There are archives of Paul Ryan for Congress available at hisCampaign Website Archive. These include archives of his issues page, although that has been scrubbed after 2006 (apparently).
Still, there are a few gems to be found (some below the jump) that give an interesting perspective on what Congressman Ryan has actually campaigned on (and give us a few unfortunate photos).
Please feel free to mine this - as I have only given it about an hour - and post some nuggets in the comments or in a new diary, as appropriate. This has been peddled to some of the usual suspects, and the press has not drawn attention to it.
My favorite nugget from his old campaigns (thus far) is: "I am a strong supporter of paying down our national debt, but I also believe that the federal government needs to balance this priority with winning the War on Terrorism and encouraging growth in our economy. Based on Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates, including the unexpected costs of increasing national security and stabilizing our economy, the federal government is on track to reach government surpluses by 2012. I favor paying down as much debt as possible over the next ten years to prepare for the inevitable demographic change as the baby boom generation begins to retire." Source: Ryan for Congress
There is no clearer statement of this "pig out while in power and point the figure on spending when we're not" can be found. Worse still is that he was predicting surpluses in 2012 as a justification for current spending in 2004 (at least he extends the timeline in his current timeline to 30 years). He found this position so important that he campaigned on it.
2005 is another good year for Paul Ryan flip-floppery. There is this gem: "To illustrate the looming problem, it is helpful to draw a distinction between discretionary and mandatory spending. Discretionary spending includes programs that are funded by Congress on an annual basis, such as the Departments of Homeland Security and Education. This spending comprises approximately one-third of the federal budget and is largely responsible to the recent spending increases as a result of the War on Terrorism and No Child Left Behind. On the other hand, mandatory spending is primarily composed of the major entitlement programs, such as Medicare and Social Security, which are not altered as frequently by congressional action. While mandatory spending has not been the driver for our budget deficit over the past few years, the upcoming retirement of the baby boom generation will cause mandatory spending to soar. If Congress does not get its hands around its spending problem before this occurs, I am extremely concerned that our government will begin to run unsustainable deficits that will severely threaten the health of the U.S. economy." Source: Ryan for Congress
Wait a minute...back then it was Pentagon spending and other things (until he became a national figure).
His old websites are full of detailed positions that need to be mined by the masses. This kind of candor (back then) deserves recognition and attention in the press.