US House Of Representatives

Choosing A Sitting House Member For Vice President Not Productive!

Ronald Leave a comment

This author mentioned last week that Paul Ryan was the fifth member of the House of Representatives to be nominated for Vice President in the past half century, which is true.

However, two of those five House members were not still in the House of Representatives when nominated for Vice President, and had accomplished beyond being a member of the House. These are Jack Kemp, nominated with Bob Dole in 1996, who was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George H. W. Bush from 1989-1993; and Dick Cheney, nominated with George W. Bush in 2000, who was Secretary of Defense under the first President Bush for the same years as Kemp, 1989-1993.

But the only SITTING House members to be nominated were William E. Miller with Barry Goldwater in 1964; Geraldine Ferraro with Walter Mondale in 1984; and now Paul Ryan with Mitt Romney in 2012.

The first two experiments were a total failure, with Goldwater losing all but six states in 1964, and Lyndon B. Johnson winning the highest percentage in history, 61.1 percent of the popular vote. And Mondale lost all states except Minnesota and the District of Columbia, with Ronald Reagan winning 525 electoral votes, an all time high, and 59.4 percent of the total popular vote!

No one is saying that Romney and Ryan will do as disastrously as the other two cases, but the prospects for victory are based on very long odds!

Something To Wait For In Expectation: The Biden-Ryan Vice Presidential Debate!

Ronald Leave a comment

We have three Presidential debates scheduled, along with one Vice Presidential debate, in the month of October.

All four debates will be fascinating, but the Vice Presidential debate could be the most exciting and newsworthy of all, something to wait for in expectation.

Of course, each side will make the claim that they cannot wait for that debate.

The Republicans will say that Paul Ryan, young at 42, handsome, and intelligent, will wipe Joe Biden all over the map!

But in reality, Joe Biden may be old enough to be Ryan’s father, at age 69, and might be ridiculed by the GOP as “losing it”, because of some embarrassing gaffes he has made over time, but anyone who thinks Joe Biden will be “walked over”, or “mowed down” by his younger opponent, will be very surprised when the debate actually occurs on October 11!

Biden is a masterful debater, full of facts and details, and very knowledgeable after 40 years in government! He was one of the most outstanding members of the US Senate historically during his six terms and 36 years in the upper body of Congress.

No one is saying Paul Ryan is a “lightweight”, with his 14 years in the US House of Representatives. But he had better come better prepared than he has ever been in his career! Being much younger does not guarantee a better performance!

Paul Ryan As Congressman For His District: Typical Politician, Which Should Upset Tea Party Advocates And Conservatives!

Ronald 2 Comments

An investigation of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan’s record as the First District Representative demonstrates that he is not a Tea Party advocate or consistent conservative in his principles, when it comes to his constituents.

The record shows the following:

Ryan voted for earmarks for his district, while always condemning the concept.

Ryan supported the Auto Industry Bailout, because it affected many of his constituents.

Ryan voted for TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, in 2008, because it had an effect on his district.

Ryan was opposed to the Obama Economic Stimulus legislation, but made sure that his constituents received some of the funding under the law.

So Paul Ryan has said one thing and done another, making him a typical politician, who speaks out of both sides of his mouth!

But if one is a true Tea Party advocate or hard line conservative, Paul Ryan should disillusion them, added on to the flip flopping of Mitt Romney!

But realize, the major reason to back Romney and Ryan is simply they are not Barack Obama!

This is more a personal election issue, than anything else!

But the problem is that, nationally, Barack Obama is well liked, and highly regarded, while the “likability” rating of Romney is very low, the lowest in modern times for a candidate, and even if Paul Ryan is more personable and likeable by comparison, he is not at the level of Barack Obama!

And even if Ryan were to become popular as much as Obama, remember he is the bottom of the ticket, not the top!

Amazing Transformation Of Presidential Campaign Of 2012: From Barack Obama’s Economic Record To Protection Of Medicare!

Ronald Leave a comment

The last 72 hours have been unbelievable, the best stroke of luck possible for President Barack Obama and the Democrats!

It looked as if the issue of the campaign would be the economy, which Mitt Romney was trying to make it for the past few months.

Instead, it is the Paul Ryan plan for transforming Medicare to a voucher system over ten years that has become the issue of the campaign, and it is an issue which Barack Obama can use effectively against Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

It is already evident that Mitt Romney knows the whole campaign has been upended by his unwise choice of a lightning rod, Paul Ryan, who is being eviscerated by media investigations of his contradictions and hypocrisy on so many issues!

