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Paul Ryan says under no circumstance would he emerge as GOP nominee
Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), the popular chairman of the House Budget Committee whom some Republicans have floated for the party's presidential nomination were no candidate to emerge from the primaries, dismissed the idea of emerging from a brokered convention as "silly talk" Friday.
"If I had a burning ambition to be president, I would have run for president. I don't have that burning ambition and therefore I didn't run," Ryan said on MSNBC.
The Wisconsin congressman was asked by MSNBC host Luke Russert if he could envision any circumstance leading to his being the GOP nominee in 2012.
"No, I really don't see that happening," Ryan said.
"Look, it's February — these things have a way of working themselves out … We haven't even gotten to Super Tuesday yet, so I just think all of this talk of a brokered convention is extremely premature," Ryan said.
Ryan also continued to hammer the budget deal struck by House leadership that would continue the payroll tax holiday without requiring budget offsets. Ryan said he didn't think the tax break "will do a lot for the economy" and said the deal "frustrates me."
"I don't think it's good that we crank up withholding right now in the middle of this economy, but I don't want to pretend this will create economic growth and jobs, because I really don't think it will," Ryan said.
The Budget Committee chairman went on to say that temporary tax rebates did little to stimulate job growth.
"Tax rebates don't really work because they're so temporary; it's permanency that businesses are looking at when they decide to hire. So I don't want to pretend this is good economic policy," Ryan said.
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