Slog
News & ArtsFriday, August 10, 2012
2012 Sources Say Paul Ryan Is Mitt Romney's Vice Presidential Pick
Posted by Paul Constant on Fri, Aug 10, 2012 at 10:02 PM
Of all the boring white guys Mitt Romney could pick for a vice president, Paul Ryan is the most daring boring white guy he could choose. He's young—23 years younger than Romney—and he's the one with the most policies on the record. The Ryan budget basically ends Medicare (while ensuring that all the older voting conservatives who rely on Medicare will get to stay on it for the rest of their lives) and cuts safety net programs like food stamps and other Federal assistance programs.
So assuming the Huffington Post is right and it is Ryan, this is Romney's last attempt to convince Republicans he's the real deal. Ryan is beloved by teabaggers, but he's not especially well-known for being tough on social issues, which is helpful for winning independents who don't favor government intervention on issues like gay marriage and abortion.
A Ryan choice for VP means that Romney wants this election to be all about the economy, and he thinks most Americans want much less government in their lives. They're going to try to keep the deficit as the most important issue in the campaign, and they're going to try to convince people that the only way to handle the deficit is by cutting back on government. The Obama campaign won't have to do much repositioning of their message to make up for a Ryan choice—they've been preparing for this kind of a race the whole time. We'll find out if this Ryan gossip is true in the morning; there'll be a lot to discuss if it is.
1
The Ryan budget proposal was the exact moment that the Tea Party tide crashed against the hard rocks of reality. They want to run the election on that platform? Bring it on.
2
The idea of killing Medicare should be a huge winner, Mitt. Who the fuck is running that campaign?
3
Paul Ryan is simultaneously the most boring and the most polarizing pick Romney could have made. This will shore up both the Dem and Republican bases without bringing any excitement to the Romney campaign.
Quite an accomplishment.
Quite an accomplishment.
4
The conservatives have been pushing this line about America being a right wing country ever since 1978. And, ever since they started pushing it, America has indeed been drifting in that direction.
This election will determine whether we continue that drift, or whether the economy has finally put the lie to the Austrian school of economics.
This election will determine whether we continue that drift, or whether the economy has finally put the lie to the Austrian school of economics.
6
@2, you didn't read the article. They'll talking about killing Medicare for all the young people who think they'll never get old, but leave it alone for the people who will vote for them. That's a very smart move on the Republicans' part.
Ryan unfortunately is not boring. He's young and physically attractive. He'll charm the Republican women and the men will think of him as a promising son. This is the worst choice for the Dems.
Ryan unfortunately is not boring. He's young and physically attractive. He'll charm the Republican women and the men will think of him as a promising son. This is the worst choice for the Dems.
7
I think this is a smart move for Romney. I was hoping he'd pick Pawlenti or Portman, who are as bland as soggy cupcakes, or, better yet, Marco Rubio, who is a pathetic joke once you get to know him. Instead, Romney went for the two-fisted conservative insider. Ryan's no Palin. He can handle himself on the podium and go head-to-head with Biden.
He also represents the degree to which the plutocrats have bought the system, so Obama needs to keep repeating how Ryan's policies would decimate the social assistance for the low and middle class and pipe all the capitol to the richest corporations and individuals. Romney and Ryan - R&R - the ultimate Wall Street duo, the men who've never struggled in their lives and whose idea of trickle down economics is removing all taxes and regulations from the top and trickling it down towards the bottom. Keep saying it, Obama. Keep repeating it. Define them with their own records.
He also represents the degree to which the plutocrats have bought the system, so Obama needs to keep repeating how Ryan's policies would decimate the social assistance for the low and middle class and pipe all the capitol to the richest corporations and individuals. Romney and Ryan - R&R - the ultimate Wall Street duo, the men who've never struggled in their lives and whose idea of trickle down economics is removing all taxes and regulations from the top and trickling it down towards the bottom. Keep saying it, Obama. Keep repeating it. Define them with their own records.
8
This is one of most intelligent choices ever made for VP.
Ryan calls for ending oil subsidies
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/041…
Ryan calls for ending oil subsidies
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/041…
9
Ryan: End Oil Subsidies and Corporate Welfare
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/ryan-en…
...we also want to get rid of corporate welfare. And corporate welfare goes to agribusiness companies, energy companies, financial services companies, so we propose to repeal all that,” Ryan said in response to a question about oil subsidies.
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/ryan-en…
10
So basically they're just giving up already? It's pretty clear they're panicking by announcing tomorrow, I wonder if they panicked with this pick too.
11
Sure he's cute, and young people are stupid, but doesn't Ryan have a history of being sort of a jerk? Didn't he throw a few tantrums a while back?
Plus, he's a Catholic. A ticket lead by a Mormon and a Catholic should be interesting in the holy roller crowd. Are they more racist or more religiously bigoted? Only time will tell.
Plus, he's a Catholic. A ticket lead by a Mormon and a Catholic should be interesting in the holy roller crowd. Are they more racist or more religiously bigoted? Only time will tell.
14
@6 - Not so. Even the 65+ Tea Partiers rejected Ryan's budget.
Yes, they seem to be a selfishly heartless bunch, but they have kids and grandkids that they love far more than their I've-got-mine credo, and wouldn't want them deprived of the government teat they've been breathlessly suckling.
