Paul Ryan

The Vice Presidential Selection: More Important Than Many People Realize!

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The office of the Vice Presidency has often been ridiculed, and some have argued for its abolition by a constitutional amendment, but that is a wrong headed idea.

The Vice Presidency has become an important office since the 1950s, when Richard Nixon transformed the office, both by his own ambitions, and the willingness of President Dwight D. Eisenhower to allow the office to expand.

While Lyndon B. Johnson under John F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey under Johnson were not used effectively by their Presidents, and while Spiro Agnew under Richard Nixon and Dan Quayle under George H. W. Bush could be seen as disasters in office, still the office has grown in stature and accomplishments otherwise.

So Gerald Ford, in his brief Vice Presidency under Richard Nixon, Nelson Rockefeller under Gerald Ford, Walter Mondale under Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush under Ronald Reagan, Al Gore under Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney under George W. Bush, and Joe Biden under Barack Obama have had a great impact on the office, and made it an office of real power and influence!

When one realizes that Ford and the first Bush ended up in the White House, as did Nixon and Lyndon Johnson; and that Humphrey, Mondale, and Gore were Presidential nominees; and that Rockefeller and Biden both sought the Presidential nomination, one realizes that choosing a Vice Presidential nominee is not to be regarded as insignificant to the nation!

But can we afford another Agnew, Quayle, Geraldine Ferraro, or Sarah Palin to be a possible heartbeat away from the Presidency?

The answer clearly is NO, so Mitt Romney, by taking his time to choose a running mate, hopefully is carefully considering who could really contribute to the office, and help Romney if the two of them end up in the White House!

If one decides to forget everything but experience and competence, and ability to add to Romney’s candidacy, then the choice must be one of the following: Condoleezza Rice, Rob Portman, or Tim Pawlenty.

Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, Chris Christie, Paul Ryan, Bob McDonnell, John Thune, and Kelly Ayotte all have issues and problems if they are chosen, and one could argue that some of them could not match the list of Vice Presidents who have served, as not being on their competency level.

But if one had to predict what now seems likely, don’t be surprised that Mitt Romney selects Paul Ryan, which would be an unmitigated disaster, as the controversy surrounding him and his economic plans would reverberate against Mitt Romney.

The gut feeling is that Ryan is on the top of the list, followed by Kelly Ayotte, who is simply not qualified to be President, and would not be much better than Sarah Palin was in the 2008 election cycle.

So bet on Ryan or Ayotte, but if Romney does the best for the nation, it would be Rice, Portman, or Pawlenty!

47th Anniversary Of Medicare: Something To Salute!

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Forty seven years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson celebrated the signing of the Medicare law by presenting former President Harry Truman with the nation’s first Medicare card, at a time when Truman was 81 years old.

This was a great moment, and represented the second major reform that would affect all Americans in the future, with the first being Social Security, signed into law thirty years earlier by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935.

In both cases, the vast majority of supporters of the legislation were northern Democrats, with the help of some moderate to liberal Republicans, but both major reforms were brought about by Democratic Presidents!

And now we have a Republican Party, which in broad terms were against both reforms, pledging to privatize both programs, and yet we have millions of uninformed or ignorant voters who seem not to realize what might very well happen IF the GOP wins the majority in both houses of Congress and wins the Presidency.

The Paul Ryan budget plan makes this all evident, but apparently, you can hit someone over the head, and they will refuse to accept reality of what a GOP victory means!

The goal is to keep Social Security and Medicare as they are, with some reforms, but to do that, we must insure that the Democrats keep control of the Presidency at the least, and at least one Congressional branch as well!

One Month To The Republican Convention: Time To Reconsider Mitt Romney Being The GOP Presidential Nominee, Before It Is Too Late!

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The Republican National Convention begins one month from today, and the party is in deep trouble.

It has a presumed nominee who is a total disaster, an embarrassment to the party in so many ways, it cannot be calculated.

With all of his faults and shortcomings, it was thought that Mitt Romney would conduct himself properly at the Olympic Games in Great Britain, but instead he managed to alienate, totally, our closest ally with his stupid, inane comments, and his blunders and forgetfulness–mentioning the secret intelligence service, and forgetting the name of the opposition leader, after claiming there were problems with holding the Olympics in London, as compared to Salt Lake City. The Mayor of London was incensed, along with Prime Minister David Cameron, and rightfully!

This man is now being compared by the British press to George W. Bush and Sarah Palin!

