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Who Built America?
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Freedom Watch
Who Built America?
The rebuilding begins this November.
President Obama recently made a stunning remark about business owners in America’s free enterprise economy. After dismissing the hard work and ingenuity of successful individuals, the president said, “If you’ve got a business, you didn’t build that. Somebody else made that happen.” Who? Ultimately, the government.
Yet this was only the latest version of the president’s four-year disparagement of American entrepreneurialism. In 2008, then-candidate Obama said he intended to “spread the wealth around” — not his own wealth through voluntary transactions, of course, but the earnings belonging to American families through coercive redistribution. In April 2009, he claimed that the founding principles on which America was built are too weak to withstand 21st century pressures. He called our free economy a house built upon sand, destroyed when the financial storm of 2008 hit. America must be reconstructed, he asserted, upon a “new foundation” of “pillars” hewn from the solid rock of big government.
The agenda he promoted demonstrated in a practical way what his rhetoric meant. He pushed unprecedented stimulus spending, a government-driven health care overhaul, further distortions in the U.S. financial sector, an expensive cap-and-trade system to restrict American energy, and more. His transformative proposals were based on a vision of a government-centered society that conflicts with the foundational principles of freedom and equality rooted in our Declaration of Independence. To support his expansive new vision of government without limits, the administration sent Congress four massive annual budgets that called for crushing levels of debt. The Democrat-controlled Senate, cognizant of the political peril of voting for such reckless spending, taxes, and new debt, gave up on budgeting altogether. The U.S. Senate unanimously rejected Obama’s budgets, without passing any budget of its own for over three years.
The failed leadership and the dismal results from a president of such great promise have been disappointing. The moment of truth in front of us is of course not entirely his fault. Both political parties have failed the American people over the years, and both political parties have — time and again — prioritized political gain at the expense of principle. Thankfully, we have a historic opportunity in the year ahead to chart a new course, build a broad coalition for reforms that apply our timeless principles to today’s most pressing challenges. It begins by reclaiming the core of what makes America exceptional: our commitment to freedom.
Economic freedom empowers entrepreneurs who have ideas and imagination, investors who take risks, and workers who hone their skills and offer their labor. Our exceptional country was built with the ingenuity, capital, and sweat contributed by individuals who risked it all to provide a brighter future for their families. America was founded on the shared belief that government’s primary role is to safeguard our God-given freedoms, as individual initiative and a strong civil society are what make prosperity possible. America is exceptional for this very reason: No other country in the history of mankind was founded on such a powerful idea.
The president’s policies have stifled this commitment to economic freedom, which has resulted in millions of Americans facing painful economic hardships. In the president’s revealing rhetoric, we gain insight into why the economy remains so anemic and the future looks so bleak: Success is a function of government beneficence, not individual initiative.
His outlook not only makes for terrible economics, it also reveals moral confusion. The question that separates the prevailing sentiment in Washington from that of our Founders is a moral one: freedom and individual initiative, or big government alternatives?
President Obama’s comments reflect an ideology that casts the private sector as an arena driven by greed and indifference to the well-being of others. In government-directed economies, the collective takes priority over the individual. The moral ideal is equal results.
Enforcing this contorted view of equality requires sharp class division — the wealthy versus the middle class versus the poor. In this narrative, success is a zero-sum game. There is only so much wealth to go around, and one person’s gain is another’s loss.
The ideology of classes in historically inevitable conflict has never fit the reality of America. Our free and open economy works because the amount of wealth is not fixed. It grows with hard work, investment, and saving; all can prosper. Unlike in the European vision of big government, prosperity in America requires limits on the size and scope of the state, to ensure that no group faces government-imposed barriers to its opportunity to rise. America’s Founders wrote our Constitution of self-government and limited powers to protect our natural rights and foster a level playing, so all could freely pursue their happiness.
Embracing the politics of class division, President Obama’s principal solution to the nation’s fiscal and economic problems is to raise the barriers to success with higher tax rates and greater centralized control over our economy. As a fiscal and an economic matter, the argument unravels as he remains unable to explain how the tax increases he’s put forward can ever catch the spending increases ahead, and how such polices improve incentives for entrepreneurial investment and job development. Given such problematic realities, his appeal is more often moral in nature. Higher taxes are our patriotic duty. We’re all in this together. Forcing the rich to pay their “fair share” is the right thing to do. Yet, on moral grounds, the president’s argument cannot withstand scrutiny.
Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement requires a community of persons working together. We strengthen our bonds with each other as we offer our unique gifts to others. Customers reward the best and most efficient producers by buying their products and services. We work to advance the common good through our free association with each other, not because a coercive government directs our actions. Each human being has inherent dignity and unique gifts. Individuals thrive as they voluntarily share those gifts and talents with each other, in mutual assistance to meet their neighbors’ needs. We could never do this if we were isolated individuals as caricatured in the president’s distorted view of America’s commitment to free enterprise.
