A Liberal Spender In Conservative Clothing
February 10, 2010 · carl · Print This Article
Even the favorite daughter of the Tea Party Nation, Sarah Palin, has glowing praise for Congressman Paul Ryan.
But when the heat is on, he stops being a conservative.
This past Sunday was a big day for Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints—but it was also a big day for Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).
Rarely has a lowly House member received so much glowing praise from such diverse commentators. In just one day, former Alaska governor Sarah Palin effusively gushed to Chris Wallace on FOX News Sunday that she was “impressed” by him—George Will imagined him as vice president—and even “progressive” Washington Post health care blogger Ezra Klein grudgingly complimented him on the “daring solutions” offered in his budget plan (this all came on the heels of President Obama’s complimenting Ryan during the GOP conference Q&A session).
In recent weeks, Ryan’s stature has increased to the point where people are beginning to talk of him—not just a future vice president—but even (daresay) a future president. And, in all honesty, his budget plan is terrific. As ranking member on the House Budget Committee, Ryan has emerged as a rare, articulate spokesman for conservatism. (It would be difficult for me to criticize his plan, inasmuch as many of his ideas are identical to the ones I proposed in my “Contract for America, 2.0.”).
But while Ryan’s boyish looks, youthful style, and sharp intellect have garnered him much praise from conservatives desperate to find the next Ronald Reagan, he has one major problem: His actual voting record.
Though he talks like Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman, some of Ryan’s most high-profile votes seem closer to Keynes than to Adam Smith. For example, in the span of about a year, Ryan committed fiscal conservative apostasy on three high-profile votes: The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP (whereby the government purchased assets and equity from financial institutions), the auto-bailout (which essentially implied he agrees car companies – especially the ones with an auto plant in his district—are too big to fail), and for a confiscatory tax on CEO bonuses (which essentially says the government has the right to take away private property—if it doesn’t like you).
While Ryan’s overall voting record is very conservative, the problem with casting these high-profile votes is that they demonstrate he is willing to fundamentally reject conservatism when the heat is on.
Did you like this? If so, please bookmark it,
Comments
Got something to say?