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Subscribe to RSS“Attendees at Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) town hall meeting on Tuesday heaped more scorn on the powerful congressman for backing an extension for the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy,” The Hill writes. “Protesters chanted ‘Ryan stop lying!’ at the House Budget Committee chairman outside his event in Kenosha, Wis. and several members of the capacity crowd interrupted Ryan as he defended his budget plan, according to WTMJ-TV. (Here’s their report.)
The South Florida Sun Sentinel: “Taking a page from the tea party activists who hammered Democrats at their town hall meetings two summers ago, liberal partisans are making signs, preparing pointed questions, and turning out for Republican congressional town hall meetings.
They're hoping to score political points and also seeking political gold — embarrassing YouTube moments. Tuesday night was U.S. Rep. Allen West's turn.”
The New York Times: “After 10 days of trying to sell constituents on their plan to overhaul Medicare, House Republicans in multiple districts appear to be increasingly on the defensive, facing worried and angry questions from voters and a barrage of new attacks from Democrats and their allies.”
“Lawmakers received more threats of violence in 2010 than any other year on record, according to interviews and FBI documents obtained by The Hill. The surge of threats is mostly attributable to the contentious healthcare reform debate last year.”
The Hill outlines 10 things to watch in the upcoming debt-ceiling fight.
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Ryan gets heckled and threatens to throw them out if they don't agree with him ...sounds like hes using the 2009 republican play book again !
middle class killers..........heckle the hell out of the appeasers of top 2%.
Ryan's idea is to let the wealthy eat cake and let the middle class disappear!
So they booed him. Who were these people. In Wisconsin they were outsiders against the Governor of Wisconsin. My ex liberal sister and her daughter were at the meetings at there own district protesting. These protesters were probably brought in. With very few locals.
bibol... that's right. Address the attendee "issue" and don't support his ridiculous budget plan.
A lot of people (thank God) are beginning to get this guy is nothing more than and empty suit with no regard for the average person in this country.
I'd be curious to see a comparison of how much Ryan proposes to cut out of the safety net and how much he proposes to gift to the most affluent in the form of lower taxes. Be interesting if it balanced out!
Eevie, we don't need as much of a "saftey net" ( I call it slavery) if the producers and investors are producing and investing. Tax them, and the producing and investing slows, as does hiring and pay increases.
in the middle,
You are the one confused. Slavery is much closer to the wealthy having the poor work for them for very little, while they get much richer. Take a look at the distribution of wealth changes over the last 30 years.
I saw Ryan pompously telling an interviewer "I don't have to do this." No, he doesn't have to face angry constituents, or go to work every morning, because he's a freakin' millionaire already. He doesn't have to worry about his healthcare, or wonder how he will afford to live after retirement. He thinks he's so saintly and courageous to "take on" cutting Medicare. You know what would be courageous? Taking on cutting oil company sibsidies. Taking on hedge fund managers and their outrageous bonuses, or defending the President's right to be considered a fullfledged American, considering he was born in this country. Geesh.
Way to say it, Amy B!
Amy, you need to add to your list every rich Democrat as well. Pelosi, Reid and Obama could all be included in your rant.
in the middle, The difference is that Ryan's doctrine disfavors entitlements like Social Security and Medicare. Ryan is a well known disciple of Ayn Rand (delightful person) , who felt that entitlements are immoral. (In a brilliant stroke of irony, Ayn Rand ended up collecting Social Security and likely Medicare too; while Social Security benefits put Ryan through college! - it's true, you can't make this stuff up). So while there are some wealthy Democrats, the Democrats typically side in favor of social programs such as SS and Medicare - Ryan and most Republicans side against them(until they need them); and side in favor of tax breaks for the ultra wealthy, oil companies, etc.
Well Paul Ryan, turn about is fair play! Remember the Health Care meetings? Democrats were treated like animals. How easily you all forget.
JoAnn, yes, turn about is fair play. Will the left now call these protesters names, like they called those that banded under the tea party banners. No, they will be hailed as heroes.
I understand that intelligent people can disagree, what I abhor is the lack of moral fiber that is displayed by protesters that condemn others that protest, while doing the same thing while promoting their own point of view.