Of course government has a critical role to play in establishing neutral rules that enable open competition, and in securing peace and order with courts, a standard currency, defense forces, first responders, teachers, infrastructure, and a safety net for the most vulnerable. Government can help create the space for innovation and prosperity, but government can not fill that space. Activist government overreach and ongoing economic stagnation have shown us why Washington should never try to displace what is best left to civil society.
There are pernicious side effects from Washington’s ever-increasing intrusion into sectors of our economy and into aspects of our lives. Big-government economics breeds crony capitalism. It’s corrupt, anything but neutral, and a barrier to broad participation in prosperity. Both political parties have been guilty of this trend. Most recently, Washington has pursued polices that pick winners and losers in specific sectors of our economy, and that favor well-connected corporations and union bosses with bureaucratic access, tax loopholes, and regulatory waivers. Think Solyndra, bankrupt after a $500 million taxpayer guarantee, and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which continue to stifle the recovery while draining billions from the Treasury.
The moral case for individual initiative in a free economy holds that people have a God-given right to use their creativity to produce things that improve their lives. A free economy and strong communities honor the dignity of every person, reward effort with justice, promote upward mobility, and build solidarity among citizens. The president’s vision of a collective, government-centered society — reflected in his troubling rhetoric and failed policies — divides class against class and belittles fair rewards for workers, entrepreneurs, and investors — those who have built America into the greatest nation in the history of mankind.
About the Author
Rep. Paul Ryan, the Republican candidate for vice president, is a Congressman from Wisconsin and the chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee.
Letter to the Editor View all comments (88) | Leave a comment
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spike59| 8.13.12 @ 6:35AM
Congratulations, Congressman Ryan, and thank you for a well-thought out and well-written critique of the President's abysmal stewardship and lack of leadership. It's high time we get past the slime and gutter politics of this race and examine the stark differences between the visions of the two parties and their respective candidates, and it's past time we stop kicking the can down the road regarding our economy ond our government's finances. The last numbers I hear for econmic growth was 1/5% over the last quarter. That is below anemic. The other day, I was confronted by a Liberal Democrat who told me that the problem with the Republicans is that we are 'for the rich' and that the Democrats are 'for the poor'. My reply was, "well, the GOP is doing its best to make sure that as many people as possible have the opportunity to BECOME rich, and I suppose the reverse holds true for the Democrats"
Good luck in November, count on my vote
Jack in Wi| 8.13.12 @ 7:22AM
Ryan's family owns an old large public works contracting firm as well as non public works. I used to be pretty big in the rackett too, although I was over 100 miles away. It is an old firm in Janesville Wi. I don't know much about them. One of my engineeers was in business in competition with them for years before he hit the wall and came to work for me. He was a terrific engineer. It is too bad he is dead. He knew everything about the construction business in Rock county, where Ryan is from. He would give me all the lowdown.
Ryan's choice shows that Romney is pushing the economy. That's good. Stay away from warmongering neocons and have a more realistic, peaceful foreign policy and fire some of the incompetent aides, especially in the press section and they may well pull this out.
TLP| 8.13.12 @ 8:44AM
And, just like that, there goes the Jew Vote.
Jack in Wi| 8.13.12 @ 12:28PM
There is virtually no Jewish vote for the The Republicans. Most Jews are not insane warmongers, and generally dislike evangelicals and practicing Catholics. Most are liberals and have been their whole life. The Jews who Republican are split between those who do it for economic philosophy and a tiny minority of crazed Zionists who want us fighting Israel's wars. Recent polling in Israel suggest that a large plurality of Israeli's want nothing to do with a war with Iran. Netanyahu is collappsing in the polls at is at about 32%. Most of the Israeli military and intelligence communities are highly leary of such an attack and how it will end up. Romney if he doesn't tack toward peace has no chance to be elected.
Evelyn @ 77| 8.13.12 @ 8:47AM
Get off the dole.
Tear up your Medicare cards.
Drunken Sailor| 8.13.12 @ 8:54AM
So Jack, is Ryan a good enough reason for you to finally vote for Romney?
Jack in Wi| 8.13.12 @ 12:33PM
I have to see a lot more. I think if they run a decent campaign they will carry WI. with a good margin. They also have an excellent chance in Iowa, Michigan, and Ohio because of the economy. They even have a good chance in Illinois and Minnisota if they stay on the economy and get rid of the warmonger Neocons. If Romney sounds like a nut on wars like he did on the recent foreign trip, forget about Wi. and the whole Midwest. Wisconsin has always been the top anti war state in the country.
Nick| 8.13.12 @ 12:41PM
The only way Jackboot will vote for Romney/Ryan, Drunken Sailor, is if it comes out that either of them had a relative who was in the Waffen SS or Gestapo.
