Reactions to former Gov. Mitt Romney's Selection of Rep. Paul Ryan to be his Running Mate
Republican National Committee
Americans United for Life Action

WASHINGTON, D.C.(8/11/2012) – Americans United for Life Action President and CEO Dr. Charmaine Yoest called the selection of Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan for the GOP Vice Presidential spot “a bold choice of an unambiguous defender of the need for a pro-life vision for America.”

Dr. Yoest made the following statement: “Paul Ryan has been an eloquent defender of life, articulating his view that policy and principles can work together.  America is founded on the essential belief that every person has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – translating that principle into law in statehouses across America and in the U.S. Capitol is the central mission of our political leaders. 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.”

Yoest emphasized that the Ryan pick illustrates the intersection between economic issues and the Life issue:  “Paul Ryan’s record demonstrates that the Life issue is an economic issue. This election is a referendum on President Obama’s championing of a health care plan that is the largest expansion of abortion since Roe v. Wade. And AUL Action welcomes Congressman Paul Ryan’s strong stance against buttressing the abortion industry with American’s hard-earned tax dollars.”

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Campaign for Working Families

To: Friends & Supporters

From: Gary L. Bauer

America's Comeback Team

Just moments ago, Governor Mitt Romney formally announced his selection of House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan to be his vice presidential running mate.  He made the announcement at a naval museum in Norfolk, Virginia, with the USS Wisconsin as his backdrop.  This is a bold choice, and I am very excited about this pick!

The selection of Paul Ryan shows Governor Romney is serious about confronting the fiscal challenges facing our country.  It shows the kind of talented and experienced team Governor Romney will put together that will work for American exceptionalism.

Ryan is a strong conservative.  He is pro-life and believes in traditional marriage. Of course, what he is most known for is entitlement reform and stopping the growth of government.  He's 42 with a young family. 

So this will be a youthful, forward-looking ticket, reminding us that with the right choices America's best days are still ahead of us.  It will be a stark contrast to Obama's failed tax and spend policies that are taking us down the dead-end road of European-style socialism. It's clear which presidential ticket is serious about making real change!

Paul Ryan is a dynamic and energetic campaigner, who can easily explain the tough and often complex budget realities facing the country.  You may recall that there is some tension between Ryan and Barack Obama.  The two have sparred on previous occasions over Obamacare and the budget.

I have a confession to make.  When I heard the news of Ryan's selection, the first thing I thought about was the vice presidential debate on October 11th.  I immediately recalled what William F. Buckley said about a famous liberal who was afraid of debating him.  Buckley quipped, "Does baloney fear the grinder?"  I can't wait for that debate because Joe Biden's tired, big government philosophy will be no match for the energetic, intellectual conservative Paul Ryan!

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Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee

Washington, D.C. - CEO and President of Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee (CWALAC), Penny Young Nance, has issued the following statement in light of Gov. Mitt Romney naming Congressman Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate:

"Paul Ryan is an energetic and solid social conservative. He has tirelessly supported the unborn and voted in favor of a federal marriage amendment. In addition, he showed great courage and willingness to make the hard decisions needed to clean our fiscal house by actually putting pen to paper and advancing a plan.

"Others were simply content to sit on the sidelines and make political points; Congressman Ryan was determined to be a grown up and work for a real solution. The nation's mothers demand that our leaders in Washington stop spending money that belongs to our children and grandchildren and live within the nation's means, much like we all do at the kitchen table every month."

Director and Senior Fellow of the Beverly LaHaye Institute, Janice Crouse, Ph.D, has issued the following statement:

"Paul Ryan is a two-fer for Mitt Romney.  He is, of course, a solid fiscal conservative; he is also a strong social conservative.  He is a pro-life, pro-marriage, pro-family candidate who votes the right way, says the right things, and lives out his faith authentically."

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ConservativeHQ.com (Richard A. Viguerie)

In choosing House Budget Committee Chairman Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate, Governor Romney has made a good choice, and it shows that Romney has his eye on one of the most important issues in this election -- Washington's out of control spending. However, Paul Ryan is not the bold conservative leader or boat rocker grassroots conservatives and Tea Partiers were hoping for.

