Wisconsin congressman cheered by some as strong pro-lifer, criticized by others as wanting to reduce deficit ‘on the backs of the poor.’
A
budget-cruncher who cites Catholic social teaching as an inspiration
for his own economic thinking has been tapped for the second slot on the
GOP presidential ticket.
Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee, on Saturday named Rep. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee and a seven-term congressman from Wisconsin, as his running mate.
The eagerly anticipated announcement was made in Norfolk, Va., where Ryan, 42, was joined on stage by his wife, Janna, and their three small children.
With
the choice of Ryan, an advocate of entitlement reform and shrinking the
size of the federal government, Romney has ensured that the role of
government and the future of Medicare will figure prominently in this
year’s race for the White House.
While
Ryan has attracted harsh criticism from some Catholics — questioning
whether he can rightly lay claim to the mantle of Catholic social
teaching — other Catholics regard Ryan as an excellent choice.
“I
am thrilled with the selection of Ryan,” Catholic theologian Michael
Novak said, “because it emphasizes family, character and a vision that
is on the offense against President Obama and that sees Obama as
destroying the country’s military and financial structure and pitting
class against class.”
“As
a smart, serious Catholic, Congressman Ryan has been steadfast on
issues of fundamental principle — defending religious liberty, life and
traditional marriage,” The Catholic Association said in a press release.
“In
addition, he has been thoughtful and articulate in applying Catholic
principles to the other challenges facing America,” the statement added.
The selection also drew immediate praise from pro-life leaders.
“Paul
Ryan has been an eloquent defender of life, articulating his view that
policy and principles can work together,” said Charmaine Yoest,
president and CEO of Americans United for Life. “On the issue of
defending life in particular, the use of the bully pulpit is crucial,
and we look forward to hearing more from Congressman Ryan on the need to
ensure that every person is welcomed in life and protected in law.”
“By
selecting Congressman Ryan as his vice-presidential running mate,
Governor Romney demonstrates his commitment to protecting American women
and unborn children,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the
Susan B. Anthony List. “He has a pristine pro-life voting record and
will be an asset to Governor Romney’s campaign.”
Still, Ryan is controversial in some Catholic circles. When he spoke at Georgetown University last spring,
he was greeted by a statement from 60 Catholic theologians who charged
that his budget plan was “morally indefensible and betrays Catholic
principles of solidarity, just taxation and a commitment to the common
good.”
A letter from nearly 90 faculty and administration officials at Georgetown
informed Ryan that his budget plan “appears to reflect the values of
your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.”
And — if that wasn’t enough — a committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, led by Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, Calif., sent a letter to Congress criticizing the Ryan budget.
Ryan
replied in a brief statement that he shared their “commitment to a
preferential option for the poor” — a key element of Catholic social
teaching — but added that the option “does does not mean a preferential
option for bigger government.”
Speaking at Georgetown, Ryan said that some Catholics “for a long time have thought they had a monopoly of sorts … not exactly on heaven, but on the social teaching of our Church. Of course there can be differences among faithful Catholics on this.”
Throwing Granny Off a Cliff?
Ryan went on to say that the “overarching threat to our whole society today is the exploding federal debt. The Holy Father, Pope Benedict,
has charged that governments, communities and individuals running up
high debt levels are ‘living at the expense of future generations’ and
‘living in untruth.’"
“We in this country still have a window of time before a debt-fueled economic crisis becomes inevitable. We can still take control before
our own needy suffer the fate of Greece. How we do this is a question
for prudential judgment, about which people of good will can differ,” Ryan said at Georgetown.
Entering
the fray Saturday morning, Ryan said, “I’m proud to stand with a man
who understands what it takes to foster job creation in our economy,
someone who knows from experience that if you have a small business —
you did build that.”
This
was a reference to President Obama’s “If you’ve got a business, you
didn’t build that” speech in July in Roanoke, Va. The remark, which has
haunted the president’s campaign, is widely interpreted as putting the
role of government over that of the individual.
With
regard to Medicare, Ryan would allow the current system, as an option,
but would introduce market-based competition and a patient-centered
voucher system. This led to Democratic political ads featuring a Ryan
lookalike pushing a grandmother in a wheelchair over a cliff.
“The
first thing to understand is that granny is going to be thrown off the
cliff anyway, if we don’t make changes to Medicare,” said Joseph Antos,
Wilson H. Taylor Scholar in Health Care and Retirement Policy at the
American Enterprise Institute. Antos said that Ryan’s plan would
modernize Medicare and make it more efficient.
Saying
that “on fiscal matters, Paul Ryan has no peer,” Antos noted that Ryan
gets to the root of problems. Antos said that, for example, “Ryan
understands that sequester [across the board cuts] is a really terrible
idea because it doesn’t take on the tough issues.”
“I
like the Ryan choice very much,” said Paul Kengor, author and professor
of political science at Grove City College. “Liberals are going to be
attacking him as lacking in compassion, being a deficit hawk and hurting
the poor. But, as Ronald Reagan would say, the best anti-poverty
program is a growing economy. Paul Ryan wants to help the poor by
growing the economy and with policies more in line with [the Catholic
principle of] subsidiarity.”
“Everybody
is going to be using the word ‘gravitas,’” Kengor continued, “and Paul
Ryan has gravitas. They won’t Quayle him. They can’t make him look like a
deer in the headlights. He will be able to answer the questions.”
Register correspondent Charlotte Hays writes from Washington
Source: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/paul-ryan-catholic-who-looks-to-churchs-social-teaching-tapped-as-romney-ru/#ixzz23dWipaFa
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