A few hours after the news broke on Saturday — Mitt Romney picked U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., to be his Vice Presidential candidate — Brooklyn spoke their mind.
The viewpoints coming from the blue county on the seventh-term congressman, who is also the chairman of the House Budget Committee, ranged from disappointment to confidence.
Glenn P. Nocera, the president of the Brooklyn Young Republicans Club, released a statement in support of Romney’s decision.
“The choice of Ryan will bring excitement to the Conservative base of the Party. We at the Brooklyn Young Republican Club wish Congressman Paul Ryan good luck in his quest to restore America back to economic success,” Nocera wrote.
“Join us this November in making sure President Obama joins the rolls of the current 8.3% unemployed Americans, which have been suffering for the last four years to find any work under the Presidents [sic.] disastrous economic policies. Its [sic.] time for America to become that shining city on top of a hill once again. Please Vote Romney, Ryan 2012 and restore America.”
Mitt Romney’s campaign made the announcement early Saturday morning and later in the day the Republican duo attended three rallies in Virginia, which is a swing state.
Ryan, who is 42 years old, is a young Vice Presidential candidate and 23 years younger than Romney. The Congressman is the primary author of the Republican Party’s tax and spending cut plan. He also advocates changing the Medicare program, what people call “Obamacare.”
Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries, D-Brooklyn, , also released a statement on Saturday.
"Mitt Romney has chosen a running mate who is the architect of plan that gives tax cuts to the super-rich and slashes services for working families,” Jeffries wrote in the statement. “Paul Ryan supports decimating education funding, dismantling Medicare and burdening the unemployed.”
Jeffries said that if Ryan—a former speechwriter for Jack Kemp—became vice president, it would not benefit the economy.
“Given the chance, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will weaken our nation's economy instead of helping to move it forward,” Jeffries wrote. “This decision further confirms that New Yorkers and the country should re-elect Barack Obama as our president."
A few Brooklyn residents who spoke with Patch echoed Jeffries discontent for the vice presidential candidate.
A Bed-Stuy resident who was in Fort Greene on Saturday said Romney’s running mate will make it easier for Obama to get re-elected.
“I think it’s great news that Ryan was named the VP candidate because it just means Democrats will win. I don’t think Ryan brings anything new and fresh to the table,” Sidney Morris said.
A Cobble Hill resident agreed with Morris that Ryan being on the Republican ticket ensures that Obama will have four more years in the White House.
“Ryan is making it an easy road for Obama, but if he wins it says that the majority of our country is shifting towards being more conservative,” Luis Espinoza said. “If he can convince 50 million people to vote for him and Romney, I’ll find out that I don’t know this country as much as I thought I did.”
On Fourth Avenue in Park Slope, one man said that Ryan was an obvious choice.
“Romney is trying to appeal to the conservative base, the fiscal conservatives, because Ryan is a pro-austerity Republican,” Peter Johnson said, who lives in South Slope.
But that said, Johnson thinks that Romney is “shooting himself in the foot” by picking Ryan.
“Ultimately, it’s a dumb choice. It’s a sign of desperation more than anything. In many ways the two have been at odds with what they want for the country,” Johnson said. “Their opposing views will come out in the debates and the pundits will definitely be talking about it.”
Johnson’s friend, An Do, said that Ryan does not have the appeal she thinks a candidate should have.
“Ryan is not that relatable. What has been galvanizing Republicans is the Tea Party and downtrodden people during this economy, not rich businessmen and career politicians,” Do said. “He does not have the folk appeal Romney needs.”
What do you think about Mitt Romney choosing Rep. Paul Ryan to be his vice presidential nominee? Let us know in the comments section below!
I see you have your talking points saved up. Spoken like a true clueless liberal. "MORE national debt)" Explain why Obama has spent more than all presidents in history combined. Trillions in debt. Unemployment over 8% since he's been in office. Highest number of Americans, over 100 million, receiving some form of assistance. America lost our triple A rating. He's out to destroy this country and the next 4 years will do it.
What was that about name calling?