Jack in Wi| 8.13.12 @ 3:11PM
Lets see Nick. I voted for the Republican candidate for President in 12 straight elections. I even voted for that insane warmonger McCain. I guess I voted for Palin and Judges. I won't vote for Ryan, judges. and world war. I have been involved in the pro-life movement for over 30 years. I don't want a rabid pro-abort like Obama re-elected. I will never vote for a warmonger. You can't be pro-life and be for an attack on Iran. Such an attack is completly against Catholic Just War Doctrine. I follow Jesus Christ Who said. " Put up your sword Peter. Those who live by the sword will die by the sword. " He also said. " Blessed are the peacemakers. " Jesus tells us. " To love our neighbor as ourselves. " The Book of Leviticus tells Jews the same thing. It is time you got in with God and peace. Repent for all your hate and warmongering, which you seem to specialize in here.
CJW| 8.13.12 @ 3:15PM
So, Jack, how can you vote for Obama, who expanded the Afghan war, whose party views abortion as its core belief, and appoints pro abortion justices, such as Kagan and Sotomayor.
Nick| 8.13.12 @ 3:58PM
Blah, blah, blah, says Jackboot the anti-Semite. It is those who hate Jews who have much repenting to do.
You forgot to praise your hero, Herr Hitler, for not starting the "Final Solution" until 1942, Jackboot.
Jack in Wi| 8.13.12 @ 4:54PM
Nick or should I say George Neumayr: You can't be pro war and call yourself a good Catholic. Your hatred of Muslims and the hate the rest of you neocons preach was partly to blame for what happened in Oak Creek Wi. last week. That dimmwit could not even tell the difference between a Muslim and a Sikh. By the way I saw the heliocopters flying over some of the crime scene a week ago Sunday. Stop with all the hate George. Quit with defending the indefensible. By the way quit calling me a Nazi. I am against war and hate and preach against it everyday. The Israeli Regime is much like Hitlers before the war. That is ethnic cleansing and if that doesn't work, it may end in genocide. Occam and others here call for the genocide of millions of Muslims everyday.
Trinacria| 8.13.12 @ 5:33PM
"You can't be pro war and call yourself a good Catholic."
Dear Jack,
With all due respect, perhaps you are unfamiliar with the doctrine of just war, a long held principle in Catholic moral theology. I fully respect your right to believe that all war is unjust; however, I reserve the right to challenge you on matters of doctrine that are factually incorrect.
To make the categorical claim that one cannot be "pro-war" and call oneself a good Catholic is not only inconsistent with Catholic doctrine, it is inconsistent with reason. One cannot have a principled resolve to protect the just and the innocent without being willing to fight to protect them. The great doctors of the church realized this; perhaps you might profitably consider the merits of their logic.
Jack in Wi| 8.14.12 @ 12:00AM
You know nothing of the Catholic Doctrine of Just War. In such a war every effort must be made to stop it by peacefull means. Iran has offered on numerous occasions to meet with us and have full diplomatic relations. The war must have a just cause. Iran is violating nothing of it's treaties on nuclear non-proliferation. It is under constant inspection. Israel on the other hand is a rogue terror state with 500 atomic weapons and which is threatening to push the world into a possible world war for no sane reason. Both the military and intelligence communities in this country and Israel want nothing to do with such a war. They have spoken out against it on numerous occasions. The heartening thing is the fact that the Israeli military, imtelligence, and intellectual communities have spoken out against Netanyahu and his war plans. The USA has no business letting a pair of insane nuts like Barak and Netanyahu drag us into another war. There is absolutly no justification under Catholic Just War Doctrine or International Law for this war. To push such an agressive war is a violation of law that got a lot of Germans hung after WW2. It is time to tell the Neocons to just go to Hell. They have been wrong on everything and knife the conservatives in the back on every occasion.
Nick| 8.13.12 @ 5:42PM
Blah, blah, blah, Jackboot the nazi.
No one is pro-war, by the way. Moron. Wars are made necessary by evil-doers, like your hero Hitler. Whom you praise constantly for not starting the "Final Solution" until 1942.
Also, I hate no Moslems. I hate no one, unlike you Jackboot. Christ says that we can't hate anyone.
I must admit, though, that when I first heard about the Milwaukee mass-shooting, I thought about your whereabouts, Jackboot. Then when I heard the killer was a neo-nazi, I wondered, "Could it be Jackboot from Wi?"
Get bent, anti-Semitic Scheizekopf.
And, who is "Judges" anyway? You really are an illiterate and uncomprehensible liberal, Jackboot. You betcha'!
