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This may or may not turn out to be Veep Week for Mitt Romney and the GOP, but at least one leading conservative pundit feels the need to push back against the growing GOP chattering-class pressure for the “bold” choice of Rep. Paul Ryan. Here’s the Washington Examiner’s Byron York:
In the last few days, there’s been new talk about Paul Ryan in the who’s-in-who’s-out game of speculation over Mitt Romney’s vice presidential pick. The speculation is striking, because of the four candidates mentioned most often — Ryan, Rob Portman, Marco Rubio, and Tim Pawlenty — Ryan is the choice that would fundamentally change the direction of the Romney campaign. How? By instantly elevating the Ryan budget plan to the top of the Romney agenda. Whether that change would be to Romney’s liking is very much an open question.
York goes on to richly document Romney’s wariness about identifying himself with the Ryan Budget’s philosophy of boosting the deficit via tax cuts and then trying to reducing it via destruction of the Great Society programs, notably Medicare. Yes, Romney is committed to support of the Ryan Budget, and anyone paying close attention knows that its immediate implementation utilizing the budget reconciliation shortcut would become the maximum demand of the entire conservative movement if November 6 produces a Republican-controlled Congress and White House. But Mitt doesn’t want to talk about it:
Of course, Democrats are going to bash Romney on spending cuts and Medicare reform regardless of what he does. Since that is inevitable, say Ryan supporters, why not put the plan’s most articulate defender, Paul Ryan himself, on the ticket? One reason would be that Mitt Romney has shown no inclination to make the Ryan plan the centerpiece of his campaign. Perhaps that’s what he’s planning — perhaps he planned all along to run on jobs until mid-August, only to pivot to entitlement reform for the rest of the campaign. But that’s not likely.
Translation: having prevaricated relentlessly about his agenda up until now, why would Romney want to start telling the truth at this late date? It’s a very good question, and that’s why even though most progressives are as excited about the idea of a Romney-Ryan ticket as anybody on the Right, it would be a shock if it actually happened.
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dweb on August 06, 2012 11:00 AM:
I've paid taxes
I've paid lots of taxes
I have followed the letter of the tax law.
I have a plan for the budget
I have a plan for the economy
I will create 12 million new jobs my first term in office.....
I fully support the Ryan budget plan, but neither he nor I want to reveal what it would do in terms of tax cuts for the middle class vs. the rich by revealing what deductions we would eliminate.
I left Bain in 1999 (this has proved to be a lie.)
My tax records document my Massachusetts residency. (This, it turned out, despite earlier strong assertions by Romney, was a lie.)
I bought all the hard drives from the Government of MA and had them erased.
I had Salt Lake City Olympics Records destroyed.
So you want to know my taxes and my plans if elected....
TRUST ME....you have all the information you need!!!
c u n d gulag on August 06, 2012 11:10 AM:
Ryan?
Sure.
Why not?
People determined to commit suicide should know the weapon they'll be using.
And the coming victims of mass murder, via austerity, should get to know their killer better.
So sure, let the son of privilege, who has never known a day of want, team up with a man who used the Social Security system to further his education after his father died, but wants to deny that money to others.
A man who believes in nothing, couldn't do better than selecting Mr. Ryan, and man who has learned nothing.
They're perfect for the Know-Nothings in this country.
That, and the fact that when the appear together, they'll look like the centerpiece of a December groom -June groom, gay wedding cake.
Bill K on August 06, 2012 11:24 AM:
After flatly denying any desire for the VP slot for the last year, Ryan last week said he would consider it. That change of face tells me that he has been approached and urged by the Republican leadership. So I would say the odds are good that Ryan will get the nod.
dalloway on August 06, 2012 11:25 AM:
Actually, the truth about the Ryan budget should be the centerpiece of the OBAMA campaign: get it out there and talk about it every day until the election. The American people deserve to know what Romney's "big, dramatic" fix for the economy is -- raising your taxes so he can cut his.
Zinsky on August 06, 2012 11:27 AM:
I kind of hope it is Ryan, because I think Romney is going down in flames, regardless of who the VP nominee is. This way Romney takes down one of the GOP's up and comers (as pathetic as that is) with him! Ryan will bear the taint of a humiliating loss for years to come, which is good because Eddie Munster scares me a lot more than Thurston Howell III!
Bo Shesler on August 06, 2012 12:13 PM:
Dear Lord, if it can't be Queen Esther of the Tundra (Failin' Palin), please let it be Boy Math-Whiz Paul Ryan. Please, please, please!