You wouldn’t know it from listening to the Obama campaign, but there’s only one Presidential candidate in 2012 who has cut Medicare: Barack Obama, whose Affordable Care Act cuts Medicare by $716 billion from 2013-2022. http://www.forbes.com/sites/aroy/2012/08/13/yes-obamacare-cuts-medicare-more-than-president-romney-would/
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/06/fact-checking-romney-does-health-reform-cut-medicare-levy-500-billion-tax/
Or, vote Libertarian and enact *real* change. http://www.garyjohnson2012.com/issues
Even liberal darling Wolf Blitzer proves the lies Obama and co. are telling. Wasserman Schultz and most Democrats have been claiming that the Ryan plan would “end Medicare.” This tactic is targeting senior citizens. However, as Romney, Ryan and their surrogates have repeatedly stated, their plans do not change a thing for any citizen who is 55 and older. Despite this fact, Rep. Wasserman Schultz continues to try and paint the Ryan proposal using words like “extreme.” As Blitzer discovered, it took several minutes (over three minutes) of back and forth before the DNC Chair would only semi-concede that the Ryan plan does not change a thing for people 55 and over. But even still, she has big problems with it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=r5NJF5Fcvmg
So does it “cut” Medicare by $500 billion? Medicare spending will continue to grow, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), but ACA will slow that growth. According to a report from the Kaiser Family Health Foundation over the next 10 years, the federal government will devote about $500 billion less to Medicare than it would have without ACA. CMS and the Kaiser Family Foundation tell ABC News that there will be no benefit cuts to Medicare. They say instead of Medicare’s being cut, there will be much more spending at the end of a 10-year window, but it does slow the rate of that growth. This is all unless Congress makes drastic changes to Medicare, for example passing House Budget Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan’s Medicare Plan. CMS says—and Kaiser agrees—that spending will be reduced by getting rid of fraud and ending overpayments to private insurance companies. It sends a message to those insurance companies: Operate more efficiently. And instead of cuts, the CMS says they will be able to fund new benefits, including free preventive care and broader prescription coverage, including closing the “doughnut hole” affecting seniors.
Try doing your homework before calling everyone names.
Try doing your homework before calling everyone names." Um, PigglyWiggly try doing your homework. At the end of fiscal year 1989, which ended eight months after President Reagan left office the total federal debt held by the public was $2.1907 trillion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. That means all U.S. presidents from George Washington through Ronald Reagan had accumulated only that much publicly held debt on behalf of American taxpayers. That is $335.3 billion less than the $2.5260 trillion that was added to the federal debt held by the public just between Jan. 20, 2009, when President Obama was inaugurated, and Aug. 20, 2010, the 19-month anniversary of Obama's inauguration. Also, Bush inherited a recession. The dot com bubble had burst. The economy was going downhill before 9/11. When Bush left office unemployment was 7.8%, which by the way democrats were running around screaming how awful that was, and where are we today? hmm " 8/17/12 NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The state unemployment picture worsened last month, with jobless rates creeping higher in 44 states, according to a government report released Friday. " with Nevada over 12%. All that stimulus money did absolutely nothing except make the unions and failed "green companies" ie Solyndra richer.
Second, the bulk of the nation's spending during this administration has been to clean up the inherited mess. Bush and Congress ran the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan "off the books," not even reflected in the budget. Obama included them IN the budget, which obviously increased spending. Likewise, the Republican-caused mess in the economy has caused spikes in unemployment benefits, Medicaid, and food stamps. As for Medicare, I'm on Medicare, and the Affordable Care Act has already slightly reduced both my premiums and my prescription drug costs--with absolutely no impact on my ability to "choose" my doctors: I go to precisely the same doctors as I have for twenty years.
15 tousand jobs were lost he wants to get maericans working start packing cos your moving to India china indonesia for your new jobs Bain corp invested in a Bio tect firm studing stem cell research using aborted fetuses though claims he is anti abortion he is anti women why did it take so longto give his tax papers... cos it took that long for lawyers and accountants to cook his books at least the ones in america not in oversea banks but forget all that for now Does anyone undertand the sienceof BODY LANGUAGE? I missed RAYINS Speach but the photos Ive seen tell alot Mitts got really bad body language he is stiff hardley looked the camera in the eye meaning to all watching millions of americans you didnt see his hands and I bet they were clenched he leaned back ward more than forward very closed off he smiled but frowned at thesame time the ends of his mouth when he talked he only showed his teeth and smilled when he go a huge cheer and applause he was shifty eyed and more look up body language or if you know a really experianced cop or detective talk to them about it also like liars do they change there stories al lthe time He was really foolish to attack Russia and Cuba Iraqs hot headed president He was insulting IT TAKES AN AMERICAN TO RUN AMERICA he skirt the truthabout so manythings he talked alotbut SAID NOTHING! No real plan Nothing He basically yapped and insulted other leaders and women and gays rights.