I kind of breathed a bit of a sigh of relief at hearing that Paul Ryan was the likely choice for Veep thinking he'd be off the ballot in November for his Wi-01 Congressional seat. There's already an excellent Democrat running: Rob Zerban. On top of that, Ryan has now exposed himself as a Republican extremist and his Coupon for Your Medicare scam isn't well received in his district.
Well, that bubble burst wide open this morning when he officially was announced as RMoneys VP pick. Thanks to a 1968 law anyone running for President or Vice President can simultaneously run for another office.
Ryan will remain on the ballot for re-election to his seat in the House of Representatives, said Susan Jacobson, finance director/campaign manager for his House campaign.
Ryan represents the 1st Congressional district that includes Janesville, Kenosha and much of southeastern Wisconsin, including portions of Waukesha and Milwaukee counties. He has been won election to the seat seven times.
Ryan (R-Janesville) could run both for vice president and for re-election to Congress thanks to a 1968 law that permits a candidate to be on the ballot twice, but only if he or she is running for president or vice president.
He's already outraised Rob Zerban more than 4:1 (the monied interests just love the Ryan Peel Away Plan), but he's no longer the southern Wisconsin golden boy. He's been re-elected many times and had a decent reputation in the area, but that changed when he became nationally known after submitting his budget plan. The GOP, always great at messaging and memes named the bill, as they do many of their legislation, the exact opposite of what it would do: the Path to Prosperity.
Just like their Clear the Skies Act, which would have cleared the skies of all the birds dropping dead from air pollution, the Path to Prosperity would continue to strip away nearly everything left from the poor, workers, and the elderly. It's most infamous provision, which I call The Coupon for Your Medicare Scam, would give seniors a voucher to use to try to obtain health insurance from the private for profit insurance companies. Good luck with that.
It was none too popular with the folks back home. Ryan found that out the hard way during his first town hall meeting after introducing the bill. That daytime audience, filled with senior citizens, booed and heckled Ryan. His scheme had received national attention so his constituents were fully aware of the damage it would do.
At one point in the town hall Ryan pointed out that none of their Medicare would be affected and was shocked when his constituents told him in no uncertain terms that they were concerned about future generations getting Medicare. Ryan is a member of the Greed is Good generation and anyone with concerns for anyone but themselves is an enigma to him.
So hostile was this first town hall that every one of his (very few) future town halls were held in private facilities with admission only by invitation. Oh, yeah, no more real voters for Paul Ryan.
No doubt, Ryan will get more mega millions for his re-election campaign in Wisconsin, but voters have a new view of him. He used to be thought of as a rather nice young man. Today, he's an extremist who is so concerned about public reaction at his town hall forums that he only has them in front of hand picked audiences. And he won't be spending any time in the district either. After all, he's after a brand new shiny job as VP. And then, of course, I'm pretty sure he's drooling over running for the top spot some day.
Naturally, our local press with their RW bias are already loving Paul Ryan. They're busy polishing his record as a naughty kid would polish a worm-ridden apple for his teacher in hopes of getting a passing grade. Like the "job" they did for Scott Walker, they'll hide his flaws, foibles and failings and promote his memes as though they were God-given facts and truth.
In my opinion, selecting Ryan is a good thing. It ties all Ryans budget extremism nicely around R-Moneys neck for everyone to see (and fear).
Update: More Yuck Edition: Remember Wisconsin State Senator Tim Cullen (D - I Didn't Like the Committee Assignments I Got So I'll Take My Ball Home, Quit the Democratic Caucus, and Give Away Our Brand New State Senate Majority)? Here's what he has to say about Paul Ryan today (hang onto yourbreakfast, folks):
“My immediate reaction is that governor Romney picked a terrific individual,” Sen. Tim Cullen, a Democrat from Ryan’s hometown of Janesville.
“He’s trying to do something that is seldom rewarded in politics. When you try to solve a problem in advance of it becoming a disaster, you’re always seriously fighting the status quo,” Cullen said of Ryan. “That’s a difficult road that Paul has taken and I admire him for it.”
Saying that he "questions" Ryans policies gets lost in the glowing recommendation he gave.
Yuck. Small wonder Majority Leader Mark Miller didn't want this guy to have significant committee leadership. With Democrats like this .....
Update: Snotty Chimes in Edition: Shameless Scott (Walker, R-FitzWalkerStan) has already claimed part of the spotlight this morning by talking about the prayers he put forth on behalf of Walker (hang onto your lunch). Frankly, it's only been since the protests began in February of last year that Snotty has publicly been boasting about his religious life, but it's been painful seeing that as part of public statement he makes. Well, here goes today statement:
"It's clearly another step that sends a message that he's serious about taking on the challenges of the economy...by going big and bold," Walker said at press conference at Romney headquarters in Wauwatosa.
Walker said he believes the choice of Ryan will help energize the Republican base and win over independents who want big ideas, both here and around the nation.
He said he had texted Ryan last night, but that Ryan revealed nothing. "I told him I said my prayers and that on the top of my list were prayers for him and his family," he said.
I've also been raising my thoughts to the Almighty and asking him for a little help (or perhaps sending a copy of the New Testament to the Republicans with those instructions from Jesus telling us about our responsibility to help the poor and vulnerable highlighted).
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