Romney-Ryan: Dole-Kemp Mk. II
I don’t get it. How can fiscal conservatives fall for this again?
GOP nominee hostile-to-indifferent to shrinking the size of government has trouble exciting his conservative base, parts of which remain entranced by an outsider’s message of reform and radical change. Campaign opts for halfway step of giving the veep slot to a younger darling of the conservative press corps, who gives tremendous speeches laden with all the right touches and has produced voluminous plans for some governmental reform not all of which come to pass and are nonetheless mixed with a firm belief that an activist government can be a force for good.
What am I missing? Jack Kemp was Bob Dole’s response to Steve Forbes. Ryan, Romney, Ron Paul. Then it just gets downright creepy when you notice that Ryan’s support of TARP dovetails nicely with his former boss and mentor’s relentless shilling for Fannie, Freddie, and a more permissive lending environment. And you could argue that Ryan’s resume lacks anything like a Kemp-Roth tax cut but does include a vote for Medicare Part D, making the excitement over his selection even more baffling.
But if you want completely insane, try the comparisons of Ryan to Ronald Reagan. Ryan is a policy wonk devoid of any private sector experience. Reagan’s radio and acting career was live and without a net. Hosting General Electric Theater meant touring GE plants for weeks on end, giving speeches. The small overlap is that both men are telegenic, energetic, and by almost all accounts likable in person.
If form holds the elements of Ryan that so delight fiscal conservatives – some tweaking of the entitlement time bomb – will gradually get scrubbed away by Camp Romney. All that will be left will be memories. Again.
