The Other Koch!

Ed Koch is a long time Democrat. He is a former congressman and a former mayor of New York City. In a blog column he makes a comparison of this election between a republican Romney - Ryan ticket and a democrat Obama - Biden ticket to the one held in 1964.

Mr. Koch thanks Mr. Romney for choosing Ryan for he thinks that places this election on a par of the 1964 election where conservative Barry Goldwater was trounced by democrat liberal Lyndon Johnson seeking his own first term as President.

I think there is a significant difference between the two elections although Koch makes some very good points in explaining the history and a perspective of social responsibility.

In 1964 Barry Goldwater's campaign philosophy was, "extremism in the pursuit of liberty is no vice." Mr. Romney's and Mr. Ryan's campaign tenet now is, besides attacking and criticizing everything President Obama does and says, in my words now, less taxes for the wealthy in the pursuit of riches is no vice.

While Mr. Romney has offered no detailed fiscal plan of his own where it stands up to non-partisan scrutiny for a balanced budget, he has by choosing Mr. Ryan as his running mate embraced the fiscal conservative philosophy of Mr. Ryan who is the republican architect of the plan to change Medicare and Medicaid.

Mr. Koch puts it this way:

"...privatizing Medicare is the signature proposal of Paul Ryan and his budget adopted by the Republican House of Representatives. Ryan would give those 55 or younger vouchers to buy health insurance policies to replace the current Medicare entitlement program. Already the Romney-Ryan team is screaming it is unfair to attack Ryan on ... his signature proposal. But he cannot run away from it and his philosophy."

The 1964 election was a landslide for President Johnson. I don't think this will be either a landslide or a mandate. It will be close. It will be contentious because there is still prejudice in America and it will be a testament to the greatness of the United States of America.  It is our freedom of choice in a participatory democracy. The people will speak and the government will listen and obey.