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Ed Andrieski / AP
Republican vice presidential candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis speaks at a campaign stop at Walker Manufacturing in Fort Collins, Colo., Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2012.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Congressman Paul Ryan had a simple message for those gathered to hear him speak at America the Beautiful Park: A Mitt Romney administration would support America’s military.
“Mitt Romney and I want to be very clear with you. We value and respect your mission here and we believe in and support missile defense, and missile defense is necessary to keep us safe and we will not allow that to go through,” the Republican vice presidential nominee said. “To the soldiers in Fort Carson to the airmen at Peterson and Schriever Air Force Base and to those cadets at the Air Force Academy: We respect you, we appreciate you and we will back you because we need you. We need your support. We need what you do.”
Slideshow: On the campaign trail
Ryan, speaking just down the street from the Air Force Academy, talked about the joy and hope it brings him to appoint students to the various military academies around the country as a seven-term congressman.
“It is one of the greatest experiences because every year I get to sit down and to see these young men and these women and it gives you so much hope that there is such a great future for us because we are still raising such quality people here. I have had such an honor to appoint young men and women to the Air Force Academy here; I still get postcards and pictures and Christmas cards. This is a gem. This is one of the greatest things we do in this country,” he said.
The Wisconsin congressman also hit President Barack Obama for his “devastating defense cuts” to the military, something Ryan has talked about numerous times on the trail but made this very personal appeal for the first time here in the Centennial State.
“Of all the things that Mitt Romney and I differ, disagree with President Obama -- we need a strong military. We believe in peace through strength. We believe that when America’s military is strong, America is safer. This is so critical to our way of life, to our peace, to our security, to our democracy, to our prosperity,” he said during the outdoor rally that drew nearly 1,500 people.
“And these defense cuts that he is promising, these devastating defense cuts that he is promising not only undermine our peace, not only undermine our security, they compromise jobs right here.”
While Ryan campaigned in the battleground state of Colorado, Romney wrapped up a three-day Ohio bus tour with just 41 days before voters head to the polls in November.
The month of October will include debates leading up to the Nov. 6th election – the first one takes place on Oct. 3 in Denver.
Ryan was asked about Romney’s readiness to “take it to Obama.”
“Absolutely,” Ryan said. “But one little difference between then and now. President Obama has a record and President Obama has a record and a string of broken promises.”
The GOP vice presidential nominee is scheduled to spend the next several days focusing heavily on fundraising. Ryan heads to Tennessee, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New York City to raise money through the weekend.
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GOP = Gone Over Precipice
We have elevated the military to almost a sainthood level, and we keep throwing money at them like it´s going out of style. We cannot preserve peace while preparing for war 24-7, we have to have a good defense, but what we are doing is preparing to be the police of the world, whether the world likes it or not. We keep creating, imagining or wishing new enemies every day in order to keep the bloated Pentagon budget getting even bigger.
The last events around the world could not have been prevented with our military force, that is a fact, but the right wing lunatics and war mongers are raising hell just to prove that, as usual, it´s Obama´s fault.
the last thing we need is more military adventure-ism in the mid-east. romney and ryan, advised by w. bush neocons who were responsible for iraq, would do just that.
This is for ELLIOT-3020456: Good God you don't really know what socialism is do you! It has nothing whatsoever to do with forcing anyone to do anything. What nonsense youi post. Go back to school and learn the difference between socialism and communism as they are NOT the same! The 10 most happiest contries in the world are all boarderline socialist. Here is a link for you to check out and by the way your use of bold text is childish and inmature!
Ryan voted for the defense cuts that he is whining about. He was on the committee that put those in place, and he was one of the key votes in favor of it. What a hypocrite.
Actually, there is no such thing as communism in the world. Communism is where society eventually becomes so perfect there is no need for government and people live in communes. What Lenin believed is that he could short cut what Karl Marx considered to be a natural evolution and force people into it. Everyone makes the same amount of money because the value of each human being is the same. It completely overlooks the fact that people are not perfect and different people have different desires. In communist countries different people make different amounts. Socialism is where the voters or government decide that they want a controlled economic system. It has nothing to do with political freedom. I don't believe communism will ever happen but socialism has been very successful in countries where there is a relatively small homogeneous population. Clarity on terms would be useful. However, clarity would mean that we called social security and medicare trust funds rather than entitlements but then that would take all of the political advantage out of it. We will never be communist because of reality or socialist because at least half of the population believes they are better than the other half and always will.
