The Political Freakshow

Fox News hosts and contributors are thrilled with Mitt Romney’s selection of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) as his running mate. In the hours since the selection was made public, Fox figures have heaped praise on Ryan, labeling him a “rock star” pick who has “set the world on fire” and, with Romney, formed a ticket reminiscent of Ronald Reagan.

Fox On Ryan: “Thank God” For “Kennedy-esque” “Energizer Bunny” Who ”Kind Of Looks Like Jimmy Stewart In Mr. Smith Goes To Washington”

News Corp. Chief Rupert Murdoch: “Thank God!” News Corp. chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch greeted the news by proclaiming “Thank God!” and calling Ryan an “almost perfect choice.” From Murdoch’s Twitter feed:

[Twitter, 8/11/12] 

Correspondent James Rosen: “It Is As If Mr. Obama Has Sensed Not Only Ryan’s Ascent Through The GOP Ranks, But The Looming Danger Of A Politically Savvy Intellect That Is Equal To His Own.” During an August 11 special edition broadcast of Fox News’ Special Report, Fox chief Washington correspondent James Rosen reported:

ROSEN: Launched from portside of USS Wisconsin, Paul Ryan’s opening blast at President Obama, in an election showdown that is, at last, fully staffed. Across seven terms in the House, and as chairman of the Budget Committee for the last two years, Congressman Ryan has emerged as the Republican Party’s leading thinker and salesman on fiscal issues. A forceful advocate for massive cuts in federal entitlement spending, a simplified tax code with sharply reduced rates and untrammeled military appropriations.

[…]

Ryan’s self-styled “Path to Prosperity” for which he starred in this Inconvenient Truth like video offers a classic supply side approach to balance budgeting, a conservative vision that returns responsibility for the social safety net to the states, through federal block grants, and envisions Medicare recipients choosing from an array of different plans.

[…]

During the epic debates over health care and the national debt, Ryan has jousted with President Obama.

RYAN (VIDEO): And if you think they want a government takeover of health care, I would respectfully submit that you are not listening to them.

ROSEN: It is rare for a president to engage an opposition House member who is not speaker or leader so directly. It is as if Mr. Obama has sensed not only Ryan’s ascent through the GOP ranks, but the looming danger of a politically savvy intellect that is equal to his own. Accordingly, the president has charged Ryan with social Darwinism and invited him to events, seemingly for the sole purpose of berating him. [Fox News, Special Report, 8/11/12]

Host Brian Kilmeade: Paul Ryan “Can Answer All The Questions … He Knows The Numbers Inside And Out.” During the August 11 special edition of Fox News’ The Five, guest co-host Brian Kilmeade praised Ryan for being able to “answer all the questions” unlike other Republicans in the past:   

KILMEADE: This is the one thing about Paul Ryan which I find intriguing, and I didn’t know about Sarah Palin, wasn’t sure about Dan Quayle, and you wonder at times with others, with maybe President Bush sometimes — he can answer all the questions. I’ve seen him in the sparing sessions; he knows the numbers inside and out. He’s the guy that snuck out in college to sneak back in his dorm room because he wanted to work on federal budget ideas. He’s the guy who leaped over several different people with seniority to become budget director and senior member at Congress. So it’s very intriguing to see a 41 year old, whose been in Congress since 28 who has these ideas that are new and that its created such anger on the other side. [Fox News, The Five, 8/11/12]

Host Andrea Tantaros: “[Paul Ryan] Sounds Very Reaganesque, He Has A Very Positive Message, And He’s Likeable.” During the August 11 special edition of The Five, co-host Andrea Tantaros said of Ryan:

TANTAROS: [H]e sounds very Reaganesque, he has a very positive message, and he’s likeable. I mean, he has attributes, the likeability that President Obama has. He’ll be a great attack dog. [Fox News, The Five, 8/11/12]

