Aug 11 2012

“Small-Government” Rep Paul Ryan Joins Team Romney

Published by at 9:57 am under 2012 Elections,All General Discussions

Mitt Romney made a bold move today – he picked a running mate that will easily overshadow him for the rest of the election cycle (like Sarah Palin rapidly overshadowed Senator McCain). And like Sarah Palin before him, Rep Paul Ryan is going to be the small-government, Libertarian, Tea Party voters’ rallying point on the ticket:

As the chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan gives Romney a link to Capitol Hill leadership and underscores Romney’s effort to make the election a referendum on the nation’s economic course. Romney also could see his standing improve in Wisconsin, a state President Barack Obama won handily four years ago but that could be much tighter this November.

Even so, Ryan has been a double-edged sword for Romney. The congressman’s endorsement of Romney came at a critical stage of the GOP primaries, giving him a boost in the Wisconsin race that effectively buried Romney’s final threat. But it also meant Romney was embracing the Ryan-sponsored budget proposal that Democrats fiercely target as painful to the poor and elderly.

The 2010 voter no longer has to hold their nose and vote for the father of Romneycare, predecessor of Obamacare. They can now put some energy and hope that the GOP VP will be strong and influential enough to be more than a bridge to the GOP establishment, but an educator and counter force to the entrenched interests who keep looking to DC for solution instead of masses of fiscal savings opportunities:

If Ryan can stay on the message he sent in Wisconsin before the recall election, a message of balancing fiscal reality (government living within its means) and government employee benefits that are not gold plated (and beyond the private sector) then we will have the leadership and focus we need in this election.

I too worry about the career pol who has polished the art of the bait and switch speech (see all of Obama’s 2010 promises). But Ryan has risen in DC while holding true to his fiscal morals – getting government back down to its needed, affordable size and eliminated failure and fraud in government execution (see US Post Office for the failure side). He rose by sticking to his guns, and has taken a lot of heat for it.

There is a lot of good discussion  on this over at Hot Air today, and I may even sit down to watch the Sunday morning news shows again (maybe….).

Update: The first salvo from the left-wing media shows promise for Ryan:

Meet the new addition to the Republican presidential ticket: Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan.

Under Ryan’s plan, the government would help seniors buy health insurance — rather than receive coverage straight from Medicare, as they do now.

And as much has been written already, there are a few surprises. For a guy who hates “Obamacare” so much, for example, Ryan doesn’t throw it all out the window. And in the latest version, seniors can still choose traditional Medicare — with a catch.

You can read the details at the linked article – but this is the EXACT kind of policy and fiscal surgery required to the out of control entitlements to avoid America turning into a Greece.

Update 2: BTW, no need to go out spending a lot of money on advertising – just run this clip:

What else needs to be said? Role portions, note the actual results, present the way out of this mess – win in November.  Best line – Hiding spending does not reduce spending.

8 responses so far

8 Responses to ““Small-Government” Rep Paul Ryan Joins Team Romney”

  1. Redteam says:

    Probably the very best choice he could have made, and he’s a natural born citizen, that makes it even better.

  2. Layman says:

    A think Ryan is a good choice but not the best choice. He gives up a position in the House where he could continue to to great things and he does nothing to energize the Hispanic vote, ala Marco Rubio.

    Of course, “he’s a Natural Born Citizen”.

    OMG. Just take me out and shoot me right now!

  3. Redteam says:

    “Of course, “he’s a Natural Born Citizen”. ”

    unlike Rubio

  4. lurker9876 says:

    Romney could not have made a mistake with any that made the top five on the VP list. They all have faults but hey, they’re all better than Biden.

    I loved it when people commenting about the upcoming debate between Biden and Ryan.

    Surely…the call Biden made to Ryan…makes one wonder if he’s having buyer’s remorse about Obama?

    Good choice, Mitt. Manassas and today’s contributions made that clear.

    So now we’re watching the Democrats trying to convince us that Ryan is the Sarah Palin that we all hate.

    P.S. I love Sarah Palin.

  5. lurker9876 says:

    I wonder if the poll numbers will improve for Romney-Ryan ticket….

  6. Layman says:

    RT: Get over it. We’ve been down this road before and Rubio is a NBC and is qualified to be President. Go back to the archives and check all the previous debates on SCOTUS rulings, how the 14th Ammendment changed the Constitutional definitions etc. You stating something is true just to proclaim Obama is not a legitimate President does not make it so.

    Someone born on US soil of parents who were legally allowed to be here is a natural born citizen under the post 14th ammendmment definition.

  7. Layman says:

    That said, Ryan will wipe the floor with both Biden and Obama!

  8. Redteam says:

    Layman: First let me say that I almost always agree with you and I did not say what I did about Rubio’s eligibility to be argumentative. I thought it was a known fact. I had already decided I would vote for Romney with Rubio on the ticket because anything would be better than re-electing Obama. But, there are millions of people that do not feel as if Rubio is a natural born citizen and would not vote for him for that reason. While I live in La and Romney is going to carry the state no matter how I vote, there are some states that people will not vote for Rubio because of his perceived ineligibility and it may actually make a difference in whether Romney takes that state, or not. Why take that chance and go ahead and choose someone without the extra baggage.
    Having said that, there is no SCOTUS ruling that would put Rubio in the NBC status and there doesn’t seem to be one that definitely says he’s not eligible. There is one that does state that a person born in the country of citizen parents are natural born, but does not include or exclude others. It seems that if they intended to define it as anyone born in the country, they would have said so, but they didn’t and therefore it is still to be ‘decided’.
    Your statement ” You stating something is true just to proclaim Obama is not a legitimate President does not make it so.” true, but also your statement also does not make your positon true either.

    Also you said: ”Someone born on US soil of parents who were legally allowed to be here is a natural born citizen ” do you have some special insight into the legality of the presence of Rubio’s parents? Just ‘because’ they said they were here ‘legally’ does not make it so. And I don’t know how that question can legally be answered.
    We sure don’t have any documentation for Obama one way or the other and likely never will.
    The answer will not be final until the Supreme court makes a decision one way or the other. They have not done so as of this date. (whether you believe they have or not)