Ryan is a good man, a strong family man and one who by all appearances lives according to conservative principles; he will help reassure social conservatives that Republicans stand for traditional values.

While Ryan gets a lot of credit among fiscal conservatives for having the gumption to propose a plan to balance the budget, his plan takes 28 years to do so. It is hardly the kind of radical change in Washington's culture of spend, borrow and tax that Democrats make it out to be, and conservatives think is required to save our country from bankruptcy.

But the Ryan plan is a start, and if Romney and Ryan are elected -- AND get a Republican majority in the House and Senate -- a bolder budget plan building on Ryan's work might yet emerge from a Romney/Ryan administration.

To lock-up the support of those 4 million independents and right-of-center voters who walked away from the Republicans in 2006, but came back in the Tea Party wave in 2010, Governor Romney needed to make a bold choice. Paul Ryan is a good choice, but not a bold choice.

In selecting Paul Ryan, Governor Romney has chosen a running mate who has many small government constitutional instincts, but who has not set about translating those instincts into the bold action conservatives have been looking for.  

However, Paul Ryan knows Obama's spending problem better than anyone. If in choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate Governor Romney is signaling that he plans to make Obama's spending, deficits and debt a centerpiece of his campaign -- then Paul Ryan's selection is a good sign to conservatives that the campaign is headed in the right direction.

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Family Research Council

CONTACT: J.P. Duffy or Darin Miller

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement regarding Governor Mitt Romney's selection of U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as his running mate:

"Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan shows that he is serious about getting America's fiscal house in order. Paul Ryan's voting record also suggests that he believes that social, fiscal and national security conservatism is indivisible. Paul Ryan's philosophy clearly includes the understanding that America's financial greatness is tied directly to its moral and cultural wholeness.

"As a member of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, he has been a defender of religious expression in the public square. Paul Ryan has spoken out strongly against President Obama's abortion drug and contraception mandates as an affront to religious liberty. He has articulately described how the President's government takeover of health care has pushed aside our First Amendment right of religious freedom.

"We look forward to hearing Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan speak at the upcoming Values Voter Summit so that the conservative grassroots will have an opportunity to hear more about their agenda on the critical issues facing our country including religious liberty, marriage, the sanctity of human life as well as fiscal responsibility and national security."

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Susan B. Anthony List

Contact: Mallory Quigley

Washington, DC ─ Today the Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), a national pro-life organization, praised the selection of U.S. Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) as Mitt Romney’s Vice Presidential running mate.

“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 SBA List. “A longtime pro-life advocate and a strong fiscal conservative, Congressman Ryan has insisted that there can be no ‘truce’ when it comes to advancing the rights of the unborn and achieving fiscal responsibility. He has a pristine pro-life voting record and will be an asset to Governor Romney’s campaign.

“Pro-life voters are a key demographic and help secure victory in critical elections,” continued Dannenfelser. “The addition of a second strong pro-life leader to the ticket energizes the pro-life base – we are thrilled with this pick.”

Congressman Ryan has voted consistently for pro-life legislation, including limits on late-term abortion, regulations against transporting minors across state lines for abortion and for an end to taxpayer funding of abortion, thus earning a 100 percent voting record with the National Right to Life Committee. While in the U.S. House, Rep. Ryan has co-sponsored numerous pro-life bills including the D.C. Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, the Child Interstate Abortion Notification Act (CIANA), the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act, the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act, and the Protect Life Act.

At the Palmetto Freedom Forum in September 2011, Governor Mitt Romney pledged to select a pro-life vice presidential running mate. Additionally, Governor Romney has pledged to defund Planned Parenthood, restore the Mexico City Policy, support legislation to ban abortions based on fetal pain, and appoint only constitutionalist judges to the federal bench.

The Susan B. Anthony List, and its connected Political Action Committee, the SBA List Candidate Fund, are dedicated to electing candidates and pursuing policies that will reduce and ultimately end abortion. To that end, the SBA List will emphasize the election, education, promotion, and mobilization of pro-life women.

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Tea Party Patriots welcomes the selection of Paul Ryan as the Vice-Presidential running mate for Governor Mitt Romney. With this selection, Governor Romney and the Republican Party make it clear that they have accepted the Tea Party Patriots values of fiscal responsibility, limited government and free markets as the best course of action for economic recovery and restoring personal freedom and individual responsibility to our national values.