Jack in Wi| 8.13.12 @ 11:44PM
The Neo Hitler pushing world war today is Netanyahu. Even most Israeli's want nothing to do with his war. This racist criminal belongs in an insane asylum not pushing his country and the world into a war. End the terror. End the hate. Full integration for the Israeli state. No one spoke out more forefully for integration and full civil rights in South Africa and the USA then the Jews of those countries. Now it is time for them to practice what they preach.
DTOM| 8.13.12 @ 6:59AM
Congressman Ryan;
We pray for you, your family, your supporters, your success, and your opposition. May you and yours prosper and be well, may your efforts be victorious, and may your opponents see the truth and beauty in your arguments.
I really did move into your district to vote for you! How can I help? I'll call your Kenosha office!
C'mon, citizens, it's now or never!
Don't Tread On Me!!!
FLDMD51| 8.19.12 @ 11:59PM
DTOM, these are my sentiments exactly! Every day, I pray for Congressman Ryan and his family. To give up one's home life, privacy and security to restore our country is truly courageous! America cannot thank Paul Ryan enough for the sacrifice he has made for us , our children and grandchildren. With God's help, we will be victorious in this just cause! God Bless America!
benny havens| 8.13.12 @ 7:08AM
Congressman Ryan, congratulations and thank you for your words of encouragement about our future. You will have my vote come November 6.
Unfortunately there are a huge number of voters who don’t have a clue about this nation’s founding principles. They are only interested in “free stuff”. In their view, achieving the American Dream is not through hard work but rather through free government handouts. Programs that were intended as “safety nets” have turned into “entitlements”.
You will not have to convince the makers about your plans for economic recovery. You will need to sway the takers and that is going to be a tough sell. Especially since the President is telling them the opposite, every day of the week.
ejc03| 8.13.12 @ 7:40AM
So true. Personal accountability and responsibility are becoming extinct or at least the minority in this country. That's the uphill battle for Ryan and Romney. Obama taps into the entitlement mentality and grows this segment of the population every day.
vtwin| 8.13.12 @ 12:45PM
Entitlement mentality, are you referring to Romney because Romney doesn’t pay income taxes like the rest of us or while Romney‘s generation was fighting for freedom in Vietnam Romney was draft dodging in the South of France or both?
Nick| 8.13.12 @ 1:07PM
Draft dodger? Do you understand what that term means, vtwit?
Apparently not.
It is the democrat party that is the party of draft dodging, remember? Yellow-bellied cowards like Bubba "The Pervert" Clinton, Teddy "The Swimmer" Kennedy, Howard "Yeeeeeeahhhh!" Dean, and Chris "peace corps" Matthews, e.g.
Even democrats who did serve in combat, later disgraced themselves. Such as McGovern, who would have been Brezhnev's lapdog. Or, JFKerry, who came back from Viet Nam and lied about his fellow soldiers for political gain. Disgusting.
vtwin| 8.13.12 @ 3:45PM
John Kerry draft dodger? During the Vietnam War John Kerry had the courage to fight for his country when he thought his country was right, winning a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and three Purple Hearts, and the courage to speak up when he thought his country was wrong. Romney preferred to spend the War living off his daddy’s and smoking pot and drinking absinthe in the South of France.
Romney even showed a lack of convictions at a young age, no?
Nick| 8.13.12 @ 4:11PM
"John Kerry draft dodger?"
Can't you read, vtwit? Is English your second language? Are you currently flunking 7th grade English?
I didn't claim that Kerry was a draft doger. Try again, Einstein.
Plus, Kerry faked a couple of his Purple Hearts, and threw his medals over the White House fence. He is a dispicable liar who should have been tried for treason, or, at least slander, contempt of Congress, and perjury.
CJW| 8.13.12 @ 4:21PM
Is that the same Jean Kerry that had a film company film him so he could use the film in his campaigns? The same one who took an early out, and compared the US military to Genghis Khan? The same one who registered his $150,000 yacht in a different state so he did not have to pay the personal properety tax?
markenoff| 8.13.12 @ 11:02PM
Oh, is John Kerry, "I marry rich widows and park my yacht in Rhode Island to avoid paying taxes to the state I represent" the Dem nominee this year? I thought it was Barak Obama who admits to working behind enemy lines in his memoirs (You didn't write that. SOmebody else wrote that for you>)......behind enemy lines meaning working for a profit making company instead of leaching off the government. Please review for us Barak Obama's proud record of military service. He is, after all, sending US troops to fight and die in Afghanistan, the war he called the "necessary war".
Trinacria| 8.13.12 @ 2:42PM
"...because Romney doesn’t pay income taxes like the rest of us."
You're right, vtwin, Romney doesn't pay taxes like the rest of us. HE PAID $3 million in taxes last year. I CERTIANLY DIDN'T.
By the way, he also gave $7 million to charity. I was a little south of that, myself (though I'm proud to note I was well north of Biden's impressive $360 in charitable contributions). How about you?
