On July 14th, in an article about potential running mates for Romney, I wrote, "Paul Ryan would also be a fantastic pick, but he has indicated that he will not accept such an offer, primarily for the sake of his family."
It was because of Ryan's claim he did not wish to be chosen as a running mate that I did not consider him as a possibility.
It turns out he was willing to accept the offer of Vice Presidential running mate after all, and the choice was a pleasant surprise. After all, Ryan is a conservative who understands the basic principles of limited government, and that our rights come from God, not government.
On board the USS Wisconsin, an obvious reference to Ryan's home State, the presumptive GOP nominee for President of the United States announced that Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin would be his running mate amid loud cheers by both Republican establishment types, as well as conservatives and Tea Party folk. Though there may be a lot of reasons by many that Paul Ryan was not the best pick - Ron Paul supporters point towards the shortcomings of his budget plan, for example - I believe the choice was pure genius.
When trying to determine the wisdom of Romney choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate, Ryan's budget is exactly where everyone goes. Ron Paul supporters claim the budget fell way short, and that it worked to reform unconstitutional aspects of the federal government when what is really needed if for those items to be eliminated. Liberal democrats claim Ryan's budget went overboard in spending cuts, and places Medicare, and like programs, at serious risk. The fact is, Paul Ryan's budget was a step in the right direction, and is a testament to Ryan's understanding that as the folks destroying our system understood, you move too fast and you compromise the whole process, but if you don't move enough the effort is a useless gesture. Reforms, and more reforms, are necessary to slow down, and eventually make obsolete, unconstitutional measures. As a Constitutionalist believe me when I say that I would love nothing more than for us to get rid of the massive unconstitutional spending we see at the federal level, which would in turn drop our federal spending down to about 5% of GDP. But to do that, programs like social security and Medicare would have to be immediately scrapped. However, as unconstitutional as those programs are, the fact is we have paid into those programs, and have been promised benefits from those programs, so reforms that will incrementally privatize these programs is what is necessary. Small bites, slight moves, and incremental actions are necessary. Eventually, America will be weened off of programs like these, and then we can concentrate on being self-reliant and personally responsible as originally intended.
Paul Ryan's budget, whether it is full of shortcomings, or not, has been the most conservative attempt to reign in federal spending we have seen. The budget is a brilliant piece of work and shows Ryan's ability to tackle the big issues in a conservative manner, while tempering them just enough that the changes aren't a total shock to the system. This makes Ryan a very valuable politician, and reveals how much as a conservative he realizes the weight of the hard road we have ahead of us, and how that road must be traversed.
The Conservative Base will be, and is being, energized by the pick of Paul Ryan as Veep, without opening up the attacks about a lack of Washington experience that folks like Rand Paul or Alan West might draw. Oh, trust me, the attacks will come, and already have. That is how the liberal left is. They don't debate policy, they simply launch into the politics of personal destruction. The brilliance of the Paul Ryan pick is that the attacks have to be made up, lies have to be created, or the facts have to be exaggerated, because like Romney, in his personal life, Ryan is a good person with a happy marriage and a scandal-free political career.
Romney simply followed the play book on who to pick if you really think about it. Reagan chose someone that was quite the opposite of him, a moderate northeastern Republican in George Bush, to be his running mate in 1980. In 1996, while being doubted about his conservative nature (especially when it came to tax cuts), Bob Dole named Jack Kemp who was a fervent champion of free-market economics, as his running mate. Now, Mitt Romney is confronted with conservative skepticism about his conservative pedigree, so he picked Paul Ryan – a former Kemp speechwriter, and a conservative champion – as his vice-presidential nominee. Ryan is very conservative, though maybe not as conservative as someone like Sarah Palin. Compared to Romney, however, Ryan has just the right amount of right-wing flare. It's all about balance, and pulling in republican votes that may not otherwise find you to be the best presidential candidate.
The last of the doubters may be willing to join the Romney Camp with a choice like Paul Ryan.
The ticket is not all things to all people, and like all tickets in history, there are flaws, but when you consider the balance this ticket offers, and how choosing Ryan pulls Wisconsin into the fold (combined with Walker's popularity, how can Wisconsin now go blue?), the choice was pure genius.
Personally, I am excited about the promise of a Ryan-Biden debate. . . which scares the hell out of democrats, and may be why we may see Biden kicked to the curb.
Can anyone say "Hillary Clinton for Vice President?"
I just don't know if the Clinton crime family wants any more to do with the Obama regime. Then again, Hillary may see a V.P. position under Obama as her last chance to maneuver into position for a presidential run - which would only work for the Clintons if Obama won reelection, and somehow came out of a second term with a favorable opinion of him.
Some liberals, the real crazy leftist ones that are two sneezes away from putting on an arm band with a hammer and sickle on it, will (and are) start proclaiming their joy in Romney's pick because they think going conservative like this with the Ryan pick is going to damage the Republican Party's chances to gain the White House. In reality, they are shaking in their boots. The Left won't admit it, but deep down, like Romney, the democrats realize that conservatism wins elections.
-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary
Is Condoleeza Rice the Right Veep Choice for Romney? - Political Pistachio
Ryan's Address: Our Rights Come from Nature and God, Not Government - Weekly Standard
Paul Ryan's VP not elicits cheers of joy across liberal America - The Raw Story
It's Paul Ryan: Romney picks Wis. Rep. for No. 2 - Associated Press
No comments:
Post a Comment