Breaking: Paul Ryan chosen as Romney VP

[kieefer]

A physical conservative? Does that mean he is in good shape? Sure you didn't mean fiscal?

Actually both, he's a big health nut and has an economics degree.

He's a smart pick. He's a lightning rod because of his budget plan. Should be interesting.

Agree, young, smart and knows what the country needs and how to convey it.

Can we reverse the ticket?

Yes, well almost, in 8 yrs. and won't have to worry about Mitt.

Ah, this is the guy behind the "Republican" budget in the house. I see attacks on killing medicare / social security in the near future.

All hell is going to break loose from the donks of the left. They've already started at moveon.org, Media Matters and Madkow on MSNBC is upset that the intro was done on the USS Wisconsin of all things. Yep, expect more lies from the left who has nothing but lies to run on.

I'm going to tune it all out and be happy on Nov. 6th. and I won't be holding my nose.

Not only has Mitt sealed my vote, but he will actually get some money from me now. Picking Ryan as his VP makes me wonder if I was too harsh in my criticism of Romney, and that he has actually changed from some of his former beliefs.

Can you imagine what the Ryan/Biden debate will be like? Team Obama will probably send Biden out of the country before the scheduled debates the minimize the embarrassment.

Same here! I'm almost ecstatic.

Now....we need to fill the House and Senate with more like Paul and shove a few things down someone's else's throat.

.

Edited August 12, 2012 by kieefer

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Re Ryan's video posted by JG55-- Honestly I'm not trying to scare the poor. I like Ryan better than most and would rather have Ryan at the top of the ticket than Romney, Santorum or Gingrich. It is good that Ryan appears capable of quantitative reasoning, a talent sorely lacking among politicians. Need to study more on his proposals (assuming his proposals would carry any weight after election day). It is a no-brainer that losing one trillion per year would be better than losing two trillion per year. Not that losing one trillion per year is any good. From observing R proposals of "fixing things" I just have doubts whether it will work. Maybe doubting too much. Maybe there is creativity buried in there that I need to locate and read. Or maybe they will soon describe creative solutions not yet mentioned.

In the video, Ryan speaks of "we didn't see the 2008 crash coming." Some people saw it coming. Maybe we should elect the people who saw it coming? I never see anything coming. Most folks don't. Prophecy is next-to-impossible. On the other hand, even I had a tiny inkling of bubbles about to burst-- When multiple giant tax rebates, billions of Bush keynsian stimulus didn't even slow the decline in 2006 and 2007. They had first injected the patient's heart with epinephrine and then when that didn't work they jolted him with the defibrilator but after that nobody saw it coming when the patient suddenly up and died? After 2006 and 2007 we got completely blindsided by 2008?

He speaks of fixing social security because we can see it coming. Social Security was seen coming a long time ago. They were teaching the social security crunch in college early 1970's. Maybe in the 1940's for all I know. Doh. In 1970 the crunch was 50 years away. An academic science fiction tale. Dunno but maybe they assumed it would have been fixed by now. It is easy to expect that people will be smarter in the future. Kinda like designing two digit year date codes into 1950 software knowing full-well it will cause problems a half-century later, but doing it anyway because surely they would have replaced the software by then...

Saw it coming... Hmmm, maybe like-- Start in Y2K with a hard-fought balanced budget. Cut taxes and raise spending. Then fight a couple of off-budget wars. How come Ryan didn't see that coming? If I started with a balanced household budget, and then I cut income and raised outlay, gradually sunk deep in the hole, but I didn't see it coming. I was completely blindsided by the mountain of debt!

Not slagging Ryan too brutally because death-bed salvation is better than none at all. Lets see if the Romney-Ryan solution to the problem involves something like--

1. Proudly display a plan to balance the budget by 2050, which will--

2. Cut taxes to stimulate the economy. Never mind that it only sparked a weak short-lived bubble starting 2002 and multiple tax cuts didn't fix anything in the period of 2006 to present. If we cut taxes "just the right way" it will work this time. Trust me on this. Remember Reagan. Never mind that the deficit and debt soared under Reagan. Tax cuts always make everything better! And they are not the same as Keynsian stimulus!

3. Raise spending to beef up infrastructure and strengthen the military and improve homeland security. Can't take up the slack by cutting social security without breaking your campaign promises and getting lynched by seniors. But somewhere they will cut a few million.

4. Perhaps BLINDSIDED by an Iran war. Romney's advisors for the last decade were cheerleading Iran war, but we were caught flatfooted, entirely by surprise when it actually happened. Really! The check's in the mail! Would I lie to you? Honey you didn't see me with that blond. That was somebody who looked like me driving a car just like mine.

5. Can't raise taxes, because that would damage the "recovery"

6. Can't cut spending because it is all essential spending for recovery and part of the grand plan to balance the budget by 2050.

