I am not a fan of the Romney-Ryan ticket. I think if Gov. Romney and Rep. Paul Ryan were elected, they would take America back to the Dark Ages. I shiver when I think about what would happen to appointments in the judicial system and especially the Supreme Court. I fear the areas of government the duo of Romney-Ryan would cut would end our competitiveness as a country.
My viewpoint is just one in a chorus of many. The average American doesn’t have the time to get the many anti-Romney-Ryan viewpoints. So, for today’s column here is a summary of the various groups and their reasons the Romney-Ryan team should not occupy the White House.
Security issues from the National Security Network
“Ryan’s flip-flopping on Pentagon spending – moving from agreement with the core of President Obama’s plan in his 2011 budget to a 2012 budget that imposes monies and programs on the military that they do not want – while being consistent about gutting veterans’ programs and diplomacy, shows that he lacks strategic vision for U.S. security. His choice this year to accuse the Pentagon’s uniformed leadership of lying to Congress about their needs suggest he is unready to be commander in chief, should that be required.”
Jobs and outsourcing and immigration from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees:
AFSCME President Lee Saunders issued the following statement regarding Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate:
“Now he has chosen Paul Ryan, who proudly proposes forcing millions of seniors into poverty by ending Medicare as we know it, as his running mate. The distinctions between Obama-Biden and Romney-Ryan couldn’t be any clearer. President Obama and Vice President Biden are fighting for everyone to have a fair shot at the American Dream. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are plotting a nightmare for middle-class families.
“To appease the tea party and the right-wing, Paul Ryan has earned a reputation as an immigration hardliner, and deservedly so: he voted for putting up a border fence between the U.S. and Mexico. While this fence would be about as effective as the one that was climbed, broken through and tunneled under in the show Penn&Teller Bulls*t, it would be an expensive, ineffective project, and a symbol the extreme Minutemen would praise.
DREAM ACT from DRM Capitol Group:
DRM Capitol Group – which represents young people covered by the DREAM Act – stated:
“On the DREAM Act, Paul Ryan not only has voted no, but goes so far as to give an elaboration on his website about how we must secure the border and blames an unsecured border for why the DREAM Act can’t be implemented. For many of the people who were brought to the country as toddlers, this essentially boils down to a ‘tough on babies’ stance: regardless of how hard that child worked since being brought to the U.S. or how talented, educated, needed by society or innocent that this baby might be, they’re to be sent back to the poverty and violence.
“‘It is clear Paul Ryan does not stand with the Latino community since he has not only defended Romney on immigration but also deployed degrading terms including ‘anchor babies’ in speaking about immigrants and their families,’ said Erika Andiola, an undocumented youth and national leader from Arizona.”
NARAL – the pro-choice people:
- During his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, Ryan cast 59 votes on abortion and other reproductive rights issues. He voted anti-choice each and every time.
- Ryan repeatedly voted for and cosponsored the Federal Abortion Ban, a law that criminalizes some abortion services, endangers women’s health, and carries a two-year prison sentence for doctors.
Education: American Federation of Teachers:
From AFT President Randi Weingarten, “Rep. Ryan’s record speaks for itself. He would reduce, not expand, real opportunities for all students to have access to high-quality public education. He would repeal the health-care reform law that is helping millions of Americans gain access to the medical care they need. And he is the architect of the radical Republican budget scheme that would end Medicare as we know it.”
From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:
On the Ryan budget –
- 62 percent of proposed cuts in Ryan plan come from low income programs.
- The programs are from low income programs such as Medicaid, Pell Grants, Food Stamps and Job training.
- Adding up to 3.3 trillion yet other programs are 2.0 trillion.
There were other groups that weighed in on the Ryan selection, including lesbian and gay groups, The Sierra Club and other environmental groups.
Gov. Romney chose Paul Ryan to energize the Republican base on economic issues and get them out to vote. He has energized wealthy Republicans to contribute vast sums of money.
Choosing Paul Ryan might energize his base, but within hours of his announcement he had energized a different base. He energized the sometimes frayed base of the Democrats. I didn’t think it was possible, but Gov. Romney seems to have done it.
