(Newser)
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Establishment Republicans shudder at the idea of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's runningmate: After all, as chair of the House Budget Committee, he has espoused controversial reforms to Medicare, and Beltway insiders fear choosing him would put the focus on those issues. In short, they believe "Ryan is too dangerous because he thinks politics is about things that matter." But Ryan's convictions are exactly why Romney should pick him, write the editors of the Wall Street Journal.
If Romney continues to let the election center on "small things" like Bain and his taxes, he'll lose. It's time, the editors say, for the candidate "to make this a big election over big issues," and Ryan, with a clear "vision" on entitlement, tax, and spending reform, is the man to help. At Politico, National Review editor Rich Lowry echoes the sentiment. "Ryan is an ideologue in the best sense of the term," he writes. "He is motivated by ideas and knows what he believes and why"—and as "an explainer and a persuader," he can make the case eloquently. Click through for Lowry's full column.
