Tea Party missing from Tampa

The Republican Party has gone through meaningful change since being thrown out of Washington in 2008.  Left to wander in the political desert for four years, it reemerged in Tampa last week with a new face.  To viewers of the 3-day GOP convention, the party today looks refreshingly more diverse.  

The prominent role of women, African Americans, and Latinos proved to the country that conservative principles are not only appealing to old rich white men, but are universal principles embraced by American women, and citizens of different races, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds – something that we Republicans have known to be true for some time, and glad that this knowledge is finally becoming mainstream.

But while the convention may have successfully showcased a positively new look and feel of the GOP, it sadly failed to highlight and embrace one of the biggest changes to take place in the party in recent memory.  

The rise of the Tea Party that resulted from those four years of introspection was glaringly missing from the week and should serve as red flag to voters hoping to replace the Obama administration with a better alternative.

The Tea Party managed to successfully take over Congress in 2010, sweeping away many of the old guard that had strayed from responsible conservative governing and replacing them with a younger and eager group of leaders more committed to the principles that were supposed to define the Republican Party. 

With this movement, which was the most important political revolution in recent years, came leadership that was actually willing to take on the tough issues facing the country.  This is a group that wanted to honestly tackle the deficit, greatly reduce government, finally roll back social spending, and bring about much-needed reforms to entitlements – all issues that the country agrees need to be addressed but issues that both parties have ignored for years including the current administration.

But this refreshing message of courage and political boldness was all but ignored during the Romney-led convention.  Where was the call for reducing government across all areas including defense?  Ron Paul was not allowed to speak.  Where was the commitment to entitlement reform?  Ryan mentioned it but Romney’s speech was completely void of any specific or even broad plans and policies to address this issue.  Where was talk of responsible global leadership?  Instead we got alarming calls from Condoleezza Rice and John McCain to return to aggressive (and costly) American imperialism.  Where was the strong defense of eroding American civil liberties?  Rand Paul wasn’t in primetime.

Instead of presenting an evolved Republican Party with a platform committed to taking on the tough issues, learning from past mistakes, and offering substantial alternatives to the Obama presidency, we got an eerily similar platform to the old Republican establishment.  The same establishment that grew government by epic proportions while irresponsibly cutting taxes and increasing the deficit.  The same party that waged two multi-trillion wars with no plans to pay for them.  The same group that stripped away important individual liberties with legislation in the Patriot Act.

Most of the country is not happy with the way Obama is governing and is pessimistic of the direction he is taking the country.  But is it ready to replace this government with a repeat of George W. Bush administration?

Disappointingly, the most exciting revolution in modern day American politics had no banner at the festivities.  Romney decided to side with the old guard instead of embracing the new generation of true conservatives embodied in the Tea Party.  He blew his opportunity to take the party in a new direction that would bring the party back to its roots, an opportunity to run on a promising platform instead of just running against Obama’s. 

The Republican Establishment put this country on a self-destructing trajectory once before.  I doubt the country will ask them to do it again.

Ryan completes the package

Republicans who were unenthused with the thought of holding their noses this November to cast an anti-Obama vote with Mitt Romney were given a good reason to change their attitude on Saturday.

Paul Ryan brings to the ticket what conservatives have been looking for and what Romney has been lacking: unwavering conservative credentials, bold conviction to put principles into action, and a tea party flavor that is sure to satiate the palate of a right-wing base that has been bitterly disappointed with the Republican presidential nominee thus far. If Romney is serious about endorsing "Paul Ryan-ism", Ryan's addition to the ticket should yield synergies that are sure to give the campaign a badly-needed boost.

Romney's choice is both a bold and surprising one, to be sure. Romney's track record of painfully-obvious pandering and cautious risk-aversion gave speculation to more obvious suspects. Marco Rubio was the clear favorite who would have given much-needed help to Romney among Latino voters and all but locked down a win in the battleground state of Florida. Other more probable candidates included Bobby Jindal, Nikky Haley, or Susana Martinez - safe and easy picks that clearly would have given credence to the assumptions of a Romney campaign strategy obsessed with poll-analysis and aiming for calculated demographic advantages instead of choosing a candidate who is best suited for the job. 

But Romney shocked everyone with this out-of-character decision. By picking House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, Romney is finally giving his campaign a desperately-needed legitimate conservative vision. 

Sure, Romney has been running with a consistent conservative voice up to this point. But the problem that has dogged him is that his message had been completely baseless (devoid of specific policy proposals), lacking integrity (due to a history of flip-flopping), and not matching a much more moderate record (the individual mandate was whose idea?!). The base wasn't buying it. Independents weren't convinced.

But by picking a proven policy wonk as a running mate, Romney is finally endorsing a specific, substantive, and compelling vision, the cornerstone of which is a detailed, fiscally conservative budget plan that forces the country to make necessary sacrifices to solve a pressing deficit issue - something the traditional old guard of the Republican Party has been too scared to tackle (think John Boehner's opposition to and Newt Gingrich's initial repudiation of the Ryan plan) but that the younger, energetic, and more principled Tea Party base wholeheartedly embraces.

And while this pick was definitely a pleasant surprise, it was also bold - very bold. A Romney-Ryan ticket may make an excellent future governing team, but it may also prove to be a major risk and a difficult sell against a more disciplined Obama campaign that is ready to pounce.

There is no doubt that putting the architect of one of the most controversial pieces of legislation since, well, Obamacare on the ticket is fastening a big bulls-eye on the back of the Romney campaign. Democratic pundits, Obama surrogates, and campaign advisors are giddy with excitement at the prospect of making this election about the "callous" Ryan plan.

It is safe to assume that the vicious attacks and pathetic scare-tactics will start rolling out of the Obama camp right away and continue through election day. Expect Obama to double-down on the strategy of making this election about your grandma's Medicare.

But the Romney camp has to be smarter, better. True conservatives and fiscally-minded independents know that we must reform entitlements before they drag us down into an insurmountable debt crisis. And don't forget that Ryan's proposal for Medicare doesn't threaten current and soon-to-retire seniors and even guarantees some form of Medicare for future generations, albeit a slimmed-down version. Obama's proposals ensure Medicare's imminent demise for both current seniors and future generations.

The debates should provide a great opportunity for the Romney camp to convey that important message to voters. That may be difficult against an Obama team intent on drowning the airwaves with ads of Paul Ryan killing senior citizens. And with an unimpressive and un-disciplined campaign so far, the Romney camp may not be up to the task. Let's hope that they are.

And let's also hope that Romney's VP pick was a genuine endorsement of Paul Ryan. The worst thing Romney could do is sideline his most important asset and cower from attacks from Obama and a Republican establishment that is afraid to endorse the necessary reforms that Ryan proposes. It would be a typical and unfortunately predictable move for Romney to backtrack on a bold and risky decision and to safely retreat into his familiar corner of ambiguity. That would undoubtedly ensure his defeat.

Even worse is the idea that a Romney presidency would effectively ignore Ryan's vision altogether once in the White House, thereby extinguishing any chance of the necessary reforms Ryan proposes and that the country desperately needs. 

Might have it been better for Ryan to turn down Romney's offer and stay in the House of Representatives where he, with the Republican majority, could push legislation onto a Romney White House that may be too cowardice and risk-averse to initiate themselves?  Let's hope not.

The value-add that Ryan provides to the ticket should be paraded to the American people by Romney and his campaign. This will energize the base, win over independents, and inspire confidence that this is a team that can and will govern boldly and effectively.

The package is complete. Now it's time to deliver.