It’s Ryan!

Mittens announced his Vice Presidential running mate this morning in case you live in a cave.  I came across a really crucial article on Ryan from the New Yorker last week.  It was a very prophetic profile of the young congressman as it went to great lengths to describe just how influential his economic policies have been on both the GOP and Romney himself.

Unlike your average Republican policy guy, Ryan is not content to simply hurl grenades at Obama and sit back.  When Ryan makes a criticism, he also includes an alternative proposal…

As much as he relished the battle against Obama—“European,” he repeated, with some gusto—his real fight was for the ideological identity of the Republican Party, and with colleagues who were content to simply criticize the White House. “If you’re going to criticize, then you should propose,” he told me. A fault line divided the older and more cautious Republican leaders from the younger, more ideological members. Ryan was, and remains, the leader of the attack-and-propose faction.

“I think you’re obligated to do that,” he said. “People like me who are reform-minded ignore the people who say, ‘Just criticize and don’t do anything and let’s win by default.’ That’s ridiculous.” He said he was “moving ahead without them. They don’t want to produce alternatives? That’s not going to stop me from producing an alternative.”

To learn more about the man who will undoubtedly be playing a large role in the Romney campaign this fall, click over.  On a personal note, it’s interesting to see the GOP go with intelligence over “star power” this time around. I have no strong opinion or “smart take” about what this does or doesn’t do for the campaign.  I prefer to watch whether or not the polls move among independents rather than run my mouth.  I will say that Rubio or Christie might have been more fun, while Portman and Jindal might have been safer – but Ryan gives Mitt the gravitas where he really needs it: the economy.  Even if you disagree with Ryan’s Ayn Rand-worshiping and objectivist beliefs, you have to admit that at least this is an issue he’s focused on.

Source:

Fussbudget (New Yorker)

Full Disclosure: I have already made clear my intention to vote for Romney months ago as he is what I consider to be the pragmatist in the race.  I might have preferred to I don’t agree with all of Ryan’s economic prescriptions, especially as I consider the worsening employment conditions in Europe as a result of brutal austerity.