It is clearly time for the GOP to consider nominating someone else,and the answer might be to have Romney pick a running mate, who would then be nominated for President, and the best choice clearly would be former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, who dropped out of the race after the straw vote of the Iowa Caucuses, but to many seemed an acceptable candidate, somewhat boring, but still pleasant and competent!

Picking Marco Rubio, Paul Ryan, Bobby Jindal or Chris Christie would be far worse, with only Rob Portman, Senator from Ohio, being acceptable as an alternative to Pawlenty.

Would Pawlenty or Portman win over Barack Obama? Highly unlikely, but at least neither would be an embarrassment to the party or the nation!

It is time for Mitt Romney to have the courage to back down from the nomination, but he will not do so, so he must be forced by the GOP delegates to do so!

Anyone who now still thinks Mitt Romney will be the next President needs to have his head examained!

Mitt Romney’s Vetting Process For Vice President: Different Than For Himself!

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Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the Republican Presidential nominee, is deep into the process of vetting potential Vice Presidential running mates.

Among those thought to be in the competition are:

Tim Pawlenty
Rob Portman
Paul Ryan
Bobby Jindal
Marco Rubio
Condoleezza Rice
Bob McDonnell
Kelly Ayotte
Chris Christie
John Thune

What is being expected of any, and all, of the above candidates?

A complete vetting, including many years of tax returns!

Hey, wait a minute here! Mitt Romney wants these people, or at least those on the short list, to give information about their finances?

If that is so, which it is, WHY is it that Mitt Romney refuses to give the American people an accounting of his finances, as well?

Why is it that potential Vice Presidential candidates must do this, and Romney will not do so?

Does Mitt Romney think he is a “privileged character”, who does not have to meet the same standards as those who might be his Number Two, and ALL presidential nominees or contenders from his father George Romney on through both Bushes, Bob Dole, John McCain, and all others?

That is the answer: Mitt Romney THINKS he is a “privileged character”, who is “entitled” to play by his own rules, and to remain secretive about his finances!

Why would he be so vehement about this, if there is nothing to be concerned about in his finances?

BECAUSE, obviously, there is a lot to hide!

But one thought crosses one’s mind: Mitt Romney handed over 23 years of financial information to John McCain in 2008, as he was on the short list to be McCain’s running mate!

So the McCain campaign has these records, and if Mitt Romney refuses to release them, they should be released against his will!

Of course, one would say that would be illegal, which, technically it would be!

And certainly, Senator McCain, being a loyal Republican, is not about to do such a thing to his fellow Republican!

But what about the thought that to refuse to reveal information that EVERY other candidate in the past 40 years has done SHOULD be seen as disqualifying someone to be President, and should actually be illegal itself!

In conclusion: Mitt Romney is trying to hide something, probably a lot, as if that were not so, why not release the financial information?

So as Vice President Joe Biden said the other day; Mitt Romney wants Latino and Hispanic immigrants to be forced to “show their papers”, but he is not willing to show his own papers!

It is a great laugh line, but also totally TRUE!

The Vice Presidency Competition: Only Tim Pawlenty Or Rob Portman Makes Sense!

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More speculation about the race to be Vice Presidential nominee with Mitt Romney has been churning lately, with one clear conclusion: Only former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty or Ohio Senator Rob Portman make any sense!

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan is simply too toxic with his plan to privatize Medicare and Social Security, although Mitt Romney has endorsed the plan. It would harm Romney in a major way in the upcoming campaign.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is simply too controversial and outspoken, not a good match for the reserved Mitt Romney. His image as a “Bully” Governor would be harmful.

New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte, the only woman mentioned, has too little experience to be a heartbeat away, and might bring about comparisons to Sarah Palin, although obviously Ayotte is much smarter and more intelligent than Sarah.

Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal would bring little to Romney’s candidacy, and there are doubts about either being qualified to be a heartbeat away from the White House.

Marco Rubio would be too controversial, too much of a lightning rod, and would not draw Hispanic or Latino support of Mexican Americans or Puerto Rican Americans, or others, other than Cuban Americans.

The only possible alternative to Pawlenty or Portman might be Senator John Thune of South Dakota, but it is clear that Pawlenty and Portman are both qualified, non controversial, and most important, from the heartland Midwest, which Romney must win to become President. Only Thune is from the same area, unless you include Ryan, who again is extremely toxic, and would be unwise for Romney to select!

