endangering Medicare. The attempts to demonize Romney and Ryan and scare senior citizens into believing that Romney and Ryan are throwing them under the bus, the ensuing national debate will force the truth out and shed the light of day on the facts that Ryan’s entitlement reforms not only reduce the national debt by $6 trillion dollars without raising taxes on anybody, but that it makes Medicare solvent and preserves it for generations to come, without making a single change to the program for those born prior to 1954.
Beyond Romney’s selection of Ryan taking control of the political agenda, it reinforces the impression of a leadership team that has the courage to propose bold plans and actual solutions that demonstrate an ability to get our nation back on track, something which the Obama-Biden team has been unable to do. It also corners the market on the critically important independent swing vote which is made up largely of fiscal conservatives who want ideas turned into actions and actions turned into solutions more than they wish to hear politicians turn distortions into accusations.
In addition to placing someone on the Republican ticket who can appeal to independent voters, having Ryan as Romney’s running mate makes the usually blue state of Wisconsin fertile territory for Republicans. History demonstrates that running mates can increase a tickets plurality of votes in their home state’s by as much as four percent. Before nominating Ryan, the RealClearPolitics average of the most recent polls in Wisconsin has President Obama leading Romney by 5.4%. Now with Ryan on the ticket there is good reason for Republicans to target that state in the months ahead, and as such, Wisconsin is likely to be deducted from the current projections of President Obama’s electoral college count. And while Ryan’s popularity in neighboring Midwest states combined with his appeal to blue collar workers and personal background has still to be measured, at this point in time he can’t be seen as a drag on the Republican ticket in that region.
But picking Paul Ryan was much more than an attempt to select a regional nominee or a candidate who could help deliver a particular case. It was a decision to pick a national nominee that would reframe the campaign and focus it on the big issues, the tough but unaddressed issues which Democrats are trying to avoid but will now be forced to confront because of Paul Ryan’s solutions and Mitt Romney’s courage to fight for those solutions. Picking Paul Ryan will force voters to have to choose between two clearly different paths for our nation. One path is a series of tax and spend policies of an Administration which has refused to address our problems or even admit that the problems exist, and which has turned our economic woes into such a systemically debilitating problem that it is now the biggest threat to our national security. The other path seeks to be hoinest with the American people and stop pretending that federal treasury is an ATM machine that issues a staedy and endlesss stream of free cash. This other path is one which acknowledges our problems and addresses them by making tough decisions, to implement bold solutions and reforms that will help to prevent the United Sates from following in the footsteps of Greece.
What does Paul Ryan bring to the Republican ticket?
He brings us the opportunity to confront the demons that are haunting our economic health and the chance to slay them before they consume us. He brings the promise of an issue oriented debate that reclaims the narrative of this election in a way that will allow it to focus on the problems that we face instead of the the distortions that left tries to create. He also brings to the ticket the bait that will entice Democrats to take their class warfare strategy and lies to an extent so profoundly outrageous and exaggerated that they will lose what little credibility they have remaining.
In chosing Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan to be his running mate, Mitt Romney has set the stage for an an ideological battle that will force our nation to undergo some deep soul searching. By picking Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has finally proven to conservatives that his committment to fiscal responsibility is based upon more than just platitudes and political gamesmanship and in doing so he has not only fired up the base of his Party, he has gotten the attention of voters who are yearning for leaders of substance and who are willing to provide the reforms needed to solve our problems instead of prolonging or exacerbating them.
That is the message offered to us by this first major decision of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign.
By picking Paul Ryan, the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, Mitt Romney has cornered the market on the most important issue facing Americans today, the economic health of our nation and made it quite clear that he is willing to provide our economy with more than just lip service.
As the House Budget Chairman, Ryan has dedicated himself to getting this nation’s economy back on track by actually addressing all the third rails in politics, including the mountain of entitlements that have brought our nation to the brink of bankruptcy. As the architect of a budget plan that chooses to address our entitlement and spending problems, Paul Ryan has been one of the few political leaders with the fortitude and courage to address our problems honestly and realistically. And by nominating Ryan for Vice President, Mitt Romney demonstrated the courage to recognize and acknowledge that Ryan is an asset that we must give a greater role to play in our governance. As such, Romney’s decision to pick Ryan can probably best be described as purposeful.
Romney could have a chosen a running mate based on a number of political and electoral considerations. He could have picked someone like Bob Portman in the hopes that Portman would have delivered the must win state of Ohio to Romney. He could have picked someone like Condoleezza Rice with the intention of playing gender politics or Marco Rubio for the sake of a focussing on ethnic politics in an appeal to the Hispanic vote. There were any number of political based choices that Romney could have made in an attempt to appeal to different electoral demographics. But Romney did not to give into such political temptation. Instead he chose to appeal to all Americans by carefully deciding to put policy considerations over political considerations. And it was a courageous choice. It is no secret that Democrats will try to paint Paul Ryan as a heartless conservative whose budget plan attempts to destroy Americans by cutting everything from Social Security benefits to the elderly, to slashing assistance for the impoverished. But Romney did not succumb to the fear of such propaganda. Instead, by picking Paul Ryan for Vice President, Mitt Romney demonstrated the courage to confront such accusations. In fact selecting Paul Ryan seems to signal Romney’s desire for President Obama to make such accusations so that the Romney-Ryan ticket can dispel those myths once and for all.
But beyond the courage behind Romney’s decision is also the worthiness of Paul Ryan himself.
Paul Ryan is young but experienced, confident, humble, and uses soft spoken words to convey hard hitting facts as he avoids demonizing the opposition. He is a down-to-earth, friendly, likeable, family man, who can relate to voters and still make them feel confident in his ability to step into the presidency if the need arose. So much so that almost exactly one year ago today, I saw fit to endorse Paul Ryan over Mitt Romney for President. Given that small aside, you won’t hear me complaining about Romney’s choice. It is a decision that leaves me confident in Romney’s judgment and excited by the promise of his campaign and potential presidency.
By picking Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt Romney neglected to make the safe choice that I feared he would make. Instead he made a bold choice, the boldest choice of his political career and in the final analysis I believe Paul Ryan will prove to be an extraordinary choice. Few people have the type of natural command of the budget that Ryan does. And as a protegé of conservative icon Jack Kemp, Paul Ryan is the embodiment of fiscal conservatism and today, Mitt Romney boldly embraced those principles and ensured us of a presidential campaign that will put the ideological direction of our nation at the forefront of the campaign and force us to debate the real issues, the issues that President Obama is trying to avoid.
staff economist attached to the office of U.S. Senator Bob Kasten
1992 – Ryan became a speechwriter and a volunteer economic analyst with Empower America, an advocacy group formed by Jack Kemp, former education secretary Bill Bennett, the late diplomat Jeane Kirkpatrick and former Minnesota Rep. Vin Weber.
1998 – Elected to Congress from his Wisconsin hometown
The Associated Press has confirmed White House 2012’s previous post which reported that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will nominate Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan for Vice President;
According to Associated Press;
“NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has picked Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan to be his running mate.
A Republican with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press that Romney has chosen Ryan. The Republican spoke on condition of anonymity because this person was not authorized to disclose the decision.
Romney was expected to introduce Ryan during a rally Saturday morning in Norfolk, Va.”
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