It's Paul Ryan: Romney picks Wis. Rep. for No. 2
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) - Republican Mitt Romney anointed Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, an ardent conservative and devoted budget cutter, as his vice presidential running mate on Saturday, and the two men immediately embarked on a tour of campaign battleground states vowing to defeat President Barack Obama and repair the long-ailing U.S. economy.
America is "a nation facing debt, doubt and despair," and a transformative change in leadership is vital, Ryan declared to a flag-waving crowd in the first moments after Romney introduced him as his partner for the fall campaign.
"Regrettably, President Obama has become part of the problem... and Mitt Romney is the solution," said the seven-term lawmaker, who at 42 is a generation younger than Romney, 65. Ryan is chairman of the House Budget Committee, the chief architect of deeply controversial budget plans and widely viewed by Republican lawmakers as an intellectual leader within the party.
The two Republican ticket mates basked in the cheers of supporters in a made-for-television debut on a ticket hoping to make Obama's first term his last. "I did not make a mistake with this guy," Romney exulted.
Romney declared that in the campaign to come, Republicans will present economic solutions "that are bold, specific and achievable. ... We offer our commitment to help create 12 million new jobs and to bring better take-home pay to middle class families."
The party establishment, rank-and-file conservatives and tea party groups all cheered the pick made by Romney, whose own record as a moderate during his term as Massachusetts governor less than a decade ago made his march to the presidential nomination an uneven one.
Obama's campaign didn't wait long to respond. It criticized the budget blueprints Ryan has authored, particularly his recommendations to fundamentally remake Medicare and cut $5.3 trillion in government spending over the coming decade.
Ryan joins a race that has been defined from the beginning by a weak economy and high unemployment, measured most recently at 8.3 percent in July. Even so, recent national polls as well as surveys in several battleground states indicate a narrow advantage for Obama.
While Romney's pick unified Republicans, the impact in swing states such as Florida, Iowa and Pennsylvania was an open question. All are home to large numbers of seniors whose reaction to Ryan's prescription for Medicare is certain to be tested by Democrats.
Ryan's selection as well as Romney's own nomination will be ratified by delegates to the Republican National Convention that begins on Aug. 27 in Tampa, Fla.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will be nominated for a second term at the Democratic convention the following week. The vice president called Ryan to congratulate him on his selection, the president's campaign said.
The GOP ticket made its debut at a naval museum in Norfolk, Va., opening stop of a long-planned bus tour through four states in as many days. A trip to Ryan's home state was added to previously scheduled appearances in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio.
The USS Wisconsin, berthed at the museum, provided a bunting-draped backdrop, a symbol of the nation's military strength as well as an obvious reference to Ryan's home state.
First Romney, then Ryan, jogged down the ship's gangplank to the cheers of hundreds and the stirring soundtrack from the movie "Air Force One."
As his family came on stage, Ryan knelt to embrace his daughter, Liza, 10, and sons Charles, 8, and Sam 7, before kissing his wife, Janna.
Later, the two held a rally in Ashland, Va., where Ryan said he had good news and bad news.
The bad news is that "President Obama is the president of the United States, and the good news is that on November the 6th he won't be any longer," he said.
A fired-up crowd cheered Romney and Ryan, supporters on bleachers at one point stamping their feet to create a loud rumble.
One campaign official said Romney settled on Ryan on Aug. 1, more than a week ago, and informed Beth Myers, the longtime aide who had shepherded the secretive process that led to the selection. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, not authorized to be named in providing details.
Romney and Ryan had an unannounced meeting last Sunday, and the congressman accepted the offer, campaign officials said.
The pair spoke to reporters Saturday night as they flew from Virginia to North Carolina to begin a second day of campaigning.
"It's now two on two instead of two on one," Romney said, laughing. "This is good. They've got someone else to pick on too!"
Ryan said that by the time he met in person with Romney in August, he "kind of knew it was going to happen."
"It's gone from the surreal to the real, I guess," Ryan said, at one point holding up his smartphone and saying it was almost "short circuited" from all the emails he was receiving from colleagues in the House and other friends.
In making his pick, Romney bypassed other potential running mates, including Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Officials said he had called all five to notify them of his decision.
"I am deeply excited and honored to join you as your running mate," Ryan said in his first words at Romney's side.
