• Listen to this segment

• Listen to the entire program

Presumptive Republic Presidential nominee, Mitt Romney this past Saturday announced his choice of running mate, Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan. The announcement was made on-board the USS Wisconsin in front of a crowd of thousands. Romney lauded Ryan’s religious beliefs, saying he was a “good Catholic,” and “believes in the worth and dignity of every human life.”

Rep. Ryan wasted no time in transitioning into campaign mode, calling out President Obama. “Hope and change has now become attack and blame,” said Ryan. He also blamed Obama for his policies of “crony capitalism” and “corporate welfare.”

Campaigning in Iowa, President Obama yesterday called Paul Ryan “the ideological leader of the Republicans in Congress.”

Paul Ryan is Chair of the House Budget Committee and is closely affiliated with the billionaire Koch brothers, via the Koch-funded organization, Americans for Prosperity. But Ryan is best known for his controversial federal budget proposal. Under his plan, Medicare in its existing form would be transformed and essentially replaced by a voucher system. Ryan’s plan would gradually increase costs on seniors who are under the program so that by 2030, they would be paying 68% of costs, compared to 25% today. Also under the Ryan budget plan, millionaires would receive a $265,000 tax break, while the nation’s poorest would see $8 billion cut from food stamp funds. Ryan also voted for a bill in May to increase annual defense spending by $8 billion to a total of $642 billion.

Rep. Paul’s budget plans, coming during the on-going economic recession, have been so controversial, that even Romney was quick to distance himself, saying “as President, he will be putting together his own plan for cutting the deficit and putting the budget on a path to balance.”

GUESTS: Adele Stan, is the Washington bureau chief for AlterNet and an Uprising Election 2012 analyst, Imara Jones, writes about economic justice for Colorlines.com

Click here to read Adele Stan’s article about Paul Ryan.

Click here to read Imara Jones’ article about Paul Ryan.