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Obama for America: 1
 
CHICAGO – Obama for America Campaign Manager Jim Messina released the following statement in response to Mitt Romney picking Congressman Paul Ryan to be his presumptive nominee for vice president:
 
“In naming Congressman Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has chosen a leader of the House Republicans who shares his commitment to the flawed theory that new budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy, while placing greater burdens on the middle class and seniors, will somehow deliver a stronger economy. 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. His plan also would end Medicare as we know it by turning it into a voucher system, shifting thousands of dollars in health care costs to seniors. As a member of Congress, Ryan rubber-stamped the reckless Bush economic policies that exploded our deficit and crashed our economy. Now the Romney-Ryan ticket would take us back by repeating the same, catastrophic mistakes.”
 

 
Vice President Biden reached out to Congressman Ryan earlier today to congratulate him on his selection and welcome him to the race. The Vice President urged Congressman Ryan to enjoy the day with his family, and said he looked forward to engaging him on the clear choice voters face this November.
 

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American Federation of Teachers


Contact: Carolyn Fiddler

WASHINGTON—Today American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten released the following statement on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s selection of U.S. Rep. Raul Ryan of Wisconsin to be his running mate. 

“Mitt Romney conceded with the selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate that this fall’s election is not a referendum on President Obama. Instead, Romney cemented the fact that this presidential election is a clear choice between two vastly different visions for America’s future. On one hand, the Obama/Biden ticket wants to strengthen the middle class and restore prosperity for all Americans. On the other, the Romney/Ryan ticket stands for creating more wealth for those who need it least and telling the rest of America, ‘You’re on your own.’

“Rep. Ryan’s record speaks for itself. He would reduce, not expand, real opportunities for all students to have access to high-quality public education. He would repeal the healthcare reform law that is helping millions of Americans gain access to the medical care they need. And he is the architect of the radical Republican budget scheme that would end Medicare as we know it.

“Romney’s selection of Rep. Ryan is a clear signal that the Republican ticket doesn’t understand the needs and challenges Americans are facing right now. Not only is Romney on the wrong side of issues affecting the middle class, but now he’s assembled what may be the most out-of-touch ticket in decades. The Romney/Ryan ticket is the wrong choice for hardworking middle-class Americans, working families and the future of our great nation.”


Follow AFT President Randi Weingarten: http://twitter.com/rweingarten


The AFT represents 1.5 million pre-K through 12th-grade teachers; paraprofessionals and other school-related personnel; higher education faculty and professional staff; federal, state and local government employees; nurses and healthcare workers; and early childhood educators.

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(Washington, D.C. – August 11, 2012) A Romney-Ryan White House would be a dream for the richest 1 percent of Americans who are millionaires, but an economic nightmare for the vast majority of middle-class and lower-income Americans, according to Americans for Tax Fairness<http://www.americansfortaxfairness.org/> Action, a diverse coalition of over 140 national and state groups.

“A Romney-Ryan White House would be Robin Hood in reverse, and that’s not the kind of America we want to live in,” said Frank Clemente, campaign manager for Americans for Tax Fairness Action.  “Both of their budget plans would lavish the richest 1 percent of Americans who make over $1 million with yearly tax breaks of at least $250,000, while raising taxes on 95 percent of Americans who make less than $200,000. Politicians stacking the deck in favor of their wealthy campaign contributors and sticking the rest of us with the tab is not right.”

“We need to overhaul the tax code so that it reflects our values, and so everyone plays by the same rules and pays their fair share,” added Clemente. “That’s why we should end tax breaks for companies like those that Bain Capital invests in that ship jobs overseas, and level the playing field for small businesses that create jobs in America.  We should end tax breaks for the rich like Mitt Romney who use offshore tax shelters in places like the Cayman Islands to avoid paying the taxes they owe, so they can pay a lower tax rate than the teachers who educate our kids.”