But Mitt Romney is stuck with his choice, and will pay dearly for it, as many Republican leaders privately admit, but not for attribution!

It is very likely that the election has been lost for Mitt Romney, and won for Barack Obama, simply on the blunder that Mitt Romney, a cautious person politically, committed by going for a controversial running mate, rather than a much safer candidate such as former Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota or Senator Rob Portman of Ohio. There would have been far less to criticize and attack on either of these political leaders, had they been chosen to be the Vice Presidential candidate!

One can be sure that, secretly, both Pawlenty and Portman are glad they are not part of a sinking ship, although both will profess support for Romney all the way to the bitter end!

And the likelihood is growing that the Republican Party will suffer by losses of seats in either or both houses of Congress, and possibly lose control of the House of Representatives, because of the “coattail” effect of having a heavy weight at the top of their ticket in November!

Wisconsin: The Home Of Progressivism, Now A Center Of Right Wing Conservatism

Ronald 2 Comments

Wisconsin was the birthplace of modern progressivism, with the Governorship of Robert La Follette, Sr. from 1900-1906.

Regarded by scholars as the greatest Governor in the history of all states throughout American history, La Follette promoted regulation of corporations, labor protections, environmental conservation, the direct primary, and the role of women and intellectuals in government policy making.

A Republican, when many believed government was good, he would go on to the US Senate, and be regarded as one of the top five US Senators of all time, and his son Philip would promote progressive reform as Governor in the 1930s.

Others would be in state government and in Congress promoting what La Follette believed in, including Democrats such as William Proxmire, Gaylord Nelson, Russ Feingold, and Herbert Kohl.

But two years ago, Wisconsin took a sharp turn to the right, defeating Russ Feingold for reelection to the Senate, and putting into office a Tea Party activist, Ron Johnson.

At the same time, Scott Walker was elected Governor, and declared war on labor rights, women, and education, and was able to win a recall election through the power of the funding of the Koch Brothers and other right wing interests.

Reince Preibus, the Republican state chairman, succeeded Michael Steele as Republican National Chairman.

And Paul Ryan, in the House of Representatives since 1998, became head of the Budget Committee, and promoted the Ryan Plan, which wishes to destroy Medicare as we know it, and calls for major cuts in Pell Grants, the end of ObamaCare, privatization of Social Security over time, the gutting of Medicaid, and massive cuts in Food Stamps, among other aspects of the plan.

And now, Ryan could be a heartbeat away from the Presidency next January 20, were Mitt Romney to win the Presidency on November 6.

The battle between progressivism and conservatism is in full heat, and Wisconsin is the center of the battle, and one wonders what Robert La Follette, Sr. is thinking in the afterlife, as he realizes what has happened in his beloved state!

The Middle Class Reacting To Romney-Ryan, And Their Promotion Of The Oligarchy

Ronald 17 Comments

Both Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are being besieged by demonstrators at campaign events, who reject their attack on the middle class, and their promotion of the oligarchy, the top two percent, who already have more concentration of wealth than at any time in American history, including the Gilded Age and the 1920s.

It is clear that nearly 80 percent of the American people, based upon polls, do not want Medicare turned into a voucher system. It is also clear that women are not going to accept the limits on their rights that Republicans are promoting in Congress and in many Republican controlled state legislatures.

The growing feeling is that this Romney-Ryan team could be the most radical right wing combination we have seen in Republican Party history, with the exception of Barry Goldwater in 1964, and even he came out for an attack on social conservatism and the power of religion in the GOP, backing gay rights and abortion rights, in his older years.

It is not promising when Paul Ryan is revealed to have agreed with radio talk show host Glenn Beck that progressivism and liberalism was a “cancer”, in a radio interview in 2010.

In other words, what this author said over the weekend about the inflexibility and ideological extremism of Paul Ryan is not just theory, but based on evidence, not only in that radio interview, but in the dealings of the House Budget Committee majority under Paul Ryan’s leadership, adopting a budget with massive tax cuts for the wealthy, while cutting Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, Pell Grants, Food Stamps, and many other programs!

Notice that the popularity rating of the Congress, particularly of the House and its leadership, is at an all time low, hovering around 12 percent.

If Mitt Romney thought selection of Paul Ryan was going to invigorate his campaign, he was right in a certain sense. It has caused the beginning of the outrage of middle class Americans who are not going to allow the GOP team to destroy America as a land of opportunity, and the last great hope of mankind, and instead just promote the elite wealthy!

