Romney’s Pick For VP Another GOP “Bait-and-Switch”

Special to the Daily World
“It’s another Republican bait-and-switch.” That’s the assessment of Ricardo Davis, Chairman of the Constitution Party of Georgia (CPGA), to the choice of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as the running mate of Republican presidential nominee-apparent Mitt Romney. “Ryan’s selection as the vice presidential candidate,” said Davis, “shows the GOP has perfected the political bait-and-switch to attract the TEA party vote.”

“Like Sarah Palin before him,” Davis said, “Ryan represents the ‘incentive’ candidate. Palin was chosen in 2008 to make John McCain palatable to the ‘Christian right’ and give them a reason to vote Republican. Likewise, Ryan has been selected to make Romney palatable to members of the TEA Party.” And as in the last election, Davis said, “The VP candidate will campaign for the presidential candidate in an attempt to replace doubt and disapproval with enthusiastic support, thus executing the classic political bait-and-switch.”

Davis said TEA Party leaders who succumb to the tactic will show they have been subverted by the GOP just as former Senator – now Washington lobbyist – Trent Lott predicted. “In 2008, Christians who were threatening to bolt the GOP,” Davis said, “fell in line after McCain chose Palin as his running mate and put their integrity on the line by excusing McCain’s many Biblical dis-qualifications. Now, TEA Party leaders are falling in line to back the Romney presidency and are jeopardizing their legitimacy as a reform movement.”

Ryan is one of six current GOP Congressmen who voted for TARP, the auto industry bailouts, raising the debt ceiling, and all of the continuing resolutions the Republican-controlled Congress has used to continue funding Obamacare and the Obama regime’s other schemes. These issues continue to energize the TEA Party as a movement to bring fiscal stability back to Congress. Why have some national TEA Party leaders so quickly abandoned their stated goal of restoring the Republic and electing leaders who will fight for fiscal responsibility and tirelessly lobby for limited government by publicly endorsing the Romney/Ryan ticket and calling for their activists to ensure GOP victory?

By comparison, former Virginia Congressman and Constitution Party presidential ominee Virgil Goode has called for balancing the budget – not in 10 years but now – by cutting the size of the federal government.

“Grassroots leaders in the TEA Party who are more concerned about constitutional governance than allegiance to the GOP are giving the Constitution Party and Virgil Goode serious consideration this election cycle,” Davis noted. “They understand the leadership of the GOP will continue to serve up the same bait-and-switch with ‘anyone but Obama’ fear-mongering. With Romney/Ryan they know their demands for strong moral and fiscal leadership will fall on deaf ears so they are choosing to do what the GOP fears most: support a political party with a long-term agenda for fiscal responsibility and government reform from the city council to the White House. They are choosing to build with the Constitution Party to raise up leaders they can trust.”

It was also reported that “The Ryan choice highlights future attacks on seniors, students, the middle class and veterans. Romney and Ryan have both advocated the privatization of Social Security,” said Democratic Party of Georgia Chairman Mike Berlon. “They are also fanatical about changing Medicare to a voucher-style program, with the value of each voucher decreasing over time. This would leave a bigger and bigger gap for our seniors to pay out of their own pocket.”

Privatizing Social Security and changing Medicare to a voucher system are positions that the Democratic Party strongly opposes. “Protecting our seniors is a priority, not a mere option – which is what Ryan and Romney’s plans suggest,” said Berlon.

Another stark difference between the presidential candidates is tax policy, where Ryan’s 2010 budget plan raised taxes on the middle class while cutting taxes for the wealthy. Tax deductions like the mortgage interest deduction and health premiums are cut or eliminated under the Ryan plan.

Under Romney’s plan, more than a million middle class Georgia families would face a tax increase. The average tax increase for families with children would be $2,000. Yet while the middle class pays more, the richest Americans would get another $250,000 tax break each, said Democrat Berlon. “Why are we asking teachers and factory workers to pay more in taxes? They’re the ones that have been hurt the most by the Bush recession, especially here in Georgia.”
Other critical differences include: Ryan’s budget would slash income security programs for the poor by 16%; transportation would be cut by 25%; investment in education, training and other social services would be cut by 33%; substantially cut Pell grants that would affect more than 250,000 students.

Ryan’s tax plan is similar to Mitt Romney’s in that middle-class families could pay thousands of dollars more a year in taxes to fund tax cuts for millionaires, all while losing the security of Medicare and Social Security. In addition, funding for students through Pell grants would be cut dramatically. “At a time when education is so critical to our national fabric, why would we cut funding for education for those who need it most?” questioned Berlon.
“We can’t balance the federal budget on the backs of our middle-class. Romney’s choice here shows how out of touch he is with real working families,” concluded Berlon.

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