Contributor Pete Snyder: “Paul Ryan Is A Rock Star” On All Critical Issues. During an interview on Fox News’ America’s News HQ, Snyder said Ryan has “been a fiscal hawk, a deficit hawk, for a period of time, that’s singing to the tune of Virginia voters.” After citing four issues he said mattered to voters of that state, Snyder added, “Paul Ryan is a rock star on all of those.” [Fox News, America’s News HQ, 8/11/12]   

Guest Host Peter Johnson, Jr.: Ryan Is A “Bold, Transformational” Pick Who Has “Set The World On Fire.” Guest-hosting Fox & Friends Saturday, Peter Johnson, Jr. said:

JOHNSON: I think a lot of pundits are saying it’s a bold, transformational pick that puts ideas and principles and policies as you’re talking about into the forefront.

[…]

JOHNSON: This young, 43-year-old father of three, seven-term congressman who set the world on fire in terms of opposing Obamacare and coming up with a deficit reduction plan, it’s a transformational move a lot of people are saying this morning. [Fox News, Fox & Friends Saturday, 8/11/12]

Contributor Charles Krauthammer: Ryan’s Youth Makes Him “The Future” And “Kennedy-esque.” On the August 11 edition of Fox & Friends Saturday, contributor Charles Krauthammer said of Ryan and Romney:

KRAUTHAMMER: When you look at the two, there are two things different with Ryan’s presence on the platform. The first is youth, I mean he’s the future, he has this youthful look, if you like kind of Kennedy-esque, boyish energy and enthusiasm. [Fox News, Fox & Friends Saturday, 8/11/12]

Chief Political Correspondent Carl Cameron: “Ryan Is An Energizer Bunny.” Appearing on Fox & Friends Saturday, Fox News chief political correspondent labeled Ryan an “Energizer Bunny” that has “rocketed to the top of Republican politics”:

DAVE BRIGGS: What do you think was the most important factor in selecting Paul Ryan? Obviously, when you think of Paul Ryan, you think of the Paul Ryan budget. The changing Medicare as we know it. But I also have heard a lot about the rapport, the relationship between these two men and how it was great from the very start — that Paul Ryan endorsed Romney when he was still in a heated battle with Rick Santorum. What do you think was first and foremost there?

CAMERON: There’s no question that there’s chemistry. I’ve witnessed it, it was very evident when they campaigned together. They share a whole number of things in common. Despite the twenty-plus year gap between the two, they are both data hunters. They love numbers — Mitt Romney from his experience in business and working with economies as both a governor and a businessman, and Paul Ryan for his lifetime in studying the budget and the economy and particularly how the legislative process and our federal budget’s made. Paul Ryan boasts about when he was in high school and other kids were doing what most teenagers do, he was reading the federal budget for fun. And one of the things that Mitt Romney finds particularly appealing is, Ryan is a very articulate, glib, enthusiastic guy. And he can take really complex economic and budget issues and make them understandable in clear, concise language that voters can understand — that it doesn’t get lost in the kind of legislative speak that you often get on Capitol Hill. And frankly, he puts a little more pizzazz into it than Romney does. And it does bring this debate between left and right now, about what the Ryan/Romney budget — which will soon become the Romney agenda as supported by Ryan with all of his principles — all of that will, it will evolve. That debate will be a more substantive one than a lot of the back-biting and name-calling that we’ve seen in the past few weeks.

And as far as the chemistry in terms of the two men, the criticism that Romney has sometimes not been aggressive enough or not been animated enough or sometimes been stiff. Paul Ryan is an Energizer Bunny. In the last - in seven terms in Congress, he rocketed to the top of Republican politics, as the youngest chairman of the House Budget Committee ever. He has left an incredible mark on the Republican party with the Ryan budget — his proposed Medicare reforms, etc. All have really energized conservatives and Republicans. And likewise, it’s energized a lot of liberals and Democrats, who are as opposed to it as Republicans and conservatives are for it. [Fox News, Fox & Friends Saturday, 8/11/12]

Johnson, Jr.: Ryan “Kind Of Looks Like Jimmy Stewart In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” From the August 11 edition of Fox & Friends Saturday:

JOHNSON: Well, what are positive attributes? You mentioned he’s the Energizer Bunny. We happen to know, Carl, that he’s a Catholic. We happen to know that he’s got three young children, and he kind of looks like Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. There’s a fresh quality about him. Personally, you know him. What kind of person does he come across, apart from the politics?

