Republican Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney's Vice President selection today of Congressman Paul Ryan has stirred up a frenzy of activity in Connecticut's political scene.
Chris Shays, a former Congressman who is facing off against Linda McMahon Tuesday in the Republican Primary for Connecticut's U.S. Senate seat, calls Ryan a "great pick."
"Governor Romney could not have made a better choice for his running mate than his decision to name my friend and former colleague, Congressman Paul Ryan," Shays said, adding, in his , "He is an experienced leader, trying to restore fiscal sanity to Washington."
Meanwhile, Congressman Chris Murphy (D-5) took Romney's announcement as an opportunity to engage McMahon. In Tuesday's Primary, Democrats will choose between Murphy and Susan Bysiewicz, Connecticut's former Secretary of the State. Bysiewicz has not yet made a statement about Romney's pick.
The Murphy campaign said, "This morning, Linda McMahon tried to reverse her position on the massive cuts to Medicare contained in Congressman Paul Ryan’s disastrous budget plan."
“Linda McMahon said just months ago that she supports 'some' of Congressman Ryan’s disastrous plan, including 'taking a look' at its massive cuts to Medicare,” said Murphy spokeswoman Taylor Lavender. “So, which parts of Congressman Ryan’s plan does she support? And why hasn’t she endorsed her party’s nominee for vice president?"
"Chris Murphy would never endorse a presidential or vice presidential candidate who would give massive tax breaks to the wealthiest individuals and corporations that ship American jobs overseas, shift costs onto middle class families already struggling to make ends meet, and force over 575,000 Connecticut seniors to pay more out of pocket costs for their health care by ending Medicare as we know it.”
McMahon campaign manager Corry Bliss pushed back.
“Leave it to Chris Murphy to take the news of the day and use it to try to distract from the fact that he has no plan to create jobs and improve the economy," Bliss says in a statement. “Linda McMahon will never support a budget that cuts Medicare."
So far, not in a statement or in any posts on her social media networks, has McMahon lended her outright support to Paul Ryan.
Romney announced the decision in a press release Saturday morning, titled “America’s Comeback Team,” as well as through his “Mitt’s VP” smart phone app.
The Huffington Post notes that both liberals and conservatives will be “thrilled” with Romney’s choice.
Ryan, 42, is in his seventh term in Congress representing Wisconsin’s First Congressional District. He’s also a chairman of the House Budget Committee, and last year he unveiled a counter budget titled “Roadmap for America’s Future,” which proposed to eliminate the federal deficit over a multi-year period.
Democrats and liberals derided the budget, however, saying it focused more on cuts to spending for social programs and less on tax cuts for the wealthy.
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat seeking re-election representing Connecticut's Third Congressional District, also responded to the news:
“America is going to have a conversation about the choice before us this November. Thanks to his last two proposed budgets, we all know what Paul Ryan’s vision for America is. The American middle class will face higher taxes and less help with education. Seniors will get a voucher and higher bills for health care. And the children of the most vulnerable will get pushed back into poverty."
Steve Obsitnik, a Republican running to unseat Democrat Jim Himes in the Fourth Congressional District, offered this:
"In selecting Rep. Ryan to be his Vice President, Gov. Romney is drawing the starkest of contrasts between himself and the President."
"This election may come down to a single issue: 'Should the federal government continue down its present path of fiscal irresponsibility, or has the time come to get our financial house in order?'"
"All across Connecticut’s 4th District families work hard to make ends meet; they make the tough decisions on their budgets and try to save money for a rainy day. Our government should act like our families. We need fiscal responsibility for today while investing in the future."
Himes has not yet released a statement on the news.
Steve Obsitnik, "great choice" to replace the 'phony moderate' Jim Himes in the 4th CD, accurately assessed the Ryan choice, and the stakes in this election: "Gov. Romney is drawing the starkest of contrasts between himself and the President. ...“'Should the federal government continue down its present path of fiscal irresponsibility, or has the time come to get our financial house in order?' "All across Connecticut’s 4th District families work hard to make ends meet; they make the tough decisions on their budgets and try to save money for a rainy day. Our government should act like our families. We need fiscal responsibility for today while investing in the future." Romney/Ryan will bring back that "fiscal responsibility ." I will be voting for Obsitnik to replace Himes, who has voted for ALL the 5 TRILLIONS $$$ of deficit spending, and of course I will be voting for Romney/Ryan. For most thinking Americans, who are not either on the dole, public sector union members or crony capitalist bff of Obama, Obama has obviously failed and needs to be FIRED! This should be a no brainer, folks!!
Catholic Leaders to Rep. Paul Ryan: Stop Distorting Church Teaching to Justify Immoral Budget April 13, 2012, 10:20 am | Posted by Casey Schoeneberger Nearly 60 prominent theologians, priests, nuns and national Catholic social justice leaders released a statement today refuting Rep. Paul Ryan’s claim that his GOP budget proposal reflects Catholic teaching on care for the poor, which he made in an interview earlier this week with the Christian Broadcasting Network. The group of Catholic leaders — including a former high-ranking U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops official, a priest in Rep. Ryan’s district and the leadership team of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas — called on Ryan to “reconsider his radical budget proposal and refrain from distorting Church teaching.” “If Rep. Ryan thinks a budget that takes food and healthcare away from millions of vulnerable people upholds Catholic values, then he also probably believes Jesus was a Tea Partier who lectured the poor to stop being so lazy and work harder,” said John Gehring, Catholic Outreach Coordinator at Faith in Public Life. “This budget turns centuries of Catholic social teaching on its head. These Catholic leaders and many Catholics in the pews are tired of faith being misused to bless an immoral agenda.”
Glen
Wait, who is that at the door?
In the event that you can't type and were referring to Glen Dunbar, you have made a mistake and can correct it. Then we will all know you are trying to remove Mr. Dunbar's nom de plume identity protection. However if you actually meant to type Dumbar, then you owe me $100 in US currency. Which is it?
OBAMA 2012
to Mr. or Mrs Corps. Thanks for trying to stand up for me. I appreciate it. Some of those on here just do not understand I am a victim of my dear sweet Mother and this town. Not everyone in this town is rotten. But, some are. As for them trying to out me. Good luck. I use my real name now. But, if I was ever outted I would come back under a phony name I pick out of phone book and create a new email too. the only way I will stop my campaign is if my life get easier GLEN
What a town. What a state. Thankfully we have nice people like You. GLEN
The prudent way to improve medical care is a series of mutually-agreeable compromises in steps we can understand and whose consequences we can reasonably forecast. The first thing we need is to get both sides of the aisle talking to each other and listening. Obama has not been able to pull that one off as well as Clinton did. On the other hand, he didn’t have Bob Dole in Congress, either. If we are to start with any group which needs help first, let’s help the vets who make it possible for us to enjoy the freedom of expression and ability to vote in Tuesday’s primaries. Then, let’s work together from a successful start so we can do what we can afford. Constrained capitalism is still the most successful economic model the world has seen. Let’s restart the engines. We need the jobs to sustain our middle class and defend ourselves.