Ryan: 2012 election a ‘referendum on the American idea’

Recently named Human Events‘ conservative of the year, Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan discussed the future with the publication’s Jason Mattera.

“[The election] is a referendum on the American idea, not on Barack Obama and his handling of the economy,” Ryan told HUMAN EVENTS. “It is, ‘Do you want to reclaim the founding principles that made us exceptional and great, an opportunity society with a circumscribed safety net? Or do you want the cradle-to-grave welfare state?’ ”

“It’s really a choice of two futures,” Ryan added. “We owe it to the country to let them choose what kind of country they want to be and what kind of people they want to be.”