Democrats took a dim view of Ryan's record.
"The architect of the radical Republican House budget, Ryan, like Romney, proposed an additional $250,000 tax cut for millionaires and deep cuts in education, from Head Start to college aid," Jim Messina, the president's campaign manager, said in a written statement.
"His plan would also end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher system, shifting thousands of dollars in health care costs to seniors."
There was one unscripted moment during the day, when Romney mistakenly introduced Ryan as the next president. He returned to the podium to say, "Every now and then I'm known to make a mistake. I didn't make a mistake with this guy. But I can tell you this, he is going to be the next vice president of the United States."
As chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan is primary author of conservative tax and spending blueprints that the tea party-infused Republican majority approved over vigorous Democratic opposition in 2011 and again in 2012.
They envision transforming Medicare into a program in which future seniors would receive government checks that they could use to purchase health insurance. Under the current program, the government directly pays doctors, hospitals and other health care providers.
Ryan and other supporters say the change is needed to prevent the program from financial calamity. Critics argue it would impose ever-increasing costs on seniors.
Other elements of the budget plan would cut projected spending for Medicaid, which provides health care for the poor, as well as food stamps, student loans and other social programs that Obama and Democrats have pledged to defend.
In all, it projects spending cuts of $5.3 trillion over a decade, and would cut future projected deficits substantially.
It also envisions a far-reaching overhaul of the tax code of the sort Romney has promised.
Romney and Ryan appeared comfortable with each other when they campaigned together earlier in the year. The former governor eagerly shared the microphone with the younger man and they shared hamburgers at a fast food restaurant.
In making an endorsement before his state's primary last spring, Ryan said, "I picked who I think is going to be the next president of the United States - I picked Mitt Romney. ... The moment is here. The country can be saved. It is not too late to get America back on the right track. ... It is not too late to save the American idea."
Romney was the subject of an April Fools prank in which Ryan played a role. Romney showed up at a supposed campaign event where he heard Ryan calling him "the next president of the United States" - only to find the room nearly empty.
Ryan has worked in Washington for much of his adult life, a contrast to Romney, who frequently emphasizes his experience in business. He is also well-known for his fiendish physical fitness workouts. He is a Roman Catholic.
His congressional district in southeast Wisconsin has something of a bipartisan voting record. Obama took 54 percent of the vote there in 2008, while the congressman received 64 percent in winning re-election.
The bus tour takes Romney through Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio. All are battlegrounds where Obama won in 2008.
___
Associated Press writers Bob Lewis in Norfolk, Va., Brian Bakst in St. Paul, Minn., Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, and David Espo, Steven Peoples, Matthew Daly and Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this story.
America is "a nation facing debt, doubt and despair," and a transformative change in leadership is vital, Ryan declared to a flag-waving crowd in the first moments after Romney introduced him as his partner for the fall campaign.
"Regrettably, President Obama has become part of the problem... and Mitt Romney is the solution," said the seven-term lawmaker, who at 42 is a generation younger than Romney, 65. Ryan is chairman of the House Budget Committee, the chief architect of deeply controversial budget plans and widely viewed by Republican lawmakers as an intellectual leader within the party.
The two Republican ticket mates basked in the cheers of supporters in a made-for-television debut on a ticket hoping to make Obama's first term his last. "I did not make a mistake with this guy," Romney exulted.
Romney declared that in the campaign to come, Republicans will present economic solutions "that are bold, specific and achievable. ... We offer our commitment to help create 12 million new jobs and to bring better take-home pay to middle class families."
The party establishment, rank-and-file conservatives and tea party groups all cheered the pick made by Romney, whose own record as a moderate during his term as Massachusetts governor less than a decade ago made his march to the presidential nomination an uneven one.
Obama's campaign didn't wait long to respond. It criticized the budget blueprints Ryan has authored, particularly his recommendations to fundamentally remake Medicare and cut $5.3 trillion in government spending over the coming decade.
Ryan joins a race that has been defined from the beginning by a weak economy and high unemployment, measured most recently at 8.3 percent in July. Even so, recent national polls as well as surveys in several battleground states indicate a narrow advantage for Obama.
