Ryan's Address: 'Our Rights Come from Nature and God, Not Government'

The Weekly Standard ^ | 8/11/2012 | Paul Ryan

[In Maryland]

Speaking of Biden - is it too early to bring up he was the one who was supposed to supervise the stimulus spending? I think it’s time to take a look at THAT record of “accomplishment” [cough, choke, gag!].

[In Maryland]

The Declaration clause theat refers to God is not about individual rights, but the collective rights of "a people":

When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

When Jefferson begins to speak of rights, he invokes the Creator:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Ryan was not trying to quote the declaration - he was offereing his interpretation of the underlying message.

[In Maryland]

By the way, is there ANY legal or constitutional reason why Ryan could not BOTH be a congressman and VP? Yes, beside the enormous conflict of interest entailed in the VP being the President Pro Temp of the Senate, and entitled to cast tie-breaking votes, there is Article 1, Section 6 of the Constitution:

"No Senator or Representative shall, during the Time for which he was elected, be appointed to any civil Office under the Authority of the United States, which shall have been created, or the Emoluments whereof shall have been encreased during such time; and no Person holding any Office under the United States, shall be a Member of either House during his Continuance in Office.

[veracious]

Hear, hear! My. Ryan has this and many other things, correct!