Reactions to Ryan's speech by voters, other that the Liberal freak-fest that is, have been assertions that he rocked the house to statements that he has won over their support.
(Video and transcript of Ryan's speech HERE)
Paul Ryan said:
President Barack Obama, came to office during an economic crisis, as he has reminded us a time or two. Those are very tough days. And any fair measure of his record has to take that into account. My own state voted for President Obama. When he talked about change, many people liked the sound of it.
Especially in Janesville where we were about to lose a major factory. A lot of guys I went to high school with worked at that G.M. plant. Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said, “I believe that if our government is there to support you, this plant will be here for another 100 years.”
That’s what he said in 2008. Well, as it turned out, that plant didn’t last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day.....
Obama's exact quote at the Janesville plant:
This can be America’s future. I know that General Motors received some bad news yesterday, and I know how hard your Governor has fought to keep jobs in this plant. But I also know how much progress you’ve made – how many hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles you’re churning out. And I believe that if our government is there to support you, and give you the assistance you need to re-tool and make this transition, that this plant will be here for another hundred years. The question is not whether a clean energy economy is in our future, it’s where it will thrive. I want it to thrive right here in the United States of America; right here in Wisconsin; and that’s the future I’ll fight for as your President.
Does that sound like a campaign promise from Obama, who at the time was running for President and stumping at that very Janesville, WI. GM plant?
Not according to the fact checkers, but we will get to that after seeing a few facts about exactly when the Janseville plant closed.
Janesville GM plant facts:
Local news report from April 2009 which states that production continued into 2009 on trucks. (YouTube clip of that report HERE)
JS Online, 2011:
Since they were shut down in 2009, both the Janesville and Tennessee plants have been on standby status, meaning they were not producing vehicles, but they were not completely shut down.
[.....]
The Janesville plant stopped production of SUVs in 2008 and was idled in 2009 after it completed production of medium-duty trucks.
February 2009, Gazette Extra: (H/T Hot Air)
Full-size sport utility vehicle production has ended at the local General Motors plant, but medium-duty truck production is continuing—not starting—in Janesville.
And it likely will continue into May, when the lights finally go off in the facility that has been producing vehicles since 1923.
When GM officials announced last June that SUV production would cease in Janesville, they also said that medium-duty truck production would conclude by the end of 2009, or sooner if market conditions dictate.
Does that sound like the plant was completely closed or "locked up and empty" in 2008?
PolitiFact rated Ryan's claim as false with this statement:
Ryan said Obama broke his promise to keep a Wisconsin GM plant from closing. But we don't see evidence he explicitly made such a promise -- and more importantly, the Janesville plant shut down before he took office.Then you have Wapo's Glenn Kessler who gets out his crystal "balls" and decides that what Ryan actually meant was that Obama was responsible for the closing, as he states "Paul Ryan appeared to suggest that President Obama was responsible for the closing of a GM plant in Ryan’s hometown of Janesville, Wisc."
Really?
What Ryan said was that Obama did not keep his 2008 campaign promise to save the plant, not that he was responsible for the closing it, which was slated before Obama took office, which is why he campaigned at Janesville in the first place, to promise that he could save "that plant" and others like it, which he did not do.
I gather it all depends on what their definition of promise is.
Also according to the Janesville facts from the local news reports and followup the JS Online report from September 2011, the plant was not "locked up and empty" until months after Obama took office.
Liberals like Ezra Klein took the ball and ran with it and the Twitchy Team takes him to the woodshed:
That is not only really bad grammar, but it is also factually incorrect. The plant began to wind down operations in December 2008. It shut down in the spring of 2009. You may recall that the president at the time was Barack Obama, not George W. Bush.
Matthews linked to a New York Times article that flatly contradicts the claim that the plant shut down in June 2008. The article, written in October 2008, said the Janesville plant “is a shadow of its former self” but still had 1,200 employees. Yes, the plant was still operational in October 2008. Which means it hadn’t yet shut down. How, then, could the plant have closed in June 2008, as Klein’s blog stated?