While Romney's pick unified Republicans, the impact in swing states such as Florida, Iowa and Pennsylvania was an open question. All are home to large numbers of seniors whose reaction to Ryan's prescription for Medicare is certain to be tested by Democrats.
Ryan's selection as well as Romney's own nomination will be ratified by delegates to the Republican National Convention that begins on Aug. 27 in Tampa, Fla.
Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will be nominated for a second term at the Democratic convention the following week. The vice president called Ryan to congratulate him on his selection, the president's campaign said.
The GOP ticket made its debut at a naval museum in Norfolk, Va., opening stop of a long-planned bus tour through four states in as many days. A trip to Ryan's home state was added to previously scheduled appearances in Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio.
The USS Wisconsin, berthed at the museum, provided a bunting-draped backdrop, a symbol of the nation's military strength as well as an obvious reference to Ryan's home state.
First Romney, then Ryan, jogged down the ship's gangplank to the cheers of hundreds and the stirring soundtrack from the movie "Air Force One."
As his family came on stage, Ryan knelt to embrace his daughter, Liza, 10, and sons Charles, 8, and Sam 7, before kissing his wife, Janna.
Later, the two held a rally in Ashland, Va., where Ryan said he had good news and bad news.
The bad news is that "President Obama is the president of the United States, and the good news is that on November the 6th he won't be any longer," he said.
A fired-up crowd cheered Romney and Ryan, supporters on bleachers at one point stamping their feet to create a loud rumble.
One campaign official said Romney settled on Ryan on Aug. 1, more than a week ago, and informed Beth Myers, the longtime aide who had shepherded the secretive process that led to the selection. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, not authorized to be named in providing details.
Romney and Ryan had an unannounced meeting last Sunday, and the congressman accepted the offer, campaign officials said.
The pair spoke to reporters Saturday night as they flew from Virginia to North Carolina to begin a second day of campaigning.
"It's now two on two instead of two on one," Romney said, laughing. "This is good. They've got someone else to pick on too!"
Ryan said that by the time he met in person with Romney in August, he "kind of knew it was going to happen."
"It's gone from the surreal to the real, I guess," Ryan said, at one point holding up his smartphone and saying it was almost "short circuited" from all the emails he was receiving from colleagues in the House and other friends.
In making his pick, Romney bypassed other potential running mates, including Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.
Officials said he had called all five to notify them of his decision.
"I am deeply excited and honored to join you as your running mate," Ryan said in his first words at Romney's side.
Democrats took a dim view of Ryan's record.
"The architect of the radical Republican House budget, Ryan, like Romney, proposed an additional $250,000 tax cut for millionaires and deep cuts in education, from Head Start to college aid," Jim Messina, the president's campaign manager, said in a written statement.
"His plan would also end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher system, shifting thousands of dollars in health care costs to seniors."
There was one unscripted moment during the day, when Romney mistakenly introduced Ryan as the next president. He returned to the podium to say, "Every now and then I'm known to make a mistake. I didn't make a mistake with this guy. But I can tell you this, he is going to be the next vice president of the United States."
As chairman of the House Budget Committee, Ryan is primary author of conservative tax and spending blueprints that the tea party-infused Republican majority approved over vigorous Democratic opposition in 2011 and again in 2012.
They envision transforming Medicare into a program in which future seniors would receive government checks that they could use to purchase health insurance. Under the current program, the government directly pays doctors, hospitals and other health care providers.
Ryan and other supporters say the change is needed to prevent the program from financial calamity. Critics argue it would impose ever-increasing costs on seniors.
Other elements of the budget plan would cut projected spending for Medicaid, which provides health care for the poor, as well as food stamps, student loans and other social programs that Obama and Democrats have pledged to defend.
In all, it projects spending cuts of $5.3 trillion over a decade, and would cut future projected deficits substantially.
It also envisions a far-reaching overhaul of the tax code of the sort Romney has promised.
Romney and Ryan appeared comfortable with each other when they campaigned together earlier in the year. The former governor eagerly shared the microphone with the younger man and they shared hamburgers at a fast food restaurant.
In making an endorsement before his state's primary last spring, Ryan said, "I picked who I think is going to be the next president of the United States - I picked Mitt Romney. ... The moment is here. The country can be saved. It is not too late to get America back on the right track. ... It is not too late to save the American idea."