Romney’s tax plan, which would make the Bush tax cuts permanent, including for the richest 2 percent, and cut the top income tax rate by another 20 percent, would give people making over $1 million in 2013 a net tax cut of over $250,000, according to a new analysis<http://ctj.org/ctjreports/2012/08/mitt_romneys_tax_plan_would_give_average_tax_break_of_at_least_250000_to_people_making_over_1_millio.php> by Citizens for Tax Justice.  Romney’s tax plan would increase taxes by an average of $2,000 on families making less than $200,000 a year, according to a new report by the Tax Policy Center (see page <http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/UploadedPDF/1001628-Base-Broadening-Tax-Reform.pdf> 6).

Ryan authored the House budget that also would make the Bush tax breaks permanent, including those for the richest 2 percent, and cut by 30 percent both the corporate income tax rate and the top tax rate<http://www.cbpp.org/files/3-22-12tax.pdf> paid by the wealthiest Americans. It would give the richest Americans a tax break of nearly $300,000, while raising taxes on a typical household earning between $50,000 and $100,000 and filing jointly by over $1,350, according to the Joint Economic Committee<http://www.jec.senate.gov/public/?a=Files.Serve&File_id=bc6c837c-cfbd-4212-a85f-9b88695dcb85>. It also would end the Medicare guarantee and requires seniors to pay $6,000 more per year for fewer benefits than they get now, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation Program on Medicare Policy<http://www.kff.org/medicare/upload/8179.pdf>.


Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) Action is the 501(c)(4) arm of Americans for Tax Fairness, a diverse campaign of 140 national, state and local organizations united in support of a tax system that works for all Americans. It has come together based on the belief that the country needs comprehensive, progressive tax reform that results in greater revenue to meet our growing needs. This starts by ending the Bush-era tax cuts for the richest 2 percent and by making critical investments that create and sustain jobs while taking a balanced approach to addressing America’s fiscal challenges.


Sean Crowley
Communications Director
Americans for Tax Fairnes

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Americans United for Change

MUST SEE Flashback Video: Paul Ryan voted to end Medicare, Give the Rich Another Tax Break
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbvfGlI_xLg&feature=plcp 

Washington, DC - This morning Mitt Romney sealed his fate. Romney has decided to pick U.S. Rep Paul Ryan, to be his running mate, clearing sending the message that the Romney-Ryan ticket will “essentially end Medicare”, hike seniors’ costs by $6,000, raise taxes on middle class families by more than $2,000, and double down on giveaways to big corporations and the rich, while turning his back on the middle class, seniors, children and anyone who doesn’t have a big bank account.

Tom McMahon, Executive Director, Americans United for Change: “This unconscionable decision of adding Paul Ryan tells the American public that not only does the middle class have to be worried about Romney’s election, but so do our seniors, children and countless others. Romney’s pick will mean this election is a debate over whether our future is paved on the backs on seniors, students, the disabled, and less privileged children while at the same time giving price-gouging oil companies tens of billions of dollars in subsides and giving millionaires and companies that ship U.S. jobs overseas massive new tax breaks that never manage to ‘trickle-down’ to anyone else.  Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan say “yes.”  

“This pick is anything but courageous - forcing seniors in nursing homes on Medicaid to find somewhere else to go or taking away health care from sick kids, but continuing to hand over $40 billion worth of subsidies to the big oil companies. Can someone explain how awarding a $3 trillion tax break to millionaires and corporations guilty of shipping thousands of American jobs overseas is “fiscally responsible”?  What exactly is “bold” about making Medicare beneficiaries pay more and more out of pocket for fewer services and making college less affordable for millions and shortchanging veterans on the services they deserve?  And how do these Romney expect us to take him seriously when he knows the Romney-Ryan would explode the deficit and cost over a million middle-class Americans their jobs?  That sounds like the roadmap to middle-class extinction.” 

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Contact: Liz Rose

Washington, DC  -- Campaign for America’s Future’s co-directors Roger Hickey and Robert Borosage said that the GOP running mate choice of Rep. Paul Ryan offers a stark choice for the country.

“With the selection of Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney has painted the election as a clear choice.  Will America choose the radical course of more top end tax cuts, paid for by ending Medicare as we know it, gutting spending on education, and essentially erasing government services from student loans to clean water?” said Robert Borosage. “Or will it choose the common sense course of fair taxes on the wealthy enabling us to afford vital investments in education, in rebuilding our roads and sewers, and in protecting Medicare and Social Security of the next generation?” 

