Desperate Ryan jumps on Phony "You Didn't Build It" bandwagon...genius or fool?

Rep. Paul Ryan has tried everything, from backhanding his own policy of crony capitalism, saving social safety nets by dismantling them, to foolishly joining the ranks of the loony right who purposefully misinterpreted Pres. Obama's comment that businesses didn't invest in building roads and bridges. In many cases, taxpayers supply the access roads.

How dumb does he think we are? That's what Paul Ryan is counting on, and I hope he's disappointed. The Right Scoop:

Ryan is only Wisconsin House member to vote against freeze in Pentagon spending

An amendment to cut $1.1 billion from the 2013 Pentagon budget, effectively freezing the military budget at this year’s levels, passed the House on a bipartisan 247-167 vote last week.

Remarkably, all but one of the Wisconsin members of the House, Republicans and Democrats, voted for the cuts.  Even arch-conservative Jim Sensenbrenner voted yes.

Who didn't? Self-styled fiscal hawk and budget-cutter Paul Ryan. 


It was a somewhat small but nonetheless important step, and other amendments for more Pentagon cuts and ending the war in Afghanistan unfortunately didn't pass in the Republican-controlled House


 Here's the vote breakdown.

Ryan Conservatives Surprised by Questioning Press; Belittle it for Demanding Honesty.

CBS’s Nora O’Donnell has apparently decided enough is enough.

A pioneer of right wing lunacy, Michelle Malkin, featured on her blog this moment of conservative outrage by Doug Powers, who wrote: “Paul Ryan won’t refer to extending over ten-year-old code as ‘cutting taxes,’ CBS host scoffs.”

And well she should. Nora O’Donnell is doing what most reporters should be doing, treating Republican talking points like the ridiculous statements they usually are. Paul Ryan is a master at reframing and rewording simple truths into wonkish mumbo jumbo that the press interprets and genius. Far from it.  

Powers: Rep. Paul Ryan tried to explain to CBS News Chief White House Correspondent Norah O’Donnell why he doesn’t refer to extending the same tax rates that have been in place for over a decade as “tax cuts,” but with the election and Dem talking points in the balance, O’Donnell was having none of that:

Amazing isn't it. Temporary tax cuts that add to the deficit and should be allowed to expire, have now been extended so long now, that they're no longer tax cuts? Spin, con or just more Ryan condescension?

Ryan rolling in dough; Where'd he get it? One guess

RYAN'S WAR CHEST [$5.4M] LEADS HOUSE CANDIDATES NATIONWIDE. 

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports Paul Ryan's among the top five U.S. House candidates nationally in money raised with $4.2 million during the current two-year election cycle.


He's never had a close race since winning the seat in 1998 and has been amassing the money for years.  Is $5-million enough to buy the vice-presidential nomination?


Ryan also raised $4.3 million in 2011-'12 for his political action committee, Prosperity PAC and  helped the Republican National Committee raise $21 million as head of a party fundraising
effort known as the Presidential Trust .


Ryan credited “grassroots …It’s the budget. … It's all because of our message. The country is so
ready to be talked to like adults. … When they see you getting shot at, they like you even more. Each quarter it grows."

When you look at Open Secrets and see where Ryan's money comes from, it ain't exactly the grassroots. Check this "profile of his fundraising.

You'll find the top sources of his money are people and PACs from the insurance industry, securities and investment firms, health care professionals, and manufacturers. Grassroots indeed. Six million dollars -- 36 per cent of every dollar he's raised in his career -- comes from special interest political action committees.

Here's the Journal Sentinel story.

Paul Ryan - Urban Legend

There is a story that has been flying around the internet, that Paul Ryan was lured into politics by his love of Ayn Rand. Ryan is even known to buy all of his staffers Atlas Shrugged the Book. In fairness to Paul Ryan (R-Wall St.), he did not make his staff watch Atlas Shrugged the movie, since no one could be expected to sit through that! It turns out that Paul Ryan had more in common with Ayn Rand, than just using Social Security to get ahead while working to end it. They also shared a philosophy(at least the Paul Ryan before being challenged by Rob Zerban did): From the New Republic:

"Almost every fight we are involved in here on Capitol Hill ... is a fight that usually comes down to one conflict--individualism versus collectivism."