Yes, they seem to be a selfishly heartless bunch, but they have kids and grandkids that they love far more than their I've-got-mine credo, and wouldn't want them deprived of the government teat they've been breathlessly suckling.
15
@ 6 This is one of the better choices for the Dems, he a right winger who will turn off independents and who Dems can point to as another Romney, someone who cares only about the 1%
16
@14 - Sorry. I forgot how nuanced and sophisticated the elderly electorate is when you talk about Medicare.
17
@14,
Their political theory holds that their grandkids will not suffer if the oldsters grab as much as they can before they expire. He who dies with the most toys-gets to leave those toys to their children/grandchildren when they die.
And, if you are a Dominionist, then you think jesus will be coming back any day now. The end of the world is just around the corner. Why invest in the future if you're firmly convinced there isn't going to be one? Further, they don't believe that man can destroy the Earth or use up all its resources. They think only god can do that.
Sure, they love their kids and grandkids. But they don't love anybody else's kids or grandkids. For those who fail to thrive, "the sins of the father shall be passed unto the seventh generation", and they aren't to blame for people who's failures get passed to their offspring. Human suffering is acceptable when you can attribute it to moral failing.
Their political theory holds that their grandkids will not suffer if the oldsters grab as much as they can before they expire. He who dies with the most toys-gets to leave those toys to their children/grandchildren when they die.
And, if you are a Dominionist, then you think jesus will be coming back any day now. The end of the world is just around the corner. Why invest in the future if you're firmly convinced there isn't going to be one? Further, they don't believe that man can destroy the Earth or use up all its resources. They think only god can do that.
Sure, they love their kids and grandkids. But they don't love anybody else's kids or grandkids. For those who fail to thrive, "the sins of the father shall be passed unto the seventh generation", and they aren't to blame for people who's failures get passed to their offspring. Human suffering is acceptable when you can attribute it to moral failing.
19
@13 - Okay, That's the hardest I've laughed all day.
I bet those mutinous Republicans that Paul reported earlier are popping corks over this. Please, PLEASE, be true.
I bet those mutinous Republicans that Paul reported earlier are popping corks over this. Please, PLEASE, be true.
21
I wonder if he'll release his tax returns.
Has Joe Biden released his tax returns already? I think tomorrow afternoon after the announcement, he should do just that.
Has Joe Biden released his tax returns already? I think tomorrow afternoon after the announcement, he should do just that.
22
Aw, hell, he already has released them. Oh well, it should still be the first question asked of Ryan.
23
Republican Catholics will be torn.
On the one hand, Ryan is a Catholic; on the other hand, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops sent letters condemning Ryan's budget for its ill treatment of the poor and its gutting of the elderly's safety net.
Please, God, let this rumor be true.
On the one hand, Ryan is a Catholic; on the other hand, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops sent letters condemning Ryan's budget for its ill treatment of the poor and its gutting of the elderly's safety net.
Please, God, let this rumor be true.
25
Paul Ryan for VP will definitely appeal to the sort of people who were already guaranteed to come out and vote against Obama anyway. And Romney might as well just write off Florida's 29 electoral votes now.
Need more evidence that Ryan is a stupid choice? Bill Kristol thinks Ryan is a great choice. If you know anything about politics, you know that Bill Kristol is never right about anything. Bill Kristol is responsible for plucking a little known governor named Sarah Palin out of obscurity four years ago and hyping her as a great VP choice.
This is a desperation move, and not a smart one.
Need more evidence that Ryan is a stupid choice? Bill Kristol thinks Ryan is a great choice. If you know anything about politics, you know that Bill Kristol is never right about anything. Bill Kristol is responsible for plucking a little known governor named Sarah Palin out of obscurity four years ago and hyping her as a great VP choice.
This is a desperation move, and not a smart one.
26
@20 - On top of every other claim you've staked, now you are religious? Inconvenient truth: Jesus loved the poor. See @23.
27
Romney just signaled this choice by claiming Obama was anti-religion (or whatever the hell he said). Mormon + Catholic = about as religiously fundamentalist as you can possibly get. They're going to be selling the prosperity gospel and people just eat that up. The hell with the poor; they should have started a business.
30
@8 and @9: Ryan mouthed support for ending oil subsidies, but his budget still provided $40 billion in tax breaks for oil companies. FORTY BILLION IN TAX BREAKS.
31
Come now, Paul Constant. Stop rudely interjecting facts into the right wing fantasy machine. This is probably the hardest Supreme came in years.
32
@31, and it's kind of cute how "the right wing fantasy machine" being battled in Slog comments is just John Bailo typing away in some Kent apartment complex.
33
@20: You really have nothing of substance to offer on this topic? You show up at 11:30pm on a Friday night to throw a religion-based ad hominem attack at one of the most religiously tolerant (or tolerant at all, really) people on SLOG, when this is the story?
You must be one miserable, suffering human being. I pity you, truly.
You must be one miserable, suffering human being. I pity you, truly.
34
@32:
"Right wing fantasy machine" is Bailo's next pen name. He'll soon realize that "Supreme Ruler Of The Universe" is insufficiently grandiose for his delusions.
"Right wing fantasy machine" is Bailo's next pen name. He'll soon realize that "Supreme Ruler Of The Universe" is insufficiently grandiose for his delusions.
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