Romney was the subject of an April Fools prank in which Ryan played a role. Romney showed up at a supposed campaign event where he heard Ryan calling him "the next president of the United States" - only to find the room nearly empty.
Ryan has worked in Washington for much of his adult life, a contrast to Romney, who frequently emphasizes his experience in business. He is also well-known for his fiendish physical fitness workouts. He is a Roman Catholic.
His congressional district in southeast Wisconsin has something of a bipartisan voting record. Obama took 54 percent of the vote there in 2008, while the congressman received 64 percent in winning re-election.
The bus tour takes Romney through Virginia, North Carolina, Florida and Ohio. All are battlegrounds where Obama won in 2008.
___
Associated Press writers Bob Lewis in Norfolk, Va., Brian Bakst in St. Paul, Minn., Thomas Beaumont in Des Moines, Iowa, and David Espo, Steven Peoples, Matthew Daly and Ken Thomas in Washington contributed to this story.
Don't worry bout Grandma. Mitt is a winner and so is that handsome young man beside him there.Â
 @Granny_MAC Well, so much for 'in vino veritas'.
Do not believe the scare tactics that Republicans want to take away womens rights, ax medicare, and end SS. None of it is true. I can promise you that the Republicans will do no such thing. However, they do want to look at spending and explore more efficient ways to reign in the deficit. Currently we have out of control spending and borrow trillions from other countries. If the current president is not going to put us on track then, it's time to give someone else, with a successful track record in these matters, a chance. Don't believe all the lies about hurting grandma. Think for yourself.Â
@Saving Grace No, don't worry a bit ladies. When SavingGrace and her associates come chasing after you and force a trans-vaginal ultrasound wand into you, don't think of it as an assault upon your personal freedom and dignity, think of it as an act of Republican female empowerment.
 @kennewickman  @Saving Is that the best defense you have? LOL Prove your allegations!
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 @kennewickman Good grief. Why the hysterics? That's the kind of smack talk I expect to hear from Donna Brazil, or Rosie O'Donnell. Grow up. Doe eyed newbs may believe that nonsense, but the grown ups just walk away.
 @kennewickman  @Saving Grace Source please!
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 @Saving Grace Yeah, you are right. After all, how did one Republican governor put it when asked about forcing women to get needless ultrasounds against their will? Oh yeah, they don't have to look!
 @Saving Grace Can you tell me why obama took over $500 billion from medicare?
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 @Squire_Earl Sure, he took it from the seniors on medicare and moved it over to Obama care. It's what you call a shell game, basically. Ryan explains this to Obama a few years ago  in this 6 minute video : http://youtu.be/zPxMZ1WdINs
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 @Squire_Earl You typically won't see personal attacks from me, but there are some bully's here who sniff for grammar and spelling errors.
 @Saving Grace I thought you were someone who was going to call me a teabagger for asking a question about obama. Thanks for the link.
 @Saving Grace And how exactly are they going to cut spending? By reducing military spending? Yeah right, the republicans have almost never reduced military spending. Where else can they cut? Oh yeah, "entitlement programs" which is their code-words for social security and medicare.
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They don't care that people need those programs and that people ARE entitled to them since they paid into them for years.
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Try being honest.
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 @NorthwestEconomist Can you honestly say there is zero inefficiency, waste or fraud of any kind in the entitlement programs? Lets pull a graph of the federal budget and examine it. And re military spending, every Democrat president has cut the military budget. Are you saying you support leaving our military with a strapped budget, having to worry about body armor?   What kind of economist is for out of control, $15 trillion dollar spending?
 @NorthwestEconomist I trust that you being a person of literary exposure would also believe in Keynesian economics?
 @NorthwestEconomist The most wasteful of all is the current administration with it's bloated government and green energy failures. There have been no successes to point to. You want to talk about waste, start with queen michelle's vacations, obama's golf trips, obama's campaign trips since he was sworn in, all funded with taxpayer dollars. But then you might not be paying any taxes, so you could wear rose colored glasses and not see the waste here.
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 @NorthwestEconomist  @Saving Grace BTW, what are your credentials to speak on the military capabilities of the US i.e., the F-15, F-18, F-22 and F35? Before you go any further with your assumptions of our military capabilities, present your credentials as an authority on the subject. Otherwise, your opinions are pure conjecture and unsubstantiated. Take them elsewhere.
