here in janesville. our family's story is not different from most american family stories. back in the 1850's, the potatoes stopped growing in ireland. so our great great grandfather, with the shirt on his back, made his way to boston, worked his way on the railroad to get enough money to buy a farm. and that brought him to the outskirts of jeans the wisconsin. he looked around and it was summertime and he said this looks just like ireland. then came winter. [laughter] and he said, oh, crop. but they made a go of it. and lots of immigrants came in those years. this town has lots of immigrants. there were colons, kennedy's, its urals, holy res, fagins, ryan's. we all made a go of it. we all raised their families here. we are fifth generation janesville, wisconsin natives. [cheers and applause] and it is not a unique story. it is the american story. the reason our family came here and the reason everybody else's family came here is because of what this country stands for. america is not just a piece of geo

janesville, wisconsin, january 29, 1970. paul davis ryan entered the world, the youngest of four children was born to betty and paul ryan. he grew up in the historic courthouse hill neighborhood. >> he's always been a very serious kid, very friendly. quite frankly, he really has never changed. like i say to a lot of people, what you see is what you get. >> greta: at age 16, tragedy struck. his most difficult day. paul ryan found his father not breathing. he tried to save him. but it was too late. >> paul's father died when he was in high school. that forced him to grow up earlier than any young man should. but paul did, with the help of his devoted mother, his brothers and sister and a supportive community. and as he did, he internalized the virtues and hard-working ethic of the midwest. >> greta: that same year, ryan fought off that pain, throwing himself into his school and work. ryan became joseph a. craig's class president and working at mcdonald's and an accolade he will never live down. two years later, he was named th

before that, the family of janesville worker. much of the recovery is due in part because of obama stimulus package. also, supporting and entrepreneurs by $1.2 million stimulus grant. the federal government is contributing upwards of $10 million to a janesville plant manufacturing medical products -- a plant that employs some 150 people. in addition, major infrastructure projects that ryan has encouraged will be reportedly financed as part of a billion dollar federal and state highway project. to talk more about how congress member ryan's attempts to scale back government's role in the economy stands in stark contrast to the lived experience of his own home town, we're joined by brad lichtenstein, director of, "as goes janesville." brad lichtenstein is an award winning filmmaker and the president of 371 productions for the block and to "democracy now!" talk about the significance of your film, especially now with paul ryan elevated to the republican presidential press presidential ticket. >> sure. i think paul got it right, janes

i spent time in janesville this summer. folks there told me it's a town that's, frankly, searching for an identity. janesville is also a town that traditionally votes democrat. it was very union-by assed town. that could change in this upcoming election. ted rolands reports. >> tobin ryan says it's hearted to believe that his little brother, who he shared a bedroom with, could be the next vice president of the united states. >> we're still coming off of a cloud, and we learned about the acceptance, you know, friday night like most everybody did. >> reporter: it really hit home, tobin said, at sunday's rally many wisconsin when paul, his wife, janna, and his mother teared up with emotion. >> you see paul and janna and the tears on their face. it really dawned owes that we're at a special moment many time. >> reporter: at 42 paul ryan is the youngest of four children. his father, paul sr., an attorney, died of a heart attack when paul was 16. >> he is the one that found his father, and he was home alone at that time. i think

>> his hometown janesville. it is the seat of the county. they elected barack obama, and gave him nearly twice as many votes as john mccain. in the june recall election, rock county opted for tom barrett in the race over governor walker. until december 2008 the gm plant was the pulsing heart of the city. the plant shuts down and janesville is gutted and the city has yet to recover. paul ryan and his family are sort of celebrities there, they are known as the kenendys of janesville, for whatever that is worth. but this is hardly a bashian of right-wing politics. >> i don't know that the kenendys would want him claiming that name so much. but if this is sort of a blue collar place, it has got a gm plant, it's a working town how is guy elected there when he is so conservative? >> he is not the conservative fire brand -- the supply side trickle down warrior that he is in washington in janesville. if you talk to people from janesville, he is more known as a guy who goes to washington. he says good things about manufacturing. he talks about but do

