Something to remember when Democrats attack Paul Ryan

These quotes could be used in ads to respond the Democrats charges that Paul Ryan is "extreme" or "radical."  From Fox News:

. . . In a late 2011 talk at the University of North Carolina, Bowles told the audience "this guy is amazing." "I always thought I was okay with arithmetic. This guy can run circles around me, and he is honest, he is straightforward, he is sincere," Bowles said. "And the budget he came forward with is just like Paul Ryan. It is a sensible, straightforward, honest, serious budget." . . .
in a March 29, 2012, PBS interview, Bowles said that Ryan's plan to offer government payments to buy private insurance should nevertheless remain an "option" going forward. He even said "you would want to consider" a newer version of the Ryan plan that lets people keep traditional Medicare as an alternative.
Bowles repeated his sentiment that Ryan is a "very smart, stable, honest, hardworking guy."
In 2010 on the same program, Bowles said: "I wish we had more people like Paul who are thinkers and do their homework." . . .
Obama was similarly upbeat on Ryan's role in the Republican Party.
In 2010, Obama said at a Republican retreat that Ryan had "made a serious proposal" with his budget. . . .
In an interview this summer on a program called Medscape, Wyden discussed that proposal, saying: "It really starts from the proposition that no one would go out and buy a house without some idea of knowing what they're paying for.
"And much of what we're going to have to do with Medicare is to be sure that traditional Medicare with its purchasing power can be maintained, while at the same time we offer private sector choices, so that the two will strengthen each other. And in that sense, we recognize that much of the Medicare debate is not at all ideological," he said. . . .

What the Democrats are saying about Paul Ryan

Given a campaign that would accuse Romney for the death of a woman 6 years after he left Bain Capital or that Romney supposedly didn't pay his taxes for 10 years, these attacks on Paul Ryan are hardly surprising.  Here are some of the emails that I received today.  From Senator Harry Reid:

By choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt just made the most radical choice possible.  Paul Ryan is the Tea Party's darling and architect of the GOP's plan to destroy Medicare. And while dismantling the nation's social safety net, he will give even more tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires like Mitt Romney. . . .

From Senior Obama campaign adviser David Axelrod:

“Congressman Ryan is a right wing ideologue and that’s reflected in the positions he’s taken. You know the budget that he constructed for the House Republicans that would include trillions of dollars in new tax cuts skewed to the wealthy, so that we would be giving a millionaire $250,000 tax cuts while we’re cutting college aid for kids and research and development and a whole range of things we need to grow. … He disagrees with Congressman Ryan’s that we should turn Medicare into a voucher program,” said Axelrod. “He disagrees with Congressman Ryan on a woman’s right to choose, Congressman Ryan would ban a woman’s right to choose even in cases of rape or incest,” he continued. . . .

Jim Messina from the Obama campaign:

Congressman Paul Ryan is best known as the author of a budget so radical The New York Times called it "the most extreme budget plan passed by a House of Congress in modern times." With Mitt Romney's support, Ryan would end Medicare as we know it and slash the investments we need to keep our economy growing -- all while cutting taxes for those at the very top. . . .

David Axelrod:

"There's no doubt that I think the appointment...has thrilled the base of the Republican party - the Tea Party Republicans, the social conservatives because Congressman Ryan is a certifiable right-wing ideologue," David Axelrod said on "CBS This Morning." 
"I saw that kind of excitement four years ago, Anthony, when John McCain appointed Sarah Palin as well, there were huge crowds, much the same kind of reaction, and I don't think it worked out very well," he continued. "And I think when the reality catches up with the moment, it's not going to be a plus for Governor Romney." . . .

"I just don't like his views. I think that they are very dangerous views." . . .

National Education Association:

ROMNEY DOUBLES DOWN ON RIGHT WING AGENDA FOR THE MEGA-RICH

WASHINGTON—National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel released the following statement reacting to Gov. Mitt Romney’s selection of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) as his Vice Presidential running mate. 

“For weeks, there’s been speculation about who Gov. Romney would choose to be his running mate and what it would mean. And now we have our answer. By selecting Ryan, Romney has doubled down on his view that opportunity is only for those who can afford it or are willing to game the system.  He's shown yet again that he is more willing to help the rich get richer than ensuring middle class families get ahead. 

