# Veep announcement \[Romney picks Paul Ryan\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [August 11, 2012, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157 "2012-08-11T03:40:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/181 "2012-08-11T23:25:20Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > This is keeping tax rates at their current levels so as not to raise taxes on job creators when unemployment is above 8%. “job creators”? And the Tooth Fairy, and the Great Pumpkin, and… ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/182 "2012-08-11T23:29:22Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Not all polls show him underwater. Yes, yes, there’s always Rasmussen to provide you guys with some scrap of comfort. If you want to call them a poll, go right ahead. > [@](#): > > And if his losing is a sure thing, then the election polls should already show that. They pretty much do. > [@](#): > > BTW, when was the last President to be reelected with approval ratings as low as Obama’s. Truman? Go look it up and tell us. Maybe Rasmussen has the data. Speaking of approval ratings, [here’s](http://www.inquisitr.com/160580/congress-less-popular-than-bp-oil-spill-lawyers-paris-hilton-chart/) where the years of teabagging, led by Ryan, have us with Congress: > [@](#): > > Do you approve of the job being done by congress? If you do, you are one of the few. Last month congress’ approval rating fell to a record low of 9 percent. In comparison, 11% of American believe that polygamy is morally acceptable. > > So just how unpopular is congress? According to a chart from Senator Michael Bennet, congress is less popular than the IRS, the airline industry, lawyers, Nixon during Watergate, BP during the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Paris Hilton, the United States becoming a Communist nation, and Hugo Chavez. Bennet said that he had a hard time trying to find someone or something less popular than congress. In 2008, only 5% of Americans viewed Fidel Castro in a positive light. Congratulations congress. You’re more popular than Castro. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/183 "2012-08-11T23:34:09Z")
Ah, I love the smell of overconfidence in the morning. Well, Romney gave Democrats exactly what they wanted. So it’s served up, let’s see if you can hit it out of the park. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/184 "2012-08-11T23:38:39Z")
Ah, I love the sound of whistling past the graveyard. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/185 "2012-08-11T23:44:02Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Ah, I love the smell of overconfidence in the morning. > > Well, Romney gave Democrats exactly what they wanted. So it’s served up, let’s see if you can hit it out of the park. Me too. 🙂 I don’t want to get into a point by point debate in this thread because I’m sure we will all do it in the days and weeks to come. Can Obama convince the swing voters that Ryan and Romney are the evil, scary guys that that posters in this thread make them out to be? Like I said. Game on. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/186 "2012-08-11T23:48:49Z")
So you’re \*not \*going to back up this “job creators” nonsense? Or this “We do TOO have a realistic plan!” nonsense? Oh well, if that’s going to come later, we’ll be looking. Do please let us know. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/187 "2012-08-11T23:51:51Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Ah, I love the smell of overconfidence in the morning. > > Well, Romney gave Democrats exactly what they wanted. So it’s served up, let’s see if you can hit it out of the park. Well, the folks at Fark are having lots of fun with the **R** olls **R** oyce Ticket: > **[Okay, it's "official" now. Romney/Ryan. Let the games begin](https://www.fark.com/comments/7263149/Okay-its-official-now-RomneyRyan-Let-games-begin?cpp=1)** > > Okay, it's "official" now. Romney/Ryan. Let the games begin I specially like the “=” graphics, this one is one of my favorites: [![](https://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff315/uberdweeb/w.jpg) ](https://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff315/uberdweeb/w.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/188 "2012-08-11T23:53:08Z")
[Looks like Ryan won’t be tolerating questions from the public.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=GBhdXfCdaA8) Pretty pathetic little bitch- he couldn’t tell security to take it easy on the old guy? ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/189 "2012-08-11T23:57:35Z")
Uh, that’s not taking a question, that’s being interrupted by a heckler. I guarantee Ryan will be answering more questions from the media and in town halls than Obama will. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/190 "2012-08-12T00:04:01Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I guarantee Ryan will be answering more questions from the media and in town halls than Obama will. That’s comforting, because your guarantees are so meaningful to me. Also your ability to measure “more” and “less.” ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/191 "2012-08-12T00:05:08Z")
