Paul Ryan Says He’s Not Thinking About 2016 Bid

Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) says he’s not letting himself think about a possible presidential bid in 2016.

This week, Ryan is holding his first district town hall meetings since failing to become vice president in last November’s election. He briefly mentions that race, and still doesn’t care for many of President Obama’s policies, including on health care, taxes and government spending.

But despite some speculation from political analysts, Ryan says he’s not considering a run for the White House in 2016.

“I’m ruling out thinking about it right now. I really don’t think it’s in my interest as a Congressman to be thinking about some promotion three years down the road. That will cloud my judgment from doing my job today.”

And Ryan in his current job as House Budget Committee chairman has his detractors. Diane Moderson of Hartland is concerned that Ryan’s push to reduce spending dries up dollars that could stimulate the economy.

“People in the middle class and the poor who spend what they have, because they cannot afford to put it in the Cayman Islands – these are the people we need to empower to spend money.”

If Ryan wins the tax and spending argument in Washington over the next year, that could help him win re-election to the House in 2014, and boost the presidential talk for 2016.

But even one of his supporters, Steve Myers of Pewaukee, wonders if Ryan’s chance for the White House may have already gone: “A lot of young stars are coming up. The minority vote is really strong now, and that’s the hard one for the party to get.”

Myers mentions Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Flor.) as one of the GOP’s rising stars who may be able to win a more diverse group of voters than Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney did last fall.