The Tea Party Movement had its opportunity to confront and challenge Barack Obama and his health care plan in 2009-2010, in a very vigorous and disruptive manner at political rallies and town halls.

Now, those who are opposed to the narrow mindedness of the Tea Party Movement are getting their opportunity to express their anger, as if we allow one side to be outspoken, the other side has the same opportunity. Freedom of speech and freedom of the press still exist, even for those who disagree with Glenn Beck and Paul Ryan! This is a democracy, not a dictatorship of the RIght!

The Drought, The Farm Belt, And The Republican Party

Ronald 2 Comments

Just as has happened often in the past, farmers and ranchers in the South, The Midwest, and the Great Plains are experiencing hard times, with the present drought causing a crisis of massive proportions on a level not seen since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

But has the Congress, with the Republican Party in control of the House of Representatives, shown willingness to deal with that crisis?

The answer is NO, because of the battle over the food stamp program, which Congressman Paul Ryan, now the Republican Vice Presidential nominee, wishes to cut over the next ten years, sparking a battle with Democrats in the Senate, as well as the House. Remember that Ryan is the head of the House Budget Committee, and has developed the Ryan budget, which passed the House with all but ten GOP votes, but not one Democratic vote, and was rejected by the Senate, controlled by Democrats.

Many farmers and ranchers are becoming totally disgusted with the deadlock and stalemate in Washington, DC, and that means potential trouble for some Republican office holders in the House, and could lead to some Democratic gains, as the only alternative for disgruntled people in the farm economy, totally exasperated at the lack of action!

Mitt Romney Gives Up On Senior Citizens, Hispanics, Women, And Young People With Ryan Selection!

Ronald 35 Comments

Mitt Romney may have pleased ideological conservatives with his selection of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his Vice Presidential running mate, but he has effectively ceded whole groups of voters by so doing.

Since Ryan’s budget plan called for the end of Medicare and creation of a voucher system instead, it is hard to imagine a majority of senior citizens being naive enough to vote for Romney.

Since Ryan has voted for a fence along the Mexican border and voted against the DREAM Act, how can it be assumed that the majority of Hispanic voters, particularly the two thirds who are of Mexican heritage, are going to vote for Romney?

SInce Ryan is a devout Catholic, who believes in preventing abortion rights and is for restrictions on contraceptives and other matters that concern women, it is difficult to imagine a majority of women, except for very devout women who are Catholic, evangelical Christian, or Orthodox Jewish, voting for Romney.

Beyond that, young people will come to realize that the Ryan budget plan in the House of Representatives would cut Pell Grants for their education, and that Ryan was against any action to keep interest rates on student loans at the present rate. So why would young people, particularly those who are college educated, and who will also find Republican governed states making it harder for them to vote in their college communities, vote in majorities for Romney?

In many respects, Mitt Romney has committed political suicide by his choice of Paul Ryan!

The Rise Of Paul Ryan: Threat To Republican House Leadership If He Loses Vice Presidency!

Ronald 2 Comments

A side effect of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan’s Vice Presidential candidacy if he and Mitt Romney lose the election to Barack Obama, but the Republican Party keeps control of the House of Representatives, is a challenge to the House leadership as it now stands!

That would likely lead to a move by Ryan, who can run for his Congressional seat while on the ballot for Vice President, to wish to be Speaker of the House, second in line to be President, and to challenge Barack Obama on his agenda much more than Speaker John Boehner!

It would also be a challenge to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who very much wishes to be Speaker, and would try to stop Ryan from reaching that office, but having run for Vice President and become a national figure as a result, Ryan would have the edge to overcome both Boehner and Cantor!

So the future of House leadership, if the GOP keeps control, will be very fascinating to watch!

Paul Ryan Always To Be National Figure In Future No Matter What Happens In November!

Ronald Leave a comment

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan will NEVER be a minor, forgettable public figure ever again!

He will now have Secret Service protection during the upcoming campaign, and will still need some protection after, due to the controversial nature of running for national office.

Every Vice Presidential loser remains a national figure, and is often thought of as a future Presidential candidate.

Witness Sarah Palin, John Edwards, Joe Lieberman, and the earlier Presidential candidacies of Jack Kemp, Lloyd Bentsen, and Bob Dole as evidence, and also the later candidacies for President of Sargent Shriver and Edmund Muskie as further proof!

And being only 42, and even rumored to have thought of running for President from the House of Representatives in this year’s race, face the facts—Paul Ryan will be a major player in the future of American politics!

And finally, Franklin D. Roosevelt lost the Vice Presidency in 1920 and became President in 1932!