I will leave to those more qualified to analyze and spin the electoral impact of Governor Romney's choice of Congressman Paul Ryan as his VP running mate. The masters of spin and parse will be out in force looking at whether the choice "alienates" single women, frightens senior citizens, or galvanizes the Tea Party into action. I am not going to get into that . . . much.
In terms of intellectual firepower, and track record of accomplishments in the private and public sector this presidential ticket, regardless of party, is the best one in decades and arguably ever. This is a serious ticket. Voters will have before them a stark choice in November. On the one hand, the Democratic ticket consists of a failed, truth-avoiding, and corrupt incumbent President running with Joe Biden, one of the dopiest and least interesting hack politicians of our time. The GOP ticket consists of a successful job- and wealth-creating businessman and governor running with the single smartest and most competent Congressman on the Hill, the one man in the whole Congress who knows how a federal budget is put together and the impact it has on the country. For me, there is no dilemma in making my choice.
The Democrats got nothin'. So they will double down on the sort of vicious assault on truth that we have seen over the past few weeks. The Democrat lie Gatling is already beginning to fire away: Ryan favors throwing the elderly off a cliff; he favors a federal budget to make the rich richer. More will come. Ryan can expect to have the most minute details of his life put out in public and subject to ridicule. The President who refuses to divulge the most basic information of his own life, will spare no expense in having his minions dig up anything and everything that can be used or distorted. It will be disgusting and infuriating.
I hope that Ryan will give as good as he gets while sticking to the truth and coming back again and again to the failed Obama-Biden record, and the basic choice now facing us: do we want to continue marching down the road to stagnation, dependency, poverty, and a government-run society, or do we get back to the basics that have made America great. There should be no problem in making that choice, except that we have been busy developing a society of half-educated college graduates and cynics with no basic understanding of the economy or the world. We have people more and more removed from the process of wealth production and further and further into wealth consumption. That will be the challenge facing the Republicans and the future of America, to wit, to tap into what I believe is a still strong American ethos of work, saving, and investment, to make it clear that we do not have to become Greece.
America needs a little R&R after four years of B&O.
"America needs a little R&R after four years of B&O"
ReplyDeleteI am so stealing that!
I used to cut Biden the same slack - "the dopiest and least interesting hack politicians of our time". I was impressed by the fact that as a life-long politician he remains one of the financially poorest of the lot. But... further research suggests Biden may be as corrupt as any. He has developed a knack for funneling money and power to other members of his family, keeping clean his appearance as a public servant.
ReplyDeleteThat aside, I agree the team of Obama and Biden are doomed unless they manage to steal the election on wider scale than has ever been done before.
In my more perfect world Ryan would lead the ticket. And if he did, I would not expect him to select the likes of Romney as a running mate. But I will set that aside as well. Selecting Ryan is the first indication that Romney will make good decisions as President.
A Serious Man is an epitaph for disaster and doom, acc to the Coen Bros, whom I love to watch.
ReplyDeleteHow about, instead, Ryan: Rational Man, to tweak the math and psychology challenged tiresome communist spinners?
Diplo,
ReplyDeleteI know this is off topic but things are moving quickly re: Egypt, Syria, Lebanon, Iran, etc. Will Iran let Assad and Hizbollah go down? Will they try an alliance with the MB in Egypt even though they are Sunni? With events reported in Cairo I think Israel will have to move against Iran quickly. Radical islamicists now sit on the Dardenelles, the straits of Hormuz, the Suez, and are one country away from Gibralta.
The US? Dancing in South Africa, leading from behind in Syria.
The editor of The Daily Caller (in a recent Coffee and Markets podcast interview) indicated that he had met and talked with both Biden and Obama. He said he found Biden to be by far the more impressive of the two men. That's right, Slow Joe is the smart one.
ReplyDeleteA little R&R would be nice. Welcome Back DiploMad. Missed your blog.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the pick of Ryan:
ReplyDeleteNo one would say that Romney has charisma... He is a sub par speaker and he has been so vilified in the press for his various "capitalistic" bents that it is hard for the electorate to make a reasonable decision. (Full disclosure; one of my brothers worked at Bain while Romney was in charge. It cost him his marraige but yes, they invested private money and made a whopping profit.)
We are in the age of identity politics. Are you "
poor" (read want more free stuff)? Are you a woman and want someone else to control your sexual behaviour? Are you black; therefore everyone not black is trying to put you down? Are you Hispanic? Well, you must feel very sorry for yourself... Are you a Mom? Well, your child care should be subsidised by the state. Are you on food stamps? The gov't should pay for my soda, ding dongs, doughnuts and potato chips. Never mind bakery birthday cakes because that is a "right."
My point is that entitlements have driven off the rail. I was actually on the WIC program in 1984. It was very controlled. One HAD TO show up for a weigh and check and a 30 minute nutrition lecture in order to get a WIC vouchure. I actually learned quite a bit about how to cook beans, rice and green chilies during these lectures. I lived in New Mexico at the time.
Just recently I shopped in a mainly hispanic grocery store that had little signs up about what was permitted under the WIC program. Frosted Mini Wheats? Are you kidding? So, Frosted Mini Wheats, loaded with sugar is a good food for indigent pregnant women?
We have a huge hill to climb. Things have gotten completely out of whack. The food program was instituted to prevent starvation. It has morphed into a program that allows poor and middle class people to buy whatever they want, which has absolutetly nothing to do with starvation.
I do not wish anyone in the United States to starve to death. OTOH, I do not want to pay for frosted mini wheats, soda, ding dongs or bakery items through the federal gov't. These so called social programs; which I think of as nothing other than vote buying, have gone way over the top. Every institution in the Fed. Govt. has been corrupted. Maybe some one in the dept. of Ag could explain to me why people on food stamps are able to buy soda?
I don't buy soda, pre-packaged treats, potato chips or store bakery items. About 25 percent of my decision is that I can't afford it and 75% of my decision is that they are not good for me...
We have a first lady growing an organic veggie garden in the White House back yard while the Dept. of Ag is spending BILLIONS allowing people to buy the very same foods that our first lady says will kill us. I would call that a major disconnect.
Babs, I don't think Ryan would disagree with anything you said, except the bit about Romney's choice of running mate.
DeleteThe 'poor' these days are in fact, as Kathy Shaidle points out, the rich Jesus warned us against - grasping, greedy and entitled.
So, what does this have to do with Paul Ryan? I think we have met a tipping point in this country where there just might be more voters getting money from the federal gov't than paying it in. They DO NOT want their particular gravy train cut back in any way. You are going to take MY free cell phone away from me? But that is what Ryan represents. As Allen Greenspan once said, we need to take the punch bowl away...
ReplyDeleteWhat we need to win is someone that is charismatic, like a Marco Rubio, who will play into identity politics and when elected slash and burn the amazing amount of slush and regulations we are strangling this society with. In other words, I do not think the majority of the electorate wants to be told that this level of free stuff has to stop because we can no longer afford it.
I think Ryan is a great pick. I just don't think he and Romney are electable based on the percentage of Americans now happily riding the gravy train.
Fortunately, another characteristic of the 'poor' is lethargy. I could make a joke that Democrats would offer to vote for them if they could, but that would probably be truth said in jest... On the other hand, Ryan has clearly energised the real America - the part that pays the bills and the taxes. I like that bumper sticker that came out as soon as Ryan was announced: "Romney/Ryan. It's on".
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