CAMERON: He’s a lot of fun. He’s enthusiastic. And as I said, he can communicate ideas that we’re used to hearing in very dry, boring language. And he can translate simple - he can make seem simple very complex issues. And when you think about it, a seventeen trillion dollar federal debt is a colossal problem. But in Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney’s estimation, the solution, the fix to that is to stop spending so much, get the economy going, create more jobs and collect more taxes. Pretty simple in Ryan’s, sort of, portrayal of it and Romney’s as well. And this will give them an opportunity to amplify that message and to contrast their view of what America’s economy and government budget should be like to what we’ve seen in the last three and a half years of President Obama. [Fox News, Fox & Friends Saturday, 8/11/12]

Johnson, Jr: “He’s Kind Of The Rock Star Of American Politics.” From the August 11 edition of Fox & Friends Saturday:

JOHNSON: He’s kind of the rock star of American politics. And I think you may have said that earlier, John, in that he’s a person that’s been able to go toe to toe, head to head, with President Obama on serious issues, whether it’s deficit reduction or Obamacare. Is that going to bring energy to this campaign that it needs? And is that going to say to the American people, “hey, the Republican party means business this time.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends Saturday, 8/11/12]

Contributor Monica Crowley: Paul Ryan “Is The Coolest. Period.” Fox News contributor Monica Crowley heaped praise on Ryan on Twitter, calling him “a visionary” and “the coolest.” From Crowley’s Twitter feed:

[Twitter, 8/11/12]

[Twitter, 8/11/12]

Host Sean Hannity: “Outstanding Choice.” Fox host Sean Hannity praised the selection of Ryan as an “outstanding choice.” From Hannity’s Twitter feed:

[Twitter, 8/11/12]

Contributor Bill Kristol: Paul Ryan “Is A Friend Of Mine, So I’m Biased.” On the August 11 edition of Fox & Friends Saturday, contributor Bill Kristol said of Ryan:

KRISTOL: He’s underrated as a talented politician. He’s a policy wonk, he’s a friend of mine, so I’m biased, he’s a good guy and all this, great family, but he is a good politician and I think we’ll see that over the next few months. [Fox News, Fox & Friends Saturday, 8/11/12]

Host Mike Huckabee: Ryan Will Be “The Adult In The Room.” On the August 11 edition of Fox & Friends Saturday, Fox News host Mike Huckabee said:

HUCKABEE: Paul Ryan has a remarkable temperament and I think a very admirable temperament going into this. He is going to be relentlessly, brutally, savagely attacked. Paul Ryan is not the kind of guy that gets emotional about being attacked. He returns it very calmly, very business-like, and that is going to be a big plus, because it’s going to mean that the Obama campaign will look like the bully and Paul Ryan is gonna look like the adult in the room. [Fox News, Fox & Friends Saturday, 8/11/12]

Contributor KT MacFarland: Romney-Ryan Is “A Brilliant Foreign Policy Choice,” Ticket Is “Like Reagan.” On the August 11 edition of America’s Election HQ, national security contributor KT MacFarland said that a Romney-Ryan ticket is “a brilliant foreign policy choice,” in part because “if we don’t fix the economy, foreign policy is collateral damage.” She later added:

MACFARLAND: If you look around the world today, what’s the biggest problem with the perception of America? It’s that the best days are behind us. We were a great empire, no longer and all the Obama administration is going to do is manage the decline. With a Romney-Ryan ticket, it’s like Reagan again. It’s like saying, “we’ve got big problems. We can solve big problems.” [Fox News, America’s Election HQ, 8/11/12]

Contributor Michelle Malkin: “Paul Ryan Is Fresh, Young, Energetic, Smart, Courageous, And Ready For Prime Time.” In a blog post titled “Romney/Ryan 2012: This is what ‘FORWARD’ really looks like,” contributor Michelle Malkin wrote:

After a week marred by a not-ready-for-prime-time staffer who had movement conservatives questioning Team Romney’s competence, sanity, and willingness to fight the brass-knuckles White House and Chicago thug operatives, the Romney campaign made the right decision.

