Posted on 08/11/2012 10:58:39 PM PDT by smoothsailing
August 11, 2012
Paul A. Rahe
In choosing Paul Ryan as his Vice-Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney has opted to go for broke, and he has indicated that he is a serious man -- less concerned with becoming President of the United States than with saving the country from the disaster in store for it if we not radically reverse course, willing to risk a loss for the sake of being able to win a mandate for reform.
I have been unsparing in my criticism of Romney's political record. I unsay not one word about that. If we were to judge him honestly by his conduct as a Senatorial candidate in Massachusetts and as that state's Governor, I believe that we would find him sadly wanting.
I have also consistently been of the opinion that, of the declared Republican presidential aspirants, Mitt Romney was the least unacceptable. In his private capacity, he is a man of excellent character; as a businessman, he was accomplished in the extreme; and, as a candidate, he consistently displayed the discipline required. There were others in the race who had good qualities, but they lacked one or more of the crucial qualities that Romney possesses.
I also hazarded a guess -- that current circumstances might make a genuine conservative of Mitt Romney, that his understanding of the fiscal crisis we face might very well force him to think more deeply about the moral roots of that fiscal crisis, which is to say, about the inner logic of the administrative entitlements state and the moral as well as the fiscal bankruptcy produced by that inner logic. I was accused of wishful thinking, and the accusation was just. For my wish was, indeed, father to the thought, but this does not mean that the thought was wrong.
Governor Romney's choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate suggests, in fact, that my suspicions were correct. For by making this choice, Mitt Romney is declaring war. There will be no evasion, no triangulation, no attempt to mask what is at stake in this election. Instead, Romney and Ryan will directly confront Barack Obama and call him to account for putting us on a ruinous course.
This will alter radically the dynamics of the race. The money spent by Obama trying to demonize Governor Romney will prove to be money entirely wasted. The election is not going to be about Mitt Romney. It is not going to be about the sexual revolution. It is not going to be about Bain Capital. It is going to be about the failed policies of Barack Obama, about their dangerous character, and about the sober, sound alternative the Republicans represent.
This will help the Republicans in Senate and House races immeasurably, for it will give Romney and Ryan coattails -- now, without a doubt, the candidates in these other races have something concrete on which to run: repeal Obamacare, pare back the entitlements state, reform our system of taxation, and put our fiscal house in order. No one will doubt the capacity of the Republicans to rule.
I have predicted that Romney will win by a landslide. The choice of Paul Ryan means that Romney has chosen the path that will maximize the significance of his victory and its impact on the races for seats in the House and Senate. As in 1980, this is going to be a national election -- in which local particularities count for much less than usual.
If you still have doubts, remember November, 2010.
“In choosing Paul Ryan as his Vice-Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney has opted to go for broke, and he has indicated that he is a serious man — less concerned with becoming President of the United States than with saving the country from the disaster in store for it if we not radically reverse course, willing to risk a loss for the sake of being able to win a mandate for reform.”
Ridiculous. If that was true, why does Mitt Romney lie about every aspect of his past, present and future? If that was true, why did Mitt Romney’s people sabotage Palin on the eve of the 2008 election? To think that this is anything more than pure political calculation is silly. There is no question about the kind of character Mitt Romney has. And it is provably Not Good.
I don’t believe there’s one person in congress who gives a damn about this country. They’re there to pad their pockets and get healthcare exemptions....both parties.
And there’s not one person who would turned Romney down. They like the power and perks and fame.
To summarize the author: Mitt Romney sucks, he has always sucked and I said as much more than once and I still believe that but he didn’t suck as bad as the rest of our potential republican candidates (who were actually conservatives) and now, despite all that, I think he is going to somehow be transformed into the savior of conservatism and America so let’s all get behind the least suckiest least conservative candidate the GOP could ram down our throats and throw that negro out of the whitehouse. Together.
Look at this another way: liberalism only works because of access to an unlimited supply of other people's money (diversity coordinators in charge of sensitivity don't come cheap!)
And given that we are already OVER the financial cliff, there will have to be some DRASTIC cutbacks shortly.
And for the first time, millions of parasites in the "intellectual" classes are going to discover what it means to have to compete where you are judged on the quality of your results rather than the height of your eyebrows.
That will be the time to *STRIKE* to recover the hearts and minds of millions, for conservatism. It is self-sustaining; and so much more than self-sustaining that it has managed to carry along liberalism for decades.
But that time is ending.
Forth Eorlingas!
Cheers!
To hell with Romney, I don’t care about him. What’s important is his pick of Ryan, that changes the dynamics of the race and increases the odds of Obama being a one termer. That’s what I’m counting on.
“Mitt Romney is declaring war.”
And if so, I second that declaration. Actually, I think we TEA Ps declared war a few years ago, so maybe he is seconding US...which makes him a tad smarter than I thought.
Mitt chose Ryan to appeal to the Midwest.
I hope they win. because Obama stinks on ice.
WOW How inspiring.
So exactly when does Romney start running on passing the Ryan plan?? More specifically when does Romney or Ryan start going on TV and commercials promising that the Ryan plan will be passed into law in his first four years as a priority?
Or are we supposed to just imagine this is true BECAUSE Dems say it is so?
I don’t know how the author figures Romney plans to ‘save the country’ if he doesn’t become president. Not that I have as low an opinion of Romney as you do.
Rasing Poop;
Go vote for Zero, Stupid!
Sarah Palin is a RINO and is no longer welcome here.
Have you on has anyone else actually bothered to check out Romney’s platform on healthcare?
He’s essentially promising Romneycare for all—or Obamacare just implemented at the state level. So when he talks about repeal and replace, he’s talking about something very different than what we want. (Romneycare has now officially moved to price controls, as the cost increases were so bad they were seen to outweigh for now the shortages and difficulties in getting a doctor’s appointment.)
Look at this from Romney’s own campaign website. What a platform! (Oh, and for anyone who doesn’t know, exchanges in Obamacare and Romneycare aren’t regular, free markets—they are state imposed micromanagement of every aspect of so-called health ‘insurance’:
-Limit federal standards and requirements on both private insurance and Medicaid coverage
-Ensure flexibility to help the uninsured, including public-private partnerships, exchanges, and subsidies
-Ensure flexibility to help the chronically ill, including high-risk pools, reinsurance, and risk adjustment
-Offer innovation grants to explore non-litigation alternatives to dispute resolution
I believe the ONE exception to your comment is Paul Ryan (And Peter King).
Mitt Romneys liberal past is largely a product of his governing liberals.
It doesn’t make him a liberal.
He reflected his constituents.
Obama on the other hand is a card carrying Marxist SOB.
This aint a difficult choice.
Great article- Thanks for posting it.
I agree. This is not difficult. But, I have never seen such mental gymnastics over a candidate. We either save the country with Romney or we flush it with Obama.
Mitt chose Ryan to appeal to conservatives, and it will succeed.
Agreed.
Enough with the hand wringing.
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