Mitt Romney displayed a willingness to somewhat reach out to commonsense conservatives who want real solutions to begin moving our country back to the right course by selecting Paul Ryan as his Vice Presidential nominee.

As such, I join Governor Palin in congratulating him.  I also applaud Bristol Palin’s call for prayers for Paul Ryan and his family – because what’s coming his way will surely change their lives forever.

But merely putting up a shiny object only works on the first day.  The proverbial Paul Ryan honeymoon will be ending soon – especially in this 24-hour news cycle.  Commonsense conservatives tend to prefer longevity and sustainability.  Those things are required in achieving and sustaining momentum.

With Ryan at Romney’s side, we have some chances of positive reform.  This is evidenced by Ryan’s serious calls for reforming entitlements.  This uncomfortable, yet necessary conversation is the antithesis of our economic recovery so that we can begin chipping away at the insurmountable debt lingering over the heads of our children and our children yet-to-be-born.

This is why it’s disheartening when campaign advisers immediately come out to throw a rug over Paul Ryan’s ideas – as Kevin Madden did today when he sought to distance Romney from Ryan on these matters.

We all know the White House will seek to frame its strategies around Ryan’s effectiveness with these issues.  The DNC ad showing Ryan pushing grandma over the cliff only previews what we’re going to see and hear from now until November.  Of course, they’re lying.  The Paul Ryan plan does not affect people over 55.  The Paul Ryan plan does not change social security or Medicare for existing seniors.  In lieu of trying to steer the attention away from the discomfort of grown up discussions on entitlements as the Romney campaign seems intent on doing; it’s best we face the lies and smears from Obama and his surrogates in the media and handle them one by one.

So, my proposals for Romney are pretty simple.  They allow for a free flow of conservative ideas and a more vivid attempt to be honest with the American people.

1.)    Fire Kevin Madden 

Not only has Kevin Madden been instrumental in coordinating attacks on Governor Palin, but just today he allowed himself to be pistol whipped by the White House who plans on using the Ryan budget as its campaign strategy against the Romney/Ryan ticket.  In response to questions, Madden said:

“Gov. Romney is at the top of the ticket. And Governor Romney’s vision for the country is something that Congressman Ryan supports.”

This of course was in response to reporters revealing the White House’s interpretation of Paul Ryan:

David Axelrod, Obama’s senior adviser, cast Ryan as a “right wing ideologue” who wants to convert Medicare into a voucher plan and put the popular health-care program for the elderly in “a death spiral.”

“It is a pick that is meant to thrill the most strident voices in the Republican Party, but it’s one that should trouble everybody else _ the middle class, seniors, students,” Axelrod said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Instead of pointing out the obvious: common sense is not “strident,” Madden immediately sought to distance Romney from Ryan on issues of budgets and entitlements.  This undermines why conservatives love real solutions grounded in reality and not just talk which further kicks the can down the road for our country.

The candidates and their “strident” invoking policies are what bring people out to the rallies, they engage people to listen, and they drive deciding voters out to the voting booths.

2.)    Fire Andrea Saul 

Just what we can expect to come for Paul Ryan has already begun to come for Mitt Romney.  As Palin supporters and strong conservative voices grounded in our values, we know what to expect.  Ann Romney was attacked on her clothes, so was Palin.  Mitt Romney was accused of death he had nothing to do with, so was Palin.  The media obsesses about Romney’s tax returns, they were obsessed with Palin’s e-mails.  And after his U.K visit, the media decided to begin questioning his intelligence – something we’re all too familiar with in the case of Gov. Palin as well.

The last four weeks of Romney attacks we knew were coming.  Unfortunately they’re going to continue.  And we only need to look to history to determine what they’re going to be about.  And sadly, attacks on the Romney/Ryan children will be underway.

So, why did Andrea Saul feel that in lieu of pointing out the obvious preposterousness of Obama supporters once again manufacturing a “blood libel” on Mitt Romney, it was best to point to mandate-Massachusetts health care to make her case?  If voters are supposed to believe that Romney is not intent on mandated health care on a federal level, who would use this as a talking point to voters who don’t live in Massachusetts?  Sorry Andrea, the state isn’t big enough for all of us!  And many of us continue to believe that his state health plan is the worst of his qualities – while we focus on his positives: private sector experience, job growth, and turning around the Olympics.

3.)    Embrace Governor Palin and her energy. 

Palin’s endorsement record in 2012 has been more impressive than any other’s.  She’s worked hard and continues to get out there and shake hands with the common folks in the grassroots of America.  These are the Americans that make the country work.  While many of the working class independents have written off Obama, this doesn’t mean they will be energized enough to show up to vote for Romney.  Romney needs Palin’s energy on the campaign trail continuing to get commonsense conservatives into Congress ready to work for him.  Her energy needs to transcend to voters who are not partisan to the R and D.  This is why she was actually ahead of Obama among independents in the last poll released before her decision to not seek the GOP nomination.  It was the party’s elite who shunned her – folks like David Frum and others who cannot turn out commonsense independent voters.  Having Palin at the convention and putting forth a little bit of effort to give her the respect she deserves will have the largest impact of all as far as the message is concerned.

In summary, it appears Kevin Madden and Andrea Saul are revealing themselves as the 2012 versions of Steve Schmidt and Nicolle Wallace who view candidates like Sarah Palin and Paul Ryan as glitter to illuminate their duding strategies.

And when those strategies ultimately fail conservatives and by extension the country, we can count on Madden and Saul selling out Paul Ryan to pack their parachutes in a way no different than Schmidt and Wallace did to Palin.

Lesson learned:  Palin’s not the shiny object Schmidt and Wallace wasted away.  Her strategies and fight for conservatism needs to be applied by anyone paying attention.