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Ready for Ryan

By Aaron Goldstein on 8.17.11 @ 1:02PM

I suppose Jim Antle and I (along with Quin Hillyer) will have to agree to disagree about Paul Ryan's presidential prospects. Fair enough.

Jim makes the case that Ryan best serves our country by remaining as House Budget Chairman. Ryan is a great House Budget Chairman. We don't disagree. But as I argued yesterday, if Ryan stays as House Budget Chairman and Obama wins re-election what difference is it going to make? Even if the Senate goes GOP, Ryan will write budgets and Obama will veto them. Meanwhile, to quote Tennessee Ernie Ford, we "get another day older and deeper in debt." Only the company store to whom we owe our soul will be located in Beijing.

The presence of Ryan in the GOP race might be disquieting to Jim. Yes, the Obama campaign will trot out everything up to and including the kitchen sink on Ryan. But they would do just the same to Romney, Perry or Bachmann and most of the media is more than happy to play along. They would much prefer to do that than scrutinize the Obama presidency. Yet I think Ryan is equipped to deal with Obama in a way those aforementioned Republicans aren't. If anyone can bring the discussion back to Obama's ineffective and ineffectual presidency, it is Ryan.

As for Jim's assertion that the electorate might not be ready for a discussion about entitlements, well, the electorate has a way of letting presidential candidates know what they want to talk about. But let's suppose Jim is right. Then perhaps we aren't so serious about government spending and the reducing role of the federal government in our lives. Perhaps we are content to say, "Cut my neighbor's benefits but leave mine alone." In which case, we deserve the President we elect.

Yet the risk of the electorate not being ready for Ryan's message should not preclude him from throwing his hat into the ring if he is so inclined to toss it. If we are afraid that the electorate might not be ready for Ryan then by that logic, Barry Goldwater should have stepped aside for Nelson Rockefeller in 1964. Indeed, Ronald Reagan have never challenged Gerald Ford in 1976 never mind telling a not so moderate moderator in Nashua, New Hampshire in February 1980, "I am paying for this microphone." We let Reagan be Reagan. So let Ryan be Ryan.

Finally, to quote Rabbi Hillel, "And if not now, when?"

View all comments (22) | Leave a comment

NotALibertarian| 8.17.11 @ 1:35PM

Perry is in, Ryan is no longer needed. This is no longer about filling a void, this is about Karl Rove's political operatives nagging Ryan because the Bush-ites know they will be left with nothing if we end up with a President Perry. The prospect of ridding the GOP of the Bushites only enhances Perry's appeal for me.

Mimi| 8.17.11 @ 1:41PM

I wish he will declare SOON! All sorts of people , have thought for some time now he would be the BEST one to go against Obama.
The Democrats fear him so much that they try to ignore him but he knows ALL of the facts and figures and it's not only on PAPER but in his brilliant MIND.
The Clue also is the WAY Obama tried to discredit him, and insult him to his face on APRIL 13. Paul Ryan has with decency called a spade a spade and gave tremendous speeches on Americas defense of right and workable plans to save the country. The "O" lost , and has been losing ever since. They will have some race...those two ...The future of these UNited States will be on the table. Ryans sharp integity and ability to debate with STARK honesty, with the REAL FACTS ....will make the debates HISTORICAL. In the end being the exact opposite of who we have now...Ryan will be a GREAT PRESIDENT, and one who we ALL can be very proud of at home and abroad!

Margie| 8.17.11 @ 4:00PM

I could not have said it better, Mimi.
Paul Ryan~ the type of "intellectual" I admire. He could go up against any Liberal and come out smelling like a rose.
Hey, he already has!
If he can take on Obama, he can take on the media.
And his smarts will also get him the admiration of our young people.
Once again I will say it. We have so many good souls on our side, and to me, it's heartening.

Kingofthenet| 8.17.11 @ 2:07PM

I think you conservatives are going to be in for a RUDE awakening, if you don't elect Romney you are going to SPECTACULARLY crash and burn. Obama will eat up ALL the other candidates and coast to victory.Obama IMHO is the best speaker in since Bill Clinton and arguably better, he is going to be a Monster to beat.

Mimi| 8.17.11 @ 4:09PM

Why are you OBAMA guys always routing for Romney.....mmmm. LIKE YOUR TRYING TO HELP US....some of us are DUMB but we are not STUPID! Give me a break!

Mike| 8.17.11 @ 2:37PM

Keep it in the family huh? The Washington DC eline family that is. Paul Ryan does not upset the apple cart in their house. You folks make it sound that a Perry Presidency would make shock waves in and around DC and the elites would not like it. A Ryan run would be all about the healthcare issue and not jobs...and Ryan would be a loser.

Lots of carping about O's executive experience and the total chaos because of it. Now you want Ryan to run without excutive experience.

Congress sits around talking back and forth, discussing this option and that, taking weeks/months to make a decision. With O, this process has led to several disasters in domestic and foreign policies.

Keep Ryan where he is - or run for Governor. With excutive experience on his resume, then he can run for POTUS.

For me, Rommey is a RINO. I will stick with Perry.

Robbie| 8.17.11 @ 2:39PM

The problem with Ryan is simple. He's a wonk and the favorite of the inside baseball crowd in conservative circles. He's Mitch Daniels with hair.

I also think Ryan has a glass jaw. He got knocked off message by Obama on his budget plan. Ryan and McCain are the only two to get knocked off message by Obama.

Nice guy, but not ready.

Kingofthenet| 8.17.11 @ 2:47PM

Ask yourselves this, My tract record for picking winners is....If you picked Christine O’Donnell or Sharron Angle and HONESTLY think they were GREAT candidates with a strong possibility of winning, than just admit your opinions are WORTHLESS. The funny thing is the Candidate with the BEST chance (Romney) is seen as a RINO and won't get base support. I know you are going to say this is a Liberal's attempt at getting a weak candidate vs Obama, but honestly the ONLY Candidate that scares me is Mitt.

