I have taken issue with all sorts of people on the left and on the right. I don’t agree with most everything the left does but if there is an idea that has promise, I have said so and acknowledge it. I never was in “lock step” with Bush or his administration. I have criticized Rush, Savage, and local talk show hosts such as Mark Belling. So, hard as it is for me to say this, I want to go on record here that I have to agree today with Bill Minnich. Bill often takes issue with talkers on the right, including me, and the feud we share is fun if not furious. But today, I need to take issue with one of those talkers, Glenn Beck, whom Bill holds in contempt, and the reason is three fold.
Number one is that Beck is wrong. This week Beck took issue with Paul Ryan, my congressman from the great state of Wisconsin, and the issue revolves around a speech Paul Ryan made recently. First, lets see what Glenn said to get some perspective:
To pick out lines of a speech, the substance of which is subject to perspective of a personal nature, and to call this great congressman an equal to John McCain, is truly a reach and in my opinion, so counterproductive to the cause of the republic, it needs to be said emphatically that Glenn Beck is wrong. Glenn may be right about the origins of progressivism, but he is pure wrong about Ryan and I know Paul Ryan personally. I have met him, shook his hand and talked with him over the years about many things. He is no McCain. He is Conservative, and he is entitled to make mistakes just as Glenn Beck is. This time however, it is Beck who is on the wrong side of the issue and here is why: Paul Ryan's record is firmly ensconced in conservative patterns. Yes, he made a mistake on Tarp reform and he acknowledges this but many were fooled by this bill. But looking over the record of Ryan can only bring one to say he is consistent and he is a man of principle and conscience. The thing I love about him is he will admit his wrongs, though they are few, and he will tell you why and how he came to those wrong conclusions articulately and with accountability, and that, my friends, is clarity. Refreshingly and wonderfully clear. Paul stood up to Obama, McCain, Bush and others when it was the right thing to do and he helped me get my daughter home when the Navy could not find the orders they had sent to medically and honorably discharge her after becoming ill in the aftermath of Iraqi invasion which lead to the capture of Saddam. Even if he had not done that for my family, my feelings for him would be the same. I have never met a more honest and principled man in elected office, and I know a few…Quite a few. Wisconsin is the birthplace of the Republican Party. That happened because Wisconsin was also a hotbed for socialism. Milwaukee had socialist mayors for decades upon decades and has never elected a Republican to the office.
I stand with Paul Ryan, and as long as he stands by the principles I hold near and dear to my heart, I will stand with him and fight for him and help him to attain any office, should he desire to go higher in his quest for leadership.
2 comments:
Excellent Post!! I usually agree with Beck, but he is wrong about Paul Ryan being like McCain. Paul Ryan is a true conservative and not a RINO like McCain.
Everyone makes mistakes- or no person is perfect. Paul Ryan is a principled conservative.
Do you think that Paul Ryan would make a good presidential candidate?
Do I believe Paul Ryan would make a good Presidential Candidate?
Well, yes & no.
Yes I do believe he could be groomed for the presidency. I believe his principles are conservative and he is rooted in what you and I understand as being a true republican leader. He’s strongly pro-life, strongly small government and his actions are of a man who has Christian concepts and moral character. He put Obama on the defensive at the health care summit and he asked questions I wanted answers to. So in that regard, yes.
What he lacks is gravitas. He has not made the headlines or called the shots enough to be thought of as a heavy weight GOP contestant. You could blame the puppet press for this in as much as they will ignore good Republican ideas and bills with prejudice. You could blame blue blood country club GOP types who engage in “The Good Ol’ Boy’s” requiem which Ryan will not subscribe to. These are the ones who placed the likes of McCain and Dole on the ticket in the past because that’s who they favored. Now, I know Paul and I understand why he keeps his distance from this type of people. They tend to make Republicans consistent losers.
Paul Ryan needs to run. Once… maybe twice. He needs to get his name out there and his ideas placed in contention and debate. Once the country sees, hears and understands Ryan, they will like Ryan. But 2012… No… I think not. But I have told him to run and told him just what I said here and the reasons I have stated. He may listen, or he may not. He has to want to do it. Presidential politics is a nasty game few can play and win. I would love to have him in the Oval Office. I just think he needs seasoning and a tougher outer shell.
Post a Comment