Pete Spiliakos

I’m seeing more good than bad, so I’ll start with the good. Pro 1.  Unifying the base - Of all the plausible VP contenders, only Marco Rubio would have done more to energize those who regularly consume right-leaning media (and I think Rubio would have had bigger problems than . . . . Continue Reading »

For some reason our political culture has gotten away from the idea of a President running for reelection replacing their Vice President on the ticket.  It didn’t used to be so. Lincoln and FDR both replaced their running mates (FDR did it twice.)   I think that part of it . . . . Continue Reading »

I’ve read several conservatives who argue that Paul Ryan will “will wipe the floor with Vice President Joe Biden in their one debate in October.”  I don’t think that is a realistic assumption.  Ryan has worked very hard to make himself expert on one (important) . . . . Continue Reading »

If you are old enough to  remember a weaker recovery, then Barack Obama cut your Medicare. . . . . Continue Reading »

So I was watching William Kristol and he said that this Romney ad on Medicare shows that the Romney campaign has embraced one “big fact.” The Medicare cuts in Obamacare have made Obama vulnerable on both the Medicare issue and the broader health care issue (and it distinguishes . . . . Continue Reading »

Peter Lawler has some very useful thoughts below on the pros and cons of picking Ryan.   Picking Ryan meant that Obama’s Mediscare campaign (which was coming anyway since Romney had already endorsed premium support Medicare) came early and possibly harder than it otherwise would . . . . Continue Reading »

So I was watching the Fox News 6:00 PM show and the panel was discussing whether Ryan could defend his Medicare cuts or if Ryan’s Medicare cut plan will hurt the Republicans among seniors.  This is nuts as a matter of both fact and politics.  As between the most recent Ryan budget . . . . Continue Reading »

Reihan Salam points us to a National Journa l article about how the Democrats have used the Ryan budget to their political advantage.  The most important case mentioned in the article was an upstate New York Republican-leaning district where a Democrat won by attacking the Medicare cuts in the . . . . Continue Reading »

1.  Ryan made a strong case against the Obama economy without coming across as either mean spirited or self-interested.  Ryan also did a good job of framing the election as a referendum against crony capitalism and corporate welfare.  It’s not for nothing that this guy is a . . . . Continue Reading »

I’m not on twitter, but I looked up Ross Douthat’s feed.  In one tweet Douthat argued that Ryan was an answer to a question the median voter wasn’t asking.  According to Douthat, the problem wasn’t that Romney “lacked vision” but that persuadable . . . . Continue Reading »