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The 'Other' Ryan Plan. Saving Western civilization ... it could all come down to Paul Ryan.
American Thinker ^ | 06/10/21011 | R.B.A Di Muccio

Posted on 06/11/2011 6:57:07 PM PDT by SeekAndFind

A funny thing happened on the way to saving Western civilization ... it could all come down to Paul Ryan.

Until Anthony Weiner's bizarre story came to light, there was surely no Washington politician more in the news than the Wisconsin Congressman and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. Interestingly, this has been part of a counterintuitive design by the Democratic Party and the White House.

The strategy is elegant and ironic: do absolutely nothing about the fiscal train wreck that is the U.S. federal budget deficit/debt, set a trap for Republicans, shamelessly sit back while they wander in, mercilessly twist, distort and demagogue whatever they come up with, and then (they hope) win big in 2012.

So far, the plan appears to be working, especially the merciless demagoguery part. The Ryan proposal to reform Medicare provides a striking example. A Google search using the terms "Ryan Plan Medicare" turns up 22 million hits. The first few pages are a veritable PR gold mine for the Democrat strategists, displaying articles like: "How the Ryan Plan Will Destroy Medicare," and "Senate Dems Say No to Changing Medicare." It's true. The same people that unilaterally passed Obamacare, including its $500 million "appropriation" from the current Medicare fund, will look into whatever camera they can find to say that Paul Ryan wants to change Medicare as we know it.

The only thing that remains to be seen is whether this scheme will work as an electoral strategy for 2012. Meanwhile, nowadays it takes a House Budget Committee Chairman with a deep understanding of the unique role of the United States in ensuring the future of Western civilization, to recognize the connection between economics and national security.

That's what it looks like, anyway, based on a truly compelling foreign policy speech recently given by Paul Ryan to the Alexander Hamilton Society. Every American (and lots of non-Americans) should run, not walk, to read the speech. Why? First, when a rising star and the Republican party's best agitator for fiscal responsibility gives a major foreign policy address, just as the 2012 Republican presidential field is taking shape, there's a reasonable chance that the speech has been given by this cycle's Republican nominee, if not by the future POTUS. That alone makes the speech noteworthy.

The far more important reason to take a close look at the speech is its unmistakably clear thesis: that "our fiscal policy and our foreign policy are on a collision course; and if we fail to put our budget on a sustainable path, then we are choosing decline as a world power." Moreover, the consequences of such a choice are too unthinkable to fathom. Ryan reaches this conclusion because he unabashedly embraces American Exceptionalism and believes unapologetically that "a world without U.S. leadership would be a more chaotic place, a place where we have less influence, where Western values and culture would be increasingly under siege, and a place where our citizens face more dangers and fewer opportunities."

As simple and as commonsensical as these notions likely are for the vast majority of Americans, today's left bristles at them entirely. By and large, the left is unconcerned about the national debts/deficits and many believe both need to be driven far higher. The left largely rejects the notion of American Exceptionalism, does not believe that America has been a force for good in the world, views Western civilization primarily through the eyes of empire, inequality and oppression, and is more than comfortable "managing" decline so that the United States is reduced to merely one of many among equals (or worse) in the world.

Ultimately, this is where the left and the rest hopelessly part ways. The left views ceaselessly increasing national deficit and debt, American decline, and the erosion of Western values as inevitable and ultimately praiseworthy developments. The rest of us look at these things as choices that we can either make or not; and clearly believe we should not.

"Take a moment," Ryan urges in his speech and so do I now, "and imagine a world led by China or by Russia." I would add: consider a world in which Islamism and sharia law are the dominant cultural, political and economic forces. In other words, there is quite literally no alternative to U.S. leadership. Either we lead and continue to carry the mantle of Western Civilization and global capitalism, or we guarantee their relegation to the dustbin of history.

In other words, it's not whether we can or can't afford to lead. We must lead and so we must find a way to afford it. This is perhaps the most important reason we need to fix entitlements, fundamentally change the way we budget and spend, and fix the fiscal mess that has been bequeathed us by successive administrations and vastly accelerated by the current one.