HAD IT NOT BEEN for the sheer evilness of the GOP. They may have had a chance in this election cycle.
The audacity and disrespect that was shown to President Obama from day "ONE". They actually had a "good ol boy" club house meeting on Inauguration Day of all days, to plot against the success of the President, essentially dooming the successful economic recovery of America.
They voted no on things that were their ideas in the first place, but because the President thought it made for good recovery they said, "NO"!
They made it clear whose pockets they were in now even those that could not see, now see the man behind the curtain.
The Great and Powerful Wizard of $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Sorry everyone. Here is the link to the 10 most happiest countries in the world----they are all considered boarderline socialist.
"We need a strong military?" Duh...as opposed to what? "We need a weak military?"
I cannot believe that the Republican Party is essentially exactly where it was a generation ago: Star Wars and Deregulation. Neo-Cons and Supply-Siders.
Geez. Well, guess you can't blame the 1%ers for wanting to relive the "good old days," eh?
The Draft dodging sisters of the GOP now want to send Americas kids off to war while their own run overseas under the pretence of preaching a religion.I believe this song has played before by GOP Masters at draft dodging school. If these two idiot think America is dumb enough to vote them in office and leave them in charge of the Military they can't be elected because they are that stupid.
we need a strong military and no fair running to france
Who's gonna pay for this miltary Paul Ryan is talking about? What? Cut Education for kids so you can get bigger guns?
Hey Ryan!?!? What about all the veterans you've voted against for aid and support? Oh yeah!! You and Romney call our military guys who don't pay taxes lazy.... We haven't forgotten!!
Hey I like that! Forget the Wizard of Oz. We've got Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney the Wizards of $$$$$.
See RWNJ's? Romney supports Socialism too. You guys are ****ed.
should have been Romney/Ryan.
This race is shaping up like any other- just meaner. Democrats want to try to save social programs that help people financially. Republicans don't want to waste any money unless it is something they think they need to spend it on. Both parties broke us when they went into two wars and lowered taxes rather than paying for them and topped it off by deregulating the financial markets and completely forgetting or denying the causes of 1929. I guess the only real question in this election is where do you want your money to go. We have 100 zillion atomic bombs and missles so this strong military system needs definition to say the very least. Now that they have dug us in this hole republicans act like it was all Obama' fault and democrats act like it was all republicans fault. They are both right. These people are getting nausiating and Romney and Ryan are the worst primarily because they are boring television and sactimonious at the same time. Romney has tried every way he knows how to get back into politics after getting out of the governor's chair and Ryan runs against dependency on government when he has been dependent on it his whole life. It is the only job in the world where you can get hired because you think things don't work and you want to downsize the company and live and retire off it at the same time. That is not correct. I think that is how Romney made his living.
I keep having trouble adding the link to the web page for the 10 happyiest nations that are all boarderline socialist I tried to post to ELLIOT-3020456. I m trying one last time by cuting and pasting the most imporant part of the article below. Your might also check GOOGLE to get to the actual article. Here is the cut and paste of the most imporant part of the article:
Norway
After the return of our soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan, we will be start a draw down. Do you know what a Draw Down is? It's when soldiers are voluntarily retired, or asked to volunteer to stepdown from military service. And they have a strict % number of body's which must be within the draw down. Failing that. The soldiers are asked to do physical tests, in which they fail 3 times in a row, they are booted from the military with a general discharge.
In basic terms, we will have an influx of former military personel, being asked to join the civilian work force...and they will be unemployed.
Ryan doesn't know this, because Ryan is still clearly a military scholar idiot. And that doesn't mean we buff up our military. We need to return to basic needs of the country. Yes, I was in the military. Yes, those in the military have done their country proud. And now that the wars are winding down and over with, it's time to shift gears to civil needs. Civil engineering. Civil works. Not military one's. We need to regear towards peace.
Colorado to Ryan and Romney. We already have a strong military if you haven't noticed. We also spend more on military than most of the rest of the free world put together. It's interesting that with that point in mind, you want to cut taxes for the rich, cut social security, medicare, and medicaid, and reduce corporate taxes while getting rid of regulations to prevent another melt down. I don't think you understand Coloradans at all. One-third of us are independents, meaning neither registered Democrats or Republicans. The reason Colorado is different is because people here demand reason and details. I've lived here all my life except for time in the military and it's always been that way. We also, for your information, do not like the lies, distortions, and name calling. We have a name for politicians that do that: We call them The Tea Party and Rightwing fanatics. You fit the bill.