And let us not forget this gem he told the Atlas Society(I think that might be a clue)on February 2nd, 2005:

“I grew up reading Ayn Rand and it taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are and what my beliefs are. It’s inspired me so much that it’s required reading in my office for all my interns and my staff… The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand.” - Representative Paul Ryan, February 2, 2005

Now Stephen Colbert wants to name him Vice Pope:

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Then the Catholic Church said Hey Paul Slow Your Roll:

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Paul Ryan, who has very expensive tastes, will not take criticism from the Catholic church lying down. paul ryan starts out by asking Who is Ayn rand? and like Peter denied his deity Rand three times before the cock crow:

“I, like millions of young people in America, read Rand’s novels when I was young. I enjoyed them,” Ryan says. “They spurred an interest in economics, in the Chicago School and Milton Friedman,” a subject he eventually studied as an undergraduate at Miami University in Ohio. “But it’s a big stretch to suggest that a person is therefore an Objectivist.”

“I reject her philosophy,” Ryan says firmly. “It’s an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview.

“Don’t give me Ayn Rand,” he says.

Cock A Doodle Doo.............................. Mr. ryan was not done, then he set his sights on the Catholic church, pointing out how wrong they were to dare question him.

"I suppose that there are some Catholics who for a long time thought they had a monopoly of sorts ... on the social teaching of our church," Ryan said during a speech that attracted a full audience and a number of of protesters. "Of course there can be differences among faithful Catholics on this. The work I do as a Catholic holding office conforms to the social doctrine as best I can make of it."

Paul knew that the way Jesus really cleansed the Temple was kick all of the poor out so the moneychangers could party on in peace! Paul taking on the Catholic church was not enough for the man with this big of an ego, ryan then took on the military!

"We don't think the generals are giving us their true advice," Ryan had said, according to Politico. "We don't think the generals believe their budget is really the right budget."

So for those of you keeping score at home, lets do a quick rundown. In the last couple of months, paul ryan has called the right wing media, the ayn rand society, all ayn rand supporters, the paul ryan circa 2005, the bishops from the Catholic church, the religious leaders of Georgetown University and the all the Generals in the US Military Liars. very impressive list. It is still better than being one of his constituents because all he has for the people of Wisconsin's First district is contempt! Who is this guy anyway? 




Cross Posted @ CogDis!  

Paul Ryan: Fiscal Hypocrite!

H/t John Nichols and the Capital Times!

Ryan has branded himself well, so well that he has parlayed himself into contention for his party's vice presidential nomination.

To get that nomination, however, Ryan must count on the prospect that the party that takes as its symbol the memory-rich elephant will suddenly suffer a spell of forgetfulness.

That's because the Republican congressman from Janesville, for all his bluster, is anything but a consistent advocate for fiscal responsibility and balanced budgets.

He is, in fact, a consistent big spender — at least when Wall Street, the insurance industry and the military-industrial complex call.

A steady vote for unwise bailouts of big banks, unfunded mandates and unnecessary wars, few members of Congress have run up such very big tabs while doing so little to figure out how to pay the piper.

 

The Nichols correctly points out that, this year paul ryan has a serious challenger who is not letting up in pointing out the failures of mr. ryan.  

This year, Ryan is being called out by an able challenger with actual experience in the private sector, as well as local government.

Rob Zerban, the congressman's Democratic challenger, is not fooled by Ryan's budgetary blathering.
Zerban is familiar with Ryan's record.

And he is calling the budget committee chairman out on his "faux fiscal credentials."

"Congressman Paul Ryan can grandstand about the debt all he wants, but at the end of the day, Ryan is a root cause of many of the financial issues our country faces today," says Zerban.

"From supporting two unfunded wars, to dumping millions of senior citizens into the Medicare Part D 'donut hole' while tying the hands of the government to negotiate prescription drug prices, and from fighting for subsidies for Big Oil that his family personally benefits from, to supporting the unfunded Bush tax cuts for his wealthiest campaign contributors, Paul Ryan's hypocrisy is astounding."

 

Paul Ryan Budgeting Himself Millions!

H/T Badger Democracy! Go here and read the whole story, but here is a highlight! 

Statements of Economic Interest (SEI) recently released by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Janesville), when compared to previous years’ SEI show a clear pattern – the more influence he has on the Congressional Budget process, the more stake he (through his wife Janna (nee Little)) has gained in Oklahoma mining interests. This family interest is led by Ryan’s father-in-law, Dan Little; and is currently making millions leasing rights to energy giants engaging in extensive natural gas shale fracking.