The Emerging Campaign For Condoleezza Rice For Vice President

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Former Secretary of State and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice is rapidly emerging in political discussion as a leading candidate for Vice President with Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Rice attended the Republican gathering of top advisers, leaders, and campaign contributors in Utah this past weekend, and it was said that Rice’s speech electrified the gathering.

Condoleezza Rice is very much respected for her foreign policy experience and expertise, and Mitt Romney desperately needs a heavy hitter in foreign policy. One can imagine a very exciting debate between Rice and Vice President Joe Biden, himself a foreign policy specialist in his background and experience.

Rice is also very intelligent, and being African American and a woman, would make her very appealing, although it would not mean that either group would swing to Romney in the election coming up this fall.

Rice is a non politician, who has never run for public office, and if she ran with Romney, the two together would have the least elective experience of any Presidential team in many decades, not a good thing, since Romney only has one term as Governor of Massachusetts.

Rice running would also bring up the skeletons of the George W. Bush Administration, also not a plus.

Also, Rice is a social moderate, and has supported gay rights and abortion rights in the past, so the religious Right would have problems with her in those regards.

It is quite clear that Rice seems to have no interest in running, and unlikely she would be asked, but if one was to look simply at who would be the best person to serve in the office of Vice President of the many mentioned–Chris Christie, Bob McDonnell, Paul Ryan, John Thune, Rob Portman, Tim Pawlenty–, Condoleezza Rice would be the best Vice President on pure qualifications.

But don’t hold your breath that she will run, or become Vice President under President Romney, as the chances of his winning the White House are not good, and not getting any better!

Is Mitt Romney “Captive” Of Grover Norquist, Paul Ryan, And Bill Kristol?

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Mitt Romney, the presumptive GOP Presidential nominee, is a man with very few interests, other than making money, along with caring about his family and his Mormon Church.

He has really no background or great knowledge in foreign policy, and has very little interest in improving the lives of average Americans.

Many are starting to wonder if he the “captive” of Grover Norquist, Paul Ryan, and Bill Kristol.

Grover Norquist, the head of Americans For Tax Reform, has been able to convince almost all Republicans in Congress to agree NEVER to raise taxes on ANYONE, and in fact, lower them ever more. Mitt Romney has committed himself to this insanity, and of course, he personally benefits from such a policy.

Paul Ryan, the House Budget Chairman from Wisconsin, promotes the idea of destroying Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security as we know it, and has been even criticized by leaders of his own Catholic Church for his harsh view and attitude towards the poor. Romney has also expressed the thought that nothing more needs to be done for those less fortunate.

Bill Kristol is the publisher of the conservative weekly, The Weekly Standard, since its inception in 1994, and he is infamous as one of the “neocons”, the so called neo conservatives, who call for use of force overseas, and advocated the invasion of Iraq in 2003. Mitt Romney has pushed for the idea of bombing Iran, rather than diplomacy first being pursued over their nuclear program.

So one has to wonder if Mitt Romney, having no interest in issues other than what will elect him, is allowing himself now, and later as President, were he to be elected, to enact policies favored by these three men and others, which many would call “radical” ideas.

It is truly ironic that Barack Obama is often called a “radical” President, when if one examines Mitt Romney and who has influence or power over him, we should instead be concerned that Mitt Romney is the true “radical” in the race, ready to reverse progress and change under Barack Obama, and go back to the failed policies of George W. Bush!

The “Buffett Rule” Is The “Reagan Rule”, But Instead Cut Food Stamps: Republican Party Message To America!

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The “Buffett Rule”, the idea that those who earn more than a million dollars a year should pay a tax rate of 30 percent, more than their secretaries and other workers, was defeated in the Senate on a party line vote on Monday, with only Susan Collins of Maine voting with Democrats, and Mark Pryor of Arkansas voting with the Republicans, and 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster being unable to be accomplished.

Of course, the “Buffett Rule” is really a restatement of the “Reagan Rule”, the assertion of the 40th President that one should not expect an employee to pay a higher level of taxes than his or her employer. It is an embarrassment to the GOP of 2012, that they are actually defying their icon, their god, their “savior”, who they claim to be following and worshiping, but only when they choose to follow his lead. The fact that 72 percent of the American people in polls support the “Buffett Rule” has no effect at all on the Republicans, as they argue that $50 billion over ten years collected if the “Buffett Rule” went into effect is a “drop in the bucket”!

