Ryan has $5 million in cash in his reelection campaign coffers. | Jay Westcott/POLITICO
Posted on 04/20/2012 6:46:21 AM PDT by afraidfortherepublic
Rep. Paul Ryan is constantly brushing off questions about running for national office, deflecting inquiries as he puts his head down and turns up the volume on his ever present iPod.
But as his public profile has soared, Ryan has quietly built a national political operation that’s flush with cash and designed to defend himself and his party against attacks.
Ryan spent more than $1.6 million in direct mail since the beginning of 2011 spreading his fiscally conservative budget message across the country. He has $5 million in cash in his reelection campaign coffers — a colossal sum for a House member. The donations come from all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to campaign finance records, rare national reach for a House member.
Sources close to Ryan say this national apparatus has been built to defend him and the Republican Party against attacks on his sweeping, controversial plan to overhaul the federal budget. But it certainly doesn’t hurt to have this kind of impressive operation in the works if Ryan gets tapped as vice president — or if he wants to make a national run himself in the future.
Ryan’s political machine — and his goal of defending a budget that has been shredded by Democrats and the Obama White House — shows the pluses and minuses in Mitt Romney selecting Ryan as a running mate.
The upside: Ryan is universally liked and respected within his party, is a stalwart conservative, can raise serious money and is considered a policy visionary among GOP opinion makers. Inside the House Republican Conference, Ryan has something of a cult following. A senior Republican aide said “everybody wants Paul Ryan on stage with them” at fundraising events in their districts.
(Excerpt) Read more at politico.com ...
Ryan has $5 million in cash in his reelection campaign coffers. | Jay Westcott/POLITICO
isconsin Paul Ryan ping
FReep Mail me if you want on, or off, this Wisconsin interest ping list.
Ryan is potentially a pivotal figure in American history. If he can turn this ship around, he will be on the conservative Mt. Rushmore. It is great to hear he is this politically savvy.
He can't. No one can.
His biggest drawback in today’s America is that he acts as an adult!
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He will need much help in getting the conservative MESSAGE in front of the American public.
Very few individuals (Gingrich and Palin come to mind), are willing to consistently put the conservative perspective and concepts out front.
Skip Romney and just nominate Ryan. Seriously, I think Gingrich is hoping for something like that.
Be still, my heart!
I’d follow him to the ends of the earth.
“His biggest drawback in today’s America is that he acts as an adult!”
His second-biggest drawback is that he doesn’t look like one. Fortunately, that one will probably correct itself in time.
Maybe it’s just me. When I used to see an up-and-comer and think “Wow, he’s younger than me” it was the athletes. Now it’s politicians, and with the athletes I’m just shocked if they are older than me. (Long live Jamie Moyer!)
Well, well....... to all you naysayers.. We here in Wisconsin are trying to do our part. Again I say, we gave you Paul Ryan, we gave you our new excellent (I’m so proud of him) Senator Ron Johnson and our terrific GOP Governor Scott Walker. All of which are standing tall, honest men doing battle against evil.
This mess wasn’t created in a year and it will take a long time to right the ship. This is a start - these brave men ARE a start - as my tag line says - it starts with US.
Now everyone pick yourselves up and do YOUR part to help. Get out the vote, be strong, stand tall and let’s get our country back. Won’t be easy, but neither was crossing the Delaware for Geo. Washington.
It’s OUR generations duty to conserve this great republic. So get off your couch and help do your part. We need help here in Wisconsin as this is ground zero for the unions vs. Gov. Walker in the May 8 primary and the June 5 nasty recall election. Proud of our Wisconsin team and hope you are too.
If Walker wasn't so busy saving Wisconsin, he should get the job. Otherwise, I'd MUCH rather have Ryan than Romney.
Excellent post. May I point out that your local voting jurisdiction is now sending agents to nursing homes to collect absentee ballots for the recall election.
If you have a loved one in a nursing home, it is up to YOU to check on that person and to mke sure that his/her vote is not stolen. Be there the day they come to collect the ballots.
If you are the next of kin, YOU can help them with their ballot. If you are not there, the Voter Deputy from the city will “help”. Are you sure how that (likely a stranger) will help? The nursing home will have the dates posted as to when the municipality comes to collect the ballots.
He is also intelligent, unlike most of the opposing party who are intellectually challenged, or as Rush says, stupid.
The same Gingrich who referred to Ryan's budget as "right wing social engineering?" E tu, Newtus?
Exhibit A in the case for why Newt Gingrich is not the conservative you KoolAid drinkers think he is.
Gingrich actually had an entirely different plan, and his point was that Ryan’s budget was basically rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.
Gingrich has since supported parts of it, and opposed parts of it. That sounds pretty reasonable to me.
But I forgot that you Kool-Aid drinkers want somebody you can agree with 100% So go cast your vote for Obama...er, I mean Romney.
I would crawl over broken glass to support Paul Ryan. Actually, I like him right where he is and think he is the most effective now.
So your contention is that Newt said Ryan's plan didn't go far enough, and was "rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic?"
So, let's examine exactly what Newt said, shall we?
"I don't think right-wing social engineering is any more desirable than left-wing social engineering. I don't think imposing radical change from the right or the left is a very good way for a free society to operate."
So, where in there was he claiming Ryan didn't go far enough? Answer: He doesn't. He claims that Ryan's budget is "radical" - that means "too extreme" not "insufficiently extreme" for those of you having difficulty with the English language.
When a conservative like Ryan stands up and offers an viable alternative, stabbing him in the back is not helpful. Calling it "Right Wing Social Engineering" - and implying that it was somehow "extreme" - was not helpful.
And, for the record, I don't like Romney any more than you do - but I'm not going to let that distort reality and proclaim Pelosi's loveseat buddy Newt a conservative. They both suck, and we're stuck with one of them, and I will hold my nose and support him, and push him to be as conservative as possible. If Newt pulls off the impossible and wins the nomination, my opinion will be exactly the same. Neither one of them is a conservative, and all the KoolAid in the world is not going to change the unfortunate reality.
It’s not gonna happen, but if by some miracle it did, boy would that make me happy. Ryan has rare gifts. He understands how big the problems are that face our country, he has a bold plan to fix them AND he has the ability articulate both the problem and solutions in clear simple terms.
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