I was wrong. I thought Romney would bypass Ryan. He’s from Congress – a body with an 11% approval rate. He voted with Bush on Medicare D. His budget is unpopular. He’s aligned with the Tea Party. He’s a Randian.
HIs appeal is narrow, but he will energize a segment of the Republican electorate with a pretty good record of getting the vote out.
Ryan closed his speech with ‘We will be America’s comeback team’. Good line, very good line. If they’re tuned in, that phrase should become central to the campaign from now on.
You can have wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, or democracy. But you cannot have both.
Whatever Works 
It just shows how little spine Romney really has.
Oh, and I think we need to make Ryan first in line for “Sure, I’ll give up my government healthcare/pension/cola. Number 1.
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I love that Ayn Rand, Ryan’s inspiration, spent her life railing about “collectivism vs individualism”, then lived on Soc Security in her later years. Medicare too. Some principles that lady had.
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I keep thinking that I need to re-read that book. I think I read it in high school, but I’m not sure. Not that I am expecting a good book/good philosophy. Nope, I’m going to read it in a know thine enemy sort of way
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I read the two big novels, Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, in my early 20’s and remember them as really good reads. Full of triumphal rightousness . . . . hey, I was young. I think if I read them today I would be just gobsmacked. Maybe I’ll do it!
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I’m not sure if you’re familiar with Speaker7 (http://speaker7.wordpress.com/). She is hilarious and currently decimating the “Fifty Shades” series, which is also total crap. Perhaps a series on the Rand crap is in order!
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A lot of publicity is always given to who is selected in the VP slot..but in reality outside of JFK picking LBJ it rarely matters in the election. As long as he didn’t select Charles Manson or Sarah Palin, the pick of Ryan isn’t going to make or break Romney. In the end he will be the one they vote on.
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Hey hans, welcome. And yes, the LBJ choice was a that rare instance where the veep pick made the difference; I don’t think JFK could have been nominated without him. Bobby Kennedy fought the choice tooth and nail, but he lost that fight.
That said, I think the difference Romney could make is in voter turnout. But I do not think that will be enough.
Good times agead for political junkies!
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I kind of thought Marco Rubio could have made a bigger splash than Ryan….. Yes Bobby Kennedy and LBJ..what a pair. Those two hated each other with a passion. I don’t know who ended up winning that battle.. I think this election will be close. It will come down to Ohio and Florida. If Romney wins both those states he will win the election.
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I think LBJ and Nixon were tragic-hero presidents. They were simply Shakespearean in their complexity.
I’m in Florida and it’s a fierce fight down here already. Count Virginia too in those most contested states this year.
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Adding – “in their complexity and downfalls”.
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I love reading about Nixon and LBJ.. currently reading the Robert Caro series of books about LBJ..I believe I’ve read more on those two than any other president. They were tragic figures for sure…I can see Virginia being a hard fought state too, you are correct. You and I live in two battlegrounds- Florida and Ohio..
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hans, even as a died-in-the-wool (or ‘yellow dog’) Democrat, I am fascinated with Nixon. Have read a number of biographies. I am dying to read the Caro series – he’s a marvel that Caro is .. . I think he said he’s been working on the trilogy for 30 years?
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yes he has 4 books out. the first came out in 1982. he says there is one more to go..but he has said that before. lol.. i am not a nixon fan but have always found him fascinating… lbj even more so.. caro is an amazing writer. the best bio i have ever read was the caro bio on robert moses..the power broker
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Yikes, I didn’t realize it was four volumes. I’m glad to hear you mention the Robert Moses book – it was the first book of its type that I ever read. Think I still have my copy. Since I was born in NYC and grew up in CT, Moses’ proects were all around me. And yeah, great book.
A 2008 book about the Nixon era by Rick Perlstein is one of the best reads of that time and that presidency. Just terrific. Book is “Nixonland”
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Yes I read Nixonland and Perlstein’s earlier book on Barry Goldwater.. i don’t know if Perlstein has anything out since Nixonland ..but I will read anything he puts out… I enjoyed the 3 volume bio on Nixon by Stephen Ambrose from years ago.. Can you imagine spending over 30 years on one guy like Caro has? Caro in interviews says its not biography he’s writing but..a study of power and how power works..
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Caro also looks just the same as he did 30 years ago. Wonder if he has a portrait in the attic or something!
Glad to meet another Perlstein fan!
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This all smells like the Koch Brothers was in on Romney picking Ryan.
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Hand in hand Don, hand in hand. They must be very happy today.
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Over at the PDog the pick has got the DEMOCRATIC base up!
Good JOB WILLARD!
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There is joy in Dem-land today!
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I have nothing to say on this but wanted you to know Todd worked his magic.
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Comeback – with 25% marginal rate and 0% capital gains? Good luck with that.
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I think Ryan was a decent choice for Romney. He helps him the GOP base and provides him with the conservative “credentials” he’s been seeking for so long.
