Here's a question...will Paul Ryan end up "going rogue"?

[brooklynite]

He's clearly not as insane and uncontrollable as Palin, but he IS an ambitious conservative. Is he going to want to be dragged to the bottom by Romney's wishy-washy stand on issues, perhaps dooming any future electoral success, or will he try to carve out some space between himself and Mittens?

[SoapBox]

1. Palin Lite?

but just as stupid.

[TBF]

2. I think he's already carved space by being

loyal to the teabaggers. The deliberate lying may hurt him a bit, but he's not as stupid as Palin. I think he's in it to set up for 2016.

[BlueStreak]

5. I agree.

He is basically a pawn in a bigger game and he knows his place. It has worked for him so far.

His big risk is losing his seat in the House. That could be a career-ender -- in the same way that Gingrich's career ended. He's still out there but mostly a comedy act.

But if he survives this:
a) with his seat intact, and
b) the Republicans continue to hold the house, and
c) Obama doesn't seriously attack Ryan's Medicare plan

I think he ends up being well positioned.

We have an opportunity to crush these guys but the Obama campaign is taking the safer course. As usual that is good for Obama, but sucks for the rest of the party. Here's the kind of thing we should be seeing out there to really crush these guys.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1251&pid=90910

[AndyTiedye]

6. Obama Isn't the Only One Who Can Expose Ryan's Plans for Medicare

[BlueStreak]

9. That's a great one, but we need all Democrats to pound on that.

This is the only opportunity we may have to drive a stake in the heart of the teabaggers. It is there for the taking and I just don't see the candidates doing anything on this.

I still like the suggestion of a nouveau Harry and Louise ad. Those were extremely effective. Millions of people can relate to that.

[FSogol]

3. Doubt it. He thinks highly of himself, but always backs down when questioned by someone knowledgeable

He's a lightweight who is pretending to be a bigwig. Everyone will see he has no clothes.

[Retrograde]

7. This is the first time he's campaigned in an arena larger than a Congressional district

He got a lot of praise from like-minded people on his budget proposals, but I don't think he had to deal with potentially hostile or questioning press back then. Just being the teaparty darling isn't good prep for dealing with reporters and other politicians - like Joe Biden - who are going to bring up lies and inconsistencies. I'm expecting a blow-up when he gets backed into a corner and can't smarm his way out.

[Cosmocat]

16. Yep

to this point, he was the good (while somewhat intellectual) looking young pup who the insiders propped up as the deep thinking, and in their bubble and by extension the "liberal media" he has been hailed as SERIOUS and an IDEALS MAN!

He is sharp by GOP standards, but that only makes him the sharpest butter knife.

Like most Rs who believe they are entitled to say and do whatever they want and not be questioned for it, he has now faced SOME scrutiny.

He is on thin ice nationally.

The wonderlust is running short from the media that had been all breathless for him.

And, spot on with the smarm thing.

THAT is his gig.

I have said he was a fraud from the moment the "liberal media" annointed him a wunderkin because of his budget.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

4. What situation will offer him the most fertile opportunity to lie?

Lying opportunities attract him like flies to shit.

[karynnj]

8. I suspect that he will carve out a space - and that keeps him from really having

Romney's back. We've already seen that on all the birth control/abortion answers where he just says that head of the ticket makes that policy. This is pretty weak. It is a clear effort to keep his own "purity" on that issue - even though he could do that and still make a reasonable case for Romney's position.

One thing that will be telling is what he does if Romney looks more and more like a loser. I suspect that he will likely be more a John Edwards than a Sarah Palin. Palin was a loose cannon - neither Ryan or Edwards were (are). However, the inside story in 2004 appears to be that Edwards was not a team player, refused to defend Kerry, refused to even use the campaign slogan - making the campaign look indecisive with both. Clearly, Edwards thought they would lose and he wanted the VP position to help him in 2008. Just watch a primary and a general election campaign rally from 2004 - he was nowhere as energized in the ge.

Kerry did an excellent job not letting any of the disappointment/anger he had to have felt show. Had he done that, it would have led to awful campaign in disarray articles - likely most from the media favorite, Edwards' POV.

IF Ryan becomes the 2012 Edwards, the question is whether Romney would have Kerry's discipline. One similarity is that the media praised Ryan in ways very similar to their 2004 infatuation with Edwards. In both cases, people seem less convinced. If all that praise and the praise of the RW go to Ryan's head - and his lying on sports suggest a huge ego - will he play any role that he does not see as setting him up for next time?

[Bake]

10. If I were Mitt (perish the thought!), I'd watch my back.

Ryan strikes me as a back-stabber. Ayn Rand would approve.

Bake

[ProgressiveEconomist]

11. Maybe he'll try to become the Jennifer Granholm of Fox 'News'

Wouldn't running for the House again in 2014 be a step down for him?

Fortunately, he'd have to wait until 2016 to run for Senate from Wisconsin. The incumbents now are:

From http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

"Kohl, Herb - (D - WI) Class I (term expires 2013)
Johnson, Ron - (R - WI) Class III (term expires 2017)"

[HopeHoops]

12. After I see him in lipstick, I'll consider the notion.

[Blue Idaho]

13. Paul Ryan has been found out...

WunderKind? Policy Wonk? Political Truth Teller? Nope... turns out Lyin Ryan just one more vapid glad handing empty suit.

Sadly he lacks the imagination to "go rogue" but thanks to PX90 his waist size and IQ are roughly equal.

[cr8tvlde]

14. I think the Meme ... Lyin' Ryan will stick

Memes don't stick unless there is truth to them. In his case, there is hubris, video, audio, and a healthy distrust by his party. He's a big fish from a small pond trying to be a big fish in a very large pond. Not enough time or Koch money for that.

Going Rogue is another meme that sells books and provides a non-governmental income ... off the mainstream radar.

It took Slick Willie a looong time to re-emerge as the Big Dawg. He took the ego hit, did his time, and re-emerged. And he'll be there for Hillary, should that occur. But one thing we know...GWB will never, ever emerge a statesman.

[Marsala]

15. He'll only be Lyin' Ryan in the real world, though

In the alternate conservative universe, his reputation will remain intact.