Romney was already backing Ryan's plan, so it's not like the Dems couldn't have done it anyway. Besides, I see it as very hard to demagogue Paul Ryan. The guy looks and sounds like a boy scout. Besides, we all know the debt is the biggest fiscal cliff we're facing. I just can't believe our side can't turn that into a winning issue. It's not that hard for people to understand. People hate their student loan and mortgage debt, right? So why is it so hard to explain that a debt collectively shared by all of us can have consequences that are just as negative for the whole country? We need to win on our issues by winning the argument instead of backing away because we think the Dems will "Dem-agogue" us. That's just cowardice.
Ryan understands these issues and can explain fiscal issues better than most Republicans. He knows the numbers backwards and forwards. He can just get a tad long-winded, so he needs to work on being more succinct with his answers.
“Romney was already backing Ryan’s plan, so it’s not like the Dems couldn’t have done it anyway.”
I agree with this 100%. The obama campaign was always going to tie Romney to Ryan’s budget because it helps the democrats, immensely. The problem is that now Romney has a walking 24/7 negative ad at his side from now ‘til November.
“We need to win on our issues by winning the argument instead of backing away because we think the Dems will “Dem-agogue” us. That’s just cowardice.’
I agree that morally, it is absolute cowardice to run from a policy out of fear of opposition ads and attacks. But unfortunately, campaigns are not a time for courage, after the election is time for courage. Cowardice and the status quo vis a vis entitlement programs is now and always has been a winner....and threatening the entitlement status quo is and always has been the third rail. Romney is now electrocuting the hell out of himself with the Ryan pick.
I know this sounds incredibly cynical but this is how democracy has worked since the Greeks invented it. In politics, cowardice is a winner. After you win the election, then you go bold.
Clinton/Gore, talk soft, get elected, go bold and ban assault weapons and raise taxes.
Bush/Cheney, tout “compassionate conservatism” aka we like some democrat programs like entitlements, get elected, then go bold with historical tax cuts and cutting regulations.
Obama/Biden, talk soft about uniting washington and bringing everyone to the table, racial harmony, blah blah, get elected, then go bold by locking the doors on all the Republicans and ramming ObamaCare and Dodd-Frank down our throats.
Romney is going bold first and doing this out of sequence is a political deathtrap.