Mimikatz on August 06, 2012 12:13 PM:
Yes, by all means let's have Paul Ryan for VP and we can have a real debate on this sicko's priorities. Everyone for themselves, any welfare but corporate welfare or children's trust funds creates dependency, tax the poor so the rich can have ever more, dismantle our infrastructure and make them take toll roads or stay home.
And when faced with a real crisis, climate change, just let the weak suffer, we've got too many people already. I think that if Romney-Ryan were to win, a great many people who voted for them wouldn't know what hit them, literally. But they won't win. It will be a close vote but an electoral near-landslide, and we will finally see the limits of money in politics.
T2 on August 06, 2012 12:16 PM:
there is an ugly truth in the Ryan plan which most GOPer politicians not Crazy Tea Party know: the provisions would not just screw Democratic Party constituencies, but Republicans as well....they get Medicare too (although they apparently don't realize it is a Government sponsored healthcare program), they get Social Security too (although they apparently don't thing other people should), they have to ride on highways, send kids to school, fly on airplanes, eat fish,meat and poultry and may other things the Government brings us daily that the Ryan Plan would get rid of. The GOP loves to talk about the Ryan Plan, but secretly hope it never happens.
stinger on August 06, 2012 1:06 PM:
"perhaps he planned all along to run on jobs until mid-August" Please. The idea of Mitt having a plan is like the idea of Sarah having a favorite newspaper. His "plan" is that he deserves to be President and you people should just MYOB about the details.
cwolf on August 06, 2012 1:06 PM:
Translation: having prevaricated relentlessly about his agenda up until now, why would Romney want to start telling the truth at this late date?
He might want to flap-jaw another line, without necessarily telling the "truth",,,
... because, What he's doing now is not working.
He has to retroactively get rid of the Swiss and Caribbean Bank Accounts and; he also needs to retroactively pay some more back taxes.
Anonymous on August 06, 2012 2:00 PM:
interesting analysis from George Will on VP choice
if it is either Portman or Pawlenty, that means Romney feels secure hance picking reliable, safe partner with proven records.
if it is either Rubio or Ryan, that means Romney feels unsure about his chance of winning as it is so he needs to risk his chance with young, untested, potentially game changing partner.
the rumor has it that they are looking at ryan or rubio. that means Romney is insecure about this chance of winning in november.
I also heard from several poli-sci experts to wall street gamblers that they think obama's winning chance is now 70 to 90%. but you never know.
57andfemale on August 06, 2012 3:17 PM:
Do we think there still might be a head fake and one of those women speakers will be the Veep? I seem to be the only one who thinks this is a possibility.
idlemind on August 06, 2012 7:09 PM:
57andfemale: given that even partially closing the gender gap would give Romney the election, I think chances are pretty good that you're right.
Doug on August 06, 2012 8:30 PM:
idlemind, the ONLY female acceptable to Romney's voting base, as opposed to his real base, would the half-term Governor of Alaska. And that's NOT gonna happen!
To maintain his credibility with his voting base, Romney will almost HAVE to nominate Ryan. Rubio is right-wing enough, but doesn't need to go outside for a tan - if you get my drift. The current GOP is completely reliant on the racism that still, unfortunately, exists in this country. Romney and his advisers will do nothing to upset them and risk their not voting.
Which is why I firmly believe either Ryan will be Romney's VP pick OR, failing that, the Ryan Budget will be a plank in the Republican platform. And either way, Romney is toast.
Umm, toast...
James M on August 06, 2012 11:47 PM:
Interesting posts as usual! However, at the risk of endangering my 'pundit-in-waiting' status (You reading this CNN & MSNBC?) let me state again that is NO CHANCE (I would put this in bold letters too except I don't know how!) that Paul Ryan will be the V.P. choice (as much I would like to see it). The reasons are simple:
1. The loss of the ability to 'shape-shift'. Mitt Romney must be able to instantly and seamlessly adopt any form that meets his momentary needs. He can not allow him to be associated with someone so clearly defined as Mr. Ryan.
2. No electoral gain. Except for a tiny group of true die-hard conservatives who might have otherwise sat the election out, I can't think of anyone who would vote for Mr. Romney because he chose Paul Ryan as his running mate who wouldn't have voted for him anyway. Can you?
3. Vanity. Unlike non-entities like Mr. Pawlenty or Mr. Portman, Mr. Ryan has considerable star power in the GOP and would take away too much of the spotlight from Mr. Romney. Everything I have seen about Mitt Romney so far suggests that he want to be the center of attention at all times.
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