but he remained the kid from janesville who goes home there every weekend. he's got a young family there. in much the same way that joe biden was when he first ran for congress. he was a very young man. and then some of his family was killed in a tragic crash. but they were both the sort of stars of their parties at that -- when they came to congress. is ryan decided -- joe biden went off in the foreign policy direction. ryan decided to go off in the domestic policy path and wrote what is called "the path to prosperity" which has essentially become the blueprint for republicans and how they're going to solve the deficit issue. so i think that's going to become front and center in the campaign, if it hasn't been already, because it speaks directly to what happens to president obama's health care law. >> yeah. and i want to bring in john king right now. john, i'd like to talk a little bit more about the economy, because it is a huge issue in this u.s. campaign. it's a huge issue around the world. as europe struggles with more recession, maybe, maybe not, the u

i have 67 cousins in janesville alone. >> 67? and i missed just home. i did a lot of praying, soul-searching and decided to be an preposterous in public policy and to be able to live at home, running for public office. advocating ideas was something i was going to try. >> but 28. >> so i didn't know that it was possible or not. so i just decided to give a go for it and it ended up working out. >> so did you call your mentors and say hey? >> yeah, i basically called a bunch of friends, you know, mentors like jack kemp and bill bennett and said does this pass the laugh test. and bill and others were very encouraging of me to do this. and i just asked a lot of folks in wisconsin. and just did a lot of traveling around. i worked at our -- at my cousin's earth moving business, which i grew up working for. and then on my free time, i went around in the district and just talked to people. >> some would say you're still moving the earth. >> yeah, just in a different way. >> so i think what you can see from paul ryan here is that he is such a down to earth, lika

i grew up close to janesville but we didn't meet until our 20s. both of us were drawn into public service by president reagan, particularly not just as conservatives but belief in american people. that shines in both of our approaches. he ran for congress at 27. i was elected at 25. he has a great family. jana is tremendous. they are great people. his mother is wonderful. its traditional american kind of family. great thing i love about him, smartest person i know in politics but yet humble and decent people i know in or out of politics. >> greta: governor, nice to see you. thank you, governor. >>> coming up from homecoming king to hometown hero, how did paul ryan get to the number two spot on the republican ticket. we talk to the man who saw ryan. meet ryans high school teacher. republicans are hoping the vice president candidate will fire up the party. no one is more fired up than rush limbaugh. will you hear from rush in janesville wisconsin. tonight the inside story on congressman paul ryan. you won't want to miss a second. for extra savings o

i grew up close to janesville but we didn't meet until our 20s. both of us were drawn into public service by president reagan, particularly not just as conservatives but belief in american people. that shines in both of our approaches. he ran for congress at 27. i was elected at 25. he has a great family. jana is tremendous. they are great people. his mother is wonderful. its traditional american kind of family. great thing i love about him, smartest person i know in politics but yet humble and decent people i know in or out of politics. >> greta: governor, nice to see you. thank you, governor. >>> coming up from homecoming king to hometown hero, how did paul ryan get to the number two spot on the republican ticket. we talk to the man who saw ryan. meet ryans high school teacher. republicans are hoping the vice president candidate will fire up the party. no one is more fired up than rush limbaugh. will you hear from rush in janesville wisconsin. tonight the inside story on congressman paul ryan. congressman paul ryan. you won't want to miss a seco