Don’t voters generally go with their gut? We already have the impression that Romney is a secluded rich guy who doesn’t stand for anything, now we have a smarmy rich kid who wants to cut your parents’ Medicare and has a tax plan too complicated for most of the electorate. No matter what the GOP want people to think about the Ryan tax plan, most people are going to be scared of it and scared of him. I’m not saying its ideal, but Dems don’t even have to show people what’s in the Ryan tax plan if they can just get people scared of it. If they do that, they win easy ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/192 "2012-08-12T00:12:43Z")
Quite true. But Ryan can explain his plans and now he’ll have a bigger stage to do it on. It would be hard to imagine that the Romney campaign didn’t focus group this to death. They probably found that when Ryan is able to be heard, he’s convincing. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/193 "2012-08-12T00:18:23Z")
Oddly enough, he has quite a decent stance relative to the rights of gay Americans. Or at least he did yesterday, we’ll have to see tomorrow. Also, less attractively, a huge fan of St. Ayn of Leningrad. Until he found out she was an atheist, apparently. Clever little vixen, keeping that hid… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 12:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/194 "2012-08-12T00:34:31Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Quite true. But Ryan can explain his plans and now he’ll have a bigger stage to do it on… Bigger than what, the USA? Anyone who has as much political awareness as a dish of cottage cheese knows about the Ryan budget, which many Republicans see as full of bold and innovative ideas they wish to God he’d shut up about. > [@](#): > > …It would be hard to imagine that the Romney campaign didn’t focus group this to death… Well, Bill Kristol loveslovesloves it. Remind me, when was the last time he was right about something? > [@](#): > > …They probably found that when Ryan is able to be heard, he’s convincing. “Able to be heard”? Smuggling in a bit of innuendo, are we, **Addy**? Stifled by the liberal media, was he? Or was he hounded by Obamist operatives at various venues? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/195 "2012-08-12T00:37:47Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > It would be hard to imagine that the Romney campaign didn’t focus group this to death. I’m sure they did, with severely conservative focus groups. Moderates and independents can’t be trusted. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/196 "2012-08-12T00:41:57Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > The problem with that is that it fundamentally transforms Social Security to a welfare program, unless you also remove the cap on benefits. If everyone making past the cap is paying in a lot more than they get out, there goes the nearly universal support Social Security enjoys. > > Why not just take the simpler approach and means test? You get the same result. You have pretty much everything in this post entirely backwards. A universal retirement program that’s rather more redistributive than the one we’ve got isn’t a transformation of it into a welfare program. A program which isn’t universal, but only pays benefits to the non-wealthy would be a welfare program. Removing the payroll tax cap is incredibly simple. Introducing a means test would be more complex. And there’s no way that the two could give the same result. The wealthy make a highly disproportionate share of income. They don’t get nearly as disproportionate a share of Social Security benefits. You’d have to cut off benefits well down into what most people consider the middle class to get anywhere near the same results. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/197 "2012-08-12T00:46:54Z")
Many of my most respected sources had been suggesting that the Troglodyte Right has been screaming for Ryan for some time. Romney can almost win by keeping his deranged base in line, but not quite. When he was fairly secure about that, place holders like Portman made sense. Nobody hates the guy they’ve never heard of. But without that base he doesn’t even get close, so the Romnistas are hoping somehow to cement the extreme right and get 'em all fired up and still appeal to the rest of us, at the same time. But who throws a Hail Mary pass when they’re ahead? ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/198 "2012-08-12T00:56:57Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Quite true. But Ryan can explain his plans and now he’ll have a bigger stage to do it on. [One aspect of his plans](http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2012/08/mitt-romney-would-pay-082-percent-in-taxes-under-paul-ryans-plan/261027/#) would have had Romney pay only 0.82% in taxes in 2010, by simply eliminating all taxes on capital gains, interest and dividends. And > [@](#): > > Ryan would actually raise taxes on the bottom 30 percent of earners, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, but that hardly fills the revenue hole he would create. The solution? All but eliminate all government outside of Social Security and defense Sound like a winner to you? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/199 "2012-08-12T01:15:26Z")
So Romney picks Ryan. What profiteth a man to (maybe) win Wisconsin but to lose Florida? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/200 "2012-08-12T01:16:42Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > So Romney picks Ryan. What profiteth a man to (maybe) win Wisconsin but to lose Florida? It profiteth him -19 electoral votes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157.md?page=11)