The other Ryan Plan, it would appear, is to accomplish all of these things and in so doing save the left from itself, perpetuate an exceptional America, and ensure the future of Western civilization. Not bad, not bad at all.

-- Dr. R.B.A. Di Muccio is a guest commentator for The Center for Vision & Values at Grove City College. He received his Ph.D. in international relations from the University of Southern California.


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Culture/Society; Government; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: budget; paulryan; westerncivilization
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1 posted on 06/11/2011 6:57:14 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
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To clear the air, what are Ryan’s negatives?


2 posted on 06/11/2011 7:04:00 PM PDT by Gene Eric (*** Jesus ***)
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To: SeekAndFind

The article is a bad joke. We can admire Paul Ryan for having what passes for courage in D.C. Nevertheless, his plan won’t “save” our economy, let alone Western Civilization. The probability that the steps required to fix what is wrong with the government and, by extension, the economy is about the same as the probability that Barney Frank will be pregnant by Labor Day.

Ryan Plan or no Ryan Plan, the only question remaining is when the serious unraveling begins and what form it will take.


3 posted on 06/11/2011 7:12:44 PM PDT by achilles2000 ("I'll agree to save the whales as long as we can deport the liberals")
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To: achilles2000

So, you believe it is hopeless and we’re CERTAINLY doomed and there’s nothing that can be done?


4 posted on 06/11/2011 7:16:34 PM PDT by SeekAndFind (u)
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To: Gene Eric

Paul Ryan, US Congressman 2 districts south from me, has no negatives. He has a great plan, is a good speaker, is far more knowledgable about the economy than anyone else in Congress, is a caring husband and father, is a pro-life Catholic, is a modest and humble man, is a great speaker, and is a “hunk” who makes women voters soon.

No negatives at all, except that he, seemingly, refuses to be lured into throwing his hat into the ring for POTUS.

I love Paul Ryan and have been following his career since I first met him in 2003.


5 posted on 06/11/2011 7:23:07 PM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
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To: achilles2000

One baby step at a time.

http://righthandedcartoons.blogspot.com/2011/05/meet-liberals-new-bogeyman-rep-paul.html


6 posted on 06/11/2011 7:25:27 PM PDT by definitelynotaliberal (There is no native criminal class except Congress. Mark Twain)
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To: achilles2000

In mathematics, a discontinuity in a curve disrupts and displaces the status quo. IMO, Ryan’s plan in like manner disrupts the way DC does business.

“It’s a good thing.” -—Martha Stewart


7 posted on 06/11/2011 7:26:25 PM PDT by famousdayandyear
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To: SeekAndFind

The rule is, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.’


8 posted on 06/11/2011 7:29:02 PM PDT by Citizen Tom Paine (An old sailor sends)
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To: SeekAndFind

Grand design programs and proposals like “Obamacare” and the “Ryan plan” are very easy to run AGAINST in elections —to wit, the 2010 Republican landslide was largely about opposition to Obamacare.

The Ryan plan gives Demoviks a simple target for 2012. And what are the chances that the Ryan plan will ever really be adopted? You are risking everything for something that will probably never happen anyway.

The Republicans would be better served to keep away from these things and just talk about spending reductions, regulations cuts, more domestic drilling, sealing more of the border and deporting more illegals, things that can be done incrementally.

I know I’m in the minority here, but Trump was half correct about this. The lack of a Dem plan was a great political issue; the presentation of a Republican plan is likely to backfire.

And the fact that the Ryan plan is a good one on substance is probably irrelevant. Anyone here remember Reagan’s “new federalism”—?? It was a great idea too.


9 posted on 06/11/2011 7:46:22 PM PDT by PaleoBob
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To: famousdayandyear

Not enough and too late.


10 posted on 06/11/2011 7:49:10 PM PDT by achilles2000 ("I'll agree to save the whales as long as we can deport the liberals")
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To: Pride in the USA; Stillwaters

Really good article about Congressman Paul Ryan.