“The Ryan selection also reaffirms the Rove strategy adopted by the Romney campaign,” Borosage said, “They will seek to mobilize the right, even at the expense of alienating moderate and independent voters.  The Ryan pick indicates they will double down on the negative ads and dishonest charges.  Their campaign is likely to get uglier not more sensible.”

Roger Hickey said, “The Obama campaign is putting out statements saying choice of Paul Ryan means GOP is doubling down on austerity:  tax cuts for the wealthy and tax increases and budget cuts to everyone else – including destroying Medicare and cutting Social Security.  This message is a clear winner for Democrats – and leads to what most Americans want: jobs and help for the middle class.”  

Campaign for America’s Future’s senior writer Richard Eskow said, “The GOP has cast its lot with the radicals who want to end our middle class way of life. This creates the opportunity for Democrats to cast this race in stark terms, between what works and what doesn't, between what has made us the Land of Opportunity for generations and what has not.”

The Campaign for America's Future (CAF) is a center for ideas and action that works to build an enduring majority for progressive change. The Campaign advances a progressive economic agenda and a vision of the future that works for the many, not simply the few. The Campaign is leading the fight for America's priorities - for good jobs and a sustainable economy, and for strengthening the safety net.

Social Security Works/Strengthen Social Security Coalition via CAF
Contact:
Don Owens

            Statement on Selection of Rep. Paul Ryan as Vice Presidential Nominee Paul Ryan

(Washington, DC) -- Presumptive GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney has chosen Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) to be his Vice Presidential nominee.  Please find below the statements of Eric Kingson, co-founder of the Social Security Coalition and Nancy Altman, co-director of the Social Security Works:

"If you want to privatize Social Security and Medicare, raise retirement ages on middle-aged and young workers, take earned benefits away from middle income retirees and force future retirees to pay much more for much less health care protection, then you should applaud Governor Romney’s pick of Representative Paul Ryan as his running mate.  Everyone else, beware.  A Romney-Ryan ticket is a weapon of mass destruction unapologetically-pointed at our Social Security, our Medicare and our hopes for maintaining a modest, middle class lifestyle during our retirement years."

Eric Kingson, co-founder of Social Security Works

"Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate starkly reveals  that his values are not America's values.  The American people overwhelmingly value our Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid systems.  In contrast, Representative Ryan's self-proclaimed "Path to Prosperity," would lead to the brick-by-brick dismantling of these vital institutions.  It is a path to insecurity for America's working families.  It is a path to the further erosion of the middle class.  It is a path to the prosperity of Wall Street at the expense of Main Street."

Nancy Altman, Co-Chair, Strengthen Social Security Coalition

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International Brotherhood of Teamsters

Press Contact: Bret Caldwell

The following is a statement by Jim Hoffa, General President of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters:

“By choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate, Mitt Romney is doubling down on his campaign to make the American middle class poorer so the rich can get richer.

“Ryan is the author of a radical budget proposal to cut Social Security and kill Medicare. The Ryan budget gives a $187,000 tax cut to every multi-millionaire and billionaire, but forces seniors to pay as much as $5,900 more for health care. And it cuts 62 percent of programs for low-income workers.

“The Ryan budget has been described as “reverse Robin Hood on steroids.” It will increase poverty and inequality more than any other budget in modern times -- and possibly in the history of this great country.

“Romney said the Ryan budget is “an excellent piece of work” and “very much needed.” He is wrong. The Romney-Ryan vision is the last thing America needs.”

Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hard-working men and women in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico including more than 75,000 workers in the airline industry. Go to www.teamster.org for more information. Follow us on Twitter @Teamsters and “like” us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamsters.

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NETWORK  

Leo W. Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers (USW) issued the following statement today on Mitt Romney adding Paul Ryan to his presumed Republican national campaign ticket.

“Mitt Romney’s choice of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate pairs the anti-seniors Wisconsin congressman with the anti-worker off-shorer from Bain Capital.

“If you didn’t like the way Romney’s vulture capitalism hurt working families with good jobs, you won’t like both these guys lumped together as wealthy elitists bought by billionaires to end Medicare and Social Security, plus the middle-class American majority.

