Dick Morris Praises "Jackpot" Paul Ryan Pick Despite Warning Against Him
Blog››› ››› ERIC HANANOKI
Fox News contributor Dick Morris has praised Mitt Romney's VP selection of Paul Ryan as "hitting the jackpot," "inspired" and "terrific." Yet Morris previously said that "I hope that Romney does not select" Ryan because his Medicare plan would "give Obama a really big issue to beat Romney with." Morris' flip-flop echoes the commentator's dishonesty on Mitt Romney. Morris previously said that "I do not like Romney" because "I can't trust him" to repeal Obamacare. Morris then told a conservative radio program that he stopped criticizing Romney because "I don't want to make my own task [of defeating Obama] harder." Morris is now one of Romney's biggest cheerleaders and claims the former Massachusetts governor will repeal health care reform.
Morris Before VP Selection: "I Hope That Romney Does Not Select" Paul Ryan
On the August 2 edition of Fox & Friends, while discussing possible running mates, Morris warned viewers: "Ryan is brilliant and exciting. But the problem is he comes with some baggage because of his earlier plan to basically replace Medicare with a voucher system."
Later that day, Morris expanded on why Ryan would be a bad pick. When asked by Greta Van Susteren about Ryan and Jeb Bush, Morris replied: "I think neither of them would be good ... Paul Ryan is brilliant. I think he's wonderful. But he proposed replacing Medicare with a voucher system. He's since backed off that and said, I'll keep Medicare as an option. But in doing that, he would attract so much fire over that."
Morris posted a video on his website on August 8 in which he said that "even though I love Paul Ryan, I hope that Romney does not select him" because of Ryan's support for a Medicare voucher system:
MORRIS: The problem is that he came out in the first Ryan budget for replacing Medicare with a voucher system. And he's since backed off that. He said, No, no, you don't need to do that. But you can keep your current Medicare or go to the voucher system and we'll make the voucher system so attractive that most people will make that shift. But Obama's not going to let him get away with that and it would give Obama a really big issue to beat Romney with. So even though I love Paul Ryan, I hope that Romney does not select him.Watch:
Morris After VP Selection: Romney Hit The "Jackpot" With "Inspired," "Terrific" Pick
Morris gushed over Ryan's selection in an August 13 video on his website. Morris began the video by saying that "Romney hit the jackpot with Paul Ryan." While acknowledging that Ryan is a "risky" political choice, Morris spent most of the video claiming to be excited about how Ryan would help the ticket. For example, Morris said Ryan's convention speech could be a "seminal moment" in American political history:
MORRIS: He will destroy Biden in the debates. And I am so looking forward to his having a primetime Wednesday night speech at the convention. That speech could be as much of a turning point, not just in the election, but in American political history, as Sarah Palin's speech was at the 2008 convention because finally he'll have a large, national audience, where he can really articulate and lay out what his thinking is in terms of the budget, and the disaster that we face if we're not careful. It could be one of those seminal moments that changes how people think about an issue.""So I think it's an inspired choice," Morris concluded. "I think it clearly sets to rest any conservative's doubt about the intentions of Mitt Romney and clear the decks, we've got a fight on our hands."
Morris was interviewed by Fox & Friends on August 11 and said that "this is just an inspired pick. I think he'll destroy Joe Biden in the debate. I think that he'll energize the base. I think it ends the speculation of is Romney is really a conservative or not. And I think it's terrific." Watch:
During a later Fox & Friends segment, Morris said he was concerned that Ryan's plan "continues the $500 billion Medicare cut that was in Obamacare. ... Romney has that issue, that $500 billion cut to defend against the charge that he's going to cripple Medicare and make it a voucher system. Ryan needs to come to Romney on that, rather than move Romney to Ryan." However, Morris concluded that Ryan would "do a rather good job of defending it and make clear that it's necessary to do these kinds of things to preserve the length of the history of the program."
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