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 @NorthwestEconomist  @Saving Grace And on what do you base your allegations? First of all, how well do you know Saving Grace? Secondly, how much do you know about our military technology? Thirdly, you can't possibly base your opinion on a book author who has no credibility in the two issues that I am questioning you on. Your assumptions, and assumptions they are, are totally devoid of supporting facts .
 @Saving Grace Wrong, I'm an independent who knows that we broke out over 10 years ago and we are unchallengeable in conventional or nuclear war by anyone on earth, and it would take our closest rival a century to catch up if we stopped now. So lets stop now for a while and put some money into, uh, I don't know, saving people's lives and stopping our citizens from dying from preventable diseases and problems? The resources exist for everyone in this country to get the best healthcare and for taxes not to go up at ALL to cover it. Just cut the defense budget by 50%. Don't worry, you'll still have tons of pointless money being spent on new weapons and hundreds of thousands of troops sitting around waiting to invade the next country that makes the GOP mad or doesn't cooperate with the global economy.
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Best example of this? There's still no good opponent to the F-15 anf F-18 but we made the F-22 anyway and now we're working on the F-35 which is crazy over-the-top in terms of being necessary. Don't worry about the debt or deficit, MILITARY SPENDING IS SACRED AND MUST NEVER BE CUT. Remember to repeat that mantra to your grandkids as they burn 100$ bills to stay warm because inflation has driven their heating bills too high.
 @NorthwestEconomist Ohhh.... quit with the theatrics already. FOLKS, NWeconman is a Democrat, and he just showed you his party's true views on our military. Every Dem president since Carter has slashed the defense budget.
 @Saving Grace So in essence you are just another Neocon PNAC-type who wants to police the world and thinks our treasury is the way to do it.
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Wrong.
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It's time for the American people to let the world grow up and take care of itself. We have a military and level of tech. that it would take our closest enemies hundreds of years to catch up to. Everyone else isn't an enemy because they are economically co-dependant on us. I suggest you read Fukuyama's "End of History."Â Granted, I have a feeling you are probably more of the paranoid-hawk Huntington "Clash of Civilizations" type but there's always hope you can try to educate yourself.
 @NorthwestEconomist Defense is a SERIOUS issue. Very serious. Come out from under momy's skirt and take a good hard look at what is going on in the rest of the world.   www.strategypage.com Educate yourself.
 @Saving GraceThe military is the most wasteful area. We have long broken out in terms of conventional and nuclear warfare, no one can tough us yet we keep making newer planes missiles and bombs. Time for butter instead of guns.
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Yes there will be waste and corruption but better to have it to benefit those who need it instead of the rich and the military industrial complex.
*Yawn!* Who cares?
Rmoney and Ryan will destroy the unions, public edu,social sercurity, de-regluate wall street, suppress the 1st amendment and Invade Iran, if they win.....revolution 2013...looking forward to it.
@ClickClackNWÂ Â As someone who's spent half his life paying Union dues, I'd be in favor of anyone who could destroy the Unions; but I doubt if anyone, including the President of the United States has that much power.
 @ClickClackNW Do you really believe all that? It is a bit on the extreme side, doncha think? Lets take this one by one. Unions have contracts with companies and members, government cannot make them null and void. To overturn or amend ANY  Ammendment requires a large majority. Aint gonna happen. SS also a promise & will never go away. Americans will always educate their children. So, Clicky, think about this, Bush had a majority in congress and none of these things happened, so why do you think they will under Romney?
 @Saving Grace it doesnt happen all at once. Just look at the Ryan budget plan. Says it right there in the numbers regarding SS. Then look at his his health plan, handing out vouchers that only cover 40% now and later as little as 20%. And Gov't can make contracts null and void or simply not renew them, then open up to bids from companies that refuse to let workers unionize. Just look at Rmoney statements to Israel regarding Iran and put 2 and 2 together.
 @Mej47  @Squire_Earl  @ClickClackNW That's a good start, but it is only scratching the surface. The same is true of the civil service trust fund, the military retirement trust fund and the medicare trust fund. The big mistake was to trust the government to manage these trustfunds so that they wouldn't become the piggy bank used to balance the budget or claim a surplus when there really was debt at the end of a fiscal year.
