Battle4Liberty

I really like Paul Ryan. He’s bright, articulate, and is showing some leadership on the budget. He has demonstrated an ability to circumvent the media to get his message across to the American people. At times I see flashes of Reagan, particularly in style.

Ryan’s roadmap is in many ways a breath of fresh air. The cuts are significant, especially when compared to the numbers debated in the recent government shutdown scare. If implemented, his plan would represent a marked improvement over the status quo.

So what’s the dilemma? In a nutshell, Ryan’s proposal is only modestly conservative. As the key Republican figure on the budget, Ryan has defined what will be viewed by many as the “conservative position” on fiscal matters. Instead of challenging socialism at its core, he seeks to “reform” and modestly cut many of the programs introduced in the 1960s. In this sense, Ryan is giving Obama and the Democrats a victory by shifting the Republican response to the middle. The unfunded mandates associated with social security, Medicare, and Medicaid are massive. Ryan’s plan doesn’t address these programs aggressively. This is troubling.

I’m a pragmatist. I realize that many of my fellow Americans are not as conservative (or libertarian) as I am, so I recognize the need to compromise. With a divided Congress and Obama in the White House, Ryan’s roadmap might be seen as the best deal we can get at the moment—a move in the right direction. But by recognizing the legitimacy of the welfare state—albeit it slightly smaller one—Ryan and the Republicans who follow him will be left to argue only about size and scope. This is a losing battle. The creeping acceptance of wealth redistribution as a legitimate function of government is a root cause of our economic decline. Sorry Mr. Ryan—the current system doesn’t need reform, it must be dismantled and reconstructed on a Constitutional basis. We need a lot more than you have proposed.

So should we applaud the fact that someone in the Republican party is finally showing some leadership on the budget or should we lament the fact that Ryan’s roadmap fails to adequately address the core problems? Should be celebrate Ryan’s approach as politically feasible or conservative capitulation? I like Ryan, but I’m just not on board with him yet. I’m calling for conservatives in Washington to strengthen his plan before the Democrats start whittling it down.  I fear that many Republicans might not be up for the fight. I hope I’m wrong.