Ryan is intelligent (the anti-Pailin) and he knows economics.
Having said that however, Ryan is from the supply-side economics school of thought which has yet to have much more than marginal success even in healthy economic times. His budget, as we all know, is not popular with many outside of the GOP. By picking Ryan, Romney has doubledowned on “the job creator is the priority… let the middle and poor classes fend for themselves” side of the economic debate. This is what Obama has been hammering him on this whole summer and Mitt has been losing that battle of words. Now with Ryan… Obama has more ammo to throw at Romney.
This election with be a choice between two very distinct economic policies. Do we focus on the wealthy wannabe “job creators” or do we prioritize middle and poorer class consumers who drive demand and in turn drive job creation?
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Spuds, Ryan was indeed an interesting and energizing choice, but as I said to hans above, I don’t htink it will be enough to put them over the top.
I just learned that Ryan started backing off his life-long attachment to Ayn Rand and objectivism. As recently as 2005, he spoke passionately in defense of that at the – gasp! – Atlas Society, which is dedicated to keeping her philosophy alive.
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Oh I agree, it won’t put them over the top at all. It just energizes the base. He doesn’t do anything to disrupt the line of attack coming from Obama that’s been working most of the summer. It actually helps Obama’s message that this team is solely for the wealthiest Americans.
So Ryan is really backing off his Ayn Rand love affair huh? That’s a biggy… for him I mean. Might be something the Dems can bring up in debate 🙂
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Mashed Potato Bulletin ,
” or do we prioritize middle and poorer class consumers who drive demand and in turn drive job creation? ”
That has been done for almost 4 years . How’s it been working out for you guys ?
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Alan, it hasn’t been done for four years. That’s what liberals have been disappointed about – both the Fed policy and the obstructionist congress havve prevented most of that. (and don’t for Elvis’ sake say ‘Solyndra’).
Also, since ’09, those ‘too big to fail’ banks are bigger, much much bigger. And that hasn’t created any jobs – it’s just put us more at risk.
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Ryan will energize the base…..the base of the Democratic party…thank you Lord for this gift!
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You do mean ‘thank Elvis’, don’t you Jay? 😆
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From the Uk it seems that the Republican drift to the right i accelerating – Romney is ODD! Our politicians are rubbish but is this the best the USA can offer its people?
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GFB, I’m originally from Canada and while I don’t know if “rubbish” applies to our politicians, “boring” certainly does! US politics is anything but boring, however what I find is that there’s a very loud voice on the right that doesn’t seem to be the majority of the right. This makes for a very odd Republican primary (in my opinion), and then what seems to end up simply as a “who’s a better celebrity?” contest in the national election because again in my opinion, nobody really gets at the hard math.
What I like about this election is that you’ve got two “numbers guys” on the right now which will hopefully shift the campaign debate back to the math. For instance, there’s a ton of government waste that nobody seems to want to address at the numbers level. There’s the real unemployment numbers that are well above 8.5% that don’t seem to be really noticed. There’s also a messed up tax code that the numbers are all messed up on, and a national health plan where the sustainability numbers simply don’t make sense.
As I live in the US and have two companies there (writing this from Canada now) I’m hoping the discussions get elevated far above where they are now and I look forward to a good “fight” in November. 🙂
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Cheers – numbers never add up on a national government level – the bankers numbers “added” up for years and they were feted as Titans.
If Romney can come to UK on the eve of the Olympics and annoy us with his thoughtless comments I suspect that the art of government is already beyond him!
It wil be fascinating to watch this story unfold! Best wishes
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Hey ginger, welcome. This morning on CSpan I saw a press interview of then-Senator Hubert Humphrey (Dem) from 1953. I wanted to weep. It was substantive, cordial, and Humphrey answered the questions directly and credited his opposition on a number of things.
But now we live in a permanent campaign (look for speculation on November 7 about who’s running in 2016), entirely financed by special interests. We don’t have a real government at the highest levels anymore – we have theatre. Thank Elvis for the technocrats who keep things running.
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Agreed – it appears to be the same the world over and yet people are crying out for brave, articulate compassionate people of free will to sort out this corrupt mess we find ourselves in.
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I’m curious about the Ryan thing as well. I understand the Tea Party connection but what I don’t get is why they had to worry about the Tea Party vote in the first place when it’s anti-Democrat as it is?
I thought the demographic Romney was trying to gain ground in was with the married married Independent women, and I don’t quite see how Ryan’s going to gain ground here? Unless they get very, very clear on their messages & plans for the economy and Obamacare. Does Ryan’s wife have any appeal with the electorate?
