Romney

[the171]

ROMNEY CHOSE PAUL. ROMNEY-PAUL

Discuss.

[Amppax]

[quote name='the171' timestamp='1344663943' post='2465931']
ROMNEY CHOSE PAUL. ROMNEY-PAUL

Discuss.
[/quote]

I see Paul, and I assume you were referring to a last name.

[BG45]

By selecting Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has handed President Obama a second term.

On a silver platter.

[Amppax]

[quote name='BG45' timestamp='1344664264' post='2465933']
By selecting Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has handed President Obama a second term.

On a silver platter.
[/quote]

You think? I admit, I haven't been following the race much, but Ryan seemed to have several things going for him.

[GeorgiiMichael]

Let's be honest here, by choosing Romney, the Republican party handed Obama a second term.

[the171]

Sorry. I was typing quickly. I have been referring to Mitt Romney as Romney for so long that I have forgotten his first name is Mitt.... Thus Paul instead of Ryan. Brain fluffy air extraction. I wish they would've chosen Rubio. But I knew he was going to choose Ryan.

[BG45]

Ryan has no appeal to independents, little appeal to moderates, is well known enough to be considered a "Washington Insider" by those on the outside (not helping this appearance is that he's been in Congress since he was 28), has real issues with the budget and making misleading or outright false statements about it according to [url="http://www.factcheck.org/2011/05/ryans-budget-spin/"]FactCheck (this is helped along by how Obama's people keep also spreading misinformation about what Representative Ryan says)[/url], he's such an objectivist follower of (the non-atheistic bits of) [url="http://www.atlassociety.org/ele/blog/2012/04/30/paul-ryan-and-ayn-rands-ideas-hot-seat-again"]Ayn Rand[/url] that [url="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/04/audio-surfaces-paul-ryans-effusive-love-ayn-rand/51711/"]he requires his staff to read "Atlas Shrugged"[/url], and almost exclusively votes along Party lines. The only thing that he can use as an appeal to the youth vote is that he's a self professed gym rat and turned against SOPA after the online protests started.

[PhuturePriest]

My mind nearly exploded because I thought you were talking about Ron Paul.

I can't say I'm shocked at him choosing Paul Ryan. I really love Rubio and wanted him to be vice president, but he wasn't interested. At least Paul Ryan has a good reputation for being fiscally conservative. Plus he's Catholic (Which Marco Rubio also happens to be). He was on The World Over a while ago talking about his financial plan. He said he had been talking to his Bishop about the concerns the Bishops had and what-not.

Overall I'm not upset. At least he didn't choose Rice.

[Amppax]

[quote name='BG45' timestamp='1344665550' post='2465940']
he's such an objectivist follower of (the non-atheistic bits of) [url="http://www.atlassociety.org/ele/blog/2012/04/30/paul-ryan-and-ayn-rands-ideas-hot-seat-again"]Ayn Rand[/url] that [url="http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/04/audio-surfaces-paul-ryans-effusive-love-ayn-rand/51711/"]he requires his staff to read "Atlas Shrugged"[/url],
[/quote]

Ew.

[the171]

We're going to lose. I'm a hopeful pessimist. We are going to lose. Mea culpa. It's our fault. Only our fault. We got ourselves into this mess with our sin and our slothfulness. So let's pray God works some miracles.

[Norseman82]

Everyone has something that will turn some segment of the electorate off.

Let's face facts - the ghost of Sarah Palin was hanging over the selection process and would have doomed any relative newcomer to the process. This would include Marco Rubio, Kelly Ayotte, and Susanna Martinez. I was personally thinking he would go for Rob Portman or maybe Linsay Graham based on the "ready to step into the presidency" criterion.

[homeschoolmom]

[quote name='BG45' timestamp='1344665550' post='2465940'] The only thing that he can use as an appeal to the youth vote is that he's a self professed gym rat and turned against SOPA after the online protests started.
[/quote]

Really? "Let's stop spending money that you haven't even earned yet (which turns you until perpetual slaves of the state)" has no appeal to young people?

[FutureCarmeliteClaire]

Romney=Obama, either way, it won't be great.

Our Lady of Grace, pray for us...

[Lil Red]

[quote name='BG45' timestamp='1344664264' post='2465933']
By selecting Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has handed President Obama a second term.

