Saturday, August 11, 2012

10 interesting facts about Paul Ryan

The Daily Caller ^ | 08/11/2012 | Jamie Weinstein


Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will name Rep. Paul Ryan as his vice presidential nominee Saturday morning in Norfolk, Va. Here are 10 interesting facts about the Wisconsin congressman:

10.) Ryan’s father died of a heart attack at 55 when Ryan was 16. Both Ryan’s grandfather and great grandfather died of heart attacks in their late 50s.
9.) Ryan worked for Oscar Meyer while in college and even drove the Wienermobile.
8.) He was elected to Congress in 1998 at the age of 28.
7.) He’s a big fan of Objectivist philosopher Ayn Rand — even saying that he has made Rand’s magnum opus “Atlas Shrugged” required reading for his staff and interns. Recently, however, the Catholic Ryan noted that he didn’t subscribe to Rand’s atheist philosophy, at least not in its totality.
6.) Before being elected to Congress, Ryan worked as a speechwriter for Jack Kemp, the late New York congressman and vice-presidential candidate in 1996.
5.) Though considered a fiscal hawk, Ryan voted the Medicare Part D prescription drug expansion in 2003. To the consternation of some in the tea party, he also voted for both the Troubled Asset Relief Program, the Wall Street bailout and the auto bailouts. He explained the reasons behind many of these votes in an interview with The Daily Caller.

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