The selection of Paul Ryan has been greeted with a wild joy on Twitter, and not just by conservatives; I’ve seen hundreds of liberals celebrate the choice. A spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Jesse Ferguson, said this: “So this is what xmas morning feels like?” The idea here is that Ryan is the perfect target for Democrats because he has proposed specific budget cuts and the overhaul of Medicare, while supporting tax reform that would lower rates on the wealthy.
Doubtless, Ryan has provided some subject matter for Democratic attacks. But so, in different ways, would anyone else on Mitt Romney’s short list. Romney already opened himself up to assault on the Ryan budget by calling it “marvelous,” and it’s not as though the Obama campaign was going to stand on scruple and let him go on that because he hadn’t formally adopted it.
The other two exciting possibilities on the Romney list, Marco Rubio and Chris Christie, are arguably more dynamic than Ryan—Rubio is probably the best speaker in the GOP, and Christie the master of the viral—but they too would have been put in the position of actually having to defend the supposedly draconian Ryan budget the Democrats were and are going to hang around the Romney campaign’s neck. And they would have been worse at it, obviously.
More important is the quality of the glee itself. It’s an ongoing liberal political-character flaw. So insulated a are many, if not most, American liberals that they simply presume that which they despise is inherently despicable, and that what they fear is inherently fearful. As they gather in their echo chamber, all they hear are voices resounding with the monstrousness of redesigning Medicare and the parlousness of cutting the federal budget. They genuinely do not know that budget cutting is popular, even if only in theory, and that tens of millions of voters do understand the notion that the government is living far beyond its means. From what we can gather, in fact, these are exactly the sorts of ideas that speak to independent voters and have since the days of Ross Perot.
Ryan is a formidable presence in American politics. Generally speaking, formidable players do formidable things. The glee of the Left suggests its folk are so excited by what the Obama campaign can dish out that they are unprepared for what Ryan and Romney can dish out right back.
The Dems plan to end Medicare as we know it by bankrupting it – their "plan" is we all get Medicaid. n nAnybody want that?
I'm glad they are gleeful. The Brockton Blockbuster just added Joe Louis to his ticket. The Dems are goin' down!
" The glee of the Left suggests its folk are so excited by what the Obama campaign can dish out that they are unprepared for what Ryan and Romney can dish out right back." n nJust like they were during the oral arguments before SCOTUS on Obamacare.
yeah, and look how well that turned out.
Well, to be fair, Rulieg, it certainly wasn't the arguments made IN court that convinced Roberts to betray the cause. If anything it was the scurrilous remarks made by Obama and others while the decision was pending that seemed to have pushed Roberts over the edge.
Can you believe the stupidity of these Republicans? Choosing a guy who actually has ideas; a guy who believes the Congress should take its constitutional duties seriously and pass a budget. Worst of all, this Ryan fellow is dumb enough to ask us to look our systemic problems squarely in the face and attempt solutions. This guy is dangerous! A few more like him come along and it could spell the end of politics as Democrats know it.
The left was so convinced of its own superiority in 2000 and 2004 they stopped campaigning early and reverted to name calling.
Well, Jon is right, but it almost doesn't matter. Quickly, think of a VP who really made a difference–LBJ is likely only one who will come to mind because he is the only one who did. Palin–villified to no end—didn't even harm McCain(polls show it a wash). After the hoopla and excitement, and probably a slight Romney poll bounce, Ryan will be sent to the Podunks and Hicksvilles and the major attraction will still be Romney who will not have morphed, regrettably, into super candidate. I'm thrilled with the Ryan choice. I much rather go down in a good fight. But go down we will.
VP candidate doesn't matter – until he does. LBJ – that was one close race, so he really mattered. nBut I think a VP choice does matter, perhaps in ways that are hard to nail down. In this case, the pick might help some conservatives swallow Romney as the candidate. Hey – we might even see a bump in his favorable ratings! nI also think a VP choice tells us about a candidate. George W. Bush's choice was indicative of his self-confidence – it takes self-confidence to pick a running-mate who is as smart as Cheney when fools are calling you stupid. Same here – Romney is willing to pick someone with conservative star power when many conservatives are calling him Obama-lite. Good for him. nFinally, with Ryan on the ticket we are far more likely to have the intelligent discussion we need about our country's future. I'm not sure any other candidate would have offered this opportunity.
Not so fast. At least two polls in Wisconsin show that the addition of Ryan to the ticket makes the race in Wisconsin a dead heat compared with every other selection (except Rice) which showed no benefit. So Ryan has already (seemingly) improved Romney's chances in the critical state of Wisconsin. Obama can hardly afford to lose that state and Ryan has tremendous appeal to the blue collar democrat voters who largely make up his congressional district.
TS and Mike, I just want to emphasize that I love the Ryan choice. I agree with many of your comments and I'll go so far to say that we conservative Republicans can be very proud of Romney making this choice. He is indeed a menche. My only point is that,as a VP candidate, as time goes on, Ryan will not be the focus of media attention(including conservative media) and that will leave our case to be made by a very medicore candidate in Romney. I also said that we're likely to see some poll bounce, so what is coming out of Wisconsin confirms this. Let's see what comes out in September after the dust settles from both conventions. If I'm wrong, I'll joyously and deleriously concede my misjudgement.
