Choice Of Ryan Energizes Campaign–For Both GOP And Dems
Many outlets offer views of Rep. Paul Ryan after GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney named him as his vice presidential choice.
Bloomberg: Romney-Ryan Could Be Just The Ticket For A Useful Debate
By choosing U.S. Representative Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt Romney has added some verve to what had been a tedious presidential contest. ... Now we have the potential at least for a true contest of ideas: What is the optimum size and role of government? What is the best way to reduce trillion-dollar annual deficits and $15 trillion in total debt? With a rapidly graying population and entitlements that eat up most of the federal budget, can Medicare’s growth be stopped without impoverishing senior citizens? Is it time to raise taxes, even on the middle class (8/12)?
USA Today: Why The Ryan Selection Draws Smiles On Both Sides
Republicans — particularly those in the vanguard of the movement to radically reduce the role of government — are thrilled. Ryan is not just one of their own; he's the intellectual leader of the House insurrection against big government and the architect of a controversial budget plan that would rein it in. He also could be the most personally appealing advocate for it — smart, affable and a natural politician. By putting Ryan on the ticket, Romney effectively adopted his plan, turning an election he once cast as a referendum on President Obama into a test of conflicting visions.The Democrats, meanwhile, had been quietly hoping for months that Romney would pick Ryan over less controversial choices (8/12).
The Wall Street Journal: The Ryan Choice
Mr. Obama has always shied away from directly debating Mr. Ryan on health care and spending. He changed the subject or moved on to someone else. The President knows that Mr. Ryan knows more about the budget and taxes than he does, and that the young Republican can argue the issues in equally moral terms (8/11).
The Wall Street Journal: Why Romney Chose Ryan
Mitt Romney did much more this weekend than announce a running mate. He unveiled a significant change in strategy. The 2012 election is now a choice, not just a referendum (Kimberley A. Strassel, 8/12).
The New York Times: Mr. Ryan's Cramped Vision
As House Budget Committee chairman, Mr. Ryan has drawn a blueprint of a government that will be absent when people need it the most. ... And it will be silent when the elderly cannot keep up with the costs of M.R.I.'s or prescription medicines, or when the poor and uninsured become increasingly sick through lack of preventive care (8/11).
The New York Times: The Romney-Ryan Plan For America
Most voters know little about Mr. Ryan. Those who have heard of him are probably most familiar with his Medicare plan, which would turn the program into a voucher system that would pay beneficiaries a fixed amount for their medical care, leaving them on their own if the voucher did not cover their costs. This notion so alarmed the public last year that Mr. Ryan was forced to backtrack and leave the existing Medicare system as an option. Even so, the plan would leave older Americans on average with $6,400 in extra costs by 2022, according to the Congressional Budget Office (8/12).
Los Angeles Times: The Paul Ryan Choice
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) is Mitt Romney's Al Gore, a policy wonk who brings legislative experience and seriousness of purpose to the ticket. He is, in other words, no Sarah Palin. But Ryan is also the symbol of something more: a commitment to a particularly conservative vision of a smaller federal government, a scaled-back safety net and a lower tax burden. ... By choosing Ryan, Romney answered the critics (particularly on the right) who questioned whether his campaign had a vision for the future. If there were voters who harbored any doubt about the magnitude of the choice they face in November, they should no longer (8/12).
Bloomberg: Paul Ryan Is Thoughtful, Handsome and Misguided
Ryan's approach to health care is somewhat akin to a doctor observing that an arm is finally showing some signs of healing -- and then deciding to amputate it. Over the past several years, health-care costs have decelerated dramatically -- suggesting our broken arm may slowly be starting to heal. But rather than reinforcing that progress, Ryan would chart a drastically different course, one that would not only shift substantial risk to beneficiaries but also, according to the Congressional Budget Office, actually raise health-care costs (Peter Orzag, 8/11).
The Washington Post: Understanding The Ryan Plan
The striking thing about Paul Ryan's ascent is the gulf between his proposals and the way the media have characterized them. Since Mitt Romney named Ryan to the ticket on Saturday, the news has been filled with talk of the "fiscal conservative" (NPR) "intent on erasing deficits" (New York Times) who has become "the intellectual heart of the Republican Party's movement to slash deficits" (The Post). All of this is demonstrably false. Ryan's con has succeeded largely because Democrats haven't sensed the political salience of assailing his plans from the right; instead, they've chosen to slam only Ryan's regressive priorities and Medicare scheme (Matt Miller, 8/12).
The Washington Post: Paul Ryan Could Inspire Meaningful Debate
The selection of Paul Ryan — chairman of the House Budget Committee — as Mitt Romney's vice presidential candidate has the potential to turn this dreary presidential campaign into a meaningful debate over the size and role of the federal government. It could also (sadly) litter the debate with so many exaggerations, distortions and falsehoods that Americans end up less informed and less able to make sensible choices (Robert J. Samuelson, 8/12).
Baltimore Sun: With Paul Ryan, Romney Bets On The Wrong Vision For America
Mitt Romney said he wanted to select a vice presidential candidate who had a vision for America, and that he did. In fact, Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan likely beats out his prospective boss in the vision department, having provided the most concrete and detailed expression of how ultra-fiscal conservatism would actually transform our government. Unfortunately, the vision is the wrong one. Mr. Ryan's proposals for the federal budget would end Medicare as we know it and decimate safety net programs for the poor, all while offering huge tax breaks for the wealthy and failing to meaningfully address the budget deficit (8/11).
San Francisco Chronicle: Romney Reaches To Right With Paul Ryan
President Obama and his supporters will find it tempting to exploit Ryan's willingness to take on deficits and the growth of entitlement programs. No question, some of Ryan's government-shrinking ideas go beyond the comfort zone of Americans who accept a basic role of government to provide a safety net for the poor and retirement security for the elderly. Still, there is peril for the Obama camp in trying to demonize Ryan's fiscal hawkishness. Many younger voters -- including some who voted for Obama in 2008 -- are justifiably nervous about the debt this nation is incurring and the long-term sustainability of entitlement programs (8/12).
NBC Latino: Paul Ryan's Policies, If Implemented Will Have Deep Consequences For Latinos
Just to give you one example, Medicare reform will have a great impact on the future wellness of Latinos. Latinos make up a young population with a median age of 27 years, while the median age of non-Hispanic whites is 42 years old. This means that the vast majority of the population that is retired is non-Hispanic white, and by extension, the vast majority of Medicare recipients are also non-Hispanic white. Yet, any tinkering of Medicare will have the greatest impact on the benefits of future participants, not current ones (Stephen A. Nuño, 8/12).
Boston Globe: The Romney-Ryan $700B Disagreement
Even in Washington, $700 billion is a lot of dough, so it's worth focusing on the fact that Republican Presidential nominee Mitt Romney and his chosen running mate, Cong. Paul Ryan (R-WI) disagree about $700 billion in Medicare reductions included in the Affordable Care Act (aka: ACA, ObamaCare). This difference is important and compelling from both policy and political vantage points (John McDonough, 8/12).
iWatch News: Rep. Ryan's Budget Plan Is A "Path To The Poorhouse"
If Americans who are embracing Rep. Paul Ryan's "Path to Prosperity" — and that now includes Mitt Romney — spent a few minutes reviewing a few recent research reports, they just might conclude that the Wisconsin Republican's plan to reduce the deficit might better be renamed the "Path to the Poorhouse" because of what it would mean to the Medicare program and many senior citizens (Wendell Potter, 8/11).