On a silver platter.
[/quote]

i don't agree.
[url="http://chicksontheright.com/2012/08/11/paul-ryan-right-choice-but-a-tough-sell/"]this is a good viewpoint:[/url] (it seems that their server is down right now, keep checking back. it's a good piece.)

copying and pasting since the server is being sketchy:
[i]OK, don’t jump on me like I’m a heretic. I absolutely love Paul Ryan. I am convinced he’s the right choice. This is the rock star pick. This is the guy who could absolutely turn the conversation more specifically toward the economy and the budget. He can do so with authority and he’s holding the high ground on the subject. He created a budget that really did take on entitlements and make an effort at chipping away at the debt. I love the pick. As a student of economics and government budgeting, I love this guy![/i]

[i]However, the argument is already there and the left will pound their talking points. And here’s the real problem. We’ve come to a place in American politics where truth and reality don’t really matter all that much. Specifically, Ryan’s plan was to leave Social Security in place just as it is for anyone over the age of 55 and reform it for folks younger than that. The whole world knows that has to happen. But, the left will continue to show us that Ryan is ready to push Granny off the cliff. And it won’t matter how many times the right tells the truth and shows the proof, the left will continue to create their own reality with dialogue and divisiveness and fear.[/i]

[i]Case in point, I saw an ad for President Obama’s campaign yesterday (kinda made me happy that he’s spending money in Georgia, he’s got no shot here) and it absolutely stunned me. It caused me to shudder and made my blood run a little cold. Of course, he framed the election as a choice about where you want America to go and said (I’m paraphrasing), “they want to go back to the policies of trickle down and those are the policies that got us here in the first place”. That is absolutely NOT true. Trickle down policies are NOT what got us here. The ENTIRE housing crisis was caused by President Clinton’s policy to get as many people into houses as possible regardless of whether or not they could afford them. So, really, the exact opposite is true. It’s the fact that we threw money at people at the bottom that put us in a large part of this mess. Now, Romney and Ryan could absolutely break down that lie and show the world the facts, but it’s a nuanced and complicated argument. It would take specifics. We’re not there. Too many Americans just hear something that sounds right and if they hear something over and over, they believe it. The last three years of blaming Bush is starting to pay further dividends. Blaming Bush over and over and over again puts that idea in the heads of Americans and now a lot of them really believe it regardless of how untrue it is. Remember, he’s to blame for ALL the economics problems we have now.[/i]

[i]And so President Obama and Vice President Biden will drag out the Granny-Over-The-Cliff argument and shove it down our throats. It’s easy. You don’t back it up. You don’t explain it. You just say it over and over and if pressed, you make up a lie that has a tiny bit of truth in it and ignore reality. They’ve mastered the art of forcing the right to prove what’s not true. That takes details, thought, intelligence and the willingness to really learn and understand. I don’t think America is there, right now. I hope I’m wrong and there is something we can do.[/i]
[i]Read, study, learn and be prepared to teach. Be prepared to tell your friends (especially the ones in PA, OH, FL, VA and maybe CO) what’s true. Have the facts to back you up. Have links. Have documents. Tell the truth about what got us here and explain why it’s true. Don’t preach to them about how the left is stupid. Don’t talk down to them. They love America too, well, some of them. Just show them what you understand about reality and if you’ll do that with respect for them and while making it clear that you really are looking for the truth, you might win some folks over and open their eyes to the fact that reality matters and that this whole thing is bigger than sound bites.[/i]

[i]If we can do that, Paul Ryan will be just the guy to help drive those points home. He’s brilliant and he cares about this country. I just don’t know if the country cares that much about itself at this point. I’m afraid too many Americans are looking for an easy answer and a handout.[/i]

[i]Oh, and he’s good looking, so that’ll help some, sadly.[/i]

Edited August 11, 2012 by Lil Red

[Anomaly]

The artice is exactly right with this opinion:

"I just don't know if the country cares that much about itself at this point. I'm afraid too many Americans are looking for an easy answer and a handout."

That's why we haven't had coherent political discussion about national problems in decades. Heard a joke last night that described American politics.

A democrat and a republican went hippopotamus hunting, shot an hippo that fell on them both. They died arguing about who's stupid idea was to go hippo hunting instead of figuring out how to get the hippo off them both.