So what do you think about Romney's pick of Paul Ryan? Is it the right choice for him? Romney/Ryan does have a ring to it. Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk
It must be the right pick. 30 minutes after the announcement, I saw the first negative ad from the opposition about him. Then, the Chicago Tribune, which is evidently a little biased, posted a slanted "news" article. On the positive side, the news reports he sleeps in his office instead of renting an apartment in DC. Kind of gives the impression that he knows what he is supposed to be there for. Will be doing much more research.
Personally, I love Paul Ryan. I've stated it on here multiple times in the past that I was hoping he would be running for Pres in 4 or 8 years from now. Honestly, I wish he was running for Pres and not VP. I agree with just about all of Ryan's policies and he seems like one of very few politicians who actually does understand the importance of what he's doing. I'll be honest, I don't like seeing him tied to Romney like this. If Romney loses, Ryan fades not necesarily into obscurity, but he becomes a political "has been". See McCain, Kerry, etc for examples. If Romney wins, Ryan's future is basically dictated by whether or not he can be a 2 term President. If so, then MAYBE he has a shot at the President's office in 8 years. If Romney is gone in 1 term, see Scenario A. While I do like the fact that Ryan is a hunter, I don't like the fact that the hunting community is rallying around him b/c of it. I would never vote for someone solely because we share the same hobby. There's so much at stake here that will affect not just us, many generations to come. Obama is a Bears fan, and so am I. That doesn't mean I want him as my President. In my perfect world, Romney & Ryan win, Romney croaks of a heart attack after 6 months in office, and Ryan takes over. :D
Justin... your perfect world would be nice...... BUT.... don't hold your breath. As I said before.... he picked the wrong running mate.... Ryan I mean.
I agree. Personally, I've been a big Ryan fan long before I knew he was a bow hunter. The fact that he is a hunter is just icing on the cake. Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2
I don't usually comment on political threads, but Romney choosing to align with a candidate that is more hard line Republican/Tea party may help alleviate some of the rift within the party itself and bring more unity (which is the only way to win...look at what happened to Teddy Roosevelt after jumping ship in the last election). It only makes sense to pick someone who is very adamant about fixing the economy and government spending, and who has the legislation/action to back it up since the economy IS THE ISSUE that will make voters minds up this November. However, only time will tell how the public perceives him, and what dirt may be dug up. He's already relinquished what I believe to be more tax return information than Romney has (all hearsay of course as none of it is made public). I'm just not sold on Romney...even though. His brief political resume doesn't entirely sit well with me.
I'm a Ryan fan as well. My only concern with him is what Justin outlined above........if Romney isn't elected then Ryan's stock loses value next election if he were to want to run for president. If Romney is elected, then Ryan is off the market for 8 years (unless Romney kicks the bucket). My biggest concern is if Romney does anything stupid in office, Ryan's going to be guilty by association. That's risky for someone that appears to be one of if not the strongest future candidates we have today for the republican party. The last time we saw a former VP get elected as President was H.W. Bush (and that was more because of Reagan's history than Bush's IMHO). Before that was Nixon, and we haven't seen it before that since 1836........not exactly a good track record for VP's getting elected as Pres.
Nixon actually lost his election as the incumbent VP after Eisenhower's 8 years were over in 1960 to JFK. Nixon didn't win the Presidency until 1968 (he also lost a run at the California governor's office in 1962). So I'd call H.W. as the only successful VP win.
I don't know a lot about Ryan so I have been reading to catch up. His relationship with Unions is interesting and not a popular subject everywhere. One thing that does seem clear... Romney is building a team to overthrow the Health Care Bill and install his own... or more likely Ryan's plan. That's a bid odd... Mitt was running on his ability to overturn the law but brings in Ryan to do so? Did Romney ever have a plan... or was this his plan from the beginning? Here's an article I found interesting: In his home state, Ryan has had a cozy relationship with union contractors that stretches back to his days at his family's construction firm in Janesville, WI--Ryan Incorporated Central--which relies heavily on union labor. Back in 2009, in an article about his rising prominence in the party, he said, “A lot of conservatives just think unions are nothing but bad. That's just not true.... They're people who are just trying to make their lives better, people trying to collectively negotiate a better standard of living for themselves. What the heck is wrong with that?" His position on this wasn’t just idle chatter to sweet talk the folks back home either. Last year Ryan broke with his party and voted to uphold the Davis-Bacon Act, which protects union wages on federally funded projects. As Suzy Khimm reported at the time: Since he was first elected to Congress in 1998, Ryan has been a staunch supporter of the Davis-Bacon Act, which prevents federally funded construction projects from undercutting the prevailing union wages in any local area. Republicans have been pushing to repeal Davis-Bacon for years, claiming that it benefits unions at the expense of taxpayers. In a handful of states, GOP lawmakers have already succeeded in overturning state versions of the law. But as recently as February, Ryan joined 47 other Republicans and 185 Democrats to oppose overturning Davis-Bacon, defeating the repeal bill. As Khimm goes on to say, this vote followed a distinct trend of Ryan looking out for unionized construction workers. That said, his fondness for the unionized working man has been a narrow one. Outside of the moments when he’s looked out the construction workers, in which he arguably has some vested interest, there’s been little love for teachers and government workers. He stood firmly behind Governor Scott Walker in his fight against Wisconsin's public sector unions, and in a press release following the announcement yesterday, the National Education Association attacked, claiming, "Ryan has repeatedly supported cuts to education funding, including blocking support intended to help avoid educator layoffs and prevent ballooning class sizes." (They gave him an "F" in their annual appraisal last year.) It's worth noting that the unions that Ryan has been most cordial towards, the building trade unions, have traditionally tended to be whiter and more conservative than many of their counterparts, falling closer to the Republican base. That said, Ryan's position of at least dealing with organized labor back home was once not so far out of step within the GOP, especially in the North. That his stance is exceptional at all is a sign of how the party has shifted. Whatever affinity Ryan may have for unionized labor, it’s become a very one sided affair. While general contractors have been the fifteenth highest contributors to his campaigns over the course of his career, they don’t even break the top twenty this cycle. The AFL CIO gave him a rating of 28% last year for his positions on union issues. None of which is particularly surprising, given the extent to which Ryan’s profile has been built on his plans to eviscerate programs like medicare, social security, and the new health care law, all of which are traditional staples of the union agenda, which they’ve promised to go to bat for. As the news of Ryan being the pick spread, you could almost hear unions all around their country sharpening their knives.
He's still a politician=I don't trust him. Like JZ said, there are other Bowhunters that I don't care for either. Too soon to get excited. Besides, Romney himself said he is the next President when he introduced him.
Ryan would not been my pick, but if you are the republicans choice and you need a vp to make your base happy what does that say about you? Ryan's other issue is SS and Medicare, folks 55 and up most like these programs. Because they know unlike us younger folks they are going to get sick and need healthcare. Ryan is to easy of a target and he comes from a congress with the worst approval rating ever.
Not to be a grammar Nazi, but this didn't make much sense. If you're saying that Ryan is going to scare senior citizens away due to his medicare reforms, then that would be an unwarranted fear. His plan wouldn't affect those over 55 as they are already dependent on the current system. For the younger folks he recognizes that the current system is broken and is unsustainable. I'm not an expert in this area, but at least he's trying to fix the problem. Sent from my SGH-I777 using Tapatalk 2
Not really, I would want to win. What vote does he bring in that Romney could not? The republican base The republican candidate needs a vp to bring in their base vote?
