Poll: Will Paul Ryan help or hurt Mitt Romney?

[Geosurface]

cybrsage would you agree that when a white guy compares Bush to a chimp he's probably not saying he thinks all white people (of which he is one...) are stupid, no better than animals, and undeserving of rights?

I think that's a fairly safe assumption.

Whereas if a white guy compares blacks to chimps or apes, in 2012 it may not be anywhere near assured that he is making such implications... but it is certainly more possible than in the white/white situation. It also evokes a long history of when that was DEFINITELY what white people making those comparisons were doing.

Even today, some, maybe even most, of whites who would make that comparison are at the very least, trying to evoke that...

 

[Moonbeam]

This is why it is obvious you are still stumbling in your self created darkness, thinking it is light. It is either wrong to compare all races to animals or ok to compare all races to animals. Saying it is worse to compare one race to animals than it is another race shows racism on your part.

Racism loves to ensure it stays around by treating people differently due to their race. In order to move past racism, you have to start treating people the same based on their actions and not the color of their skin.

Exactly the facade I implied you could be using to throw a racial insult. When what you say becomes a reality we can use the N word freely. You shouldn't be arguing with me about anything because I see the light, but still you find a need to defend your own darkness by implying that's my condition.

When you can begin to practice what you preach you will act as I do. If you even think of racism you're a racist. This phony shit about me reversing racism is proof you don't actualize your words.

 

[cybrsage]

cybrsage would you agree that when a white guy compares Bush to a chimp he's probably not saying he thinks all white people (of which he is one...) are stupid, no better than animals, and undeserving of rights?

I think that's a fairly safe assumption.

Whereas if a white guy compares blacks to chimps or apes, in 2012 it may not be anywhere near assured that he is making such implications... but it is certainly more possible than in the white/white situation. It also evokes a long history of when that was DEFINITELY what white people making those comparisons were doing.

Even today, some, maybe even most, of whites who would make that comparison are at the very least, trying to evoke that...

Hmmm....to be honest, I do not know. When I compare Michelle to a wookie, I am not saying all blacks look like wookies, just Michelle. Why, because, well...easier to show with a picture:

I would do all of them, at the same time (if I did not hold the sexual morality position I do). I would then brag about it afterwards and everyone would be jealous. I would make a mint selling the video...not because I am in it (who looks at the guy in pron, anyway)...

As for others, I do not know. I really have a hard time understanding what goes through the mind of a racist. Racism actually makes no sense to me at all. I can understand culturalists (a word I just made up to describe someone who thinks some cultures are horrific and others are great), but not racists. They befuddle me, to be blunt.

Obama does not look like a chimp, so the comparison is stupid. He looks more like Dumbo, with those ears of his.

But to answer your question, from my point of view if a black guy looks like a chimp then showing him with a picture of a chimp is not different than doing it with Bush.

 

[cybrsage]

Exactly the facade I implied you could be using to throw a racial insult. When what you say becomes a reality we can use the N word freely. You shouldn't be arguing with me about anything because I see the light, but still you find a need to defend your own darkness by implying that's my condition.

Still projecting your condition onto others. You are still very lost in your darkness.

When you can begin to practice what you preach you will act as I do. If you even think of racism you're a racist. This phony shit about me reversing racism is proof you don't actualize your words.

Now I am getting a bit sad for you. You are deeper in the darkness than I realized.

 

[Moonbeam]

Still projecting your condition onto others. You are still very lost in your darkness.



Now I am getting a bit sad for you. You are deeper in the darkness than I realized.

I had to try to be deeper into something since you had stupidity sown up.

 

[techs]

Yes, they are uber hot. However, they all seem to have the features of caucasians. Except for thier skin color the could be the Mormon Tabarnacle Choir.

 

[fantolay]

Obama does look like dumbo too.

But to be honest, he comes off as more of a chimp to me.

 

[Lemon law]

Maybe now the questions are reversed, in 2008 McCain waited until the Republican National convention before announcing his pick of Palin. And Obama did much the same in picking Biden.

And now Romney announces his 2012 VP pick some week before the 2012 Republican National convention. Leaving Obama free to pull the surprise of perhaps picking a VP other than Biden.

I have nothing against Biden and have enormous respect for him. But he is too much like Newt Gingrich. As both are well springs of new ideas that rarely pan out politically. As both hatch new ideas and discard they old idea dated a few weeks earlier. Making Biden an excellent Obama advisor but not a good Obama spokesman which is the tradional role of a VP.

If Obama picks someone else than Biden for VP, its easy to spin that as something Biden wanted, but it would give Obama carte blance to appeal one or more demographic as such a pick might peel off voters from various groups who might have been leaning towards voting GOP.

Who knows.

 

[Anarchist420]

Ryan is a good pick for a few reasons. He ensures the libertarians will vote for him - as it is a great many of them were going to vote third party. Now they can see this as a way of getting a third party candidate into the White House...and it sets Ryan up for a Pres run in a few years if they win this election.

