As a Democrat, I’m delighted that Mitt Romney has picked Paul Ryan to be his running mate.

Years ago, the Democrats created Social Security and Medicare to take care of the most vulnerable among us.

Now Ryan is the main architect of the Republican plan to abolish Medicare. And in 2005, Ryan had a plan to privatize Social Security and gamble it in the stock market. Voters now have a clear choice. The Democratic Party supports Social Security and Medicare. The Republican Party is against them.

Under Ryan’s radical plan, known as the Ryan budget, Medicare would end. Instead, older Americans would have to shop around for commercial health insurance policies. They would receive vouchers that would only partially cover the premiums. Then, over time, this voucher would cover a smaller and smaller portion of the premiums.

Before we had Medicare, older Americans were forced to rely on commercial health insurance plans. That was a disaster. That is why we have Medicare now.

Medicare improved my father’s life. I simply cannot imagine my 89-year-old father having to compare the fine print of health insurance policies. But that is what senior citizens will face if Romney and Ryan are elected.

So, if you think Social Security and Medicare are vitally important programs that improve your life or that of your parents or grandparents, you know whom to vote for.

Robert Baillie State College