Paul Ryan: America's Next Vice President

Just when you thought that the American people could not get more excited and energized to make Barack Obama a one-term President, enter the next Vice President of the United States, Wisconsin Congressman, Paul Ryan.

At just 42 years old, Congressman Ryan has rose the ranks of the United States House of Representatives from a regular “rank and file” member to becoming Chair of the House Budget Committee. In the 14 years he has served in the House, Congressman Ryan has worked with both democrats and republicans, has proven himself as federal budget wonk and an individual who has a deep intellect, and a passion for economic policy.

True, many democrats are equally excited for a Romney-Ryan ticket, as John Fund from the National Review Online points out in his article: “Smart Democrats Should Be Worried” (8.11.12). “No doubt there are many Democrats rubbing their hands in glee in contemplations of reviving some version of the ad that featured an actor playing Paul Ryan pushing a grandmother in a wheelchair off a cliff. But the smarter ones are worried.”

Worried they should be, though the democrats and President Obama will try and paint Congressman Ryan as a right-wing extremist because of his budget plan, one must ask the question of how does a conservative get elected to Congress from a democratic district seven times? 

As Mr. Fund points out, “His [Congressman Ryan] lowest share of the vote was 57%-in his first race. He routinely wins over two-thirds of the vote. When Obama swept the nation in 2008, he carried Ryan’s district by four points. But at the same time, Ryan won reelection with 65% of the vote, meaning that a fifth of Obama voters also voted for him [Ryan].”

When it comes to the democrats' favorite line, saying that Congressman Ryan wants to “end Medicare as we know it,” Mr. Fund explains that the “Idea of ‘premium support’ for Medicare, which would change the programs one-size-fits-all policy to a private-insurance model with public options, was endorsed by a bipartisan commission appointed by Bill Clinton back in the 1990s.” Mr. Fund continues, “Late last year, Ryan announced a new version of his proposal with a new partner signing on: Democratic Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, who first achieved political prominence as an advocate for seniors.”

To add to the resume of the President’s failed leadership, CNN’s Bill Bennett states, in his article, “Why Paul Ryan” (8.13.12): “During his tenure as House Budget Chairman, Ryan has penned several of the House budget plans. Although his 2012 budget didn't pass the Democrat-led Senate, it garnered far more votes than President Obama's budget, and proposed far more serious reforms.”

As a recent college graduate, I am beyond ecstatic to have an individual like Congressman Ryan be my pary's nominee for vice president of the United States. Not only is he young, but he is an individual who is not scared or worried about his own political future and is willing to take, head on, issues that are severely affecting our country. 

CNN states that Congressman Ryan is “the first generation-X candidate on any presidential ticket, he wants to turn that outdated process upside down. He would see the American people grow the economy bottom-up, naturally and organically. He sees the American economy working a lot more like new economy leaders eBay and Google: thin at the top, where the Washington politicians mooch, and thick at the bottom, where working people are.”

Throughout the nex couple of months, President Obama and his campaign will continue to launch a smear campaign against Governor Romney and, now, Congressman Ryan to divert the American people of the President’s failed record. But with over 25 million Americans out of work and 45 plus months of unemployment over 8 percent, Americans need some real “Hope” and “Change,” not just the campaign rhetoric and empty promises that President Obama has mastered over the past four years.