7. GUNS AND BUTTER. Fight the war off-budget but that is OK because it is only temporary emergency spending. There won't be any more emergencies in the future. After we get over this temporary rough spot everything will balance by the year 2050.

Sorry, I'll shut up and wipe the spittle off my chin. I hope to be a false prophet. I hope things will go better in the real world. People wouldn't really be stupid enough to cut taxes and raise spending would they? People will be smarter in the future. They won't keep making the same mistakes.

[Links2k]

Ryan will give the Dems more of the scare-the-poor ammo. People are unhappy that they are poor, but don't understand that the country being poor contributes to that.

- OS

^ You hit the nail on the head. His budget plan strikes fear into the hearts of those in real need and those who are just plain lazy. I don't see where he helped Capt. Magic Drawers.

Edited August 12, 2012 by LINKS2K

[kieefer]

I could post a youtube video to try and convince some folks but the bottom line is that we MUST get this fool out of office and this pair of "R's" is our only chance.

Besides, the donks have been working for 4yrs compiling piles of trash on any candidate(s) we pick, so I say suck it up but don't give up.

[Guest Lester Weevils]

Well, I'm of the opinion that the D's are even more out of ideas than the R's. That doesn't mean the R plan is good just because the D plan is worse. I can post references substantiating campaign promises for most of what I fear will be the R "solution". Maybe they will be smarter than that, but I'm not making it up out of thin air. Ain't saying the D's are better than R's, only wishing the R's will be better than they most likely will turn out to be.

[Seabeejason]

Well, I know Ryan wants to drastically cut spending. And I believe that is something that needs to be done soon. So, with that said Romney now has my full support.

[Guest ThePunisher]

You were in a boating accident, too?

On my first climb of Mt. Everest, I accidently dropped mine off the mountain top.

[seez52]

I guess it's about the best we could hope for at this point. He seems to be well liked with the tea party folks, and those who believe him to be a true conservative. Although in reality he's still a spend happy politician. His budget still supported big government programs that would be better off being closed completely down. But since it's probably not going to happen, I guess he's at least somewhat on the right track.

I'm not trying to knock him, but for some reason he seems like he might be long lost kin of the Munsters.

If we gotta vote Romney, I guess this'll have to do. Could have been the loud mouth from New Jersey.

[1pointofview]

Folks, I am very happy with the pick. Romney is going to be a fiscal president and Ryan is going to bolster that.

The issue people need to get over is the fact that everyone's ideal candidate is different. We have a long way to go to get this nation off the course it is in and Romney and Ryan will be a better direction than the Marxist in office now.

[Oh Shoot]

Could have been the loud mouth from New Jersey.

Who says New Jersey's gun laws are "about right".

- OS

[Links2k]

Well, I know Ryan wants to drastically cut spending. And I believe that is something that needs to be done soon. So, with that said Romney now has my full support.

I'm all for cuts that include everything. No pet projects or sacred cows.

[Guest profgunner]

Spoke yesterday to an inlaw who has spent his entire life in Massachusetts. He is a very likable guy but liberal to the core. He told me he thinks Romney will be a pretty good president because "deep down" he's as liberal as Obama!!!! He went on to say Romney is a master at saying whatever it takes - but you can depend on him to return to his core liberal values when the dust settles. Geez. I guess I'm not really surprised.

[mikegideon]

Spoke yesterday to an inlaw who has spent his entire life in Massachusetts. He is a very likable guy but liberal to the core. He told me he thinks Romney will be a pretty good president because "deep down" he's as liberal as Obama!!!! He went on to say Romney is a master at saying whatever it takes - but you can depend on him to return to his core liberal values when the dust settles. Geez. I guess I'm not really surprised.

If Romney is a master of saying what it takes, how would this guy know? If I was the governor of Mass., I would convince them that I was a liberal. Is this guy a personal friend, or is he basing this on his public face? I don't get it.

[RobertNashville]

Is it too early to point out he has less "Executive Experience" than even Sarah Palin? I bet they'll point that out, if it hasn't happened yet.

From the perspective of Dem attacks, who was picked was inconsequential - the Democrats are going to spread lies, damn lies and outright rumors about whoever Romney picked. Ryan may be better equipped to fend then off than some others if only because he is used to doing so.

[Guest ThePunisher]

Spoke yesterday to an inlaw who has spent his entire life in Massachusetts. He is a very likable guy but liberal to the core. He told me he thinks Romney will be a pretty good president because "deep down" he's as liberal as Obama!!!! He went on to say Romney is a master at saying whatever it takes - but you can depend on him to return to his core liberal values when the dust settles. Geez. I guess I'm not really surprised.

If Romney was such a big liberal, why didn't he just run as a liberal Dumacrat. Disinformation is the norm of the Libtards today; I guess that's why our country is in the mess it's in. People will believe almost anything today. It was a real anomaly that Romney just happened to be a republican governor in a liberal democrat state. Maybe the people of Mass. are beginning to slowly see the light.