“Ryan’s position on fundamental education issues like funding for early childhood education and efforts to keep class sizes small don’t speak to ensuring that every child in this country gets a quality education, it continues Romney’s misguided and out of touch mentality that class size doesn’t matter and children should get as much education as they can ‘afford’. Elections are about choices, and Governor Romney’s VP selection indicates that once again he chose the corporate fat cats and Wall Street barons over students, teachers, bus drivers, nurses and secretaries. The three million members of NEA know you can’t put Americans back to work by cutting jobs, educate our kids by laying off teachers, or level the playing field for small businesses by rigging it in favor of big corporations. 

"Ryan was the architect of the budget plan that would have gutted Medicare and converted it to a voucher program.  Ryan and Romney have shown over and over again that they are more willing to run up trillion dollar deficits to help the rich get richer while undercutting opportunity for middle class families. 

“These are the positions and policies of Governor Romney. And so NEA members know enough to know that a Romney-Ryan administration is bad for our students, families and the wrong direction for America.”

Senator Patty Murray:

Ryan is best known for the extreme budget that bears his name -- one that would end Medicare as we know it while giving huge tax breaks to billionaires and corporations. A Romney-Ryan ticket is a frightening prospect for the middle class and anyone who might one day need Medicare or Social Security. . . .

Huffington Post: VP Ryan: A Nightmare for the Poor and Minorities

His savage cost cutting plan is well-known. He'd cut tens of billions from Medicaid and Medicare, and more than a trillion from everything from food stamps to welfare over the next decade. The Ryan slash and burn plan mercifully hasn't happened during his tenure as House Budget Committee Chair. But as Vice President Ryan, he would be in a commanding position to make his cost cutting plan a nightmare come true for the poor and minorities. . . . 

ABC News: "5 Things Mitt Doesn't Want You to Know About Paul Ryan"
Calling the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities nonpartisan shows ABC News' bias right off the bat.

1. His budget plans include big cuts, and there's ample room for Democrats to continue with their "Romneyhood narrative." The nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimates 62 percent of Ryan's cuts are to programs for the poor. 

2. Ryan's budget proposals have included big changes to Medicare - including gradually replacing the program with a voucher program for private health care, and gradually raising the retirement age. . . . . 

3. He voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. . . . 

4. He's easily pegged as Washington insider. . . . 

5. This is both a pro and a con to Ryan, depending on who you ask, but he's notably further to the left on the issue of lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender rights than the base of the party. . . .

The New Yorker Magazine

For one thing, Ryan has no significant private-sector experience. Besides summer jobs working at McDonald’s or at his family’s construction company, or waiting tables as a young Washington staffer, Ryan has none of the business-world experience Romney frequently touts as essential for governing. In the run-up to his first campaign for Congress, in 1998, that gap was enough of a concern for Ryan that he briefly became a “marketing consultant” at the family business, an obvious bit of résumé puffing. . . .

Where was the liberal New Yorker's concern over lack of private-sector experience by either Obama or Biden in 2008?

CNN's Candy Crowley claimed some Republicans think this "looks a little bit like some sort of ticket death wish," though she names no Republicans who have said this.

Paul Ryan, avid hunter

According to Wired to Hunt:

Now regardless of your political leanings, wouldn’t it be nice to see a hardcore deer hunter in the White House? Not only is Ryan a deer hunter, but he’s a good one too! In fact he has also been a member of the Quality Deer Management Association for 9 years as well. In a New York Times article, when asked about his favorite reading he responded, ” What I look forward to reading the most is Quality Whitetails Journal. It’s from the Quality Deer Management Association and gives insight on deer biology and habitat stewardship. I was planting clover this past weekend at my mom’s place in a rural part of Wisconsin. Yes, deer like to eat clover.” 

According to a recent FOX News article, “Ryan, while not a lock, is seen as a natural complement in a GOP ticket that has Romney as the Harvard-educated financier at top and Ryan, who rose from working-class roots to chairman of the House Budget Committee, as a running mate. Ryan’s deficit-slashing budget proposals have helped make him a rising GOP star.” . . .

Bloomberg Businessweek goes after Paul Ryan on gun control issues here:

It’s that last position that could become a flashpoint in the presidential race. The concealed-carry reciprocity bill Ryan supported passed the House last year before Democrats in the Senate stopped it. The legislation would allow a Virginia resident with a permit to tote her Glock in a belt holster or pocketbook when she goes sightseeing in New York City, despite the city’s more stringent rules on gun possession. 

