Paul Ryan, the Republican that Wants to Bring Down Obama the European
The American dream or the European nightmare: This is what's at stake in the American presidential election according to Paul Ryan, who will become vice president if Barack Obama is defeated. This “40-something” straightforwardly promises to do away with the "socialism," "despotism" and "sclerosis" imported from Europe.
For once, Mitt Romney might not have said something stupid: Paul Ryan is an "intellectual leader," he enthusiastically proclaimed on Saturday while announcing his vice presidential candidate for the November election. At 42, this Wisconsin House representative is the star of the "young guns," these "young wolves" upsetting a Republican party that they consider too moderate.
Abortion? The right to bear arms? The possible wars against Syria or Iran? Societal and foreign policy issues are not what Paul Ryan is known for. His specialty is budget policy. Even Barack Obama acknowledges his expertise in this field, as reminds a recent portrait by The New Yorker.
The Reassured American Right
It's on these points rather than personal attacks that Paul Ryan intends to take on the Democratic president. He dreams of a "conservative revolution," like those in the beginning of the ‘80s under Ronald Reagan and in the middle of the ‘90s when Republicans had control of the House of Representatives.
Back home, we would undoubtedly talk about a reassured right. ... This debate is not new. Is the state needed more or less to spur on the economy, straighten out the budget and provide health insurance and a retirement pension?
For Paul Ryan, the answer is obviously "less." What's new here is the shock argument that responding "more" wouldn't only be an economic error; it would be anti-American. In one word, it would be "European."
Europe is "socialism"
Europe is "socialism," explains Paul Ryan in his 2010 "A Roadmap for America’s Future," a budget plan proposed as an alternative to the one proposed by Barack Obama.
“If the government continues following the ‘progressive’ ideology now prevailing in Washington, America will increasingly resemble a European welfare-state — a society in which the majority of the people pay little or no taxes but grow dependent on government benefits; where tax reduction is impossible because more people have a stake in the welfare state than in free enterprise; where permanent unemployment is a way of life; and where the spirit of risk-taking is smothered by a thick web of regulations and mandates from an all providing centralized government. ...
“With the demise of the Soviet Marxist experiment 20 years ago, the appeal has shifted to European-style socialism, with its redistribution of resources. But no collectivist approach has ever come close, over the long run, to matching free-market democracy’s ability to produce and create widespread prosperity. …”
Europe is "mediocrity"
Europe is also "mediocrity." Again, in 2010, Paul Ryan explained in a speech on "Obamacare," Barack Obama's health care reform proposal:
“This presumptuous reform has put this nation ... once dedicated to the life and freedom of every person ... on a long decline toward the same mediocrity that the social welfare states of Europe have become. […]
“Should America bid farewell to exceptional freedom and follow the retreat to European social welfare paternalism ... or should we make a new start, in the faith that boundless opportunities belong to the workers, the builders, the industrious, and the free?”
Europe is furthermore "despotism." What’s more, Paul Ryan was not the first to point this out, but rather a European — and worse, a Frenchman. As you might expect, this young Republican ideologist has indeed read Alexis de Tocqueville’s "Democracy in America."
Europe is furthermore "despotism"
As early as the 19th century, people knew the score regarding "Obamacare" and the state’s impulses to intervene in the lives of its citizens. In any case, this is what Paul Ryan explained in a 2009 article on "Health Care Reform and the American Character," published in the conservative magazine The American Spectator:
“Tocqueville's chief worry was something he described as a new kind of despotism. In generations to come, many citizens in democratic nations might be tempted to trade their liberty, which demands risk-taking, hard work and self-restraint, for the easy security and benefits a "soft despotism" would bring. ...
“I do not believe our citizens want to trade the American character for socialist materialism supplied by European-style health bureaucrats. Yet, this is really what the debate is about.”
Europe is “sclerosis”
Since it's Europe, it's also "sclerosis." Paul Ryan explained last July, this time in an article published in the Financial Times:
“In November Americans will choose between two visions of our future. If we make the right choice, it is not too late to chart a course to renewed prosperity. If we make the wrong choice, the U.S. will succumb to European sclerosis, with painful consequences for the free world.”
The "right choice" in November will therefore be to vote for the ticket composed of Mitt Romney, the mega-rich candidate with fuzzy ideology, and Paul Ryan, the brains of the team.
