Community Corner
Paul Ryan Losing Integrity as 'Mini Mitt'
North Hampton resident Dave Potter outlines a trend he's seen with Paul Ryan, who he said has become a "Mini Mitt."
By Dave Potter
North Hampton resident and member of the North Hampton Democrats
Find out what's happening in Hampton-North Hamptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Mitt Romney has recently revealed something important to us. No! It is not his tax information or the tax loopholes he will eliminate; it is his ability to clone another human being while out on the campaign trail. He picked Paul Ryan, who many think looks like one of his sons, as his running mate. Never did we think that, within a matter of weeks, he could have transformed Ryan’s thinking and behavior into his own image.
Ryan was one of the Republican Royalty, the Duke of Deficit Reduction, the Prince of Republican Principles, the Sheriff of Specificity, the Vice-Roy of Vouchers and the Count of Spending Cuts. But what do we see? The Ryan roadmap budget has been replaced by Romney’s nebulous budget. Ryan’s stance on abortion is now Romney’s version. Ryan’s healthcare plan with $719 billion in savings is now Romney’s plan with no savings. Ryan’s renowned knowledge of the federal budget process and details has given ground to statements such as; “we haven’t run the numbers yet” or “we want to leave the details to Congress to work out”. Wasn’t Ryan supposed to be the expert in his area? When and how does his individual thinking come into the process? Whatever happened to The Ryan of Royalty?
Find out what's happening in Hampton-North Hamptonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
His behavior, when examined, shows a familiar pattern. On a recent trip to Colorado, Ryan completely reversed his position on medical marijuana THREE times in the space of two days. Before he was a deficit hawk he voted for all of the unfunded actions of the Bush administration, never once opposing Republican leadership. Could it have been that he would compromise his principles because he wanted to become part of that leadership? He opposed the stimulus bill but asked for funds for his district. He voted for sequestration, which included cuts to defense spending, but now claims he never voted for any defense spending cuts. Mitt’s cloning experiment is a success.
When you agree to play second fiddle as the VP candidate you have to leave part of your personality at the door but I didn’t think it was your pride, integrity and honesty.
I wonder if Paul Ryan knew the price he would pay to become a Mini Mitt?