Ryan also shores up the standard republican base. Many republicans have not been happy with Romney, though they are rightfully happier with Romney than Obama. This gives them a reason to vote for Romney, instead of just against Obama.

Ryan also gives the returner loonies something else to rage in impotence against. They already hate Ryan because he has been a thorn in the side of dems, so not instead of raging in impotence against something as stoopid as demanding tax returns, they can rage in impotence against Ryan - something they have practice at.

Ryan is also smart...and this is where he diverges from Palin. Palin energized the base, etc., but she turned out to not be smart enough to stand the attacks against women in general the media and dems hit her with. Ryan will destroy Biden in a debate, if the dems are foolish enough to pit the two against each other.

libertarians will not be voting for ryan because he's a sheep in wolves clothing and he's a fiscal liberal.

 

[Balt]

Maybe now the questions are reversed, in 2008 McCain waited until the Republican National convention before announcing his pick of Palin. And Obama did much the same in picking Biden.

And now Romney announces his 2012 VP pick some week before the 2012 Republican National convention. Leaving Obama free to pull the surprise of perhaps picking a VP other than Biden.

I have nothing against Biden and have enormous respect for him. But he is too much like Newt Gingrich. As both are well springs of new ideas that rarely pan out politically. As both hatch new ideas and discard they old idea dated a few weeks earlier. Making Biden an excellent Obama advisor but not a good Obama spokesman which is the tradional role of a VP.

If Obama picks someone else than Biden for VP, its easy to spin that as something Biden wanted, but it would give Obama carte blance to appeal one or more demographic as such a pick might peel off voters from various groups who might have been leaning towards voting GOP.

Who knows.

The 'replace Biden' speculation has been going on for quite a while, but there are no real hints that it will actually happen. That would make it one of the best-kept secrets in politics if it were to occur.

It would certainly create some excitement (at least among Dems and some independents) and headlines if he announced that Hillary Clinton was going to be his VP for 2012, though. If that doesn't happen, I would expect her to resign some time after his re-election (assuming he does get re-elected). Constantly traveling around the world really seems to have taken its toll on her.

 

[Jaskalas]

Think of it this way... Romney will come out with a budget plan like Ryan had. Then the Democrats will block it in the Senate, as no one ever has 60 votes there. Then he'll compromise to pass the original Neocon big-gov plan that kicks the can down the road. Democrats will eat it up.

Conservatives will be screwed by a Romney administration, no matter who the VP is.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I think (and hope) that it will hurt. If there is any doubt that the GOP ticket is against the middle class, the poor, the elderly, women, Christians, etc., the pick of Ryan as his running mate should dispel anything remaining of that. The GOP will either eat itself alive, or do the same to the rest of the country if they get elected. Its our choice now.

Picking Ryan doesn't make any sense to me at all unless Romney and the Republicans have decided that they don't want to have any chance of winning at all this year. They picked an extremist that the general populace is going to associate with support for the top 1%!

What he needed to do was to pick a likeable person that the general public might better associate with. The New Jersey governor seems like a pretty down-to-earth, likeable guy. Maybe part of the problem was that no one wanted to be his running mate.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

I think Ryan is a terrible politician and an ideologue.

He actually makes his staff read Ayn Rand. Think about that.

It's good reading for anyone who's interested in politics and ideas, even for liberals and socialists. Just because you read it and even like it doesn't necessarily mean that you agree with all of it. It might be possible to take part of the ethical foundation--rational selfishness--and then argue that at mixed economy is actually in people's rational selfish interest.

 

[WhipperSnapper]

Ryan is better than the average Ayn Rand follower. He's a religious Ayn Rand follower.

Talk about cognitive dissonance.

...which means that serious fans (staunch atheists) of Ayn Rands work would regard him as a complete retard.

 

[sportage]

Knee Jerk looking at Ryan, first impression, what do you think? Knee jerk reaction???
In my opinion, not good.
Might help Mitt with tea party Texan's but thats about it.
Actually, Ryan looks like the son of Richard Nixon, if Nixon had had a son.

Lets put it this way.... can you look at this guys picture (Ryan) and actually imagine him suddenly as president of the US?
Me donut think sue.

HEHE... Mitt and Ryan standing together look like some hit squad from a bill collecting agency. And you fell behind on your payments.
Naw... nada goin to buy this bucket of worms.....
Im sorry... but watching the media "try" to cook up excited over this Whoe-humm is making me ... (yawnnnnnnn) sleepy.

 

[Fern]

A little from Column A, a little from Column B. Ryan will help bolster his conservative credentials, but obviously Ryan brings his own baggage. One thing is certain: if this campaign had been going Romney's way, he would have picked someone safer, like Portman or Pawlenty.

^^This^^

Fern

 

[Fern]

Overall I can't see how this pick helps Romney. He brings a lot of issues Democrats want to campaign against front and center. They are going to have even more solid messaging attacking Ryan and his budget proposals. I really have a hard time believing this was Romney's first choice, and whoever that was didn't want to board a sinking ship and risk getting marginalized before a 2016 run.