Finally, for the last time - Romney paid a lower EFFECTIVE tax rate because the majority of the money he made was not from income, but capital gains. If you'd like to pay a lower effective tax rate, you're welcome to avail yourself of that opportunity, too. Or you can continue to ignore the fact that you too can be successful and be content with bitching about those who have the balls to put capital at risk and actually grab the ring.
vtwin| 8.13.12 @ 3:59PM
Wow, $3 million on $21 million of income, that's impressive...NOT... and what about the ten years Romney didn't pay any income taxes?
CJW| 8.13.12 @ 4:13PM
vtwin
what is your source for saying Romney did not pay income taxes for ten years?
Skippy| 8.13.12 @ 6:58PM
Harry Reid's invisible friend.
Trinacria| 8.13.12 @ 4:14PM
Point 1: No, vtwin, $3 million on $21 million of CAPITAL GAINS (not wages), minus $7 million in charitable contributions.
Point 2: If it is your contention that the long term capital gains tax rate is too low, what is your proposed solution? Before you respond "raise the capital gains tax rate", perhaps you might consider consulting an ECON 101 text book to examine the effect of higher capital gains tax rates on investment and job creation. You think unemployment sucks now?
Point 3: Please produce a single piece of evidence demonstrating that Mr. Romney paid no taxes for 10 years and I'll be delighted to address your argument. Until then, perhaps you should be more concerned about disproving recent allegations that you beat your spouse.
Finally, you conveniently failed to address the obvious question: how is it unfair for Mr. Romney to pay the same rate on capital gains that you or I do? If you choose not to avail yourself of the opportunity to pay a lower rate by earning capital gains, that's a "you problem", not a Romney problem.
markenoff| 8.13.12 @ 11:24PM
The word's out that vtwin hasn't paid income taxes in 20 years, launders money for Mexican drug gangs, supplies weapons to Al Qaeda and rapes boys in Cambodia. To disprove these claims I don't think the burden is on me to prove them, the burden is on vtwin to disprove them. He's the one I've alleged have committed these acts.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/....._blog.html
markenoff| 8.13.12 @ 11:11PM
Unlike Mitt Romney Harry Reid has been in the legislative branch of the US government for decades. They are the ones who write the tax code. If Romney did what all of us do which is use every deduction and exemption possible to reduce his taxes to the lowest level possible and you don't like that you have a beef with those who write the tax code (Harry Reid) not Mitt Romney. It would be malpractive on the part of Mitt Romney's CPA and tax attorney if they did not reduce his taxes to the lowest amount possible using all the legal deductions provide by the tax code that Harry Reid helped write. BTW, this last year I served as a volunteer income tax preparer for US military personnel. DUring our two weeks of training the IRS Agent who trained us emphasized continuously that our goal was to reduce the amount the taxpayer paid by using every possible deduction and exemption and if possible to get them a refund or refundable credit.
CJW| 8.13.12 @ 3:18PM
vtwin
what is your effective tax rate?
vtwin| 8.13.12 @ 3:53PM
I haven’t calculated that, I’m happy to go back and look but my view is I’ve paid all the taxes required by law.
I know, i thought it sounded like Romney was avoiding the question to.
CJW| 8.13.12 @ 4:15PM
Last week you did not understand the difference between marginal rate and effecive rate. And you said the employee paid 15% for FICA . We told you the employer pays half of the FICA. You sound a lot like economic moron purpie.
Trinacria| 8.13.12 @ 4:16PM
W,
Vtwin doesn't have an effective tax rate. I have a very reliable source that informed me that vtwin hasn't paid income taxes for the last 10 years. Of course, vtwin could put an end to the controversy by posting the last 10 years of tax returns to this site.
CJW| 8.13.12 @ 4:24PM
T
I also heard that vtwin and purpie have a financial planning service that is warning their clients that under the Romney tax plan that reduces the rates by 25%, those in the 0% rate will go to 8% because the 10% rate drops to 8%. I know it sounds stupid, but that is what purpie said last week.
Trinacria| 8.13.12 @ 4:39PM
W,
My source corroborates your information. I've also learned (again, from a very reliable source) that they've been advising their clients NOT to invest in financial instruments that would result in capital gains, because paying the lower capital gains tax rate would make them bad Americans. There was also something about cross dressing and sheep, but in the interest of fairness to vtwin and purpie, I must disclose that I have not been able to substantiate the latter.
Anthony| 8.13.12 @ 4:15PM
Hey vtwin, how many more California cities have gone belly up? California dreaming today means looking for a handout. This ain't your Mammas and Pappas California.
Romney paid more income taxes in one year than you will do in 10 lifetimes, troll.
allanius | 8.13.12 @ 7:35AM
OK, that was nice and clear. Now let's see if he can get the message past the MSM.