Here’s a link to a youtube of the speech referenced in this article, in case you missed seeing it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS0HMTbYvHQ

I don’t think Ryan has the least bit of interest in running for higher office at this time. I think he truly believes he’s in the best place he could be, as budget committee chairman, to serve his country. I’m not sure I agree.


11 posted on 06/11/2011 7:49:50 PM PDT by lonevoice (Where the Welfare State is on the march, the Police State is not far behind)
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To: PaleoBob

RE: The Republicans would be better served to keep away from these things and just talk about spending reductions, regulations cuts, more domestic drilling, sealing more of the border and deporting more illegals, things that can be done incrementally.

_________________________________________________________________

Translation: TALK, TALK, TALK, AVOID, AVOID, AVOID, BURY YOUR HEAD IN THE SAND until the whole thing comes crushing down on us as it did with Greece, as it inevitably will if we let the status quo continue.

What about doing what’s right for a change?

All the above things you mentioned goes without saying.... but MEDICARE, MEDICAID and SOCIAL SECURITY are the big 3 that will ruin this country. That day is closer than we think...


12 posted on 06/11/2011 7:51:36 PM PDT by SeekAndFind (u)
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To: afraidfortherepublic

>> No negatives at all

Excellent, that’s what I thought!


13 posted on 06/11/2011 7:53:35 PM PDT by Gene Eric (*** Jesus ***)
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To: achilles2000

Since the Dems and RINOS lie, how do we know?


14 posted on 06/11/2011 7:54:03 PM PDT by famousdayandyear
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To: SeekAndFind

Things can be done, but we won’t do them. Even on FR we have many people who think that they are “entitled” to Soc. Sec. and Medicare because they “paid in” to them. Fixing the problem requires ripping unconstituional programs out by the roots, not reforming them. Do you think that Congress, the President, and the courts would allow the New Deal and much of the legislation since then to be repealed?

It will be a dog-fight even to trim ethanol subsidies. Cutting out 40% of federal spending won’t happen. Moreover, the problem runs far deeper. Almost all state and local governments are deeply under water financially. The response by state and local politicians is not encouraging. Even in Texas the legislature dealt with the deficit in part by using accounting tricks.

The problems won’t be fixed because we, as a people, are morally, intellectually, and spiritually too corrupt to accept honest, effective solutions. We are far too covetous.


15 posted on 06/11/2011 7:57:54 PM PDT by achilles2000 ("I'll agree to save the whales as long as we can deport the liberals")
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To: SeekAndFind

Civilization? Ryan is an open border fanatic, who believes we should let everyone in, ending our civilizational status and heritage.


16 posted on 06/11/2011 8:00:43 PM PDT by rmlew (No Blood for Sarkozy's re-election and Union for the Mediterranean)
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To: SeekAndFind

Of course the ‘Rats are getting some assistance from supposedly anti-Obama Donald Trump, who has been on TV denouncing the Ryan Plan ferociously.


17 posted on 06/11/2011 8:28:43 PM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: famousdayandyear

If I understand the question...many others outside of government have studied the structural problems in Fed spending and pretty much agree on the magnitude of the problem. One sign of reality setting in is an article about Medicare by Andrew McCathy appearing at American Thinker that was posted on FR today.


18 posted on 06/11/2011 8:28:51 PM PDT by achilles2000 ("I'll agree to save the whales as long as we can deport the liberals")
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To: SeekAndFind

What about doing what’s right for a change?


Well, it’s hard to argue with someone who has so closely held a grip on WHAT’S RIGHT that they need not really cite its particulars. But I’ll just concede it to you-—if the Ryan Plan is adopted it will save the nation.

That said, even the RIGHT THING is NOTHING if you lose the election trying to defend it.

And I stand by my assertion here: grand designs like the Ryan plan and Obamacare are likely losers at the ballot box.

I’m not talking about what I would wish for in Fantasyland, I’m talking about what happens in Reality.


19 posted on 06/11/2011 8:36:42 PM PDT by PaleoBob
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To: achilles2000

Thanks for the reference - will check out!


20 posted on 06/11/2011 8:47:17 PM PDT by famousdayandyear
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