The financial conflicts at work here are direct. Ryan’s budget gives $43 Billion in tax breaks to the companies and processes the Little family (and Ryan) profit from. The policy conflict is the expansion of fracking, which the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is promoting through powerful Legislators like Ryan.

You might ask yourself how could someone who is making a very decent wage of $174/k yr, turn that into becoming a millionaire in a matter of ten years!  The answer is simple, control the budget of the United States!

 Ryan is getting away with clear financial conflicts of interest. The worse crime is complete rejection of potential social, safety and environmental impact to pursue profit at any cost. Ryan is using his powerful position to forward a fiscal and regulatory agenda from which he personally has, and will continue to reap enormous profit. In 1998, none of this interest was reported by Ryan – now, the value is nearly $1 Million and growing…thanks to Ryan’s inside operations.

Give Scott @ BD credit for reaching out and getting a response from Ryan's office(I have tried on numerous occassions and have never received even a response).   By the way, Ryan's response when asked about this:

He would rather not talk about it:

Our office doesn’t comment on the financial disclosures any further than what is available publicly. Appreciate your reaching out.
Smythe Anderson

 Maybe a REPORTER who has access to Ryan on a regular basis could get this explained and maybe while they were at it, they could get an explanation on WHY this is even legal!  

One last thing to remember, Ryan (from economically devastated Janesville, WI) is the one who wanted to end unemployment benefits! 

Yes what a stand-up Catholic paul ryan is!  

Paul Ryan Misinterprets Everything!

Paul ryan recently went public with his opposition to Obamacare, he even went so far as to argue it with Ted Kennedy's widow - Victoria on ABC's This Week. 

During an interview on ABC, former Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy’s widow, Victoria Kennedy, told host George Stephanopoulos that the Supreme Court had made the right decision by upholding the Affordable Care Act.

“This health care reform was the cause of my husband’s life,” she explained. “He believed that it was a moral issue, that it defined the character of who we were as a society, who we were as a country, and that decent quality, affordable health care should be fundamental right and not a privilege.”

But Ryan rejected Kennedy’s assertion and promised to completely undo the law.

“We’re going to repeal the entire law and then we’re going to advance patient-centered reforms that address these kinds of issues,” the Wisconsin Republican said.

“I think this at the end of the day is a big philosophy difference,” he continued. “What Ms. Kennedy and others were saying is that this is a new government-granted right. We disagree with the notion that our rights come from government, that the government can now grant us and define our rights. Those are ours, they come from nature and God, according to the Declaration of Independence — a huge difference in philosophy.”

To paraphrase Jesus - Forgive him Father for he knows not how dumb he is. Lets take a quick look at paul ryan's premise. The Treaty of Tripoli was signed on June 10th, 1797 by our first conservative President John Adams.

As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen [Muslims],—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan [Muslim] nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

Sorry Paulie, the United States is not in any sense a Christian nation! You obviously have never had a grasp on the Constitution, now it looks like you have even less of a sense of religion.

Well digging into what Paul Ryan (R- Wall St.), actually does and says, we know that he really is not the person to be interpreting what God tells us either. Ryan, the ayn rand disciple and worshiper, now pretends to interpret what God tells us.

Paul Is definitely NOT one of the Apostles!

Just ask the Nuns on the Bus!

 If you want to the end the reign of incompetence that Paul ryan brings to Wisconsin, throw some support to his opponent - Rob Zerban!!

Cross Posted at CogDis.

Bad news from Drs. Ryan and Romney

Ryan's Hometown Health Care Providers Say SCOTUS Ruling Is Good News

JG Excerpt:
Setting political arguments aside, Gruber (Mercy) and Craig Samitt, president and chief executive officer of Dean Health System, said the Affordable Care Act is a step in the right direction.

Throughout the article, leaders working within the area's health care sector repeatedly confirm and describe how the Afford Care Act "moves the nation in the right direction," "improves access to health care" and is "vitally important that that care is managed and coordinated."

As has been the case for more than a decade, there's a tremendous chasm between what the folks on the ground have to say and what party-line statist and reality-disconnected Paul Ryan has to say. Ryan says the ruling is nothing but bad news. More here>>>.

When will people start voting for their own best interests?