>> his hometown janesville. it is the seat of the county. they elected barack obama, and gave him nearly twice as many votes as john mccain. in the june recall election, rock county opted for tom barrett in the race over governor walker. until december 2008 the gm plant was the pulsing heart of the city. the plant shuts down and janesville is gutted and the city has yet to recover. paul ryan and his family are sort of celebrities there they are known as the kenendys of janesville, for whatever that is worth. but this is hardly a bashian of right-wing politics. >> i don't know that the kenendys would want him claiming that name so much. but if this is sort of a blue collar place it has got a gm plant, it's a working town how is guy elected there when he is so conservative? >> he is not the conservative fire brand -- the supply side trickle down warrior that he is in washington in janesville. if you talk to people from janesville, he is more known as a guy who goes to washington. he says good things about manufacturing. he talks about but does

his district lies in the southeastern part of the state and includes his home town of janesville, where chip reid joins us tonight outside the ryan family home. >> reporter: janesville is an industrial town of about 64,000 people. paul ryan lives in this historic home in the well-to-do neighborhood where he grew up. >> my family's been in this town for five generations. >> reporter: just two months ago, paul ryan brought mitt romney to janesville, where ryan went to high school and still attends this catholic church. his family's construction business is more than a century old. when ryan was 16, his father died of a heart attack at 55. george steil was a law partner with ryan's dad. >> i could see a little more seriousness come about him, and he still was the friendly, affable type of guy, but i think he became a little more serious. >> reporter: after college, ryan worked briefly for the family business but was drawn to politics. he ran for congress at 28. >> everybody liked him. and i think if you went around the community here in janesville today, you would be hard pressed to find a

in the ryan speech he talked about a plant shut in janesville under obama. gm announced that they were closing that plant in june of 2008. well, they don't want to talk about the auto rescue, because that has been very successful. and mitt romney opposed it. but i think there's a real challenge here to journalism. because the romney campaign is going to keep trying to push these things. mainstream journalists are going to have to push back and say no, this isn't true. they're going to try to say this is just liberals attacking us. well, facts aren't liberal. facts are facts. and i think the people are going to have to keep pushing back. >> well, joe, ryan did say that this plant closed in janesville. let me show you what he said. >> okay. >> right there at that plant candidate obama said i believe that if our government is there to support you, this plant will be here for another hundred years. that's what he said in 2008. well, as it turned out that plant didn't last another year. >> no, the plant was closed later that year. they announced it was closed lat

one of the people from janesville said, people must know he lied about the plant. he'll go out and tell the red-meat conservatives exactly what they want to hear. he's their new hero. >> the base calculation was that they could neutralize the fact the only thing he is known for nationally is being the kill medicare guy. we have a young guy, energetic. he can spin the story better than anybody else. he's a great performer, a political lifer. he's got great connections. we have to deal with the kill medicare thing. here's the problem, so he gets up there and he and mitt romney have been sort of fine tuning this ever since they picked him. they had a few rough first days, but now what they're doing and this would work so much better if they were the second convention other than the first, he's criticizing the president for medicare policies areul als in his policy. what he has proposed is a plan to privatize it. you get a coupon, a voucher, and then you buy private insurance. that's not that hard to explain and that's what the democrats get to do all next week. if you

look, we have a normal life in janesville. my wife and i, three beautiful kids, soccer on saturdays. we have cub scouts. we have a normal life like everybody else. i go to washington four days a week which i call the silly place. it's two different kind of worlds. and if we don't tackle these big problems they're going to tackle us. >> you know, john, he's a very attractive candidate there. but he does have some down sides that people have been talking about. that he's never really run statewide, never anything more than a congressional race. he has no foreign policy experience. some folks are going to question whether somebody who's 42 years old is actually ready to be commander in chief. but john, i think the big question is, whether he can sustain the attacks that the democrats are going to wage on him about going after entitlements like medicare or raising the retirement age for social security. >> and gloria, that's the question. he's going to get many punches. he's been in the middle of these fights for years as the rank