Until then, the Republican campaign communications team will have to distract away from the young vice presidential candidate’s contradictions. As The New Yorker points out, to spur his local economy, Paul Ryan is not the last to seek state subsidies and public aid — like a European.
For once, Mitt Romney might not have said something stupid: Paul Ryan is an "intellectual leader," he enthusiastically proclaimed on Saturday while announcing his vice presidential candidate for the November election. At 42, this Wisconsin House representative is the star of the "young guns," these "young wolves" upsetting a Republican party that they consider too moderate.
Abortion? The right to bear arms? The possible wars against Syria or Iran? Societal and foreign policy issues are not what Paul Ryan is known for. His specialty is budget policy. Even Barack Obama acknowledges his expertise in this field, as reminds a recent portrait by The New Yorker.
The Reassured American Right
It's on these points rather than personal attacks that Paul Ryan intends to take on the Democratic president. He dreams of a "conservative revolution," like those in the beginning of the ‘80s under Ronald Reagan and in the middle of the ‘90s when Republicans had control of the House of Representatives.
Back home, we would undoubtedly talk about a reassured right. ... This debate is not new. Is the state needed more or less to spur on the economy, straighten out the budget and provide health insurance and a retirement pension?
For Paul Ryan, the answer is obviously "less." What's new here is the shock argument that responding "more" wouldn't only be an economic error; it would be anti-American. In one word, it would be "European."
Europe is "socialism"
Europe is "socialism," explains Paul Ryan in his 2010 "A Roadmap for America’s Future," a budget plan proposed as an alternative to the one proposed by Barack Obama.
“If the government continues following the ‘progressive’ ideology now prevailing in Washington, America will increasingly resemble a European welfare-state — a society in which the majority of the people pay little or no taxes but grow dependent on government benefits; where tax reduction is impossible because more people have a stake in the welfare state than in free enterprise; where permanent unemployment is a way of life; and where the spirit of risk-taking is smothered by a thick web of regulations and mandates from an all providing centralized government. ...
“With the demise of the Soviet Marxist experiment 20 years ago, the appeal has shifted to European-style socialism, with its redistribution of resources. But no collectivist approach has ever come close, over the long run, to matching free-market democracy’s ability to produce and create widespread prosperity. …”
Europe is "mediocrity"
Europe is also "mediocrity." Again, in 2010, Paul Ryan explained in a speech on "Obamacare," Barack Obama's health care reform proposal:
“This presumptuous reform has put this nation ... once dedicated to the life and freedom of every person ... on a long decline toward the same mediocrity that the social welfare states of Europe have become. […]
“Should America bid farewell to exceptional freedom and follow the retreat to European social welfare paternalism ... or should we make a new start, in the faith that boundless opportunities belong to the workers, the builders, the industrious, and the free?”
Europe is furthermore "despotism." What’s more, Paul Ryan was not the first to point this out, but rather a European — and worse, a Frenchman. As you might expect, this young Republican ideologist has indeed read Alexis de Tocqueville’s "Democracy in America."
Europe is furthermore "despotism"
As early as the 19th century, people knew the score regarding "Obamacare" and the state’s impulses to intervene in the lives of its citizens. In any case, this is what Paul Ryan explained in a 2009 article on "Health Care Reform and the American Character," published in the conservative magazine The American Spectator:
“Tocqueville's chief worry was something he described as a new kind of despotism. In generations to come, many citizens in democratic nations might be tempted to trade their liberty, which demands risk-taking, hard work and self-restraint, for the easy security and benefits a "soft despotism" would bring. ...
“I do not believe our citizens want to trade the American character for socialist materialism supplied by European-style health bureaucrats. Yet, this is really what the debate is about.”
Europe is “sclerosis”
Since it's Europe, it's also "sclerosis." Paul Ryan explained last July, this time in an article published in the Financial Times:
“In November Americans will choose between two visions of our future. If we make the right choice, it is not too late to chart a course to renewed prosperity. If we make the wrong choice, the U.S. will succumb to European sclerosis, with painful consequences for the free world.”
The "right choice" in November will therefore be to vote for the ticket composed of Mitt Romney, the mega-rich candidate with fuzzy ideology, and Paul Ryan, the brains of the team.
Until then, the Republican campaign communications team will have to distract away from the young vice presidential candidate’s contradictions. As The New Yorker points out, to spur his local economy, Paul Ryan is not the last to seek state subsidies and public aid — like a European.
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