Turn about is fair play, sounds like 5th grade.
seems to leave you out of the intelligent part?
More tax breaks for the wealthy--screw the middle class. Go Ryan!
No, less taxes for everyone. Whether you pay the tax directly, or in lower wages, or in higher prices, we all get taxed when the rich get taxed more. Why is this concept too difficult for Democrats to understand?
Because it's not true. We did very well in the years before the Bush tax cuts. You act as if the rich will punish the middle class if they have to pay what they had been paying in those great times before Bush. The rich will continue to do just fine.
I hope more people get out and protest! How can you get money for the rich on the backs of the elderly, and poor.
Me too. I like watching Democrats foam at the mouth....they look so funny, right?
But...But....But....NOVEMBER 2010! NOVEMBER 2010!!
Yeah? What ABOUT November, 2010??
AAAH Wisconsin ... The armpit of America where the Unions and liberals want to resurrect any drama to not help the situation or offer any real alternative solution. I give major props to Ryan for holding the meetings and trying to discuss the issues in a calm professional way. Ranting accomplishes nothing. Offering alternative solutions does, but most of these folks have none to offer and really don't care to offer any tough decisions that are seen in Ryan's plan. Yeah, his plan is going to impact future retirees, but they have the time to make needed adjustments. Ask anyone in their 30s or 40s if they would like to opt out of social security and I would expect a majority of the working people would quickly opt out and redirect the money that is being sucked from their paychecks each month into 401Ks or other investments that would give them much more accessible and quaranteed income when they do decide toe retire. Should well off people get the same Medicare support as people who really need the safety net? No, so it will impact some fo these folks' children... but our Nation will be stronger and our economy will grow to allow them to have good jobs opportunities to enable them to have solid retirements without the nanny state. His plan may not be perfect , but it is driving the discussion.... and that is a good thing!
Fed up Senior -- what guarantees are attached to 401Ks? If someone who is 40 saves for retirement, and then 25 years down the road, the US enters a war (like Iraq) and the financial market collapses, what happens to that money saved for retirement?
Should we cap "entitlements" so that seniors have a maximum of 10 years of benefits, assuming that actuarial tables are correct and that most will not live beyond 75-78? What is your definition of a "strong" country? If we cannot provide for people who put 45 years of productive life into the labor force, how are we "strong?" I agree that Rep. Ryan's budget gives people something tangible to discuss and analyze, and President Obama's alternative vision gives us some ideas for comparison.
F E U K up Senior, STFU!! ha ha
Kate, it's not to bad if it was something that was there to begin with but you don't start a Game and make new rules as the Game is being played and worst is it was not voluntary to have SS deductions taken is it.
The problem is most REPUBLICANS don't have common sense and they say SH_T that is so stupid that they are ignored when ever they speak. My mom always told me to THINK before you speak because once those words leave your lips you can't take it back.
unions who built this country, thank them for what you have, sad day when a senior? agrees with the GOP
Fed up, Social security is to protect working people from the powers that be that feel that their needs trump the needs of the proletariat. I know you will say that term brands me as a Marxist. I use that term to mean the working class. The corporations and their allies had no qualms against stripping pension funds which were largely paid for by the workers themselves. They tell us that we need to provide for our own retirement, then when we have a system in place, before we can use the benefits we saved, they are gone and we are in worse shape than we would have been without. But the retirement packages for the white collar employees are not even touched, and in many cases they are even increased. Hostess, for example. Bakery worker retirement funds were bankrupted, but executive pensions were untouched. Middle class America is supposed to applaud this treatment???
Re: Town Halls
It's really sad that people trying to score political points are ruining these town hall meetings. It happened with the health care debate when the GOP would target the Dems town halls, and now it's happening in reverse.
(FTR...this article concerned the Orlando town hall)
From CNN:
Here's the problem I have with it...the average citizen who may have concerns gets drowned out...because the opposition political party decides to pack these town halls with "plants" it just becomes assumed that anyone who is angry is with that political organization and is just helping to score points. In reality, they may have legitimate concerns. These town hall meetings in theory are great...the duly elected representative is hearing the concerns of their constituents...but because we are constantly in election mode, the political parties take over. Sad.
