WaPost on Paul Ryan

Interesting story here in today's Post.

I think by now most of you realize that I'm a big Paul Ryan fan--when I think about the kind of Republican I am, the kind of Conservative I am (remember--they are different), I think about Paul Ryan. 

His roadmap for prosperity is tough medicine, and it contains some fairly aggressive ideas about getting entitlement spending under control.  These ideas make both Democrats and Republicans nervous. 

Democrats reject the ejection of the state from control of individual lives; Republicans are skittish about the sweeping scope of change suggested in Ryan's plans.

Ultimately, only sweeping change will get us headed in the right direction.  Republicans taking the House--elevating Ryan to the Chair of the Budget Committee--would be an excellent first step.

Be not afraid, Republicans. 

Klein v Ryan On The Economy

Lefty blogger Ezra Klein probes up-and-coming Republican star Rep. Paul Ryan on the economy. A good, civil exchange between two policy wonks at completely different ends of the political spectrum.

Here's the link. Go for the interview, stay for the always-entertaining comments at the end.

If the Republicans take the House in 2010, I think Paul Ryan may find himself on the top of several VP short lists in 2012.

Paul Ryan Wonders Where The Republicans Are....

Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin released a sweeping plan to reform much of the way government raises and spends money--two years ago.  It has received a great deal of notice, and it has cemented his position as the most thoughtful policy guy in the Republican caucus.  But in a speech at Brookings yesterday, Ryan wondered aloud where the other Republicans were--why had there been so little movement on his proposals?

The story (and Ryan) give us the answers.  While I really, really like Ryan's plan--it is just far too sweeping for any one Congress to pass.  He needs to do a better job of thinking through the linkages of the pieces of the plan, and then come forward with a phased approach, one that appreciates the difficulty in doing that many big things all at once.  Ryan's the real deal, and his plan is a serious one.  We all need to become more familiar with its ideas, as they will likely have a big place in the domestic policy debates in the 2012 primary.

Paul Ryan On Healthcare

Representative Ryan's got a good healthcare Op-Ed in the Post this morning. One sentence really stands out to me: "Through any analytical lens, the legislation will not address the central problem of skyrocketing health-care costs."

As I'm sure Representative Ryan knows--this has never been "the central problem" to the Democrats. The central problem to Democrats is extending healthcare to the uninsured--and therefore, the 85% who already have health insurance have NEVER been central to their schemes.

Paul Ryan on The President's Healthcare Plan

You got 6 minutes and 11 seconds? Watch this.

A Dissentiing View of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)

Ryan's voting record strikes this writer as questionable--he apparently will deviate from Conservative prevailing wisdom on occasion.

Good for him.

George Will on Paul Ryan

George Will writes approvingly of Rep. Paul Ryan's "Roadmap for America's Future", a serious set of proposals for how to get this country back on track fiscally, monetarily, and economically. I'm intrigued by a number of the proposals here, including tax simplification, a change in the way corporations are taxed, and how individuals would purchase health care.

Lots of lawyers, accountants, and community activists would be put out of work by these proposals, but lots of other jobs would get created along the way.

I'd be interested to know if CBO has scored this or any significant portions thereof....I'd be very interested on what the revenue predictions would be under this plan.

Paul Ryan's an interesting fellow--someone to watch.