We have a strong military - one of the strongest in the world.
What we need is a RESPONSIBLE, and ACCOUNTABLE government that can DO BASIC MATH correctly.
What we do NOT need is another IRRESPONSIBLE GOP President who would try to run a NATION like a CORPORATION. They're not the same, they do not work the same, and they do NOT have the same goals.
A well organized corporation properly operated will strive for Break Even and make Profit.
A well organized central government properly operated will always Break Even.
Ours has not been well organized and properly operated in so long it's likely the only way to fix it would be to take it out back, shoot it twice in the head and start over.
A corporation is not a democracy, if you screw up you are out.
Our government is supossed to be a democracy, good luck! It's reverse socialism, the 99% supports de 1%.
Rasputin:
Depends... you could pull a Wells-Fargo and screw up and be out with $31m taxpayer funded golden parachute too.
And no, our government was never supposed to be a democracy. It was supposed to be a democratic Republic, much like ancient Rome.
Unfortunately, it has since very rapidly degenerated into an oligarchy, and in more modern times, a corporate oligarchy.
After the coming revolution though... we shall see.
Why is it the Republicans that are such war-mongers all got out of military service. Here's a short list: Romney, Bush, and Cheney. Yes, Bush was in the Air National Guard but got out of combat duty when his C.O. was threatened. He got out of combat duty because, "His Dad needed help with an election." I doubt that when I was in the military and had asked out for those reasons they would have taken me seriously. Wow, the rich just keep helping themselves, and the majority of Americans are finally starting to see it.
The reason is quite simple:
They are shareholders, investors, or otherwise in bed with the industries that produce the machines and equipment of war. And they live so far in the past that they actually believe they can make war profitable for themselves.
Someone remind me....What military branch did Paul Ryan serve in?
The chicken-hawk branch.
The Boy's Scouts. Tough bunch!
Field commander, Medal of Honor 2. Dude's got some of the toughest thumbs on earth.
Hi amercia, I was there at America the Beautiful park. This guy Ryan is a politician first and foremost. And he is scum. After voting for defense cuts, he now cries about the cuts. "Lying Ryan" I have seen your face and listened to your words. You have have my absolute comtempt.
Perhaps there was more to the whole package than just defense cuts...
That's what compromise is about.
On the other hand, Democrats moaning about tax rates for the Buffett's and the Romney's of the nation; why didn't you rewrite the tax code?
Now they "cry" about taxing the rich and the "unfairness". Pitiful.
Then America needs to nut up and pay the taxes necessary to pay for it.
Congress needs to decide what the federal government is to be fiscally responsible for. Defense is a federal responsibility.
President Obama claims it's up to the states on education, at least as of the Chicago strike, but offers to throw money at it. President Obama wants to pay for election year salaries of public employees, but leave the burden on the states year 2 and beyond.
As a defense contractor I would like to thank all those who have kept the military complex going. I would hate to see my gross profit margins of 48% be cut in order to shore up our fiscal cliff. Recession, what recession keep the money flowing, love it.
ok...let me get this straight... we spend 800 billions a yr in the military, the closest to us is China...107BN/yr. We out spend the second spender almost 5 times!!! the average nation in the planet to include Russia and Iran don't spend over 20 billion a yr!!! so here is the irony, how this guy...Ryan is going to justify that expense when precisely he is running on a platform that proclaims austerity and fiscal responsibility over anything else?
I just do not understand his math!!! our DOD budget is coming to almost a trillion and his response is well...if we didn't had so many entitlement programs like welfare and social security and Obamacare we should be ok!!! i think he is totally BS if you ask me!!! Either we cut or not, he is just another peddler trying to get up in the office!!!
DoD estimated budget for 2013 is 620.260 billion, total National Defense budget is 647.421 billion. We have never spent 800 billion a year on the military.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2013/assets/hist.pdf
In 2010 the DOD budget was about 19% of the budgeted expenditures. So if yo think that the trillion dollars you mention is outrageous why aren't you complaining about the other 81% or looking for cuts there?
It sounds to me that his world vision is to be able to fight 15 wars around the planet and have bases in every country around the globe and probable be capable of invading half of the planets countries. Why in earth does he wants a DOD budget above the trillion at the expense of the programs that take care of our people her, we have states going into bankruptcy , school district laying off teachers because education is lacking funds, and he dares to say that we need more funding for defense??? is he nuts?
I think this is how they will keep unemployment down, send the unemployed out int battle and lower the unemployment pool at home, temporarily and permanently in some cases.