WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney’s choice of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan as his ticket mate magnifies the sharp philosophical policy divisions between Republicans and Democrats and assures that a lively debate over taxes, deficits and the role of government will command the home stretch of the presidential race.
But the selection also is a bold gamble for Romney, one that gave President Barack Obama and other Democrats a wider target at which to aim.
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In naming Ryan, Romney wed himself far more closely to proposals that have made the 42-year-old House Budget Committee chairman a hero to tea party and other conservative activists and anathema to Democrats.
Enshrined in budgets twice passed by the Republican House but so far rejected by the Democratic-run Senate, Ryan’s proposals would rein in federal domestic spending, lower tax rates and overhaul safety-net programs like Medicare and Medicaid for senior citizens, the disabled and the poor.
Previously, Romney praised the Ryan budget in general terms, calling it in line with his own ideas, “bold and exciting” and even “marvelous.” But he hasn’t given it heavy emphasis in his campaign speeches nor singled out specifics.
Romney’s own economic prescriptions have lacked detail in many areas. But from now on, he’ll be compelled to defend what is suddenly a “Romney-Ryan” plan full of belt-tightening, smaller government proposals.
Still, clearly mindful of the controversy around the plan, Romney’s campaign was trying to tread carefully.
Asked how Ryan’s budget plan fits into Romney’s campaign, Romney spokesman Kevin Madden emphasized that Romney’s plan is distinct from his running mate’s.
“Governor Romney is at the top of the ticket. And Governor Romney’s vision for the country is something that Congressman Ryan supports,” Madden said.
Voters may not make such a distinction, and Democrats certainly are eager to lump Romney and Ryan together.
Romney introduced Ryan during a Saturday tour of battleground Virginia as “an intellectual leader of the Republican party” who “understands the fiscal challenges facing America: our exploding deficits and crushing debt, and the fiscal catastrophe that awaits us if we don’t change course.”
Both sides agree that Ryan is smart, friendly and issue-oriented, even a little wonkish. But Democrats quickly trashed the ticket.
“By picking Rep. Paul Ryan, Gov. Romney has doubled down on his commitment to gut Social Security and end Medicare as we know it,” said Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid.
Senior campaign adviser David Axelrod called the ticket “the definition of a fast track back to the failed, top-down economic policies of the past.”
Such attack lines are sure to be sounded increasingly by Democrats in speeches and commercials.
Ryan’s proposed Medicare changes are perhaps the most incendiary of his plan.
While current retirees or those near retirement wouldn’t be affected, those now under 55 would be given the choice of enrolling in private-run insurance plans partially subsidized by the federal government when they reach retirement age.
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