Pirate's Cove

Hopefully, one of those things will end up being the Obama administration

(Daily Caller) Ryan said that if elected, Mitt Romney would treat Americans like adults.

“We have a very serious choice to make,” Ryan told the crowd. “And what Mitt Romney is offering is to make a decision together.”

Ryan has earned praise as a serious policy wonk willing to tackle the tough issues, and in his speech to the overflowing crowd at a northern Virginia high school, he spoke of issues — like entitlement reform — that tend to be flashpoints used to rile up voters.

Ryan said politicians ought to confront those issues head on, like adults, instead of avoiding them.

“The problem is, too many politicians in Washington, like President Obama, have been more worried and concerned about their next election than they have about the next generation,” Ryan said. “We will not do that.”

He’s exactly right: what happens is politicians tend to pass legislation with thoughts of their next elections in mind. Even on the occasions where the legislation has long term goals and impacts, those are suborned to short term cares. Take the Stimulus: what was the long term goal? Get the economy going. How did it work? It shoveled money to short term projects. It propped up public sector unions and the States for a short time. And, once that money dried up, things went right back to being crummy. It gave people around $40 extra a month. But, it changed withholding rules, meaning that a lot of money was lost from the Social Security trust fund in the long term.

The “green” energy projects were designed for the long term, but with short term thinking. Hence, money was dumped into companies that had little to no chance of succeeding. This kind of spending isn’t just an Obama problem (though he seems to have perfected it), but a government problem. “How can I spend some money to help my re-election?” Doesn’t matter what this does in the long term to the pols.

“When we get elected, we will not duck the tough issues, we will lead. We will not blame other people; we will take responsibility,” Ryan said.

“Remember how President Obama used to say we aren’t the blue states or the red states, we’re the United States of America?” Ryan asked. “Remember when he said to put aside childish things and have an adult conversation? We’re still waiting for that adult conversation.”

This nation, like so many others, has serious fiscal issues that need to be addressed. Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security (there are multiple programs, and they aren’t just for seasoned citizens). Long term infrastructure. Energy. Debt. Deficits. Unemployment. It will be interesting to see if a Romney/Ryan administration looks towards dealing with the long term issues, rather than simply pushing legislation that is designed to say “hey, look at what we did, don’t forget to vote!”

Crossed at Right Wing News and Stop The ACLU.