. >> janesville, wisconsin, is where i was born and raised, and i never really left it. every politician in this town -- >> the lawmaker. >> i have focused on solving the problems that confront our country. >> and his impact on the race for the white house. we want to welcome our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." >>> in this special hour, we're taking a close look at the man mitt romney's asked to join him on the republican presidential ticket, congressman paul ryan of wisconsin. fittingly, romney made the big announcement in front of the battle ship, the "uss wisconsin." ryan is chairman of the house budget committee, made a name for himself here in washington, by battling deficits and fighting for cuts in government spending. listen to how mitt romney broke the news. >> it's an honor to announce my running mate and the next vice president of the united states, paul ryan! [ cheers and applause ] his leadership -- his leadership begins with character and values. paul is a man of tremendous character, shap

i'm sure proud of him and where i come from, janesville, wisconsin. i lived on the same block where i grew up. we belonged to the same parish where i was baptized. janesville is that kind of place. the people of wisconsin have been good to me. i've tried to live up to their trust and now, i ask those hard working men and women and millions like them across america to join our cause and get this country working again. when governor romney asked me to join the ticket, i said, let's get this down and that's what we are going to do. president barack obama came to office during an economic crisis as he has reminds us a time or two. those are very tough days and any fair measure of his record has to take that into account. my own state vote d for presidet obama. when he talked about change, many people liked the sound of it, especially in janesville. where we were about to lose a major factory. a lot of guys i went to high school with worked at that gm plant. right there at that plant, candidate obama said i believe if our government is there to support you

rooted in janesville, wisconsin. he's a person of great steadiness, whose integrity is unquestioned and whose word is good. paul's upbringing is obvious in how he's conducted himself throughout his life, including his leadership in washington. in a city that's far too often characterized by pettiness and personal attacks, paul ryan is a shining exception. he doesn't demonize his opponents. he understands that honorable people can have honest differences. and he appeals to the better angels of our nature. there are a lot of people in the other party who might disagree with paul ryan. i don't know anyone who doesn't respect his character and judgment. >> paul ryan was only 28 years old when he was first elected to the united states congress. he served seven terms, almost 14 years. at 42, he's the same age as the eldest of romney's five sons. ryan's catholic with a wife and three young children. >> i want you to meet my family. this is my wife, janna. our daughter, liza, and our sons, charlie and sam. i'm surrounded by

also in 2008, a general motors plant in janesville was shut down. roughly 5,000 people lost their jobs there. you know what ryan did? he stood silent on the sidelines while all of this was going on. bottom line, this guy is an outsourcer, not a fighter for the workers, not a fighter for the middle class. he has no record of showing anything like that. for more, let's turn to james hoffa, international brotherhood of teamsters, and larry cohen, president of the communication workers for america. >> great to be here. >> let me just say that it has to be stated, president obama can't win without labor. the democrats can't win without labor. you have the infrastructure, you have the communication, you have the boots on the ground. now you also are facing the ticket, whether you agree with everything president obama has ever done for the labor, if you have any sins that need to be forgiven, now is kind of the time, isn't it, mr. hoffa? with this ticket, this is a radical push-back at labor, is it not? >> this is probably the most anti-labor slate you hav

janesville, wisconsin. i live on the same block where i grew up. we belong to the same parish where i was baptized. janesville is that kind of place. the people of wisconsin have been good to me. i've tried to live up to their trust. and now i ask those hard working men and women and millions like them across america to join our cause and get this country working again. [ cheers and applause ] when governor romney asked me to join the ticket i said, let's get this done. and that is exactly what we are going to do. president barack obama came to office during an economic crisis, as he has reminded us a time or two. those are very tough days. and any fair measure of his record has to take that into account. my own state voted for president obama. when he talked about change, many people liked the sound of it. especially in janesville. when we were about to lose a major factory. a lot of guys i went to high school with worked at that gm plant. right there at that plant, candidate obama said, i believe that if our government is there to support you, th

janesville is not that far away. and waukesha is not in his district, but his hometown is. >> a big crowd here, easily a couple of thousand. this will be the last time that the two campaign together for dwight some time. after tonight's welcome home rally to the vice presidential nominee they will split and go different directions. tomorrow, mr. ryan campaigning in the battleground swing state of iowa where areas mr. romney will be heading down florida for campaign events and subsequently to ohio. they will stay apart, doubling up campaign voices and fund raising capacity until the end of the month when they will be reunited at the republican convention is in tampa and formally and officially get nominated as the presidential and vice presidential ticket. that is still two and a half weeks away. >> just a few minutes away we are expecting congressman paul ryan to take the stage. i want to say that senator ron johnson will speak. republican national committee chairman reince preibus will speak. and governor walker wil

