# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/41 "2012-08-11T05:11:09Z")
“Hey Girl, can we talk about something besides Medicare tonight? Like, how I can see our future babies reflected in your eyes after we make love.” -Paul Ryan Gosling ---
**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, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/42 "2012-08-11T05:17:36Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > You don’t pick Mitt Romney if you don’t want to talk about Bain Capital. And yet… And you don’t pick Obama if you don’t want to talk about Fast and Furious. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/43 "2012-08-11T05:21:32Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > And you don’t pick Obama if you don’t want to talk about Fast and Furious. [“Hey girl, sometimes when you twist the conversation back to something meant to make Obama look bad, you take my breath away.”](http://nakeddc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/rep-paul-ryans-r-wis-2012-budget-plan-is-being-called-ambitious-and-politically-perilous-for-the.jpg) -Paul Ryan Gosling ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/44 "2012-08-11T05:22:10Z")
The official announcement isn’t coming until tomorrow morning but it came out that [Paul Ryan](http://content.usatoday.com/communities/onpolitics/post/2012/08/romney-vp-saturday/1) will in fact be announced as Romney’s VP running-mate selection. Paul Ryan?! _Really?!_ I mean I know conservatives love him but this is a general election. It seems like this is the Romney campaign trying to send a strong contrasting sign between Obama and themselves with this pick. One of “leadership” and “decision making”, based on Ryan’s hugely unpopular budget, which will be trumpeted as “decisive” in the face of Obama “inaction”. IMO. Either way, people don’t vote for a VP. But still, Paul Ryan is a polarizing figure. This surprises me. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/45 "2012-08-11T05:24:14Z")
Merged another thread into this one, and expanded the thread title since the news is already out there. ---
**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, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/46 "2012-08-11T05:24:44Z")
It’s very risky, but a 49-state loss is the same as a slim loss. Ryan means win or lose, whereas maybe ROmney’s team figures a cautious pick just causes them to lose by a few points. ---
**Author:** ![ITR\_champion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c67d28/32.png) [@ITR\_champion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ITR_champion)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/47 "2012-08-11T05:48:34Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Paul Ryan?! _Really?!_ I mean I know conservatives love him but this is a general election. It seems like this is the Romney campaign trying to send a strong contrasting sign between Obama and themselves with this pick. One of “leadership” and “decision making”, based on Ryan’s hugely unpopular budget, which will be trumpeted as “decisive” in the face of Obama “inaction”. IMO. > > Either way, people don’t vote for a VP. But still, Paul Ryan is a polarizing figure. This surprises me. If the reports are true, it means that the Romney campaign is trying to play by the Karl Rove book: you win elections by pandering to the base, not by pandering to the center. ---
**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, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/48 "2012-08-11T05:53:59Z")
Well, this will excite Republican voters, no question about that. But I think the pick also excites Democratic voters. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/49 "2012-08-11T05:59:20Z")
The sky is falling…again. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/50 "2012-08-11T06:03:07Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Well, this will excite Republican voters, no question about that. But I think the pick also excites Democratic voters. Exactly. Which is why the move is puzzling. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/51 "2012-08-11T06:06:08Z")
> [@Linden\_Arden](#): > > Good. > > Ryan’s plan phases out Medicare in return for vouchers. I suspect less than 10% of voters knows this. [http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/may/24/barack-obama/barack-obamas-life-julia-says-mitt-romney-would-re/](http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/may/24/barack-obama/barack-obamas-life-julia-says-mitt-romney-would-re/) Which is mostly false-not to mention the plan was bipartisan. ---
**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, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/52 "2012-08-11T06:12:19Z")
Not to mention Ryan isn’t wedded to the plan. He actually has two: the one he passed in his budget and the one he negotiated with Ron Wyden. Presumably, given that Democratic votes would be needed to pass Medicare reform, something along the Ryan-Wyden proposal would be the end result. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/53 "2012-08-11T06:12:23Z")
Paul Ryan huh? I guess it works for the GOP. If they get smoked in November, then they have a way out of this issue. And of course if they win… ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/54 "2012-08-11T06:51:45Z")
As I sit here imagining the Veep debate between Ryan and Biden I can’t help but smile. I’m not sure who will win but I’m certain it will be pretty damned entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/55 "2012-08-11T07:29:30Z")
Romney is dead meat. Picking Palin looks smart compared to this. The reason that Obama was the first Congressman elected President since JFK is that in Congress you propose and vote for and against things that can be used against you. Ryan has proposed controversial stuff in spades. Medicare is very popular (even Bush expanded it) and being against it is not going to win any votes except for the far right. Kiss the independents goodbye. It is easy to paint Ryan as an extremist. Did Romney do this for the money or because he has totally sold out to the far right? Maybe both. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/56 "2012-08-11T07:42:04Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Romney is dead meat. He was dead meat months ago. > [@](#): > > Medicare is very popular (even Bush expanded it) and being against it is not going to win any votes except for the far right. This, however, is easy to spin: they just say that it’s a matter for the State governments, not the Federal Government, and point to what Romney did. ---
**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, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/57 "2012-08-11T07:44:43Z")
If cutting Medicare is death, then why will Obama survive the Medicare Advantage cuts due in October? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/58 "2012-08-11T07:48:29Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > If cutting Medicare is death, then why will Obama survive the Medicare Advantage cuts due in October? Probably because 75% of Medicare recipients don’t even use Medicare Advantage. Whoa. I am having the worst case of deja vu ever. Did we just have this exchange in two separate threads? I’m not even sure. I have to go to bed now. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/59 "2012-08-11T07:58:34Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > Romney is dead meat. Picking Palin looks smart compared to this. While I agree this doesn’t look like the best choice I have to say there is no way this is as bad a pick as Palin. As much as I disagree with him, Paul Ryan is undoubtedly a well spoken, bright guy. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2012, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157/60 "2012-08-11T08:02:07Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > The reason that Obama was the first Congressman elected President since JFK is that in Congress you propose and vote for and against things that can be used against you. Novel idea, but it probably has more to do with the fact that he wasn’t Bush. And he’s half Black. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/veep-announcement-romney-picks-paul-ryan/631157.md?page=4)