Paul Ryan

Paul Ryan!
The 42 year old Republican Congressman, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who currently serves as Chairman of the House Budget Committee, is Mitt Romney's choice for Vice President on the Repulican ticket. This is wonderful! This is the best thing that has happened to the Republicans since John McCain's selection of Sarah Palin as his running mate and, before that, Newt Gingrich and his Contract With America.

As a Democrat and Obama supporter, I couldn't be happier. I already thought Mitt Romney was going to lose the election, but now I'm sure of it. As an American first, I'm even happier, because Mitt's endorsement of Ryan will demonstrate the stupidity and potential destructiveness of their policies for the country. Mitt has irrevocably opened a huge sinkhole, as McCain did, and irrevocably fallen into it. Hallelujah!

Specifically, the reason I am so thrilled is that Paul Ryan's theories are an impossible combination of unappealing and unworkable-- except to the rich and the ignorant. His basic program is to stop federal borrowing and reduce the federal deficit by a dramatic reduction in federal spending. To accomplish this goal, a drastic reduction in social programs would be enacted. In some form or other, programs like Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, would be drastically changed and/or cut back. The next idea would be to privatize many government programs. The key concept will be to make individual Americans take greater responsibility for their own welfare and fate. Think Ayn Rand (who Ryan greatly admires) and the Western frontier spirit.

Along the way, Ryan's policies would result, unbelievably and incredibly, in further tax reductions for the wealthy. His selection heralds victory for the rich, the Tea Party, and the right wing of the Republican Party. For the majority of Americans, it's not so good. Hopefully, the Republicans will not be able to hide the popular deductions his plan would need to eliminate, such as the mortgage interest deduction, in order to balance a Ryan budget, or the lasting damage it would do to most Americans and the nation itself.

Now Americans have a clear and stark choice. In the end, I believe the 99% will see the light and reject this ticket and its program, despite massive Republican advertising. As the fat cats say on Wall Street, you can dress up a pig with lipstick, but it's still a pig. Let the games begin!