. >>> two months ago paul ryan brought mitt romney to janesville where ryan went to high school and attends this catholic church. his family's construction business more than a century old when ryan was 16 is father died of heart attack at 55. george style was a law partner with ryan's dad. >>> he still was the friendly affable type of guy but he became more serious >>> after college ryan work for the family business but was drawn to politics here ran for congress at age 28. in congress ryan has made the federal budget his focus and for curbing the national debt his mantra. he advocates d pads in government spending and lower taxes. he confronted obama over the health care reform. >>> this bill does not control costs it does not reduce deficits instead this bill >>> and after the republicans won control of the house of representatives ryan became a committee chairman and wanted to freeze domestic spending. >>> i don't think this will be kind to a president when confronted with the pressing challenges chooses to do nothing >>> he's a divisive figure his proposals are to the right >>> janesvi

janesville, wisconsin, is where i was born and raised and i never really left it. it's our home now. for the last 14 years, i have proudly represented wisconsin in congress. there -- there i have focused on solving the problems that confront our country, turning ideas into action, and action into solutions. i am committed, in heart and mind, to putting that experience to work in a romney administration. my dad died when i was young. he was a good and decent man. there are a few things he would say that have just always stuck with me. he'd say, son, you're either part of the problem or part of the solution. well, regrettably, president obama has become part of the problem and mitt romney is the solution. i represent a part of america that includes inner cities, rural areas, suburbs, and factory towns. over the years, i have seen and heard from a lot of families. from a lot of those who are running small businesses. and from people who are in need. but what i've heard lately, that's what troubles me the most. there's something different in their voice, in their words

>> i get lots of phone calls. >> reporter: and then at 3:08, back in janesville, this. congressman paul ryan dropped off after attending funeral services to remember those lost in that temple shooting outside of milwaukee. he talked with reporters, asking one of them to back off the grass. and as ryan walked up the driveway to the side door, he appears to be locked out this exchange with our own digital jurnt journalist john parkinson. >> forgot my keys. >> you don't want to tell us where it is, underneath the mat or anything? >> i'm not going to tell you. >> reporter: the man about to become mitt romney's vice presidential candidate locked out? and he said his wife wasn't home. he went around the back and seemed to find another way in. that's the last we saw of him. everyone waiting outside. >> 6:00 p.m. people inside moving around the house. 8:05, the light on the front porch whips on. the news trucks pulling up. at 11:10 p.m., it announced that romney would announce his picks in virginia. a clue, according to ryan, who still hadn't been seen since he lost those keys.

also in 2008, a general motors plant in janesville was shut down. roughly 5,000 people lost their jobs there. you know what ryan did? he stood silent on the sidelines while all of this was going on. bottom line, this guy is an outsourcing, not a fighter for the workers, not a fighter for the middle class. he has no record of showing anything like that. for more, let's turn to james hoffa. internation brrth hood of teamsters and larry cohen, president of the communication workers for america. >> great to be here. >> let me just say that it has to be stated, president obama can't win without labor. the democrats can't win without labor. you have the infrastructure, you have the communication, you have the boots on the ground. now you also are facing the ticket, whether you agree with everything president obama has ever done for the labor, if you have any sins that need to be forgiven, now is kind of the time, isn't it, mr. hoffa? with this ticket, this is a radical push-back at labor, is it not? >> this is probably the most anti-labor slate you have e

