Last Thursday’s Wall Street Journal editorial “Why Not Paul Ryan?” made the case for his selection as the Republican vice-presidential nominee in this statement: “Romney can win a big election over big issues. He’ll lose a small one.”
After Ryan’s serious proposal to restructure Medicare — which virtually everyone knows must be reformed — the response from Democrats was an unserious TV ad, which showed a Ryan look-alike pushing an old woman in a wheelchair over a cliff.
If Ryan and Romney can effectively respond to such silliness, they will not only win the election; they will actually accomplish something that will benefit all Americans.
Is America ready for a serious discussion of issues, rather than the superficial approach that has defined so much of modern politics? We’re about to find out. There may be a remnant, a Puritan ethic, still living within our collective DNA that can remind us about the evil of debt, living within one’s means and taking care of yourself first, rather than relying on inefficient and overreaching government.
The Obama administration has done nothing to warrant a second term. If Ryan and Romney can force Americans to pay attention to the need for real change, instead of the unaffordable snake oil Obama has been selling, they will win handily and take back the Senate for Republicans. Anyone needing to be reminded of Ryan’s debating skills should re-visit his criticism of the president’s health-care measure before it passed with most of Congress not knowing what was in it. It’s worth your time to watch this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPxMZ1WdINs).
Ryan will wipe the floor with Vice President Joe Biden in their one debate in October, but on the campaign trail he will remind Americans that this election is important. It’s not about race, class, or envy of Romney’s wealth. It is about America’s immediate and long-term future. Surgery is painful, but an ailing nation must have it or we will die financially and culturally. It’s as simple as that.
It is a truism that a nominee’s pick of a running mate is his first big decision and reflects on what his approach to the presidency will be. Some other Republican nominees have chosen running mates for reasons other than their intellectual heft. Romney’s pick of Ryan shows he means business.
The Obama smear machine will attack Ryan in every conceivable way, but if Ryan does not allow himself to be distracted and frames the issues in the proper way (“under Obama why would you think you would be better off in four years when you’re worse off today than you were four years ago?”) he might force many Americans to stop being distracted by irrelevancies and start focusing on what matters most.
Romney-Ryan must also re-tell America’s story. They should feature at every campaign stop someone who has succeeded without help from the federal government, including small business owners who did, in fact, build their businesses. Let’s see some Americans who overcame difficult circumstances by making right decisions. Inspiration and perspiration — not taxing and spending — built America and can rebuild it.
This election isn’t about politicians; it’s about us. Clearing the debris caused by broken and dysfunctional government, while maintaining a safety net for the genuinely needy, will not only restore the economy, it will restore optimism.
Ronald Reagan (Romney-Ryan is another “RR”) ran for re-election in 1984 and inspired people to believe in themselves, not government. President Obama appears to want the opposite.
Ancient cultures attached a lot of meaning to names. In Gaelic, Ryan means “king.” In a country without a monarch, a synonym might very well be “vice president.”
Comments
Paul R. Getto 10 months, 1 week ago
This election isn’t about politicians; it’s about us. Clearing the debris caused by broken and dysfunctional government, while maintaining a safety net for the genuinely needy, will not only restore the economy, it will restore optimism.======= A good point which applies to most of the past 40+ years. Keep 'em coming, Cal.
rockchalker52 10 months, 1 week ago
"Ryan will wipe the floor with Vice President Joe Biden in their one debate in October..."
I'll take that bet & give you 2 to 1 odds. Ryan will end up as the mop.
deec 10 months, 1 week ago
Look who's back...again.
deec 10 months, 1 week ago
Well, that didn't take long. Maybe there should be a contest called Spot the zombie.
"I can spot the zombie in four posts, Wink."
"Well, I can spot him in three posts."
"Spot that zombie!"
Paul R. Getto 10 months, 1 week ago
Be nice ...he needs this. Life is empty in the right-wing only echo chambers.
Liberty275 10 months, 1 week ago
Taking candy from children. Biden is a half-wit and he's going to have to debate one of the most intellectual elected official in our government. It's going to be fun to watch.
I wonder if Biden will just keep repeating "they're gonna put you back in chains".
Liberal 10 months, 1 week ago
If Sarah Palin could beat him (which she did) Ryan will demolish him.
tuschkahouma 10 months, 1 week ago
yeah.....the conversation now is about about denial and flip flopping....watch the wisconsin hall monitor nerd and the rombot flip reality on it's head....watch as the simpletons go wow at the magic trick.....
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 10 months, 1 week ago
Can you rephrase that? Or should we get an interpreter?
jhawkinsf 10 months, 1 week ago
There is a poster in this very forum who fancies herself a translator. Perhaps she can be persuaded to apply for the job.
Then again, that person almost always twists the translation so that the meaning is not reflective of the intent of the original speaker. That just might disqualify the translator I had in mind.
