Editorial: A moral choice on the Ryan budget
Mitt Romney had a likability problem. Then he chose running mate Paul Ryan, best known for a budget plan so harsh that it became its own moral issue. Which leads you to wonder: What was Romney thinking?
Ryan’s clean-cut good looks and picture-perfect family will never trump his brutal cuts to programs that serve the poor. That pitted him against a group of immensely sympathetic characters — the plucky, silver-haired sisters of Nuns on the Bus — which could hurt the Romney-Ryan ticket more than any international flub or flip-flop.
The nuns’ outrage is bound to catch the public’s attention — particularly among Catholics, a highly courted swing vote. But the religious reaction has much wider resonance. Already, Americans have given Ryan some of the lowest marks as a vice presidential choice since 1988, according to a recent USA Today/Gallup poll. Why? Maybe because 58 percent of them balked at his heartless budget proposal.
Ryan slashed food stamps for the hungry, health care for children and the disabled, veterans aid and other social services. He so offended the Catholic nuns that they embarked on a 17-city cross-country bus tour in protest. These sisters have no shortage of fans. They got cheered like rock stars across the Midwest, drawing larger crowds at some stops than Romney’s bus tour. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops piled on, too, calling Ryan’s budget “unjustified and wrong” in an April letter to the House.
more: http://blog.nj.com/njv_editorial_page/2012/08/a_moral_choice_on_the_ryan_bud.html