Rather than correct the mistake, MSNBC’s newest “fast checker” doubled down, standing by the incorrect assertion.
But Klein insists there was no error, this time linking to a PolitiFact article to prove his point. The PolitiFact article asserts that the plant was “effectively” shut down on December 23, 2008 but acknowledges that he plant did not actually close until four months later.
More from Twitchy here.
Reason's Shikha Dalmia succinctly states the real reasons Liberals have gone nuts and attempted to change history and play fast and loose with the meaning of "promise" and "effectively" vs a true shut down where the plant is actually "locked and empty".
Paul Ryan must have hit a home run last night – otherwise liberals wouldn’t be going bonkers right now. No sooner did he move his tingle-inducing chassis off the stage than the liberal blogosphere erupted in outrage, accusing him of being a maligner and a liar.
Exactly, Ryan's speech was a home run. The crowd loved him, he often looked directly at the cameras and spoke to every individual not there but who was watching, especially conservative Democrats that have lost faith in Obama, Independents that have a choice to make by November and Moderate Republicans who are still on the fence. To top it off, he energized the Republican base.
REACTIONS
Reactions have been great so far, for example, Jennifer Morrison from Yahoo contributor network says "My favorite line was about college graduates in their 20s in their childhood bedrooms staring at faded Obama posters, wondering when their life would begin. I had my college graduate home in her childhood bedroom last year. The humor but also hopelessness of that hit home!
"For me, Ryan embodied the hopes and dreams of young parents, wondering how they will pass along to their children a better way of life."
Lyn Brooks states " I am one of the unemployed in that line. Ryan's speech reminds me that President Obama has held 106 fundraisers and played golf during the last six months without meeting with his jobs creation council. I think I am becoming tired of "standing in line."
Freddy Sherman, Independent, writes " One part of the speech that did resonate with me was when he said, "For those who feel left out or passed, over, you have not failed. Your leaders have failed you."
Josh McKinney "I may not yet be sold on Mitt Romney for president, but one thing is for sure: I am sold on Paul Ryan for vice president.
On Wednesday night at the 2012 Republican National Convention, Ryan was charming, witty, and downright truthful.
Ryan appealed to young voters--like myself--who are concerned whether they will find a job once they graduate college. He said, "College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life."
Ryan also showed a flare of coolness when talking about how Mitt Romney, 23 years his senior, has much different music on his iPod, citing that "my playlist starts with AC/DC, and ends with Zeppelin."
Finally, Paul Ryan made me breathe a little easier concerning Romney's religion. While I am no advocate of Mormonism, the fact that Romney is devoted to his church is a positive trait that he can take to the White House.
Thank you, Paul Ryan, for restoring my faith in the Republican Party."
D. Emile Delaney "I must admit Ryan grabbed my attention and simply refused to let go. I knew very little about him until tonight. I feel a little more clearly about his platform and what he feels Mitt Romney could potentially do if in office. As of this moment, the GOP has a strong lead with my vote."
William Ray Fullmer "His speech gave me hope that with Mitt Romney's business acumen and Ryan's determination for real government change, together they will provide the leadership we need to steer our economic future onto a course of prosperity."
Morris Armstrong "Ryan took the time to bring to our attention that it is good to be successful, that accomplishing good things is something Americans should be proud of and strive to accomplish. Unfortunately, it seems as if some people feel that being successful is cause for shame.
I thought Ryan was displaying his Irish sense of humor when he said, "College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life." But then I realized it has become a stark reality for many and their futures need to be addressed.
A Romney-Ryan ticket may take us to a better destination."
The fact that "Obama Camp Melts Down Over Ryan's Speech", is evidence of the effectiveness of Paul Ryan when he speaks.
(Spelling and grammatical corrections have been made- should know better than to write before my second cup of coffee!!)
