Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Paul Ryan Shines

He's like a newly polished penny!
Ryan's leading role in the budget debate puts him at the center of two huge challenges facing his party in the Age of Obama.

One is the effort to craft a persuasive economic message around lower taxes and less spending after the GOP squandered its claim in recent years to fiscal conservatism.

To that task, Ryan brings an admittedly geeky head for numbers and detail. He also brings a deep philosophical attachment to market capitalism and "supply-side" economics - a world view shaped by such icons of individualism and free enterprise as Ayn Rand, Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek.

"The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand," Ryan said at a D.C. gathering four years ago honoring the author of "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead."

The combination of the two - policy wonk and true believer - has helped make Ryan a favorite of influential conservative insiders and a go-to guest for friendly cable hosts such as Fox's Sean Hannity, MSNBC's Joe Scarborough and CNBC's Larry Kudlow.

"Don't you think that Paul Ryan should run the Republican Party?" Scarborough asked after interviewing Ryan last month on his show, "Morning Joe."

"He's young . . .  he's intelligent. He's Irish," Scarborough said. "I'm serious, though. There have been no inspiring leaders.  . . .  He's got a plan. He doesn't just say no."
Seriously, if you've ever seen Paul Ryan speak - and with a baby in his arms at the same time - he's worth your attention span. The man is sharp. Beloved in blue-collar Janesville, he's a difficult force to stop...and possibly our future as Republicans. Strike that, hopefully the future.

2 comments:

grumps said...

Ryan marched in lockstep with the excessses of the Bush administration. His last budget "proposal" couldn't even compel his own party to support it. He has a fascination with the shiny ring that is "supply side eceonomics," a policy that even Bush I called voodoo economics and a high-schoolers passion for the simplicities of Randian dystopia.

You guys can have him.

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