Ken (Old Texican)| 8.13.12 @ 8:01AM
Allanius,
That is a place where the tea-party can help out. If we blitz their studios every time they lie, average folks will begin to notice
TLP| 8.13.12 @ 8:58AM
If we BURN their Studios everytime they lie.
Only then, will they ever take notice.
It took John Brown, at Harpers Ferry, to shine a light on the True Evils of Slavery.
Anybody know where George Stephanopoulas lives?
What about Little Pinch?
David Gregory?
How about the little Queer, over at WAPO, cashing his Dead Mother's Social Security Checks - BJ Dionne?
It's high time OUR SIDE picked up the phone, loaded up the Buses, and drove out to where these MFers live, for a change.
I, for one, am out of Cheeks to Turn.
It's time to take off the Gloves.
Bob Grant| 8.13.12 @ 9:56AM
TLP,
Or we could have Paul Ryan kick open the doors and assault them with facts, figures...and the truth.
The Dems worst nightmare was unleashed last Saturday.
markenoff| 8.13.12 @ 11:37PM
Ryan is armed with Obama's worst nightmare....math.
Jack London| 8.13.12 @ 7:43AM
Thankfully Obama is now assured of second term. Already Romney is rowing back from the appalling Ryan 'budgets' and a lot of the religious vote will go too once Americans realize how much Ryan wants to force the poor onto the streets. The Medicare dismantlement will lose seniors. Slashing the VA will lose veterans. Etc.
Romney called the Ryan budget 'marvelous'. Now he's got to disown it. The man is a fool. Well done Mitt - we owe you.
fmm| 8.13.12 @ 7:52AM
lol
chuck| 8.13.12 @ 8:11AM
troll
c. j. acworth| 8.13.12 @ 8:15AM
You know, Jack, when I was a kid I read "Call of the Wild". Loved it. For years after I wanted a big dog named Buck. So when I got to High School and came across some of your other stuff I figured it would be just as good. Wrong. Even at that tender age I could tell "The Iron Heel" was a load of Marxist B.S. Stick to writing dog stories Jack, on economics and politics you suck.
TLP| 8.13.12 @ 9:07AM
You've got got this Jack, confused with that other Jack.
He's not Jack "London".
He's Jack FROM London.
Like - Jack the Ripper.
He likes The Muslim, because of the Evil in his heart.
Birds of a Feather flock together. Misery Loves Company. Like minds think alike. And, one piece of Sh*t stinks, pretty much like every other Piece of Sh*t (I'm sure that if you ask Alanblacknegrohomo? He would validate that for you.)
That's all it is.
Bob Grant| 8.13.12 @ 9:56AM
Desperation. I love it!!!!
Gary B| 8.13.12 @ 10:48AM
Talk about great entertainment!
Indy| 8.13.12 @ 7:47AM
Congressman Ryan, congratulations and thank you for speaking of our Founding Principles. My prayers are with you and especially with your family. Please move Education back to the states, the move to Common Core Standards is flying under the radar with strong Leftists driving the agenda. Education reform must be at the local level. Also, please shed light on the driving costs of higher education, more Pell Grants and the takeover of student loans drives up tuition. Costs have increased faster than the cost of healthcare and DC has done nothing to address this. More money in education is not the solution, we need to cut administrative positions and programs, university endowment funds increase and so does tuition, it's time for the Feds to step out of education. Good luck and please make the rounds to as many college campuses as you can, our youth need to hear from you first hand. Good luck and God Bless.
Stephanie| 8.13.12 @ 7:48AM
I pray for Paul Ryan's safety. obama's people will stop at nothing to win this election.
Ken (Old Texican)| 8.13.12 @ 7:57AM
Paul,
God bless and give the communists their outing in no uncertain terms.
Do whatever you have to do to win. Literally millins of lives are on the lline.
chuck| 8.13.12 @ 8:14AM
Congressman Ryan,
Congratulations, and I am praying for you, your family, and for Gov. Romney.
This is your moment in history........make the most of it.
Anthony| 8.13.12 @ 8:40AM
The right ticket!! Well done Mr. Romney, Paul Ryan is the future of the conservative R party.
Chuck is right Mr. Ryan, this IS your moment in history, and at a time when America is dying from radical Marxism.
You sir might very well lead America's second Revolution back into prosperity and limited government. The Founders are smiling today!!
Drunken Sailor| 8.13.12 @ 8:57AM
Congratulations Congressman Ryan!
Now get out there and give them Hell.
Kwan| 8.13.12 @ 9:36AM
Ryan won't give Obama and the Democrats hell he'll just tell the truth about them and they'll think it's hell.
Drunken Sailor| 8.13.12 @ 9:54AM
Either way is fine by me. After 4 years of "Hope and Change" I am ready for a little R&R (I stole that line but thought it would make a great bumper sticker).
