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| GOP presidential ticket Romney/Ryan 2012 |
By now the news is flying around the Internet at the speed of light that Mitt Romney's choice of a running mate is Paul Ryan. Below is a video of Ryan after Mitt introduced him.
Video and Transcript: See Paul Ryan's first speech as Republican VP nominee
Andrew Malcolm gives an in depth look into Ryan's education, work, family expertise and the pros and cons of picking him.
Who: Paul Davis Ryan was born Jan. 29, 1970, in Janesville, Wis., the youngest son of a Republican attorney. Childhood nickname: P.D.
Education: Joseph Craig High School, Miami University (Ohio), BA Economics and Political Science.
Religion: He is a Roman Catholic, a member of Janesville's St. John Vianney parish.
Work: Marketing consultant for family business; summer driver Oscar Meyer Weinermobile; aide to Sen. Robert Kasten; staff assistant Empower America; speechwriter for Jack Kemp's vice presidential campaign 1996; elected to the House of Representatives for Wisconsin's First Congressional District (southeastern corner of the state) in 1998 at age 28, two years younger than Joe Biden when he entered Congress; elected seven times, most recently in 2010 with 68% of the vote.
Family: During his first term in Congress, Ryan met Janna Little, a tax attorney from Oklahoma working in Washington. He proposed in 2000 after luring her to a favorite fishing spot in northern Wisconsin. They have three children: Liza, Charlie and Sam.
Expertise: The budget. Since 2007, when he was jumped over several more senior Republicans, Ryan's been the GOP's ranking member on the House Budget Committee and chairman beginning in 2011.
"We lost our brand as the party of fiscal responsibility, and we've got to get it back," said Ryan, a close ally of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor. "It's important that we give voters a very clear choice on fiscal policy." Last year Republicans chose him to give the well-received party response to Obama's State of the Union address.
Read the rest over at Investors Business Daily.
For a Republican be elected and reelected seven times, in Wisconsin, the most recent time with 68 percent of the vote, says quite a bit, in and of itself.
Where as Romney has the executive business experience, Ryan brings over a decade of political acumen to the table and has proven he is willing to take on the difficult, hot button issues. Not only is he willing to take them on, he has been known to join rowdy townhalls to explain his proposals.
One of my favorite quotes from Ryan came after a particularly contentious townhall meeting after spending a week and a half conducting 19 townhall meetings to explain his deficit reduction plan after Democrats had attempted to paint his plan as "killing Medicare" because his plan addressed the fact that as it stands it is unsustainable and won't be around in the future if left as is, totally encapsulates who Paul Ryan is.
"The easiest thing for me to do would be to do nothing and just complain. It's time to start rewarding politicians with ideas to solve the country's biggest problems."--- Paul Ryan, April 2011, Kenosha, Wisconsin
On a side note- I cannot wait to see the vice presidential debate between Paul Ryan and Joe Biden on October 11, 2012.