Whenever I go to partisan political events, I am surrounded by people who are more activist, or unconventional, than I am. I remember sitting next to a young woman at the Democratic primary caucus whose political speech consisted of making her fingers into an "O" above her head - for an hour. When I protested the invasion of Iraq on Monument Square in Portland I stood amongst some very embarrassing characters. When I volunteered to canvas for a Democratic senatorial candidate the woman who organized it was a firebrand who got on my last nerve.
And YET, the older I get, the more I realize that "moderate" may be a word for "the last person in the room to get it." I always seem to come around to the position these activists jump at first, but not before being utterly embarrassed and uncomfortable to be in their company.
Guess that Good old saying of Do onto others as they do onto you is true, Works for Me. Seems they only want to dish it out but can't take it when it happens in reverse ...
The Tea Party scum thought it was great when they invaded the Democrat townhall meeting and turned it into a three ring circus. They thought it was patriotic parading around outside with holstered guns to intimidate people but now that their tactics are being turned against them they are whining about it. I say stick it to the Tea Party scum every chance we get and show them what we think of their tactics!
A few more examples of political groups "loading" crowds. Governor Scott Walker had partisan supporters jam the crowd to make it appear that he had widespread support for his trashing of public employee unions in the contentious fight over school teachers collective bargaining.
2000 Presidential election, Dade County Florida. Election workers working on behalf of Tom DeLay of Texas, exerted lots of pressure on election officials in Dade County to halt the counting of ballots. What were Texas election workers doing in Florida?
The discourse has indeed become ugly, and we're starting to see that it works both ways.
ryans proproganda is nothing but capitalist communisim. he as all his buddies do not care about the elderly and they never have. as alan grayson stated, the republican health plan is if you get sick, die quickly!
keep your hands off of medicare, medicade, and social security!
This is the Republicans "death panel" now.
Capitalist Communism? That's some lucid insanity right there.
it's more like the 1% consider themselves roality and the rest are unwashed masses that are there for their pleasure only
I hate to name call, but it's Fascism. Look it up.
Capitalist Communism.....now we're just making crap up to sound smart.....
Typical democrats. Only 1 in 100 can balance a checkbook or else they would see the folly of promising more and more to people with less and less federal income. Dems are such fools when it comes to money they actually believe their precious US government will tax only those making over 250K as acouple. Doing the numbers will show that this will not eliminate our national debt (by a long shot) so where I ask will they get the money from? Well first if our guy that "leads from behind" will tax those evil oil companies more (of course dumb dems don't realize the oil companies simply raise the price). Then the mystic will say well we need to drop the tax increase threshold to 150K and then 100K and so on until everyone (at least the 53% who actually pay fed taxes) is paying more. Big message for dems ..only economic growth of the private sector will dig us out of hole. This and spending discipline. Government growth is a loser..if big government were the answer the Soviets, Cuba would have been big successes. Don't cite China because they are economically for all purposes a capitalist nation. Dems will squeal but the only way out is private sector growth and cutting government spending at all levels.
There you go again! The private sector caused this problem, and wages are stagnant, people can't afford to send their kids to school in states where republican governors are cutting state funding and more and more money goes to the wealthiest people in the country because they say it is in the best interest of the people? This isn't progress, this is feudalism! The wealthiest people in the nation are praying that the bulk of the voting public are suckers!
These Repulicans all try to make like they have money but they use foodstamps We got your # downwiththe bolsheviks
The government caused the problem.
What Big Government sleaze are good at is screwing with the market, then when their weird market/government hybrid fails, blaming the market for it, and taking no responsibility themselves.
down you need to stop watching FOX and get back to reality. the way to fix this is to restore tarrifs back to their +20% before Reagan lowered it. Before they were lowered they accounted for 30% of the federal budget and helped prevent jobs fom being shipped overseas. Raise taxes on corpoations. before Reagan lowered them they were between 71% and 90%. corporations didn't pay that though they got into lower tax brackets by reinvesting into the company (pay raises, pentions, medical ect...) after Reagan lowered them wages stagnated and the middle class went from about 65% of the population down to about 40%. Corporations like GE made billions last year and payed 0% in taxes we need to get rid of the loopholes that allowed it. we also need to get rid of the tax creddits for moving jobs overseas. that is how the economy can be fixed. stop worsiping the 1% the corporations are not your friends thats why unions were created read your history the GOP is trying to get labor and this country back to where it was in the 1800's where people were little more than slave labor.