[RobertNashville]

Well, I know Ryan wants to drastically cut spending. And I believe that is something that needs to be done soon. So, with that said Romney now has my full support.

The problem is that Ryan doesn't want to cut it enough or fast enough and his answer to SS and Medicar insolvency wast to simply turn them into welfare programs with means testing (which only serves to punish those who have been the most fiscally responsible with their retirement savings) but leave them otherwise pretty much unchanged...we need to support those programs for those who are already on them or are too late in the game to do without the programs; they need to be fundamentally changed for everyone else (i.e privatized).

The primary positive about Ryan's budget was that is did, eventually, get a balanced budget. Of course as VP, Ryan's policies are a bit immaterial anyway so I guess it doesn't matter.

As for bringing in Tea Party folks and other conservatives, I don't see the need...unless the Tea Party folks (of which I am one)/conservatives (of which I am one) want four more years of the America-hating socialists they had no where else to go but Romney...I don't see how Ryan is going to help Romney where he truly needs it which is undecided voters in the key battleground states.

All in all, I don't see Ryan hurting Romney's chances but I don't see him as a big plus either.

Edited August 12, 2012 by RobertNashville

[Guest Lester Weevils]

The problem is that Ryan doesn't want to cut it enough or fast enough and his answer to SS and Medicar insolvency wast to simply turn them into welfare programs with means testing (which only serves to punish those who have been the most fiscally responsible with their retirement savings) but leave them otherwise pretty much unchanged...we need to support those programs for those who are already on them or are too late in the game to do without the programs; they need to be fundamentally changed for everyone else (i.e privatized).

Ditto. I knew there must be been something on which we agree, Robert!

[RobertNashville]

Ditto. I knew there must be been something on which we agree, Robert!

It's bound to happen now and then.

[Guest profgunner]

If Romney was such a big liberal, why didn't he just run as a liberal Dumacrat. Disinformation is the norm of the Libtards today; I guess that's why our country is in the mess it's in. People will believe almost anything today. It was a real anomaly that Romney just happened to be a republican governor in a liberal democrat state. Maybe the people of Mass. are beginning to slowly see the light.

Romney just wants to be president. He'll say anything it takes to get there. My inlaw (who as I pointed out is a flaming liberal) despises Romney yet still thinks he'll be an OK president. Why? Because he's dead-left when it comes to issues like gun rights. Ask any sportsman in Massachusetts about Romney spouting off about 2nd amendment rights and then turning right around and supporting anti-gun legislation. It is what it is. I'll hold my nose and vote for him because I think we are going to be much worse off under four more years of "the One". But Romney ain't no Reagan, no way, no how. He's the LIBERAL face of the GOP.

More on this: http://patriot-newsw...ral-republican/

Edited August 12, 2012 by profgunner

[Oh Shoot]

.... But Romney ain't no Reagan, no way, no how.

I'll settle for a boring businessman who tries to improve business climate, tax code, immigration, energy production, and health care, downsizes government in all ways possible, and keeps his nose out of foreign nation building, guns, churches, and bedrooms.

- OS

Edited August 12, 2012 by OhShoot

[Guest Lester Weevils]

I don't mind that Romney might turn out to be social-values liberal. After election he can go full-flame pro-choice and pro-gay-marriage for all I care. Or he could go full-tilt-boogie anti-abortion and anti-gay-marriage and it might be slightly disappointing but generally par for the course. He wouldn't be the lone ranger and its no skin off my nose.

My reservations would be if he proves out to be a big-gov "conservative" bailing out wall street, a foreign policy neocon, wants to repeal obamacare so he can replace it with lightly-tweaked romneycare, passing "sensible gun laws", strengthening homeland security surveillance on citizens, passing "common sense global warming regulation" including carbon credits, double-down on the drug war, yadda yadda. That would bug me. But I don't care what he thinks about abortion one way or t'other.

[Guest ThePunisher]

I'll settle for a boring businessman who tries to improve business climate, tax code, immigration, energy production, and health care, downsizes government in all ways possible, and keeps his nose out of foreign nation building, guns, churches, and bedrooms.

- OS

I agree.

[Blitzen]

I like Paul Ryan and think it's a good choice. He's a conservative maybe not from the South but more swing states are in the North. He will be severely attacked but then any pick would be. Limbaugh stated last week that the Democrats were running a campaign akin to "Political Terrorism". Interesting take. Could you say "Political Terrorism" took Palin out? Hope Romney takes the gloves off. Maybe after the Olympics are over with tonight. His answer to the "murder" attack was weak at best.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

Yep!

[kieefer]

+1,

Speaking of Mrs. Palin, she had a nice speech congratulating Mr. Ryan.