Concealed-carry reciprocity is a huge priority for the National Rifle Association. You can count on the issue arising in the Oct. 11 vice presidential debate and on the campaign trail in pro-gun swing states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio, where many voters in both parties enjoy hunting and admire a guy who can skin and butcher his prey. . . . 

Is Paul Ryan Romney's VP nominee?

An example of why Ryan would be a strong nominee.

Rubio would also be a strong candidate.

Intrade shows that Ryan has this wrapped up.

Rep. Paul Ryan versus Goolsbee

For an academic, Goolsbee has a bad habit of either just following Democratic talking points or just making things up.  Points that I know he is sufficiently smart enough not to believe.  In the transcript below he has no problem attacking Romney for a company going under after Romney had left Bain,  and fails to acknowledge the inaccuracy of his attacks.  Ryan's comment was about the large portion of government money going to Obama supporters, not that all of it did.  Goolsbee's reference to a single McCain supporter is completely irrelevant.  The hope that "the Obama philosophy [is] to try to transform the government into only picking winners" is something that I can't believe Goolsbee believes.  How does it address the question of what is actually happening?  Why does Goolsbee believe that the government will have a higher success rate than private individuals investing their own money?  Even Wallace finds it necessary to bring Goolsbee back on track.  The transcript from Fox News Sunday is available here:

WALLACE: But let me just ask you, sir, do you see anything wrong with what Bain Capital did, and what lots of money, millions of dollars into this steel industry, the time when the steel was in trouble, what's wrong with that? 

GOOLSBEE: Well, it depends on how they did it. And as I say, they ought to turn over the annual records of the company.If you want to establish they did not have kind of a leverage buy out mentality of pulling the resources out of the company -- turn over the records and let the people see what the business record was. Don't just pick two or three companies that are the success stories and say look at these because that invites the ones that went wrong.In this case, the company did horribly but the investors did great. So, I think it's a little bit different than a normal investor philosophy which if we can turn the company around in a positive way, we benefit. This was the case where they canceled the pension, they drove the company into the ground but the investors from Bain actually profited a great deal. 

WALLACE: Let me follow up with Congressman Paul Ryan.Because the Obama campaign says the point of Romney economics is to make money for Bain, to make money for their investors, even if all of the workers get wiped out. And in this particular case, with the steel mill in Kansas City, the workers and that plant went bankrupt. The 750 workers were laid off and Bain did make millions of dollars in profits. 

RYAN: You know what's ironic about this, Chris, Mitt Romney was running the Olympics during this time. He wasn't even running Bain during the time period in question.I think the individual if I'm not mistaken who was running Bain is a big Obama contributor.But for the point, Chris, what Bain did was they used private capital to help struggling businesses. What President Obama is doing is he's gambling with taxpayer money and giving money to corporate contributors, to campaign contributors like Solyndra and he's losing taxpayer money.So, what we have in the Obama administration is this crony capitalism, this corporate welfare where President Obama thinks it's right that we taxpayer dollars to give to private companies and take bets on these private companies. That's wrong.What is right is a private sector that you have risked that capital. You put capital in businesses whether they're struggling or not to try and grow those businesses, some succeed, some don't. On the net, when on Mitt Romney ran Bain, they were very successful. They created thousands of jobs, great success stories.But for the point, we don't think that the government should be in the position of picking winners or losers in the economy which is the result of the president's economics.  

WALLACE: Let me -- 

RYAN: The result of it is, we have stagnation. 

WALLACE: Let me let Mr. Goolsbee into that.I mean, what about the argument that, you know, it's the private sector. If companies want to take a chance, they take a chance. But the government shouldn't be picking winners and losers. 

GOOLSBEE: Well, that's two different arguments. The first one I actually think is a little bit cheeky because in several of these bankruptcy cases, you saw the investors profit by dumping the pension on to the government and actually getting bailouts from the government, which helped to cover the profits that were going to the investors.On the picking of winners, it is absolutely not the Obama philosophy to try to transform the government into only picking winners. By that I think Congressman Ryan is referring to things like in the midst of the crisis deciding to save General Motors and the auto industry. 

WALLACE: I think wait a minute. Without speaking for him, I think he's talking about things like Solyndra. . . .