Ryan, "tired of talking presidential politics," returns to Congress

Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., gestures while speaking during a campaign event, Oct. 31, 2012, in Eau Claire, Wis.

/ AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Former Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan is headed back to Washington, but not the way he had hoped. He opened up about the loss in his first round of post-election interviews, calling it "pretty sad." Instead of heading to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as Mitt Romney's vice president, Ryan returns to his office in the U.S. Capitol at the other end of the famed street where he said he would work to find "common ground."

"We need to start talking to our colleagues to find common ground," Ryan said during an interview with CBS affiliate WISC-TV in Madison, Wis.

Ryan told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that "divided government didn't work in the last two years. We're going to have to find a way to make it work in the next two years, because these fiscal issues are getting worse, not better, because of time."

As Ryan extended a hand of bipartisanship, he also conceded that his plan for spending and the deficit are not going to pass as-is. "We're not going to be able to fix this country's fiscal problems along the way I thought we should have," he told the Sentinel.

Ryan returns to Congress as head of the House Budget Committee, which is key in crafting budget policy. He will be instrumental in negotiations over the "fiscal cliff" in coming weeks. Reports reveal that he conferred with House Speaker John Boehner before the speaker announced last week that he is open to increasing revenue through larger tax reform.

"Yes, you can increase revenues without having to raise tax rates. Our fear is that if you raise tax rates you hurt economic growth. You hurt small businesses. So through tax reform you can get higher revenues without damaging the economy. We think that's the better way to go," Ryan told the Sentinel.

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"In order to get things done, in order to reach common ground, both sides need to put out, not just rhetoric, but specific ideas on the table. Then you negotiate. We're hopeful that the president will begin to show some leadership on this and some other issues so that we can begin to get common ground," he added.

President Obama has said since he won reelection that voters gave him a mandate to raise taxes on the wealthy, but Ryan does not agree. "I don't think we lost it on those budget issues," Ryan told WISC-TV.

While the Ryan and Romney team continuously pointed to greater Republican enthusiasm as one factor that would lead them to victory, Ryan said the president outperformed them in that arena. He attributed Mr. Obama's win to turnout. "The president should get credit for achieving record-breaking turnout numbers from urban areas for the most part, and that did win the election for him."

On the loss, Ryan said it was "pretty sad," especially since it was his first loss. He described it to the Sentinel as "a foreign experience."

"It's bittersweet. The sweet part is I'm back home on the block I grew up on, with my friends and family," he said in another interview with the Wisconsin State Journal. "The bitter part is we lost a major presidential election at a critical time."

As for his ambitions for a 2016 presidential run, Ryan chuckled and said, "I think everybody's tired of talking about presidential politics, I am."

[pupdog221]

So this mediocre brown-nosing hack is already tired of presidential politics?

He would have felt just awful had he been elected.

Stay in your little corner of Wisconsin, Paul.

Good boy.

[cubscout09]

Ryan should attribute Obama's win to record-breaking NON turnout.

McCain 59,934,814 votes
Romney 59,140,591 votes

"Republican enthusiasm" was a fantasy.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It was'nt just low turnout. Nevada had 5,000 votes for "none of these candidates." I do not think that this was an isolated incident.

[Millennial]

nancy_naive replies: Don't try to explain context to a Tea-Brainer.

"See Dick Run" -- to most of us that's a children's book. To a Tea-Brainer, he's describing a problem to his doctor.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I know Nancy..

But these TEA NO BRAINERS-- just don't get it even AFTER the election-they have every EXCUSe under the SUN for their OWN failures as a PARTY.

I lost my cool and didn't check my grammar/spelling on my last response, we need to just ignore these PPL, the nation spoke on 11-6-2012 before the stroke of midnite, in fact it was 11:18PM..

.. these Tea Baggers are STILL trying to RUIN this nation, truly they are by being the PARTY of NO!

President Obama is the PRESIDENT of the UNITEd STATES, and the TP GOP better get used to it now and LEARN how to WORK with this president and
his newly administration come january 2013..theres going to be some big shake-ups coming that going to give this TP GOP a pain in the a&&!

These people had no problem with Bush 43rd--where he and his adminstration was the MOST inept EVER..outside of president Andrew Johnson.

Bush screwed this nation BIG time and hid most of what was to come.. we have two wars to pay for as result of his lies and inept choice to go to war, and who had a large take home pay for years as result of these wars? Bush/Cheney and company, that's who! Both invested in military contracts- basically war contracts..made tons of loot off both wars..the list is endless of manipulation and intention to mislead WE THE PEOPLE!

Granted I didn't agree with SOME of President Obama's policies-some I did agree with..however, like most AMERICANS- we don't agree with any president ALL the time.

President Obama is the president of these United States-and the US SUpreme COURT has more RESPECT for President Obama than these SOUL-LESS race based Tea NO-BRAINERS.

Get over yourself tea brainers, you're facing mid term elections..and
you will be voted OUT, some of you barely got re-elected this time around..and some of your didn't make it this time around, and rightfully so. WE THE PEOPLE don't like what you are doing in congress, reach ACROSS the aisle and LEARN to compromise for WE THE PEOPLE! Or you will be out of job in 24 months..Get a clue!

Go Purple Party.

[Retired_in_Va]

And now since the Republicans lost, they want to secede from the union!!! The do not want to try to work things out, they just want it their way. To hell with everybody else. They are the one's who put us in this economic problem, but they do not want to help correct it.