Don't quit your day job.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 10 months, 1 week ago
Don't worry-- you're still free to hide behind whatever euphemisms you care to employ.
jhawkinsf 10 months, 1 week ago
I meant it in jest and hoped you would take it as such. After all, a person that cannot laugh at himself has no sense of humor. :-)
Liberty275 10 months, 1 week ago
How about "I hate people that don't promise to gvie me free stuff"? Just use that as a proxy for all of tuskahoma's and Bozo's posts and you'll be OK.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 10 months, 1 week ago
Did you get that out of the copy of Atlas Thugged that someone gave you?
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 10 months, 1 week ago
"I can't wait to hear Bitme's"
Interpreter, please!!
deec 10 months, 1 week ago
I think Fox is the only channel they get out in Linwood.
deec 10 months, 1 week ago
I would be glad to, but I rarely use that account and have managed to lock myself out. :)
deec 10 months, 1 week ago
The one I referenced was gone within about 2 hours. He/she signed up on August 15. Now my posts are under the wrong troll. :)
deec 10 months, 1 week ago
I don't recall at this time. :)
I hope someone else noticed so you can add it to the list.
Paul R. Getto 10 months, 1 week ago
True. This is not Nancy Boy.
markoo 10 months, 1 week ago
"If Ryan and Romney can effectively respond to such silliness, they will not only win the election; they will actually accomplish something that will benefit all Americans."
That's the funny thing, Cal. If you weren't such a Wingnut hack, you would have known or at least fully acknowledged the fact that Ryan and the GOP nuts in the House failed miserably in convincing the public that their economic plan will add up. Their idea to essentially destroy Medicare as we know it went over like a lead balloon. Cal knows this. As does the rest of the Winger clan.
Ryan is charismatic. He's an eloquent speaker. But his policies suck. Period.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 10 months, 1 week ago
'Willfully Gullible' Corporate Media Sing Paul Ryan's Praise The Media's Favorite 'Wonk': Paul Ryan According to Beltway media
"In short, there are two versions of Paul Ryan: He is either a wonky, spreadsheet-obsessed policy expert, or he's crafted a budget that favors the wealthy and makes little practical or even mathematical sense. Economists and budget experts tend to believe the latter; journalists overwhelmingly see the former."
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/08/15
Liberty275 10 months, 1 week ago
"commondreams"
LOL. Do you really read that crap?
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 10 months, 1 week ago
Yea, it's a good antidote to the ideological straightjacket you'd have us all wearing.
overplayedhistory 10 months, 1 week ago
Refocused from "I like to fire people" to I like to fire people and the kick them off unemployment.
yourworstnightmare 10 months, 1 week ago
Refocuses the campaign on Ryan's budget plan, which would eliminate medicare and replace it with a voucher system that seniors could use toward purchasing private insurance.
I say "toward" purchasing private insurance because all analysis indicates that the voucher in Ryan's plan would not buy comparable coverage now available under medicare, and this is before insurance companies raise their prices.
Ayn Rand as Ryan's moral compass can now be focused on.
Let's not forget Romney's tax returns. Just what does he not want Americans to see?
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 10 months, 1 week ago
http://www.commondreams.org/sites/commondreams.org/files/imce-images/ryan_toon_309091_355787534501268_718112236_n.jpg
voevoda 10 months, 1 week ago
If the election is indeed about "America's immediate and long-term future," as Cal Thomas asserts, then all the more reason to vote against Romney/Ryan.
rtpayton 10 months, 1 week ago
Biggunz ask what's your guy done? I sure hope your not a reporter failing to see what the Presidents done. He helped craft the affordable care act. Which by the way is one of the largest piece's of modern law and insurance & health policy. I'll side with you that some of his policies have failed but can we name any President without some failures.
Liberal 10 months, 1 week ago
The largest boondoggle that will bankrupt our country is not such a great thing. Romney saved the Olympics, helped many companies grow and prosper, ran a State successfully. Overall success after success, a lifetime of it.
Paul R. Getto 10 months, 1 week ago
"Some" say Romney's main skill was getting tax dollars to bail out the Olympics. Good thing it was only the winter Olympics.
Paul R. Getto 10 months, 1 week ago
Good points. He is popular at home. We shall see how he plays on the road.
tuschkahouma 10 months, 1 week ago
how does an atheist greedy russian writer loved by a wisconsin nerd hall monitor go over with billy bob church attendees in linwood kansas? how many contradictions are there? romneybot with his mannish robotic tone and that charasmatic manner.... how does he excite the rural minions??? by bringing howdy doody cheesehead..... two guys with the charm and sincerety of used car salesmen....being called a lefty loon makes me think there isn't much intelligence or originality on the other side of this discussion....it makes me think of mccarthyism.....the 1950's are calling.... sageon whatever.....go listen to pat boone be proud of being white and go look for commies or burn books or whatever it is you people do to create bogeymen....
Paul R. Getto 10 months ago
Be nice. You'll give Mr. Boone a bad name.
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