@Squire_Earl @ClickClackNW There's no cash in the trust fund because the Congress; controlled by the Democrats for the majority of the last 60 years have spent every dollar that has come into the trust fund on feel good, buy your vote, social welfare programs. The Republicans aren't blameless either. They've gone along with the spending spree rather than take a stand against the fraud, waste, and abuse.
 @ClickClackNW What do you know about SS? How much cash is in that trust fund? Do you know?
 @ClickClackNW It's difficult to converse with someone so over the top. I suggest you branch out and try reading more diverse material. Mahmoud has had plenty of time to carry out his threats. Why hasn't he taken Jerusalem ? When Obama had a Dem congress, why didn't they implement all their ideas? When Bush had a majority why didn't he end all unions? Stand back and look at the big picture. Do you ever ask yourself, are these Democrat politicians playing me?
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BTW, some govt contracts do require employees of non union companies to join a local for that project. It's called a PLA. So relax, enjoy the beautiful day with a cold beer  on your deck. The world is not going to end.
@ClickClackkNW. I've heard that sound before. Click-clack, click-clack, clickity-clack, just before the train jumps the track. Your pathetic dsicourse and others is nothing but a train wreck. You speak Gibberish don't you?   Meaningless gibber jabber. Keep traipsing aimlessly about in the long train of liberal lemmings.     Â
 @Granny_MAC and everything I said is literally their platform.....
 @ClickClackNW  @Granny_MAC Show us the platform, word for word without any convenient omissions and also the source for your claim.
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 @Granny_MAC I dont think your gonna be laughin' when your social security check stops coming and you medi-care voucher only covers 40-50% of your medical expenses...especially at your age, assuming your not a 40 year granny.....
 @ClickClackNW  @Granny_MAC How about backing that assumption with facts. Where are the numbers? Let's see what you claim to be true.
 @ClickClackNW ya cause the medicare and social security programs have plenty of money dont they? Not there both going broke.
 @Granny_MAC good for you. And if your filthy rich I hope you arent cashing those SS checks that you dont need. I mean that would be socialism.....
 @ClickClackNW  I spent years a a representative so I'm covered for life. lol. Thats a joke there. I'm not covered that way. No worries as I'm filthy rich. When my God says go then what can I do?Â
It's funny how Romney went over everyone's tax returns before they could become his running mate. Yet Romney won't release his own tax returns and there can be only one reason he won't, he's a fraud/scammer. How many Republicans are going to vote fore him just because he is a Republican and not look under the covers of how this guy works? I'm not an Obama lover either but I think I'm getting more transparency from him than Mitt.
 @Habaneroguy What transparency? Have you seen his tax records? Have you seen his college records? No, you haven't. So what are you basing your assumption on?
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 @Habaneroguy also why wont obama and eric holder give congress the document from operation fast and furious?
 @Habaneroguy i think its funny that people that graduated from the same school as obama, and the same year as obama have never heard of him. Its also funny that his college transcripts are sealed.
 @Habaneroguy Romney provided McCain with 20 years of Returns in 2008. McCain picked Palin. We can online imagine what is in those returns.Â
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 @Habaneroguy I'd like to see BO's college records. Where are those?
 @JCCBlvu Interesting that you try to divert attention away from the tax return issue. Don't want to go there I suppose.Â
@kennewickman @JCCBlvu  Interesting that you try to divert attention away from Obama's 1st term lack of accomplishments. Unless you consider a six trillion dollar deficit an acomplishment.
 Obama's college record are at Columbia and Harvard unless you have some conspiracy theory going on.
 @takingamericaback @kennewickman The tax returns are irrelevent, and kennwick knows it, but it's all he's got, besides race. Notice that? He refuses to talk about Obamas 1st term REPORT CARD. come on Kennewickman, brag up barrys accomplishments. chop chop.
@Mej47 Okay, I will use Teabillys instead.
@kennewickman @JCCBlvu  Right. we're going to throw the homophobic "Teabagger" name calling out there. Anyone who can't tell the difference between a tea bag and a scrotum shouldn't be allowed in this discussion.