George True| 8.13.12 @ 11:38AM
Democrats are the only people who, when you quote to them their own exact words, accuse you of slandering them.
Mimi | 8.13.12 @ 9:10AM
Dear Paul....Thanks for writing to Am.Spec. this morning. Congratulations on being chosen to help Mitt Romney as his Vice President.
We thank God for the gift of your life. You have come along in History, with all your great gifts and knowledge to help this great NATION . Thanks for saying YES!
More than anything we can do for you and Mitt is to pray for your strength and courage....the coming days will not be EASY...the task at hand is monumental...know you will be in our constant prayers...that you can rely on and our support and votes. We know, and are grateful for your willingness to serve........., MIMI
Kwan| 8.13.12 @ 9:31AM
Let's remember in the fevered-brains of leftist psychotics if citizen "A" has 10 cents more wealth than citizen "B" it creates a distortion in the space-time continuum. To remedy this malady Obama and the Democrats would have us toss out our Constitutional Republic, and replace it with a Totalitarian Socialist State that will guarantee equality for all. The only dumbkophs that buy into this argument are the gub-a-mint cheese aficinados who expect the rest of society to support them and their succeeding generations for the next 500 years.
MK48| 8.13.12 @ 10:18AM
Mr. Rayn... All though I can't speek for other vets this VET would like to personally thank you for standing up for our freedom.
It's going to take young leadership to stear this ship into the sunset instead of on the rocks of communism.
I will pray for you and Mitt for strength and conviction and just like the bible says 'the truth will set you free".
obadiah| 8.13.12 @ 9:54AM
He forgot to mention the inferior ones counted as 3/5 of a person. He also forgot to mention the superior corporate owners he works for. Soon there will be many more inferior persons and the superiority of the owners will be carved in stone.
Skippy| 8.13.12 @ 2:31PM
And the skies will spit tongues of flame, and a plague of locusts will descend o'er the land...
Trinacria| 8.13.12 @ 2:47PM
You mean the 3/5 of a person populationn that has seen their unemployment rate triple under Emperor Obama? The population in which the unemployment rate among youths has reached 50%?
Yeah, they're waaaaaaaaay better off with Obama.
markenoff| 8.13.12 @ 11:52PM
obadiah is historically ignorant. It was the northern, non-slave holding states represented at the Constitution who wanted slaves counted as 3/5ths of a person for purpose of determing population as population would determine the number of representatives each state would have in the House of Reps. This measure passed with no debate during the Constitutional Convention as it was a standard formula used during colonial times when measures that affected both slave holding states and non-slave holding states were involved. Considering his comment obadiah probably thinks that the Civil War was about states' rights...the right of souther states to keep their slaves...when in fact it was about the northern states' rights to not be involved in enforcing the slave trade (see the Fugitive Slave Act). obadiah also probably thinks (due to his exposure to liberal propaganda; ie Michael "Fat Man" Moore's movies) that the NRA and the KKK were one and the same having been founded at approximately the same time. What he may not recognize is that the first several presidents of the NRA were Federal Generals who fought against slavery while the KKK was the terrorist wing of the Democrat Party, the party that attempted to secede from the Union in order to maintain theri "peculiar institution". The Dems are still all about enslaving people it's just now they want to enslave all races to Leviathon.
Ken (Old Texican)| 8.13.12 @ 9:58AM
Well, I'm a Texan. Realistically we are still living the American dream to a large extent here.
...Plenty of great jobs with advancement opportunity...though you may have to sweat and get your hands greasy.
y first full time job was as a roughneck offshore for Texaco...two summers...and I learned so much that it propelled me to TWO fortune 500 presidencies.
The problem is that given 4 more years...Obama is aiming at crushing Texas too.
...Aint gonna' happen! We down here will simply not comply and kiss our butts.
Try to get here before the borders close.
cowgirl| 8.13.12 @ 10:11AM
Future Vice President Ryan and Future President Ryan.
Do not harass, insult or call anyone names. Do not get sucked into the gutter that the elitists liberals in this country swarm in on a daily basis. Stay on course with your biggest assets which are your belief that America is the Great Nation ever, honesty and math.
Do not stray and you will win the good fight.
Good luck and God Bless.
DTOM| 8.13.12 @ 12:13PM
cowgirl;
Don't worry, the Congressman has already been spit at by Obama in person and has shown himself more than up to the task of withstanding and Obama tantrum.
The littlest President however, has yet to learn to hold himself in check for his own benefit. I look forward to OBama's own "Hitler learns that Paul Ryan is Romney's running mate" youtube viral video moment....
God bless...
DTOM
CJW| 8.13.12 @ 10:24AM
Mr. Ryan
Congratulations. You will be the VP.
Nick| 8.13.12 @ 10:42AM
Congratulations, Mr. Ryan.