I've been hearing this from the left for weeks now. "Oh please pick Ryan, please pick Ryan, please GOP pick Ryan, you'd be giving us the biggest gift ever if you picked Ryan!"– with an edge of over-the-top hysteria. n nMeanwhile, Axelrod in what I'm sure was good faith [rolling eyes] advised Republicans that the smartest choice for Romney would be… Pawlenty. n n"Oh please Brer Fox, please pick Ryan!". n nMethinks the lady doth celebrate too much. Paul Ryan is a formidable candidate, perhaps the most articulate demolisher of BS in the GOP (in an election that Obama is desperately making all about BS), and he out-charismas Obama, radiates more intelligence and common sense and likabiity and intellectual integrity and honesty and vision and energy than Obama. If anyone can persuade young voters away from Obama, it's Ryan. n nThis pick makes Democrats nervous, even if they don't admit it to themselves. n nNevertheless, it's a bold pick from Romney, and I applaud him for it. The Ryan pick signals that his campaign is confronting the most exigent, essential, substantive, and politically sensitive fiscal issues for the USA head on.
The American Left is dead. They have dishonored the country, and America now sees them as the true enemy. The conservative tidal wave that Obama started will continue to rise and wash away this enemy until there is no remnant of Leftism left in America.
How can you say the Left is DEAD? Obama is 7-9 points ahead in most polls?
sorry, I still think this was a huge mistake. it should have been Marco Rubio. "he'd still have to defend" the Ryan plan? John, please don't take us for idiots. the RYAN plan is associated with Ryan. n nnow, instead of talking about "the first Hispanic VP for president," we get to start constantly explaining that Paul Ryan really does not want old people to die. n nRubio could have brought Latinos, and Catholics, and Florida. Ryan might conceivably help with Catholics, but the GOP already has the white male vote sewn up. what was Romney thinking? n n nwhy Ryan certainly isn't as awful a choice as Pawlenty would have been (really? PAWLENTY? Axelrod was kidding us, right?), Ryan is not much better, electorally speaking. I make no judgment on his brains or his ideas.
Race doesn't matter when a Republican chooses someone – the media would not have cared about Rubio being Hispanic. Republicans are always pilloried for race, no matter what. Take any black conservative as an example – liberals and the media demonize them.
Rubio may have attracted the Cuban vote and that would help in South Florida, But Mexican hispanics and other hispanic immigrants wont vote for him simply because he is Cubano-American.
LOL! n nFolks there has been a sea change…. n nAs the great P.J. O'Rourke said…."The election of 2010 was epic, the American Public have put a restraining order on the proliferate spending in Washington, giving more money to the government is about as sensible as giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys"…. n nWe are witnessing the greatest conservative ascendency in my lifetime….
8 years of Romney…8 more of Ryan….followed by 8 of Christie or Rubio…..you can't keep America down leftys….the wilderness beckons….the poseur has destroyed you democrats. America rejoices and will exult in November…..
Ryan will help Romney garner a few more tea party votes (but they are mostly coming from states Romney was already going to win anyway). As for independents Ryan will chase away more than he attracts for the ticket. As for democrats who were thinking of voting for Romney this will make some of them either stay home and not vote or end up voting for Obama. I see this as giving Obama a bigger lead than he already has. I do not see this as giving Romney any bump in any polls. Ryan, overall is far too polarizing.
Last night Dick Morris pointed out that Ryan will absolutely destroy Biden in the VP debate(s). Heh. I can hardly wait to see what comes out of a debate between the ultimate financial policy wonk and the Gaffe That Keeps on Giving.
Chris Christie, though he is enormously talented (no pun intended) at rhetoric and debate, is simply too liberal on too many issues for this election. Romney cannot afford to alienate the conservative vote and if he had picked Christie as VP, there would have been a real risk that the already suspicious conservative base would have seen that as confirmation that Romney was just another McCain. By picking Ryan, Romney locked down the conservative base. Very smart. Very smart.
The only sector of the electorate that will be excited about the Romney/Ryan ticket are those who were not going to vote for Obama anyway, i.e., middle-aged white male Christian conservatives. At the same time, Romney's choice of running mate will very likely farther alienate two key demographic groups — women and the elderly.
The Democrat argument, of which they are insanely proud, is that Democrats have succeeded in reducing so many voters to stupid, desperate clients of federal largess that those voters will reject any change in the sinking patronage system.
Furthermore, those voters – Democrat voters – are so terrified that they will be easily scared into voting against Romney-Ryan and sticking with the status quo.
Read Michael Tomasky – these are their boasts! He says that this election is going to teach the Right a lesson: that the country is not with them. Afterward we’ll (read “the smart ones who understand how America really is”) be able to move forward.
How contemptible it is to be a Democrat. That entire loathsome party must go! Not just in this election, but forever.
Fairness is a fundamental requirement no matter who win. nWhile we need to reduce W DC spending, the saving should not go to the rich but the middle class and reduce the pain for the medicare-dependent if they see their benefits reduced. Improving the economy would decrease the pain for medicare people.
Of COURSE we dems r gleeful. Romney handed us the victory yesterday. By picking Ryan, Mitt gave up his greatest talent–to waffle and go with the flow. With Ryan, Mitt has nailed himself into the far right corner, and there is no escape.
Me thinks they doth laugh too loudly i.e. their laugh is fake and used to hide the fact that they are sorely afraid. In a debate Ryan should be able to wipe the floor with Plugs Byden.
Gramps, u r nuts. Nobody except a tea-partyer can be charmed by Paulie. Nobody, except u greedy nuts, wants to hear a politician say he will destroy social services, medicare, etc. nPlus, since when has austerity ever created jobs? What nonsense connection is that? Austerity measures made Ireland's economic crisis worse. The only people who like austerity r the mean bums who do not want to see anyone else live. nHey, Gramps, how r your medicare and social security holding up? hang in there. tomorrow is the 3rd Wednesday of the month–check that direct deposit like u always do. n
I've often wondered why liberals (such as the Morning Joe crowd, Cokie Roberts, etc.) always have to chortle when expressing their opinions. Everything is SO amusing. Darn it, this economy and debt is serious and I wonder if there's one liberal who can match Ryan for seriousness.