 @kennewickman lets do away with affirmative action and just let the best person for the position get it, and not make it about color? oh wait thats all the left has to go on isnt it?
 @kennewickman "Republicans just simply don't think it possible that a black man could succeed in a prestigious academic setting."Then just release them and prove it. WHY is he hiding them? And it's not just Harvard & Columbia, he spent time at  Occidental and Chicago.
 @JCCBlvu And this relates to Teabagger insistence on Obama's transcript but not Romney's in what way?Â
 @kennewickman Let's see, off the top of my head: (and not just men, but women)
Clarence Thomas
Condi Rice
Colin Powell
Charles Houston
Thurgood Marshall
Eric Holder
Kamala Harris
Kevin Fenton
Regina Benjamin
 @Habaneroguy Yeah, they do have a conspiracy theory, and not a very dignified one at that. The real deal is that the Republicans just simply don't think it possible that a black man could succeed in a prestigious academic setting. They really, really, really want to claim that Obama only graduated due to some affirmative action type preference.Â
 @HabaneroguyYou mean the sealed ones?
 @JCCBlvu  Are you asking for Mitten's as well? Or just from black candidates?
 @kennewickman  @JCCBlvu Why not? Let's compare them!
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 @Mej47 Gonna try that are you? Okay, so let's go with that notion, if you don't like a candidates ideology, then they need to turn over tax returns and college transcripts. So then, using the logic of theTeabilly Party, I don't like Mitt's ideology so we want his tax returns. And his college transcripts. And all information about his Mormon mission.Â
@kennewickman It must be race based. Any one who disagrees with Obama's ideology must be a racist. It couldn't have anything to do with his leftist, liberal ideology.
 @Mej47  It is what it is is, simple racism. Obama has released 10 plus years of returns. Mitt has released 1 plus an estimate of 2011, nothing more. One of your ignorant confederates above was so dense as to ask why I don't demand that Obama release his. How is it that you guys can operate in such a fog of abject ignorance? You gleefully come up with wild assertions and never seem to mind that the "facts" upon which you base your assertions are not facts at all, just lame urban legends.
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So, I think I get it. Obama needs to release tax returns, academic records and birth certificate. Asking Mitt to release anything is way out of line. Mitt is white after all, can't be inconveniencing him.
@T H I S @kennewickman  Sounds like a racist statement to me.
@JCCBlvu @kennewickman kennnewickman, like most liberals considers any attack on the current President to be a racial attack. He/she just can't imagine that people could object to the ideology of the President.
@takingamericaback Because Obama's have been out for years genius, http://www.taxhistory.org/www/website.nsf/Web/PresidentialTaxReturns/
 @T H I S what extra info has obama shown?
 @kennewickman i have no problem asking for romneys transcripts but since you wanna talk that way why dont you demand obama's tax records? why only demand mitts?
 @kennewickman why does the left have to bring race into it? conservatives never talk about race or make judgements on race but yet the left will always throw out the race card or the gender card or the gay card over every situation.
 @JCCBlvu It is all they have. Playing the race card replaces having to brag about Barrys record.
 @kennewickman  It's because of race isn't it junior? What else could it be. See how silly you are.
 @JCCBlvu  It's not laughable as much as it's typical of neanderthalic thinking.Â
 @kennewickman  Do you mean half black? And does it really matter what color a mans skin is? In order to help you out I'll answer that question for you. No. Please stop talking nonsense and stick to facts. Â
 @kennewickman I think the differences between Obama and Romney are fairly black and white. Â
 @JCCBlvu The fact that you are holding one man to another standard says something about you.Â
If not racism, then why is it that Obama has released more documentation that Romney and you are ok with that and you think Obama should release even more.
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let me guess. There is something just not right about Obama to you? He doesn't feel..... American. Right?
 @JCCBlvu Really, how is it then that your request for Obama's college records is not accompanied by a request for Romney's record? Please do explain why you need them from Obama and not Romney.Â
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Gosh, let's think about this. What is the one difference between Obama and Romney that would send your average Teabagger into apoplectic fits of frothing at the mouth demanding Obama's transcripts but not Romney's. Do tell.Â
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 @kennewickman This has nothing to do with him being black. The fact that you make such an assertion shows your zeal to make this about race. It's laughable to me that you would even make the statement.