Meanwhile, the Republicans wish to cut spending on food stamps, the main source of funding for nutrition for poor families, attacked as socialism, but they insist that cutting it over ten years, saving $33.2 billion, is substantial, and must be done as part of the Paul Ryan budget plan in the House of Representatives.

The Republican Party has no conscience, as they are willing to take from the poor to give more tax cuts to the rich. They are Robin Hood in reverse, with no second thoughts!

So 4,000 families will benefit from the defeat of the “Buffett Rule”, while $46.4 million Americans, who are already dependent on food stamps for survival will see an 11 percent cut in monthly benefits after September 1.

The long term unemployed, who lost their jobs through no fault of their own, will now suffer even worse, as we now live in a society in which government leaders do not care about what hunger means, and do not care about the desperation of millions left behind, a large percentage of them children and single mothers, as long as the elite continue to get tax cuts!

Chris Christie And “Couch Potatoes”: The Gall Of The New Jersey Governor!

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New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, riding a wave of popularity in public opinion polls, is at it again, with outrageous, and bullyish comments, while instead it would be best if he kept his mouth shut!

Christie claims that Americans are becoming “Couch Potatoes”, waiting for the next check to arrive from the government, and that we are becoming a “paternalistic entitlement society”!.

At a Republican gathering in New York City, which included former President George W. Bush in attendance, Christie went on to say that hard working Americans who use their ingenuity, honor and integrity, will succeed in life.

One would think that Christie would understand that the recent Great Recession has put people who are hard working and have ingenuity, honor and integrity into an impossible situation, with the collapse of the economy under the Bush Administration, and contributed to by their reckless tax policy, resulting in loss of millions of jobs and millions of home foreclosures!

But instead, he blames the victims for their plight, rather than the capitalist ruling class on Wall Street and in the Republican Party, which brought this about, and now wants to further enrich the top one percent with the Paul Ryan plan to cut the social safety net in tatters!

Considering Chris Christie’s tremendous girth, he should look in the mirror at the TRUE “Couch Potato”, who has benefited very handsomely as a member of the New Jersey legislature and as Governor of the state, and has no problem pontificating about others, for whom he fails to see the plight they are in!

This is all part of Chris Christie’s hope that maybe, just maybe, he could end up as Vice Presidential nominee for Mitt Romney, and if Mitt loses, then Chrisitie would be the front runner for 2016!

Just what we need: Two egotistical, insensitive, materialistic, greedy, politicians who do not give a damn for the American people, just for themselves and the wealthy one percent they represent!

Barack Obama On The Attack Against Republicans And Conservatives: Critical Of The Supreme Court And The Paul Ryan Budget Plan

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Barack Obama has gone on the offensive against conservative and Republican philosophy, both on the Supreme Court and in Congress.

Already throwing down the gauntlet to the Supreme Court yesterday, Obama pointed out that the commerce clause and Supreme Court case history and two Circuit Court Judges (Laurence Silberman and Jeffrey Sutton) are a call for backing the Obama Health Care law, and it is clear that IF the Court declares it unconstitutional, the Court itself will be an issue in the upcoming Presidential campaign of 2012. And it is certain that the KEY issue of 2012, no matter what happens, is to realize that the future judicial appointments to the Supreme Court and the lower courts matter more than ANYTHING economic or foreign policy related, because the judiciary is a lifetime appointment!

If we are upset over a 5-4 Court to the right, imagine a 7-2 Court under a Republican President when and if Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Stephen Breyer, both in their 70s, leave the Court over the next four to eight years!

But today, President Obama is also mounting a full scale assault on the Paul Ryan budget plan adopted by the House Republican majority for the second year in a row, which includes massive tax cuts to the rich beyond the Bush tax cuts, and major cuts in Medicare and Medicaid and all other domestic spending programs that benefit the poor and the struggling middle class, as well as the elderly.

Obama is calling it today’s “Social Darwinism”, the prevalent philosophy of the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, a period being matched and surpassed with the growing concentration of wealth in the top one percent of the population in the past ten years, and now threatening to be even more concentrated under the budget plan of the House Budget Committee Chairman.

And with the growing possibility that Ryan might be the Vice Presidential running mate of Mitt Romney, the future of the nation is at stake on the Supreme Court and lower courts, and also on the Presidential and Vice Presidential level, along with the Congressional actions in future years.

This is a battle for survival of the middle class, and the continuation of understanding the plight of the poor, as class division and the potential for class warfare grows!