After President Obama delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday night, all eyes turned to Wisconsin's own Rep. Paul Ryan for the Republican response. Ryan, a Janesville native, has become an increasingly important player in the national political scene. The reason for his meteoric rise is simple: he represents the future of the conservative movement.
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for Ryan's popularity is that he sees what President Bush failed to see, and what, thus far, President Obama has chosen to ignore. Ryan understands that this country is headed down a perilous fiscal path, one that will devastate America unless something drastic is done to correct it.
""Our nation is approaching a tipping point,"" Ryan said in his response Tuesday night. ""If we continue down our current path, we know what our future will be.""
Ryan states our future will be similar to many European countries, where the national debt exceeds the Gross Domestic Product. For example, Greece, Spain and Ireland have resorted to austerity measures to solve their systemic fiscal problems. The result has been endless civil unrest and broken economies. Ryan understands avoiding the fate of these countries is among the most important issues facing our generation.
Not only does Ryan understand what is among the most important issues facing our country, he understands that solving these problems will not be easy. According to moneywatch.com, our national debt rises $3.8 billion every day. Since you began reading this article, the national debt has increased $2.5 million. It will soon eclipse our GDP, the entire output of our economy. We have billions of dollars of unfunded liabilities like Social Security, which according to the Congressional Budget Office will run dry by the time most college students reach the age of 47.
Of course the current situation was not the result of Obama and the Democrat-controlled Congress alone. For too long Republicans, along with Bush, focused on the intent of their fiscal policies rather than the consequences of them.
Ryan is changing all that. As the new chair of the House Budget Committee, Ryan has made it his priority to reduce the national debt and pass a budget—items the previous Congress failed to do. Furthermore, he has made it his mission to reduce the size and scope of the federal government.
""We are at a moment, where if government's growth is left unchecked and unchallenged, America's best century will be considered our past century,"" Ryan said Tuesday, echoing the sentiment Americans expressed last November, ""Depending on bureaucracy to foster innovation, competitiveness and wise consumer choices has never worked—and it won't work now.""
Yet what sets Ryan apart from other conservative leaders aren't just his views on key political issues. Rather, he lacks a certain sense of egotism which plagues our current political climate. He not only listens to constituents, but does his best to help them. I have met many UW students and alumni who have told me what Paul Ryan has done for them personally. Today, many politicians care what their constituents think, but only as long as these opinions are beneficial to their political ambitions. Moreover, when asked about running for president, Ryan is famous for replying, ""My head isn't big enough, and my kids are too small.""
Having political ambition is not necessarily a bad thing, but when it gets in the way of offering solutions to fix America's problems it becomes a distraction. In contrast, Rep. Michele Bachmann's response to Obama's address did nothing but further her own political aspirations at the expense of the Tea Party. Although she may have been asked by some Tea Party group to speak, she should have let a true, local Tea Party leader give a response. Instead she allowed the media to focus the attention on herself rather than what the Tea Party had to say.
Ryan is no doubt a leader who will continue to play a large role in the conservative movement. His ability to communicate complex issues, his deep respect for constituents and his passion for solving America's fiscal troubles make him an example that other conservatives should follow. Wisconsin is truly fortunate to have a leader like Ryan representing Republicans in Washington.
Matt Payne is a junior majoring in Chinese and economics. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
