I don't want to dampen anyone's enthusiasm about Paul Ryan. He is smart and he is a man of integrity. But he is also a Republican insider.
A lot of people are reminding us of this inconvenient truth.
Paul Ryan supported Bush's prescription drug plan. He was a cheerleader for TARP and he voted for it. He voted to bail out GM. And his austerity plan never quite balances the budget. Yes, in some ways Ron Paul or Gary Johnson or Michelle Bachmann would be better.
But let us not despair.
Ryan comes from a blue district, if not a blue state. Most of his bad decisions were made before there was a viable Tea Party. Even three years ago there was no network of support that let political allies know someone had their back. The Tea Party movement started in 2009. It took a while to gel but by 2010 it was a force to be reckoned with.
The elections of 2010 were monumental. It is my hope that this landmark emboldens fiscal conservatives. Romney or Ryan vintage 2008 might be a bit sheepish advocating for fiscal sanity but the 2012 models might be willing to flex some muscle. We hope.
We have been burned before. I thought George Bush and two Houses of Republicans would balance the budget, maybe even pay down the debt. Not even close. Their reckless spending would give license to the free spending Dems and we are now a year or two from insolvency.
Obama/Geithner/Bernanke/Reid, et al, have not gotten the message, and they never will. They either want to see the US crash and burn or they believe that deficits don't matter if they are the ones creating the deficits. Romney/Ryan is our only hope. Both of these men have baggage. But they represent one last chance for America to avoid becoming Greece on a scale unfathomable. We have to support them.
No comments:
Post a Comment