WHO IS PAUL RYAN (and why do I care)?
By Chris Morris
edited by Rachel Cruppi
Rochester, NY
Saturday, August 11th 2012
8:14 PM
Well, you should care (or at least know) because when you evoke your right to vote come November (assuming you are even going to vote), you will either be voting for Ryan or against Ryan. That’s right, Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has picked his running mate. Congressman Paul Ryan(R – Wisconsin) is 42 years old and was elected to the House of Representatives at the spry age of 28. He is best known for proposing large cuts to spending, slashing taxes and being popular within the Republicans circles. But before delving into Mitts pick, a little pertinent history first on Paul Ryan and the Medicare debate.
You may remember two highly visible rounds of political fisticuffs’-turned-fiasco between (who else) the Republicans and the Democrats, throughout 2011:
Chronologically, the second fight centered on the debt ceiling debate. (Come on…you know, the political debacle that pushed Standard & Poor's to strip America of its AAA credit rating [standardandpoors.com]).
But even prior to all the debt ceiling madness there were the very heated and very publicized budget debates. The budget they were arguing over was not the current budget, but rather the budget for the prior fiscal year. During this time Congressman Paul Ryan introduced his Roadmap for America's Future. This “Roadmap” is simply the most recent rebranding of what the right wingers have always wanted: huge cuts to entitlements, ending live saving regulations, and tax breaks for the very top income earners. However, there is one noticeable difference in this latest recycled republican rhetoric: Medicare. Certainly a subject worthy of discussion; for decades politicians on both sides of the aisle have avoided the “Medicare talk” like the plague, and for good reason. This Pew Research Center graph lays out the wide margin of public’s support to keep entitlements intact and untouched.
What all this political jargon means is this: Ryan’s plan for Medicare is to privatize it. This voucher/coupon system would provide elderly American Citizens a couple thousand-dollars in medical care every year. For example, Congressman Ryan described that the average voucher in 2021 for those citizens 65 years of age and older would be worth $5900 (that’s in 2010 dollars). Inflation and the continued bloating of healthcare costs are left unaccounted for. Considering that the generation most effected by this dramatic shift, the baby boomers, paid more than any previous generation into this pot of social security and Medicare, this is simply not enough. To the baby boomers and to the following elderly demo, Ryan is simply saying, “too bad.”
Once the $5900 limit is reached the costs will shift onto Medicare
beneficiaries. This leaves many of
our mothers, fathers, grandmothers and grandfathers (not to mention all of
us) to battle the high and growing costs of healthcare on our own. I am 28 years old, I have time to plan
for a change like this, but many who are in their 40’s, 50’s and 60’s are not only counting on
entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, they have been paying into
these systems for decades. So Ryan would like to solve our fiscal problems by
making grandma pay extra (and by extra, I mean most, if not all of what she
owns) when, heaven forbid, she comes down with heart disease or cancer.
Medicare is one of the most successful entitlement programs
in American history. Passed by the US president John F. Kennedy in 1965, this
benefit has lowered, and sustained elderly poverty to its lowest levels ever,
even in these times of recession. The demographic least hit by the 2008
financial crisis is the elderly. Medicare and social security played a bigger
role in this outcome than any other factor. The Pew Research Center even
refers to the current economic situation (2008 to now) as “Not Your Grandfather's
Recession – Literally” and has the data to prove it [pewresearch.org].
Now back to the point;
Romney’s pick for VP...
Paul Ryan is a somewhat logical choice for a running mate for the
Romney campaign. Ryan is a relatively young political star, looks like a
president you would see on TV or in the movies circa 1990, and is a celebrity
among the right wing. He is a staunch
conservative and a politician Ayn Rand would be proud of. In many ways, Congressman Paul
Ryan is the ideal conservative VP candidate. However, winning most popular at the Ayn Rand Society is one
thing; winning the 270 electoral votes required to take the White House is
another.
Paul Ryan is not a safe bet, in fact some say he is a down
right gamble for the Romney campaign. Journalist and blogger Ezra Klein of the
Washington Post pointed this out on his blog post this morning: “You don't make
a risky pick like Paul Ryan if you think the fundamentals favor your candidate.
You make a risky pick like Paul Ryan if you think the fundamentals don't favor
your candidate.” Ezra is
pointing to the motivations behind Romney’s pick for VP.
In my assertion, Romney’s motivations behind the Paul Ryan
pick mirrors 2008 McCain Camp’s decision to pick Sarah Palin. Romney’s camp just vetted their VP pick
more thoroughly. To be fair,
comparing Paul Ryan to Sarah Palin is like comparing the Miami Heat to the
Harlem globetrotters. The Globetrotters are essentially performance art
comedians who are good at basketball. The Miami Heat is a pro basketball team;
they mean business and won the 2012 NBA championship. Paul Ryan has been elected multiple times as a congressman, has help to consolidated unorganized and off-message congressional conservatives into a political force that has all but stopped legislation from passing the house and helped the Republicans
sweep the House of Representatives in 2010 midterm elections. Sarah Palin
appears as a pundit on fox news, gives performances in the art of ‘winging it’
and quit the highest office she ever held, Governor of Alaska, before the end
of her first term. So yes, I am saying Ryan is a pro and Palin is a clown. However, just like basketball fans’ similar love for the comedian and pro teams, conservatives admire these two politicians
for similar reasons. They are all about Ayn Randian conservatism; in other words
they are extremely right wing.
Romney’s choice of VP speaks volumes to where he and his camp believe
their campaign sits with the American people. Essentially this is another Republican
presidential campaign gamble and a desperate attempt to save their party from the deficit
left by George W. Bush and the mess created by the political railroading of legitimate
legislation since 2010 by congressional Republicans. This VP choice by the Romney camp reeks of desperation.
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