Posted by Erick Erickson (Diary) @ Red State
Paul Ryan is not a safe pick. In fact, it is a pick that suggests Mitt Romney knows he needs to shift momentum in the race. When the GOP is winning on all the major polling questions of debt, deficit, and economy and still losing overall — the polling can’t all be wrong, including Fox News — the Romney camp needs a new direction and a more focused message.
What they had been doing was not and is not working.
Paul Ryan works. The most recently named Human Events Conservative of the Year is a lightening rod on the left for the Ryan plan, which balances the budget over the next two decades. What was not enough for some conservatives is too much for some liberals. Paul Ryan exposes the left’s great lie. They think they can just raise taxes on those who make $250,000.00 a year or more and never have to cut spending or fix entitlements.
Paul Ryan not only exposes that lie, but he has plans to solve it. He does so as a fresh, young face who is not at all scary to old people and relates to them and to young people. He himself is in his early 40′s with small kids. He’s from a swing state, out performed John McCain in his home district, and is telegenic and articulate. Paul Ryan is what Mitt Romney needs.
The left will demonize and demagogue Paul Ryan. They’d do that to anyone. This is a party that is currently accusing MItt Romney of murder and previously accused Paul Ryan of killing old people. The only problem is, the old people are receptive to Paul Ryan’s message. The bluster you hear today is a Democratic Party excited to have their bogey man as the Republican veep pick, with a little bit of nervous apprehension about what Ryan is capable of.
The sighs you hear are Republicans sighing some relief. Finally, the Romney campaign has a spokesman who can do what Mitt Romney has never been capable of doing — defend success and articulate a message of why we must reform our nation’s budget and support free markets.
After all the Romney campaign missteps and flubs of the past few weeks, I am encouraged.
mtt needed a game changer and this was not it. rubio would have helped somewhat. let me ask the gopers what ryan brings to the gop that they would get already? THE BASE! u thing the base of the gop are not fired up already against the hated obama in the fall? they would run through hot coals without ryan get te hated “socialist”obama out this fall. i just see this as a boring all white male ticket. by labor day they will be beind and will stay there until nov.
the visual for Ryan is good: young affable guy wih a young family. my guess is that Ryan won his races largely on personality.
Let’s see how Ryan’s call to replace social security and Medicare while giving a large tax cut to the wealthy plays out on the campaign trail.
Demonize and demagogue Ryan?
No
Just tell the truth
His issue stands are viciously anti Middle Class
Notice how his fellow Right Wingers take undisguised glee at screwing over the poor and elderly in favor of the wealthy
Ryan is a country guy….
I understand his district has no large cities in it….
all the ‘can do’ people
I also believe he got grief even back home from the seniors after his budget proposal was announced….
finally….
I believe he admitted to Bill Clinton that his proposal had NO chance of passage….
But was a good starting point….
I am closer to Ryan’s district than I am to most of Chicago. I think the two largest cities are Kenosha and Racine. it is essentially the district between Chicago and Milwaukee. much of the district is quite rural.
thanks Z for the confirmation of what I had heard on the ruralness of Ryan’s home district ….
country guy on the ‘Big Time’ stage
they’ll try to get milage out of that also….
I live 10 minutes South of Ryan’s district I live in Northern Lake County. Kenosha is an urban Rural mix so is Racine. However the rural exurbs are growing with people from Chicagoland. In fact Kenosha county is apart of the Chicago TV market and metro area!
Brandon, The western part of Ryan’s district is MUCH more rural.
Brandon, I thought you lived near Rockford. not sure where I got that idea?
No Zreebs Chicagoland where my family has lived since 1873! Most of my Dad’s family still lives on Northwest side where my family has roots going back a century. The house my Great Grandfather built around 1913 still stands to this day. So does the Church where my Grandmother made her first sacraments and married my Grandfather in 1934, It’s St Philomena’s. In fact it’s 4 blocks from where Walt Disney grewup and 4 blocks from where Michael Gross of Family Ties fame grewup.
Tha IS family going back!