[DJPEsq]

there are $16,000,000,000,000 reasons to find common ground ... but

boys and girls, as our debt rises daily, there is not a chance in he|| a single dollar will ever be paid back ... ever

not a chance ... thus America will be insolvent by 2024 ...

... have a great afternoon, anyway ...

[David_Tampa]

Didn't make it to econ 101 huh? Out in the parking lot smoking your Camels were ya?

Our GNP is 35 Trillion a year. If we decided to print 1/4 of your phantom 16 trillion every year for 4 years no one would even notice! Silly boy worry about something else for a while; as in how to just be nice. You sound like a nun talking about birth control.

[samXXkiley]

coucou,
****"tired of talking presidential politics,"****Paul Ryan said.
==========
wise decision, lol!

the outcome of these elections showed that the Republican Party was losing ground, that it is time to question.
Find a common ground with Democrats to solve some problems, would be a good start.
"au revoir"

[Jaylah54200]

Ryan seeking bipartisanship. I'll believe that when I see it. Ryan has been one of the major leaders of the TeaParty obstructionist movement.

This is all rather funny in a sad sort of way. The GOP has been railing for the past four years about how they're going to make Obama a "one-term president" and have been so blinded by their own greed that it hit them totally out of the blue when the rest of the country showed we didn't automatically accept their superiority.

With this loss, perhaps they've been forced to consider reality a bit more and now are starting to realize that the American people hold THEM responsible for the gridlock in Washington for the last two years, and the fact that our national credit rating was downgraded.

Some of them did even manage to admit that attempting to play chicken with our country's finances, until the credit downgrade happened, was "a mistake", so perhaps they're starting to understand that driving us off "the fiscal cliff" would be the final death-knell for their party.

[Millennial]

iwantafuture replies: The Democrats were so certain and right about 2010 right?...Illegals are illegals...its a FEDERAL Law to be in the US Illegally is a crime. go back and come in LEGAL..no one is stopping you. What part of that dont you get? and BTW in 2016 you wont have aminority to vote for probably awhite guy again..whayt you gonna do thenn...Oh my vote Democrat NO MATTER WHO IS running...Hypocrite thats what you ara..and probably here illegally.


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Don't be STUPID using the word illegal in the WRONG context as a response, data and context is the reason the Re-PUB-li-CONS loss the GENERAL ELECTION.

.. and not once did I think the democratic loss in 2010 wouldn't happen and QUESS WHAT? The data context as stated BEFORE the 2010 mid terms elections indicated loss of the democrtic HOUSE- el stupido! It's called DATA..something the GOP doesn't GET, its arithmetic!

Did I not say IMMIGRATION REFORM in my earlier post? What part of those two words you don't GET? I

Immgration reform was presented by the president, and the HOUSE kicked it back, REMEMBER? So since the HOUSE didn't want to deal with immigration reform on any level(a lesson learn to REACH across the aisle ans compromise ans NEVER say NO from the start in politics)..the presidnet move on immigration status another WAY.

So AGAIN let the TP GOP HOUSE take up the ISSUE of immigration reform presented by the PRESIDENT..

I'm a american, my family is generations AMERICAN.. so it doesn't matter who's white, african american, hispanic, asian, to vote for, as long as the policy is FAIR for ALL AMERICANS who PAY TAXES! The GOP tea party thinks otherwise and the AMERICAN PPL said HELL NO! A whites only agenda to benefit only rich whites is not AMERICAN, and I agree..

Look, desendents of slaves, and foriegn immigrants built this nation on nothing but mere survival and religious freedom and coming together as WE THE PEOPLE, and its TIME for this nation to pay up on its debts stolen from HARD WORKING PEOPLE, no matter what race, creed or color..and STOP the thief by men in power who have been stealing from the inhabitants of this nation since plymouth rock as a liberty and privilege to do so..

Get a CLUE!

[nancy_naive]

Don't try to explain context to a Tea-Brainer.

"See Dick Run" -- to most of us that's a children's book. To a Tea-Brainer, he's describing a problem to his doctor.

[superdem1]

Mr. Ryan just spent months and months bashing the Democratic Party and everything it stands for, lying all the way, then he got his rear handed to him by the American people, and now he's all "let's find common ground" - while in full denial that the majority of country rejected him, his running mate, and their "values." That's right, Paul, it's you and your values, not anything else that lost you the election. You lost, so it's your job to accommodate the winners, not the other way around. If you can't do that, resign and go speak to the secessionist rallies, they'd love to have you.

[hillzhaveays]

A small majority is not "handing their rear to them" super. What happened is the Republicans made some colossally stupid moves and the Liberals had some real good BS arguments.

Doesn't matter. My job is recession proof and makes great money. Hope yours is too. You're gonna need it.

[Retired_in_Va]

hillzhaveays, spoken like a true Republican. You are probably one of the ones that will have to pay more taxes, as well you should. And taxes on corporations, most corporations do not pay anywhere near the 34% tax rate. A lot pay little or no taxes and some even get back more than they paid in. Google "companies that paid little or no taxes". Check some of the results. You might be surprised at some of the names on the list. As far as getting beat, no taxes on the rich, off shore accounts, women's right, etc, etc, that is the reason.

[kbbpll]

Ryan should attribute Obama's win to record-breaking NON turnout.

McCain 59,934,814 votes
Romney 59,140,591 votes

"Republican enthusiasm" was a fantasy.

[Millennial]

..certainly was a fantasy, the GOP NEVER had the data to prove the data went outside of their party or red states.