Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) showed this morning at CPAC that he’s fully transitioned from vice presidential candidate back to House Budget Committee chairman.
In fact, he didn’t even mention the unsuccessful 2012 race — or even give his opinion on the future direction of the GOP — as he promoted his latest incarnation of the “Path to Prosperity” budget plan.
“It is nice to be in a room full of conservatives for a change,” Ryan quipped, calling it a monumental week because “we got white smoke from the Vatican and we got a budget from the Senate… when you read it, you find the Vatican is not the only one blowing smoke this week.”
He called the Democrats’ budget so bad that “if we did nothing, the government would save money.”
“I am proud of our budget because it’s changed the conversation,” Ryan said. “…Our debt is a threat to this country. A debt crisis would be more than an economic event, it would be a moral failure.”
The chairman lauded a balanced budget as “a reasonable goal because it returns government back to its reasonable limits and focus.”
“Work is good. Work is dignified. … Before all else, government must work … chaos is fertile soil for liberalism.”
Wrapping up his address without any hint whatsoever of future political ambitions, Ryan urged the crowd to “go get ’em — all right, everybody?”
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