NH: Does Congressman Paul Ryan Deserve Our Fawning

With Congressman Paul Ryan’s recent visit to NH, I could not help but notice how easily some have forgotten how the Republican Party found themselves out as the majority. Everyone wants to get their picture taken with him, and no one wants to ask him the tough questions.

Maybe's its the euphoria of "certain victory" that many believe will come the Republican Party's way this Fall. Or maybe it because Congressman Ryan is young, providing the illusion of a Party newness. And although Ryan in the past, more times than not, has voted as a conservative (which I greatly appreciate), he also has a history of voting for political gain:

• Voted YES on $192B additional anti-recession stimulus spending. (Jul 2009)
• Voted YES on $15B bailout for GM and Chrysler. (Dec 2008)
• Voted YES on granting Washington DC an Electoral vote & vote in Congress. (Apr 2007)
• Voted against the original stimulus package, but than wrote that he supported the Energy Center of Wisconsin’s grant application, which “intends to place 1,000 workers in green jobs.” The funds for this center would come directly from stimulus funding he VOTED AGAINST.

Congressman Ryan was first elected to the House when he was 28 years old, and he is now 40 (that is 12 years……….the longest job he has ever held is in government!). Prior to joining the Congress he worked as an aide to Senator Kasten (1992), then served as Legislative Director for Senator Brownback, and next as a speechwriter for William Bennett and Jack Kemp. Where is the private sector experience? If he were a Democrat, many would be saying he is nothing more than the ultimately political insider! But because many see him as "one of us," they believe it is alright to ignore the fact that Ryan has called DC his home for most of his adult life.

He has little to no private sector experience. But he is young, and he is saying what we need him to say now; so NH welcomes him with open arms, wooed by his youth, and tough talk at the Healthcare Summit. But we have a greater responsibility as NH voters, it is called accountability. NH owes it to the rest of the nation to be tough on not only Democrats, but Republicans. He voted for some of the very things many of us stood against, and frankly has been in Washington far too long not to be tainted.

Some in NH care more about a photo op than holding our elected representatives accountable. I have nothing against Congressman Ryan, and feel in many ways he is far better than most in Congress. But I have gotten to the point that I need to acknowledge that part of the problem in DC is career politicians. Congressman Paul Ryan is a career politician.