Paul Ryan: A Brilliant Mitt Move?

Democrats seems to feel that the choice of Paul Ryan is the best thing that could happen to the Obama campaign, short of Romney picking Donald Trump. I don’t agree. I think choosing Paul Ryan is likely to improve Romney’s chance of winning.

Remember when the Tea Party fundamentally changed the make-up of Washington – and of the Republican Party? They became popular because they believe in something, they express it with heartfelt passion, and they stick to it. Doesn’t matter that their opinions are a nasty set of right-wing views meant to make a misery out of the lives of the majority of their supporters. They present themselves as truly worked up around a firmly held ideology.

Romney is a chameleon, and is only interested in winning. His personality is tepid – and so is his support. He’s been unable to demonstrate that he actually cares about anything at all, except his personal ambition. He does not inspire the way his challengers during the Republican primary – sociopaths one and all – did, a month at a time, because they stood for something, even something bizarre and idiotic.

Obama is a weak non-leader who has yet to exhibit a serious commitment to anything other than compromise and appeasement. We do not even have evidence that he will fully protect Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. He doesn’t get angry, he draws no line in the sand, and simply cannot be depended on by anyone other than Wall Street – the one constituency to which he has demonstrated total solidarity.

Biden is muzzled and is a company man. He’s allowed to express his pro-women, pro-queer, pro-labor views when convenient, but he is not permitted to really show his juice, which may have in the meantime dried up from disuse.

Ryan will be the only one among the four to speak out with consistency, determination, clarity – and we will see whether or not Romney will be able to control him. His ideas are hateful, he is an arrogant twit, and if he has his way, our stressed-out difficult lives are going to get much worse. But in a campaign, people need to get excited enough to move their butts to vote. Those who were excited by Obama four years ago are sunk in disappointment. Romney couldn’t excite a speed freak with a finger in an electrical outlet. Only Ryan can speak out with the steadfast fervor of an ideologue - while pulling off the reassuring drag of a rational-straight-white-man. People are hungry for cut and dry solutions, for confidence, for promises. Ryan may, in the end, be Romney’s smartest move.

 

PS: Is it clear to you that that top image is an elephant's ass?

(Elephant = Republican symbol)

Comments

[Allen Young]

Sue, You write here more or less what I have been saying to friends and on Facebook! Smart woman. A lot smarter than some of those so-called pundits.

[Allen Young]

Having once traveled on a safari in Kenya, and having gone to zoos many times, I certainly did know I was looking at an elephant's ass. I chuckled, in fact.

[Greg Morris]

Yours is a great perspective, but I hope that Ryan will add clear definition to what republicans intend to do that will impact virtually all seniors, and folks of ordinary means; lets do vouchers instead of Medicare/Medicaid...lets cripple the FDA and EPA. It's too bad that Obama Admin can't better define itself...but people will still be forced to ask whether or not life would really be better under Romney and Ryan.

[Sue Katz]

I've been in Kenya, too, Allen, (we must compare sometime), but I don't think I got that close. I loved that image tho.

[Sue Katz]

You're more optimistic than I am, Greg. I just doubt that people will actually ask themselves sober questions and I don't think either party will supply the info with which voters can make an informed decision. Because the Democrats are such appallingly bad communicators of what they have done or plan to do, I find I need to spend the kind of time searching sources like Facebook for clear information, and not everyone has the time or interest in working so hard. I think many voters will go for the emotion - and Ryan's the only one that has any (other than Biden, who they're hiding in a cedar chest I believe.)

[Allen Young]

I agree that Democrats are appallingly bad communicators -- on many levels. I am chair of the Dem. committee in my town, and when I contacted the Warren campaign with an insightful comment and question, I received a reply that was impersonal, and in some ways insulting because it ignored my comment.