Rep. Paul Ryan

Okay. As I've mentioned several times now in an annoyingly name-dropping manner, I had a chance to sit down with Rep. Paul Ryan earlier today in Minneapolis. Video was taken. I have a few short caveats before going to the tape:

One, I picked a rotten spot for lighting, so it's kinda dark.

Two, Michael Steele was speaking nearby, so you can hear laughter and applause sometimes. I thought about just letting you think they were applauding me and the Congressman, but the timing is off.

And three, I'm pretty much just tossing softballs, which I freely admit up front.

Thus, onward. Regarding the convention and Election ’08:



Ryan said he thinks Republicans have a good chance to pick up seats in the House this year. Regaining the majority is unlikely in the extreme, but picking up seats is in play:

He also thinks John Gard has a better chance this year than he did in ’06.



If Obama wins the presidency, Pelosi remains speaker, and Harry Reid gains a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate: “we will leapfrog Europe down the road in European style stagnation and socialism.”



Finally, Ryan doesn’t expect any of his agenda to pass next session (obviously), but:



Here’s a link to the Roadmap for America’s Future website. This page links to a lot of statistical information.

And this pdf includes a summary of the proposal, plus numbers and charts that even a Democrat can understand. Or…well, maybe not. If they understood, it would’ve passed already.