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Posted on 08/17/2012 8:00:22 PM PDT by Sola Veritas
(Reuters) - In his first week as a Republican U.S. vice presidential candidate, Paul Ryan has quietly moved away from the Medicare reform plan that has defined his political career.
At campaign stops, Ryan has made little mention of the Medicare and budget savings that conservatives cheered when presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced his running mate. When Medicare comes up, it's more often than not in an attack on Democratic President Barack Obama.
"Do you think raiding Medicare to pay for Obamacare is an achievement? Why don't we just get rid of Obamacare all together?" Ryan said at a rally in Springfield, Virginia, on Friday.
Romney, meanwhile, has promised to spend $716 billion more than either Ryan or Obama would spend over the coming 10 years on the popular government health insurance program for the elderly.
Romney's promise - and Ryan's silence - could help their ticket pick up votes among the elderly who are suspicious of any changes to Medicare.
But the Republican candidates' stance would also make it more difficult to reduce trillion-dollar-plus budget deficits, said to Michael Tanner, a senior fellow at the libertarian Cato Institute.
"What Ryan and Romney are doing right now is political, not budgetary. They are clearly doing less than I think they should in terms of Medicare reform, and they're doing it for purely political reasons," said Tanner, who has been a fierce critic of Obama's health insurance law.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Ew. Do I HAVE to read shit by Andrew Sullivan? I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you. I don't think articles by Andrew Sullivan used in SUPPORT of a position fit Free Republic's guidelines, which "oppose all forms of ... homosexualism..."
I'm actually surprised that an article by Andrew Sullivan is used by a FReeper as "talking points", rather than fodder for derision.
I still find it passing strange that the best sources for freepers afflicted with Romney/Ryan Derangement Syndrome seem to be Andrew Sullivan, DU, HuffingtonPost, Salon, and other left-wing personalities and sites. Precious, *costly* bandwidth and -- much more importantly -- a hard-won premier BRAND, wasted promoting the very communism, socialism, homosexuality, and liberalism the brand was forged to fight. Still scratching my head over that one.
Oh by the way -- I am including JimRob on this post ONLY because YOU added him to your reply to me. My guess is, JR is weary with this whole issue. Running FR is a labor of love, and I have nothing but respect for what Jim has built from conviction and the sweat of his brow.
Nevertheless, facts are facts, and reality is reality, and there's a time to be silent, and a time to, well, NOT be silent.
See my tagline.
FRegards
Great tagline.
Ryan is now marginalized by hitching himself to that lying, left-wing, Progressive Liberal Romney.
It’s only going to get worse.
This supposed conservative savior, it going to come out of this experience compromised beyond belief.
Thanks. It’s an Ayn Rand quote. FReeper fr_freak deserves the credit for making me aware of it.
Doesn’t look like that to me.
***Ryan isn’t going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg. He can’t even keep Romney in check on the first week. He’s window dressing.
Does anyone still give outlets like this an ounce of respect ?
This is where sweeping more Tea Party Conservatives into the House and Senate is critical.
Romney has heretofore always seemed to blow with the wind.
We need to keep the wind blowing in the right direction for as long as possible.
That’s all we humans can do.
right you are Laura...and there are a few here that love the MSM BS...
so I read a few posts and move on..but believe this article...no way
Well Willard has his big fat butt on Ryan...
That didnt take long...
The co-author of this Reuters article is Andy Sullivan, not Andrew Sullivan.
The REAL problem is that the ‘rats have pulled a switcheroo on us and we apparently are falling for it. Ryan is the VP candidate. Whatever his plan was or wasn’t is history. What the people are going to be examining and voting for or against is ROMNEY’S PLAN! But he hasn’t clearly presented IT yet. He probably WON’T until after the convention. So there isn’t much Ryan CAN say for a few weeks. Sure, the ‘rats and their lapdog media will still keep harping on Ryan’s former plan. But that is ancient history. Rehashing that plan makes as much sense as debating the wisdom of Pickett’s Charge.
So long as you want to believe what you read from Reuters. What Ryan has actually said is a whole other story.
Translation of liberal media headline : "That Damn Ryan Insists On Focusing On Economy, We Must Therefore Attempt To Distract Readers From Obama's Economic Achilles Heel By Drawing Conversation to Medicaid"
Tha fact is, Ryan's signature issue isn't Medicaid. If anything it is life. For the purposes of defeating Obama the most effective issue is going to have to be the economy. The press desperately wants to shift the focus off the economy and these leftists see some hope of success if they can get it onto Medicaid where they can scare seniors.
Sorry, it’s al-Reuters. A ouija board has more credibility and is less demonic.
It's an American tradition... recall how the founding fathers compromised on the slavery issue even when human liberty was the whole point. Imagine that- compromising on human liberty actually led to broader human liberty, albeit incrementally... or should the most principled ones have refused to make deals with the slaveholding ones even if it meant no one would gain liberty so long as everyone could not have it all at once? Where would this country be now if Franklin blew off Washington and Jefferson because they were not principled enough?
I did not know until this article that Medicare reform is his signature reform. Isn’t it the budget and deficits in general? IS Reuters trying to drive a wedge between Ryan and his supporters? /half rhetorically
“What the people are going to be examining and voting for or against is ROMNEY’S PLAN! But he hasn’t clearly presented IT yet. He probably WON’T until after the convention.”
Honestly though, isn’t that really the problem. Ryan is being touted as the guy that is going to keep Romney’s liberal tendencies in check. IF Ryan has to subordinate himself to a plan of Romney....that doesn’t even exist....where is the “keeping in check?”
My concern is that Ryan is be coopted by Romney and the GOPe...as is going to loose credibility.
I am not aware of the political leanings of Reuters - except they are not U.S. but U.K. in ownership. However, I am sure that criticisms of them may be warranted. Also, that there is a definite move to pull the message off the economy. However, I am a balanced conservative and the economy is only one of three legs of conservatism to me. So, I don’t mind them pulling to other areas.
Whatever, although the source of news is weak and biased (as all news is today), I think the basic premise that Ryan is being morphed into something other than what got him where he was is taking place. This is not good IF Ryan is the force to balance out Romney.
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