Mitt Romney announced on Saturday that his running mate would be Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
Ryan is a handsome, charming guy who American’s can tell already is much more at ease campaigning than Romney.
However, Ryan’s voting record is extremely troubling and far from charming. In fact, it is downright ugly.
The Chronicle of Higher Education has a new, very incisive article on Ryan, which reveals Ryan’s extremism.
Amongst the bullet points from the Chronicle’s article:
- Ryan voted to make Pell Grants more restrictive
- He voted to increase the interest rates on Stafford loans.
- He opposed the Dream Act.
- He voted against nearly $85 million in grants for black and Hispanic colleges.
- He voted to ban federal health coverage if it included abortions.
He also wants to change Medicare and Medicaid in ways that would be disastrous for millions of Americans.
Ryan is also a steadfast opponent of women’s reproductive health rights and has voted consistently against supporting funding more broadly for women. According to the uber-extreme “lifenews.com” website, Ryan has a perfect 100% pro-life voting record as well. He seems to be a good friend of the Personhood movement as well. He’s quoted:
“Personally, I believe that life begins at conception, and it is for that reason that I feel we need to protect that life as we would protect other children.”
According to an article in the Christian Science Monitor, Ryan is also not a friend (to put it mildly) of the environment, garnering only a 3% rating from the League of Conservation Voters in 2011 and a 20 percent overall.
He’s also opposed to Gay rights and a harsh ideologue on immigration issues.
In addition, he does not appear to be a friend of stem cell research.
He voted against expanding embryonic stem cell research in 2007 and against allowing any embryonic stem cell research back in 2005.
The bottom line is that Paul Ryan is an extremist on many, many issues. He’s out of touch with the American people. His voting record shows him to be someone who, if elected, who could greatly harm America as Vice President.