. >>> paul ryan brought mitt romney to janesville worry attends this catholic church is families construction business more than a century old, when he was 16 his father died of a heart attack at 55 this man was a law partner with brian's debt. >>> i can see more seriousness has come about him is still the from the affable guy but he was more serious >>> ryan worked briefly for the family business been drawn to politics here ran for congress at 28. in congress ryan has made the federal budget his focus and for curbing the national debt his mantra. it advocates deep cuts in government spending and taxes. he confronted obama over the health care reform. >>> this bill does not control costs. instead this bill is a new health care entitlement >>> after republicans won control of the house of representatives run began budget committee chairman. he called the president's proposed budget cuts paltry just $40 billion a year in the face of billion dollar deficits. >>> i don't think history will be kind to a president when he's faced with pressing challenges chose to do nothing. >>> he is a divisive fi

and my sister and brothers. [ applause ] you know what, i'm sure proud of him and where i come from, janesville, wisconsin. [ cheering and applause ] i live on the same block where i grew up. we belong to the same parish where i was baptized. it's that kind of plac the people of wisconsin have been good to me. i've tried to live up to their trust. and now i ask those hard working men and women and millions like them across america to join our cause and get this country working again. [applause] when governor romney asked me to join the ticket, i said, let's get this done. that is exactly what we are going to do. [ applause ] president barack obama came to office during an economic crisis as he has reminded us a time or two. those are very tough days. and any fair measure of his record has to take that in to account. my home state voted for president owe bam match when he talked about chge, many people like the sound of it he is specially in janesville where we were about to lose a major factory. a lot of guys i went to high school with worked at that g.m. plant. right there at that plant candid

mitt romney has now embraced it. >> john dickerson in janesville, wisconsin. thank you, john. >>> now, let's take a closer look at the politics and the timing of his choice of paul ryan. >> joining us is chief washington correspondent and the anchor of face the nation, bob schieffer. great to have you with us on a saturday morning, bob. >> good morning, rebecca. >> this is a pick that everyone seems to like. there's something in it for republicans as well as for democrats. >> i think that's exactly what the reaction is going to be. i think conservatives are going to be delighted. they're going to say that mitt romney finally did something bold. this is what the wall street journal was urging, this is what the weekly standard, bill crystal, a strong voice of conservatism. both were saying this week this is the guy. but i tell you the other part, rebecca, i think democrats are going to be delighted as well. because paul ryan's budget, it's right there in black and white. the numbers are there. he wants to cut more than $5 trillion over the next ten years. but wh

they arrived at the congressman's office in janesville to a heroes' welcome. >> when i was in catholic school, nuns weren't my heroes and i never thought i'd see the day where i forgave them and they were my total heroes, and that's what's happened. >> this is really a courageous move on their parts, and the fact that they're standing up for social justice. that's what they're talking about here, social justice for everybody. that is a major, courageous thing that they are doing. >> this is sister marge clark -- >> paul ryan was still in washington, where congress remained in session, so the nuns were left to meet with his staff. >> i want to talk to paul ryan, i want to understand what he sees, learn from that and see if there's a way that we can be more effective, that we can claim our culture back, that we can claim our government back, that we can govern, not for stalemate or political points, but we can solve the problems, the serious problems of this 21st century, and talking to people who think differently when i can keep my patience is a really good way to do that. >> the meeti

i am sure proud of him and where i come from, janesville, wisconsin. [cheers and applause] i liver on the same block i grew up. we belong to the same parish i was baptized. janesville is that kind of place. the people of wisconsin have been good to me. i have tried to live up to their trust. and now, i ask those hard-working men and women and millions like them across america to join our cause and get this country working again. [cheers and applause] when governor romney asked me to join the ticket, i said, let's get this done. that's exactly what we are going to do. [cheers and applause] president barack obama came to office during an economic crisis, as he has reminded us a time or two. [chuckles] >> those are very tough days. any fair measure of his record has to take that into account. my own state voted for president obama. when he talked about change, many people liked the sound of it. especially in janesville. where we were about to lose a major factory. a lot of guys i went to high school with worked at that g.m. plant. right there at that plan