In coming weeks we’ll see whether swing voters go for Representative Paul Ryan’s brand of anti-tax, anti-Medicare, anti-Medicaid politics. Another strong opinion held by the presumptive Republican vice presidential nominee, although not one that has received much attention so far, is that he is very, very pro-gun. His passion for hunting and for gun rights could make a critical difference in battleground states.
One of the many reasons the Republican base has had its hesitations about Mitt Romney is his dubious dedication to the Second Amendment. Not so Ryan. His firearm credentials are unimpeachable. When the Wisconsin congressman announced his engagement to be married in 2000, the New York Times reports, the notice in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel stated: “Ryan is an avid hunter and fisherman who does his own skinning and butchering and makes his own Polish sausage and bratwurst.”