“Romney’s announcement affirms he is a captive of the extremist mentality of tea baggers’ who have hijacked the Republican Party and are firmly in control of the agenda. Social Security, Medicare, veterans, education, and infrastructure – everything is to be offered up on an altar of sacrifice to fund more tax breaks for the rich Click here for more.

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Immediately following Mitt Romney’s announcement of Paul Ryan as his running mate, a growing chorus of elected officials and Ryan’s longtime colleagues on Capitol Hill wasted no time weighing in about just how terrifying the prospect of America’s new Go Back Team is for our nation’s economy and our middle class. Their message is resoundingly clear: the Romney-Ryan budget is great for the rich – but bad for just about everyone else:
 
 
U.S. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi:
“There is no question that former Governor Romney now owns the Republican, Ryan budget that puts millionaires ahead of Medicare and the middle class.  Congressman Paul Ryan led House Republicans in voting to end the Medicare guarantee, which increases costs on seniors and weakens America's great middle class in order to give tax breaks to millionaires, Big Oil and corporations that ship jobs overseas.
 
“As Democrats, we will always preserve Medicare, strengthen the middle class and work to reignite the American Dream by building ladders of opportunity for all those who work hard and play by the rules.  The choice Americans are facing could not be more clear.”
 
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid:
"By picking Rep. Paul Ryan, Gov. Romney has doubled down on his commitment to gut Social Security and end Medicare as we know it.
"Romney's choice demonstrates that catering to the tea party and the far-right is more important to him than standing up for the middle class."
Democratic National Committee Chair and U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz:
“Today, Mitt Romney named Congressman Paul Ryan as his pick for Vice President.  Congressman Ryan has been called a serious person, but he, like Mitt Romney has seriously flawed ideas for our economy that have only failed us in the past.
 
“Congressman Ryan laid the groundwork in Congress for Mitt Romney’s budget-busting scheme that gives an additional $250,000 tax cut for millionaires while punishing middle-class families with tax hikes of up to $2,000 a year.  This tried and failed trickle-down economics scheme is familiar and troubling: cuts to education and other job creating initiatives, ending Medicare as we know it and saddling our seniors with the bill all to pay for more tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires.  And I can say with no doubt, middle class families and seniors in my home state of Florida want no part of a Romney-Ryan economic scheme that puts millionaires ahead of Medicare and throws the middle class under the bus to give more tax breaks to the wealthy. 
 
“The American middle-class and our seniors cannot afford to go back to the failed policies of the past, and it is unconscionable to ask them to foot the bill for the Romney-Ryan scheme.  A Romney-Ryan ticket is sure to take us back and repeat the same catastrophic mistakes that got us into the mess we found ourselves in in the first place.”
 
Democratic Governors Association Chair Governor Martin O’Malley:
“Paul Ryan brings to Mitt Romney's candidacy a strong commitment to end Medicare as we know it. The disastrous Romney-Ryan plan would take us back to the same failed policies of the Bush years that drove our country into recession and record job losses. Their plan hurts middle class families, encouraging companies to ship jobs overseas instead of creating them here at home, while cutting taxes for millionaires at the same time that it cuts education opportunities for students. And the Romney-Ryan plan would be absolutely devastating for America’s seniors, ending the Medicare guarantee and shifting thousands of dollars in healthcare costs to them, leaving older Americans on their own.
 
“The choice between two different visions for our future could not be any clearer: whether we continue working to move our country forward and grow our economy under President Obama’s leadership, or whether we make a disastrous gamble on the economic security of middle class families and seniors under the Romney-Ryan plan.”
 
U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, Ranking Member, House Budget Committee:
"I like Paul Ryan personally and have enjoyed the very sharp, but always civil, debates we have had in the House Budget Committee on the future direction of our country. Our budget debates have been about the choices confronting the country. This choice demonstrates that Mitt Romney is doubling down on an economic agenda that benefits people like Mitt Romney at the expense of the rest of the country -- at the expense of middle class taxpayers, at the expense of seniors on Medicare, and at the expense vital investments in our kids’ education, innovation, and American economic competitiveness.
 
"The Republican plan would abandon the economic recovery and end the Medicare guarantee while continuing tax breaks for special interests and the very wealthy. It would do nothing to promote jobs, rebuild our country, or support working Americans.  
 
"Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan, and the GOP want to provide a gilded path to prosperity for the already wealthy, while leaving working Americans, seniors, and future generations behind. We tried trickle-down economics under President Bush and it clearly failed.  Now is not the time to turn back the clock. We need to move forward with a balanced path forward that protects the promise and opportunity of the American Dream for all.”
 
U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg:
“The choice of Paul Ryan is an outright attack on middle class Americans. While Romney wants to raise taxes on the middle class in order to give tax breaks to the wealthy, Paul Ryan has sought for years to end Medicare as we know it.  It’s a one-two assault on the middle class that will close down opportunities for future generations and snatch away retirement security that people worked all their lives to build." 
 
U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer:
"This is a good pick to win over conservative opinion makers, but a bad one to win over independent voters. Ryan's calls to essentially end Medicare and provide dramatic tax cuts for the wealthy are out of sync with all but a narrow, ultra-conservative slice of the electorate. Mitt Romney clearly saw his campaign was stumbling, and he came up with the best 'Hail Mary' pass he could muster."
 
Connecticut Governor Malloy:
“By selecting Representative Paul Ryan as his running mate, Governor Romney has endorsed a set of policies that are straight from the heart of a harsh right wing agenda, policies that will hurt the middle class, shred the safety net and cut medical care for seniors.  This approach is so extreme, Newt Gingrich of all people called it ‘right wing social engineering.’
 
It's a marked difference from President Obama's track record and from the proposals he's outlined going forward. And it's a stark contrast from the approach we've taken in Connecticut, where we have asked everyone to share in the sacrifice.  By asking those who have a little more to pay a bit more, we have maintained the safety net that defines us as a compassionate people.  That approach has allowed us to stabilize the state's finances, honestly balance the budget and reduce unemployment by 13%.”
 
U.S. Rep. Rob Andrews:
“By choosing Paul Ryan as his running mate, Governor Romney has restated the basic choice we face in the election over how to bring prosperity to our country. Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan are running a campaign based on the most conservative thinking in American politics. They believe that if we choose massive tax breaks for the wealthiest Americans, fewer limits on banks and corporations, and cuts to Medicare, schools, and police and fire, our country will enjoy more jobs and more wealth.
 
“We believe otherwise. We believe that when our children learn at great schools, our families live in safe and strong neighborhoods, and our parents and grandparents can retire trusting the guarantees of Medicare and Social Security, small businesses will grow, the middle class will flourish and America will be stronger.
 
“Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan believe growth occurs from the top down. We believe that growth occurs from the middle class out.
 
“We look forward to a vigorous campaign and we are confident the American people will choose President Obama, Vice President Biden and our path to a more prosperous future.”
 
U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky:
The choice between President Obama and Mitt Romney became even more stark today with the selection of Paul Ryan as Romney’s Vice President.  From Mitt Romney, the message is clear:  Millionaires over Medicare.
 
“In choosing Ryan, Mitt Romney has now doubled down in support of an extreme economic plan, clearly spelled out in the controversial Republican budget that Paul Ryan authored, that takes from the poor and middle class and further enriches the wealthiest Americans.  President Obama has called this “Robinhood in Reverse…Romneyhood.”
 
“The Ryan/Romney budget which passed the Republican-dominated House of Representatives, ends Medicare as we know it, turning it into a voucher program controlled by private insurance companies, massively cutting health care spending for seniors and the disabled and forcing them to pay $6000 more a year for their care.
 
“Their budget lets tax cuts for low-income Americans expire and increases taxes up to $1,400 for families with children, while millionaires actually get an average tax cut of a quarter million dollars.
 
“The Ryan/Romney plan cuts the federal education budget by 20%, which would force states to pay more for education, cut their budgets significantly, or lay-off more teachers.
 
“Mitt Romney fully supports the Ryan budget, saying it “reflects his values.”  President Obama says he opposes the Ryan budget particularly because of what is would do to the middle class and those who aspire it.
 
“Americans can now read in black and white a detailed vision of the America that Mitt Romney would build.  They can decide whether they think, as I do, that balancing a budget on the backs of the seniors, the disabled, and children in order to give more tax breaks to the very rich is indefensible.  It is immoral.  It is wrong.  It is not the American way.”

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Obama for America Aug. 16 memo