And the Right decision.

Fittingly, the motto of the USS Wisconsin on which Romney/Ryan made their announcement is “Forward for Freedom.”

Paul Ryan is fresh, young, energetic, smart, courageous, and ready for prime time.

[…]

Paul Ryan helps to Right the listing Romney ship.

It’s a great relief

Now, all together: FIGHT [MichelleMalkin.com, 8/11/12]

Contributor Jonah Goldberg: “I Am A Huge, Huge, Paul Ryan Fan.” In an August 11 post to National Review Online’s The Corner, Fox News contributor Jonah Goldberg wrote: “I am a huge, huge, Paul Ryan fan. So I am delighted by the news he will be Romney’s running mate.” [NRO’s The Corner, 8/11/12]

Fox Has A Long History Of Promoting Ryan

Fox News Sunday Gave Ryan A Birthday Cake. During Ryan’s January appearance on Fox News Sunday, Fox anchor Chris Wallace ended the interview by noting that it was Ryan’s birthday, and a staffer brought out a cake to mark the occasion. Wallace joked that the dollar sign on the cake represented the “federal dollar” and that Ryan should “cut into that sucker.” [Fox News, Fox News Sunday, 1/29/12]

Fox’s Bill Hemmer: Ryan Releasing Budget Plan “Is Going To Go Down As The Single Most Important Event In Government History In Our Lifetimes.” On the March 21 edition of Fox News Radio’s Kilmeade & Friends, Fox host Bill Hemmer said: “I think what happened yesterday is going to go down as the single most important event in government history in our lifetimes, and that is when Paul Ryan came out with his budget plan”:

HEMMER: I think what happened yesterday is going to go down as the single most important event in government history in our lifetimes, and that is when Paul Ryan came out with his budget plan. And I’m not suggesting it’s going to pass, but what I am saying is a year from now or five years from now or, god forbid, 10 years from now, when we address the problems that he talked about yesterday, there’s going to be hell to pay in this country, and we’re going to have to make enormous sacrifices. [Fox News Radio, Kilmeade & Friends, 3/21/12]

Fox Host Kilmeade Praised Ryan’s “Courage” In Releasing A “Forward-Leaning Budget Proposal.” On the March 20 edition of Fox News’ Fox & Friends, co-host Brian Kilmeade declared, of Ryan’s budget proposal, “I’ve got to give Paul Ryan a ‘C’ for courage.” From Fox & Friends:

KILMEADE: I’ve got to give Paul Ryan a ‘C’ for courage, and [Rep.] Dave Camp has a C in his last name already so I’m not going to give it to him. But together they went out and put together a forward-leaning - a forward-leaning budget proposal, which I’m sure is going to get people on the other side saying, “Look how mean they are, and look how partisan they are.” But what I think he’s doing - and you know would better than me, [guest co-host] Melissa [Francis] - but he’s attacking the major problems that are facing this country, entitlements, and he’s also attacking Medicare and our tax structure. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/20/12]

Kilmeade To Ryan: “Everyone Respects The Work You’re Doing.” During a March 21 interview with Ryan on Fox & Friends, Kilmeade said to Ryan, “Whether you like it or not — whether you agree or not — everyone respects the work you’re doing and how you’re attacking the debt and deficit.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/21/12 via Media Matters]

For more on Fox’s promotion of Ryan and his proposals, click here and here.