Romney’s Choice

The GOP-Tea Party ticket is set.  With the Ryan pick, any supposed distinction between the GOP and the Tea Party falls away. Given recent results in Senate primaries and, now, the successful ultra-right pressure on Romney to choose Ryan, the Tea Party is in control. The GOP belongs to the Koch brothers, Adelson and the super-pacs of Karl Rove and assorted extremist reactionary multibillionaires. They decided to throw down the gauntlet, to avoid ambiguity that might attach to a choice less provocative than Ryan.

The issues are even more defined now than they seemed before the GOP ticket was settled, but those who want to see the GOP defeated in November should hold back the cheers. In the present economic and political environment, it is unwise to view the Romney-Ryan ticket primarily as a move of rightwing desperation. It is an audacious high-stake bid to capture full and unequivocal control of the government and the direction of the country.