Romney Ryan 2012

So let's talk about Paul Ryan. 

I have to admit that other than knowing he was an "architect" on a budget, I know very little about him. I assume others are in the same position, so here are some details to get to know the new VP candidate. 

Paul Ryan

Age 42 (born in 1970) (he will turn 43 the week after the inauguration)

Born in Wisconsin, and is now a Congressman from Wisconsin

He was first elected to Congress in 1999 (at the age of 29!). Has been reelected every time since. 

Interesting personal background- he was elected class president in high school which gave him a seat on the school board. His father died when he was young. He worked at McDonalds in high school. He interned on Capitol Hill in college.

When he was elected to Congress he was the second youngest Member.

He's married and has 3 children. 

He is Catholic.

From Wikipedia-

Ryan has sided with a majority of his party in 93% of House votes in which he has participated, and sided with the majority vote of all House votes 95% of the time with the 111th Congress.

In 2003, Ryan voted in favor of the Medicare Part D prescription drug law. In 2004 and 2005, Ryan pushed the Bush administration to propose the privatization of Social Security. Ryan's proposal ultimately failed when it did not gain the support of the then-Republican presidential administration. Ryan voted against the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010.

 In 1999, Ryan voted in favor of the Gramm–Leach–Bliley Act that repealed certain provisions of the depression-era Glass–Steagall Act that regulated banking.^[42] 

In 2008, Ryan voted for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, as well as the bailout of GM and Chrysler.

^{So this all begs the question- WHY Paul Ryan?} 

^{In my own words, ultimately it is because Romney is running a campaign solely on the economy. He picked the budget guy. That's really what it comes down to, if personality and other issues were not taken into consideration. He picked the budget guy because that is what Romney is all about.} 

^{In Bill Bennett's words (as written for CNN)}

Ryan's path to vice presidential nominee is a culmination of decades of outspoken conservatism. Early on, only a few of his colleagues at Empower America, a conservative, free-market Washington think tank, like Jack Kemp and me, heard him. Now, the entire country will hear him.

The effervescent congressmen from Wisconsin, who leads Congress in grueling P90X workouts most mornings, first emerged onto the national political scene with his Roadmap, a first of its kind detailed plan to reform America's budget, tax code, health care system and Social Security system. He said what few politicians would say -- America has overspent, over-promised and under-delivered.

Over time this young budget guru, who once told me he relaxes by kicking back with actuarial tables, began to master the U.S. budget in a way that few ever have. He was appointed to be a member of the president's Bowles-Simpson Commission, but, not yielding to political pressure, voted against its recommendations because it failed to adequately reform Medicare. So, together with Alice Rivlin (Bill Clinton's former OMB director), Ryan co-authored the Ryan-Rivlin plan to seriously reform Medicare (although she didn't support the version of it he included in his all-encompassing budget).

Their plan fell largely on deaf ears, but just because Washington wasn't listening, Ryan didn't stop leading. He joined forces with Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, to co-author a bipartisan plan to reform Medicare. Their plan leaves Medicare intact for existing recipients and those approaching eligibility and offers future enrollees a chance to enroll in the traditional Medicare government option or enroll in a premium support plan, where seniors can choose from a variety of competitive plans that work best for them.

He said what few politicians would say -- America has overspent, over-promised, and under-delivered.

During his tenure as House Budget Chairman, Ryan has penned several of the House budget plans. Although his 2012 budget didn't pass the Democrat-led Senate, it garnered far more votes than President Obama's budget, and proposed far more serious reforms.