What I do like about the appointment is that Ryan’s a wonk. He apparently attacked Obamacare to where Obama’s only remaining defense was “I won” He surely will run circles around Biden in the debates (although all he has to do to win is just wait for Biden’s next gaffe). With that, I’m hoping Ryan’s appointment raises the level of the campaigning dialogue into constructive discussions about the economy rather than more ads of Wall-Street looking guys pushing old ladies off a cliff (or black Congressmen punching old ladies in the face).
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Vern – I think Ryan will ultimately hurt the ticket with women voters. The budget kind of obscures the rest of Ryan’s record, but the man is one of the most anti-choice voices in Congress. He stands with the clowns who are upset about birth control.
I fully expect he’ll try to back off that a bit – anyone would – but the record is the record. It’s just another thing that surprises me about Romney – did they not notice how outraged women – of all stripes – were during that whole birth control kerfuffle? Or do they just think it isn’t a factor? Also, he wasn’t ready for the tax return discussion (was anything more predictable), plus, as you said, Ryan’s fans were never going to vote for Obama anyway.
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Ms. Holland ,
I can’t believe it . You and I are in total agreement. President Obama has coopted the big banks. They are now public utilities. Obama did not break them up . As long as they tow the political line, he may use them as whipping boys, but he ain’t gonna really hurt them . Crony capitalism at it’s best . It makes what he did with Solyndra less than small potatoes .
Now on the rest of the economy, we have Class warfare 101 . Did I mention the overspending ? Did I mention no real plan to save entitlements from going broke after your generation passes on ?
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[President Obama has coopted the big banks. They are now public utilities. Obama did not break them up . As long as they tow the political line, he may use them as whipping boys, but he ain’t gonna really hurt them . Crony capitalism at it’s best . It makes what he did with Solyndra less than small potatoes .]
Seriously Alan? Obama had big support from the investment banking industry – hell, most of Wall Street, in 2008. Now they’ve dropped him. Because . . . why is that? Ahhh,, because he’s in bed with them. Gotcha.
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I had an inkling toward Ryan for some time, so I’m not surprised. But it wasn’t a “bold” pick by any means. Palin, Cain, Gingrich, … now those would have been bold. Meanwhile, the base is gitty, money will roll in, volunteers will turn out – but many many (if any) votes it gets is yet to be seen.
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IF Romney’s numbers don’t improve this week, there will be a lot of head scratching and gnashing of teeth!
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I’m not sure the pick was designed for a quick turn in votes. Anyway, a convention bounce in two weeks is usually predictable.
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Moe, when I commented on your post re Romney’s wacky view of the US-vs.-Israeli health care systems, I didn’t realize that what the Heritage Foundation is pushing is basically the Ryan budget plan, showcased by two policies 1) converting Medicare service payments to a fixed allotment provided to individuals, and 2) distributing Medicaid as block grants to states. Both policies will shift health care costs onto the elderly, poor, and disabled. Ryan also supports privatizing Social Security.
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Orhan, I know you’re fully aware that it’s been the conservative dream since FDR and LBJ to undo the New Deal and the social safety net. They hate it. But these days they’re within striking distance.
The Heritage Foundation was hte origianl author of the individual mandate – they put it out in ’93 as an alternative to Hillary-care. (gad, these people like suffixes, don’t they!) But now .. .
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Ms. Holland ,
” Seriously Alan? Obama had big support from the investment banking industry – hell, most of Wall Street, in 2008. Now they’ve dropped him. Because . . . why is that? Ahhh,, because he’s in bed with them. Gotcha.”
My particular joy in these discussions is to hang people with their own words .
” Also, since ’09, those ‘too big to fail’ banks are bigger, much much bigger. And that hasn’t created any jobs – it’s just put us more at risk. ”
And who has been running the country since 2009 ???
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Alan – doesn’t matter who’s been “running the country” – no Amer prez could have stopped the bank consolidations – they’re not American companies – they’re multii national companies. No matter what we can do to their American arm, we can’t stop what htey do aroundd the world.
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43 comments!
Read Caro’s the Power Broker about Robert Moses….
One of the best damn books I’ve EVER Read!
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Read it a lifetime ago james! Still have my copy and I loved every minute of it. And yup, superb in every way.
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Never a dull moment in American politics………..
http://gawker.com/5933904/mitt-romney-introduces-paul-ryan-as-the-next-president-of-the-united-states
:):):)
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Ms. Holland ,
Come on, that is such a punt . In the first 2 years, King Obama had almost unlimited power . He could have easily issued executive orders to get around any of those pesky legal issues . You know like the way he deals with drilling, border enforcement, welfare to work, and health care. All he has to do is say ” Banks , you are now screwed and split ” and it happens .
He still controls the US portion and that is big . If not why are you guys constantly whining about Republicans and deregulation ?
He has never been shy about shafting any businesses he did not like . Look at the bond holders of Chrysler, or say Boeing . So why did he not spank the banks ? Look how he sent his Brown Shirts out to intimidate Wall Street over bonuses .
You are still finding excuses for President Obama .
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