On Aug. 11, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney announced that Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan is his running mate, which was met with skepticism or pride, depending on who you asked.
The Obama campaign talked about how much they loved the choice, as did conservative Republicans. However, I believe that everyone will benefit from Romney’s vice-presidential pick.
Ryan is a conservative congressional veteran who is loved by his constituents. He has a very long record as a House member, having even written “The Path to Prosperity” Republican Party budget proposals, which would cut back government spending to levels last seen in George Bush’s second term and fix entitlement programs so they may be there for future generations of retirees.
The reason that Ryan’s addition to the ticket is good for everyone is that he brings the political discussion back to actual issues. For the last year the campaigns have mostly been about personal attacks and dirty politics, such as some conservatives questioning President Obama’s citizenship.
On the other side, liberals were attacking Romney in a bunch of ridiculous ways. People were complaining about how many tax returns he should release, he was attacked on multiple occasions simply for having wealth, and according to two separate articles from CBS News Romney was basically even called a murderer and a felon.
His budget brings up a legitimate argument about the size of government, and his plan for entitlements gets the people talking about how America will solve the problems in those areas. The national debt is the largest as a percentage of gross domestic product since 1947, we have the fifth largest deficit as a percentage of GDP since 1946, according to www.usgovernmentdebt.us, and entitlements are in deep trouble. Entitlements are called the “third rail” of politics because if you try to touch it you will get shocked. So no matter what side you are on, or who you agree with, these should be pressing issues. But since this is politics, the pressing issues are the ones that nobody wants to talk about.
People feel strongly about these issues because everyone has a vested interest in how they are resolved. College students care about secondary education costs, parents care about K-12 education and lower income people care about programs for themselves, but everybody cares about this debate. That is why instead of ignoring these issues and pretending they don’t exist, these are things that should be front and center in this year’s election. It is very tempting to try and duck the issue to get elected, or to avoid an unpleasant national conversation, but if nothing is done than we are all in big trouble going forward.
Solutions to the problems facing our nation need to be found, which is why Ryan was a good pick for those of any party affiliation. His selection has begun to drag this election cycle toward the shallow end of the pool and bring the national focus back to where it needs to be.