And I suspect that was one reason why Ryan was picked: Turn the campaign discussion to budgeting/spending and the economy.

Fern

 

[Rainsford]

I initially thought Ryan was a bad pick because he'll drive away some moderates and liberals Romney might have been able to get. Romney is relatively moderate and quite a few people aren't totally thrilled with Obama. Taking a pretty far right guy like Ryan makes it much harder for Romney to do something like that.

But after thinking about it, I'm not so sure that was ever in the cards for Romney. Even if he personally could appeal to center and center-left folks, the Republicans as a whole gave up the ability to do that with their policies since Obama was elected (the 2010 elections are a great example). Romney isn't just running as Romney, he's Romney the Republican, and I suspect some people who would otherwise be on the fence would have had a hard time getting past that.

And on the other side, Ryan can help energize the "libertarians" on the right who were unsure about the idea of a reasonable Romney. Considering the number of good Republicans who have been targeted by their own party specifically for even being willing to work with the Democrats, I'm not sure Romney is their preferred candidate. They might hate President Obama with the fury of a thousand suns, but that might not be enough when your candidate isn't what you want either (John Kerry can tell you something about that, I'm sure).

Ultimately I think the choice of Ryan is pandering to the Republican base, just like Palin was for McCain (and for basically the same reason). And just like with Palin, I think people are mistakenly thinking it was a bad choice. Sure, I think Ryan is an extremist and Palin is a complete idiot, but the association of those traits with the Republicans in general is part of the reason I wasn't going to vote for McCain or Romney in the first place. I'm sure I'm farther to the left than average, but I wonder how much "center" exists that would be affected by those two choices?

 

[cybrsage]

Yes, they are uber hot. However, they all seem to have the features of caucasians. Except for thier skin color the could be the Mormon Tabarnacle Choir.

Yeah, they could all pass as white chicks...durr....

Lets see, upon further reflection, they DO have the features of caucasians. They have two eyes, a nose, a mouse, two hands, two legs...

 

[her209]

Ryan's Medicare plan dominates Sunday talk shows
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...unday-shows-axelrod-gillespie-/1#.UCfPFqDSdvI

 

[IGBT]

biden has been suspiciously absent the last few weeks. Bet biden has been finally put out to pasture because he is almost as much of an embarrassment as the obama.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

biden has been suspiciously absent the last few weeks. Bet biden has been finally put out to pasture because he is almost as much of an embarrassment as the obama.

And this screed is relevant to the topic at hand because . . . ?

 

[techs]

It's less than 90 days until the election and we STILL don't know Romneys fiscal plan.

Obviously Romney didn't want to put forward a plan and just wanted to run against Obama.

With that failing he is desperate and decided to roll the dice on Ryans plan.

I think Rupert Murdoch had a lot to do with it. Without Murdochs support Romney was finished. And Murdoch is thinking of the party as a whole and wants to keep the Republican extremist plan in place for future elections.

 

[xj0hnx]

Ryan comes off as elitist and out of touch.

Because Obama really feels the middle classes pain lol

 

[micrometers]

I initially thought Ryan was a bad pick because he'll drive away some moderates and liberals Romney might have been able to get. Romney is relatively moderate and quite a few people aren't totally thrilled with Obama. Taking a pretty far right guy like Ryan makes it much harder for Romney to do something like that.

But after thinking about it, I'm not so sure that was ever in the cards for Romney. Even if he personally could appeal to center and center-left folks, the Republicans as a whole gave up the ability to do that with their policies since Obama was elected (the 2010 elections are a great example). Romney isn't just running as Romney, he's Romney the Republican, and I suspect some people who would otherwise be on the fence would have had a hard time getting past that.

And on the other side, Ryan can help energize the "libertarians" on the right who were unsure about the idea of a reasonable Romney. Considering the number of good Republicans who have been targeted by their own party specifically for even being willing to work with the Democrats, I'm not sure Romney is their preferred candidate. They might hate President Obama with the fury of a thousand suns, but that might not be enough when your candidate isn't what you want either (John Kerry can tell you something about that, I'm sure).

Ultimately I think the choice of Ryan is pandering to the Republican base, just like Palin was for McCain (and for basically the same reason). And just like with Palin, I think people are mistakenly thinking it was a bad choice. Sure, I think Ryan is an extremist and Palin is a complete idiot, but the association of those traits with the Republicans in general is part of the reason I wasn't going to vote for McCain or Romney in the first place. I'm sure I'm farther to the left than average, but I wonder how much "center" exists that would be affected by those two choices?

Remember that Palin lost. Given, McCain didn't have the best position before her pick, but she definitely lost him the endorsement of Colin Powell among others.

Ryan has a plan for deeply cutting Medicare. Since the Republicans are so old, this is hardly pandering.

I'd describe pandering as picking like Mike Huckabee or someone where you emphasize the "guy next door" aspects.