Scott| 8.17.11 @ 2:57PM

As near as I can tell, Ryan has no personal issues that opponents can exploit: he's not a gaffe machine (like Bachmann), he does not project the image of a swaggering Texan that reminds people of Bush (like Perry), he doesn't come across as a opportunistic politician (like Romney), or a member of a "weird" group (like Romney), or an evil businessman (like Romney), etc.

Let me digress and say I'm not saying these things to run down anyone; I'm just trying to point out likely lines of attack.

Without those (quite frankly unfair) things to go after Ryan on, when the Left wants to demonize him, they will have to demonize him on policy, and I have seen no other Republican who is as capable of defending his policy positions as Ryan is (McCotter is pretty good at articulating his positions as well).

I suppose they might go after him for being a conservative Catholic. As a conservative Catholic, I happen to think that's another reason to vote for him, and other than lefties who weren't going to vote for him anyway and a very tiny fringe of fundamentalist Protestants, I can't see it affecting him negatively.

The only problem I have is that he's young and has no executive experience, and in that respect he looks a bit too much like Obama. In 2008 I said that I thought that the Democrats might have made a mistake by trotting out rising star Obama too soon, and, while he won, I think events have borne that out. Even though Ryan is not the nonentity Obama was before his elevation, I would feel more comfortable if he had some executive seasoning.

Kingofthenet| 8.17.11 @ 3:12PM

The thing is this, stuff that is 'Red Meat' in a Republican Primary is absolutely TOXIC in a General Election. For example saying that Fed. Chairman Ben Bernanke is acting TREASONOUS, come on you want a guy like that with Nuclear codes?

Uli Kunkel| 8.17.11 @ 3:18PM

I find it absolutely incredible Obuckethead could be re-elected!!! What could he run on, failure??? Obonehead's presidential platform and talking points: "I Obuckethead, represent abstract failure, vote for me!!!"

How could this knucklehead realistically be re-elected???

Scott| 8.17.11 @ 3:31PM

If Obama wins, it'll be because the Republicans screwed up.

Unfortunately, I know that the American people agree with Republican positions because, having observed politics in this country for decades, I know the Republicans ain't winning elections by being better at the game of politics than Democrats (Reagan is the only Republican I have seen who was better than the Democrats at the game of politics). I have very little doubt that the Republicans could screw this up.

Mimi| 8.17.11 @ 4:23PM

Running against OBAMA I don't think the Repub's, no matter how bad they can get could lose against this GUY. This is theirs for the taking. History will be telling of the " OUTRAGES" of this President for the next 10 centuries!.....Never AGAIN !!!

Scott| 8.18.11 @ 12:14AM

Never say never.

And don't forget, they're not just running against Obama, they're running against the mainstream media, the unions, indeed, much of the established power in this country.

Derek Leaberry| 8.17.11 @ 3:34PM

All the usual suspects are quietly lining up behind Ryan. Jeb Bush. Mitch Daniels. Bill Bennett and John Boehner. All are big players in the Open Borders gang. Ryan must be on the bad side on the immigration issue.

Margie| 8.17.11 @ 4:02PM

You don't like Ryan, Derek? I would think that you would.. though I do not know his stance on immigration yet. But I do admire him from what I have seen and heard from him.

Oldefarte| 8.17.11 @ 4:12PM

Aaron, with all due respect and with my not knowing the full extent of Jim's side of this issue; I'm going to disagree with your typically intelligent argument. IMO, Paul is mostly a numbers kind of a guy apparently, and his expertise has been based upon same exclusively. We don't know if he's knowledgable/credible on subjects such as foreign policy, immigration, foreign aid, etc. Maybe so, but we don't to date know. I'd prefer his expertise be relegated to numbers such as appointed as chief of the council of economic advisors, budget director, Treasury Secretary, etc instead of POTUS!!!!!!!

Mimi| 8.17.11 @ 4:29PM

OF he gave a speech on foreign policy ... look it up on the NET. It was AMAZING ! One true, blue American here. I love best about him his integrity, one you could trust...THATS EVERYTHING!!

Oldefarte| 8.17.11 @ 5:20PM

Oh I'm a big Ryan fan, make no mistake about that. I just think that his expertise is with numbers and to make the best use of same would be within a numbers-oriented job/position [as oppsoed to say Secretary of State etc]!!!!

Kingofthenet| 8.17.11 @ 4:33PM

The way I see it is Perry is a comet who is going to burn out through his extreme buffoonery and the slow, but steady behind the scenes work that Rove and company are going to be doing on him in the next 4-6 months . Romney is pure poison to the Tea Party and the Christian Taliban, and Bachmann is just pure nuts. A new face, like Ryan, has the issue of name recognition and the millstone of the Ryan Plan to kill Medicare as we know it.
This leaves a perfect opening for Our Lady of the Tundra. This would be the starkest choice the electorate has had since 1932, and a perfect opportunity to drive a wedge in the GOP where they may split in two – the traditional GOP ( Richard Lugar/Mitch Daniels type)and the Mad Hatter Party.

Mimi| 8.17.11 @ 4:38PM

When I make my PICK... I'll shout it from the house-tops. I like Paul Ryan, John Bolton, Perry I need to assess but he's driving the Dem's " NUTS" and that is a riot! I love the Girls...Michele and Sarah... and can't help it but who can not LOVE Herman Cain...Could also go whole hearted for RICK SANTORUM.....Folks, we got some darn good people running ...they all are so decent, patriotic and better than anyone the DEM'S put up in a million years!