Republican vice presidential selection Paul Ryan counts two of Georgia’s leading Republicans among his friends and admirers, and they predicted Tuesday that he will have a positive impact on the presidential race.
“I think the world of Paul Ryan. He and I went to Washington at the same time, so I’ve known him for 14 years,” said U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in a meeting Tuesday morning with the editorial board of The Daily Citizen.
“He is exactly what you see. He’s a real guy, a good family man. He’s really smart with numbers. But he’s not intimidating. He can translate those numbers into policies that most people can understand,” Isakson said. “He’ll weather the stormy ride of being a vice presidential nominee quite well.”
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the GOP’s presumptive nominee, named Ryan as his running mate on Saturday. Ryan, who represents a district in Wisconsin in the U.S. House of Representatives, serves as the House Budget Committee chairman. He may be best known nationally for his “Path to Prosperity” budget proposal which he claims would balance the federal budget by the early to mid 2020s.
Tuesday afternoon, in an appearance at the Murray County Republican Party headquarters, U.S. Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ranger, spoke of his first meeting with Ryan.
“I was elected in 2010 in a special election, and Paul was one of those guys who took me under his wing and introduced me to a lot of people and to the process,” Graves said. “He was one of my biggest supporters on getting me on (the Appropriations Committee).”
Graves said Ryan “doesn’t shy away from the challenges that we face as a nation.”
“Paul doesn’t worry about the next election. He worries about the next generation,” Graves said.
Isakson said Democrats have already begun to attack Ryan for the Medicare proposal in his budget plan.
“They say, ‘He’s going to end Medicare. Push Granny over the cliff,’” Isakson said.
But Isakson noted Ryan’s plan does not affect anyone currently receiving Medicare or those who will retire in the next decade.
“If you back away and take a deep breath and take a look at his proposal, you’ll see that if you are over 55 you are grandfathered into Medicare and if you are under 55 you can choose Medicare premium support,” Isakson said.
Under Ryan’s plan, when those now under 55 become eligible for Medicare they will receive vouchers they can use to either purchase private health insurance or traditional, government-run health coverage.
“His concept is to move it from a fee-for-service reimbursement business to a premium support business. I personally think that’s a great concept,” Isakson said.
Isakson said that moving to premium support should introduce more competition into the system, reducing costs and improving service.
Isakson also spoke about a proposal he has introduced with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., to move the federal budget-writing process from a one-year cycle to a two-year cycle.
“You do the budget and appropriations in the even-numbered year, and in the odd-numbered year you’d do oversight,” he said. “ We don’t ever stop and analyze what we are doing. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) did a great study and found $300 million in duplication of federal programs. We are spending $300 million on programs that already exist. We need to really get in and find those inefficiencies.”
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Related Photos
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U.S. Rep Tom Graves speaks to a crowd at the Murray County GOP headquarters on Tuesday. Graves says he supports the choice of Paul Ryan as the Republican vice presidential candidate. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)
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U.S. Rep Tom Graves, left, speaks with Brittany Pittman, who will take office as Murray County's sole commissioner in January. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)
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U.S. Rep Tom Graves speaks to a crowd at the Murray County GOP headquarters on Tuesday. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)
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August 15, 2012
Isakson, Graves hail Romney's VP choice
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Police and Fire Games: Dalton firefighter snags second place
Mason Martin, back right, cheers on his mother, Serena Martin, an officer with the Dalton Police Department, as she pushes a patrol car as part of an obstacle course to determine the “Toughest Overall” during the Georgia Police and Fire Games on Monday at the Whitfield County Sheriff’s Department’s firing range. (Misty Watson/The Daily Citizen)
A seasoned Dalton firefighter placed second in the Toughest Overall Competitor event at the Police and Fire Games in Dalton on Monday.
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