I hope your team is aware of what Erskine Bowles has said about you and your budget plan:
"Have any of you-all met Paul Ryan? We should get him to come to the university. I’m telling you this guy is amazing. Uhh, I always thought that I was OK with arithmetic, this guy can run circles around me. And, he is honest. He is straightforward. He is sincere. And, the budget that he came forward with is just like Paul Ryan. It is a sensible, straightforward, honest, serious budget. And it cut the budget deficit, just like we did, by $4 trillion. [...]
"The President came out with his own plan. And the President as you'll remember, came out with a budget, and I don’t think anyone took that budget very seriously. Uh, the Senate voted against it 97 to nothin'. He therefore, after a lot of pressure from folks like me, uh, he came out with a new budget framework, and in the new budget framework he cuts--he cut the budget deficit by $4 trillion over 12 years. And, to be candid, this $4 trillion cut was very heavily back-end loaded. So, if you looked at it on a 10 year basis and compared apples-to-apples, it really was about a $2.5 trillion cut."
http://hotair.com/archives/201.....t-serious/
apnep| 8.13.12 @ 11:16AM
OMG. I think I'm in love. Young, good looking, and most important of all, intelligence AND a BUDGET!!!
RWinks| 8.13.12 @ 11:29AM
The battle lines are drawn. The nation can either continue the corrupt crony Marxism that makes up Obamanomics, or return to the tried and true principles that made American great.
Seriously, can any American actually want another four years of this? Be a hero. Save your country. Contact all your relatives, friends, total strangers. Get them to register and vote. This election, more than any other in my lifetime (70 years) is a hill to die on.
JD| 8.13.12 @ 12:13PM
I didn't like this column. Ryan used to distinguish himself by being the only one willing to talk about specific plans. Now he's reverted to the same vague generalities that other politicians use. There was no substance here!
Trinacria| 8.13.12 @ 4:30PM
The purpose of the article was to outline the broad ideological differences between the president and Messers Romney and Ryan. Just laying the groundwork/rationale for the details in the proposals.
Louis Jenkins| 8.13.12 @ 1:03PM
Wow! An article about Paul Ryan written by Paul Ryan. Very unusual for AmSp. Well, the die is cast and it should be an interesting 80 days til the election, or re-election. The Democrats will scream about Ryan's efforts to cut medicare. So let them. Ryan has the where-with all to counter the arguments. He has something they don't have-a memory. Let the games begin.
David Kramer| 8.13.12 @ 2:26PM
Show em how we Wisconsinites get it done Mr Ryan. Scott Walker showed Wisconsin how to get things done, now you can show the US how to get things done. Let the vile and stupid attacks from the media/democrats slide off you and show them the logic and truth behind conservatism. A couple of discussions on Fox with DWS never hurts to show the difference between the two parties. ON WISCONSIN!
Deborah D| 8.13.12 @ 3:41PM
Hey there, David --
I was impressed by the line-up behind Romney and Ryan yesterday!! A huge bunch of intelligent Wisconsinites.
God bless you, Rep. Ryan. Great pick, Gov. Romney. We're excited out here. We haven't had much to root for out here. I thought we'd get it from the Obamacare decision -- but CJ Roberts through a huge wrench in that!! Thanks for giving us Americans something to cheer about.
Ken (Old Texican)| 8.13.12 @ 3:38PM
With Ryan on board, Obama and crew will be confronted with reality every single day.
Game on!
RAM| 8.13.12 @ 3:51PM
Traditionally religious Jews include many Republicans.
Skippy| 8.13.12 @ 7:05PM
Not all American Jews are "Jim Jones Jews" in the tradition of Feinstein and Schumer.
They would rather die at the hands of Nazis/Jihadis than own a gun...wait...you're kidding...really?
Wow!
Diane Feinstein has one of the only concealed carry permits in San Francisco?
Really?
OK, she doesn't care if YOU are killed by Nazis and Jihadis.
Sorry.
BackToBasics| 8.13.12 @ 7:31PM
Ryan was a good pick for Romney. I think they both have the knowledge and an innate courage to do what needs to be done to put America back on track.
They have the knowledge and innate courage but they must act on it. That means to do what needs to be done and NOT worry about the next election cycle.
BackToBasics| 8.13.12 @ 8:05PM
More specifically, acting on it means "reaching across to your base" first and not "reaching across the aisle to democrats" as a priority. our base loves the America we knew years ago, not what we are becoming.
After the electorate gave more seats in 2004 to both the House and the Senate to George W. Bush, he moved even farther to the left and subsequently lost both houses in 2006 as a result. I hope Romeny-Ryan will not make the same mistake.
I think it's likely the Republicans will have majorities in both Houses after November.
Michele San Pietro| 8.15.12 @ 3:58PM
Who built America? Certainly not those like Obama. And true Americans will never allow those like Obama to destroy it.