GOP Consultants Worry Over Paul Ryan Pick

While all of the GOP pundits have publicly been swooning joyously over Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan as his vice presidential pick, behind the scenes not all is sweetness and light - at least not according to an article in Politico where some in the GOP are concerned that Mitt Romney just threw the election by selecting Ryan.  Even more entertaining is the way that some of the GOP members of Congress are scurrying like cockroaches to distance themselves from Ryan - something they should have thought about before voting for his budget plan.  Here are some article highlights:

You’ve heard them on television and read them on POLITICO — cheerful, defiant statements from Republican political professionals about Mitt Romney’s bold masterstroke in tapping Paul Ryan as his running mate, and turning the 2012 presidential race into a serious, far-reaching debate about budgets and the nation’s future.  Don’t buy it.

Away from the cameras, and with all the usual assurances that people aren’t being quoted by name, there is an unmistakable consensus among Republican operatives in Washington: Romney has taken a risk with Ryan that has only a modest chance of going right — and a huge chance of going horribly wrong.

In more than three dozen interviews with Republican strategists and campaign operatives — old hands and rising next-generation conservatives alike — the most common reactions to Ryan ranged from gnawing apprehension to hair-on-fire anger that Romney has practically ceded the election.

 

And the more pessimistic strategists don’t even feign good cheer: They think the Ryan pick is a disaster for the GOP. Many of these people don’t care that much about Romney — they always felt he faced an improbable path to victory — but are worried that Ryan’s vocal views about overhauling Medicare will be a millstone for other GOP candidates in critical House and Senate races.

 They’re worried about inviting Medicare — usually death for Republicans — into the campaign. They’re worried it sidetracks the jobs issue. They’re worried he’ll expose the fact that Romney doesn’t have a budget plan. Most of all, they’re worried that Romney was on track to lose anyway — and now that feels all but certain.

The most cutting criticism of Ryan, shared only by a handful of strategists, is that Ryan isn’t ready to be president — or doesn’t come across as ready. A youthful man who looks even younger than his 42 years, Ryan could end up labeled as Sarah Palin with a PowerPoint presentation, several operatives said.  “He just doesn’t seem like he can step into the job on Day One,” said the strategist, who professed himself a Ryan fan.

“Very not helpful down ballot — very,” said one top Republican consultant.  “This is the day the music died,” one Republican operative involved in 2012 races said after the rollout. The operative said that every House candidate now is racing to get ahead of this issue.

Another strategist emailed midway through Romney and Ryan’s first joint event Saturday: “The good news is that this ticket now has a vision. The bad news is that vision is basically just a chart of numbers used to justify policies that are extremely unpopular.”

There's much more, so read the entire article.  I continue to believe that the far right in the GOP which has wanted an up or down vote on the extremist vision for America may get their wish.  And I hope that vision is firmly rejected.