Bullsh!t vicks, Your first sentence. The word INCOME. Where does income come from? Taxes. To demonstrate the disconnect, A republican poster asked, "Why should a man that makes 1,000,000 a year have to pay 10 times as much as a man that makes 50,000 a year?" Correct me if I'm wrong, but I answered that it might be because he makes 20 times as much.
Grimey, Good post.
Hey Wisconsin - Please Recall Paul Ryan for the good of the country!
Hey dumbass, the Libs already tried that. Ryan was voted in TWICE. Pay attention.
Mia, so was Obama. Pay attention!!!!!!
No one mentioned Obama, John. Pay attention.
Wow to funny ....... Ryan " booed and forced to seek safety in a police car " ! And he doesn't feel his political future is in jeopardy ! lol ....think again
God, I would have spent my last dollar to WITNESS that! It's about time, the a-holes whom reelected his Government Welfare azz, whose been living off the People since his father died, who also became rich behind GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS, now Ryan wants to DENY other Americans the SAME opportunities THAT MADE HIM RICH! Now he wants to take away what little benefits seniors received from PAYING INTO Social Security ALL THEIR WORKING LIVES!
Social Security is NOT AN ENTITLEMENT, IT IS AN INVESTMENT that Working Americans PAID INTO! I'm sick of them calling it an Entitlement!
You hit the nail on the head Earthie. SS paid for Ryan's education and he's been living on the government aka taxpayers ever since. Yet he espouses the (despicable) doctrine of Ayn Rand, who also had to rely on entitlements in the end. Two peas in a hypocritical; pod.
When you get chased out of your OWN townhall meeting, in your OWN STATE, things are DEFINATELY not looking to good for you OR you proposed budget plan, Congressman Ryan.
Same thing happened to almost every Democrat town hall prior to the healthcare bill being passed, so what's our point?
Did anyone on this forum read the Time Magazine issue that focused solely on how hospitals truly screw people with triple billing and other fun things? This is what happens when there is no real oversight. It was the scariest thing I've read in a long, long time. Hope I don't get really sick.... It might cost ME $900,000 like it did one family cited in the article. Read it and weep. This is the wonderful system the Republicans are fighting SO HARD to keep as it is! Of course when you are really rich you can go anywhere you want for treatment.
babyboomer46, that is the $716,000 (i don't if it was millions or billions) that President Obama has RETRIEVED from HOSPITAL, DOCTOR'S and others who can loot Medicaid/Medicare! And the Rethugs wants the President to STOP THIS, and GIVE THE MONEY BACK TO THEIR CRONIES!
Truth is, I believe they get KICK-BACKS, and why they are fighting so hard to stop the President!
This is how these bastards become millionaires, RIPPING OFF THE AMERICAN TAXPAYER'S! They've been getting away with this since the Bush/Cheney Reign. It has gotten so GOOD to them, that they fighting tooth and nail to PREVENT the President from CLEANING up their Raping/looting of our Treasury!
Ryan and the rest of those THUGS, SHOULD BE CHARGED AND JAILED FOR EMBEZZLEMENT!
When you've "served" in congress money is no object anyway, you have paid government insurance for life. The only job in the world where you can lounge around for two years, and retire with a full retirement and health insurance for life
earthie, unfortunately the looting has been going on for much longer than that. The sad thing is that my party has had their fingers in the till too. As long as we try to delude ourselves into thinking it's strictly partisan, we'll never clean it up. That's why you have to have an active voice in Government and carefully keep track of how our representatives vote, on all issues. That includes all of them, our favorites and the ones we work day and night to remove from office
Karma
I have come to believe, that America is not worth saving. I regret my service to the country.
Read Earthie's post to see why.
@mark...then get the fuk out
Earthie's type of garbage can make you feel that way, but he/she/it/they are in the minority. Don't back down from them.
Come on People. His job is not in Jeopardy. There are far too many uneducated farmers collecting federal money to not farm their lands to let the Republican Party fade away. They re-elected an uneducated money grabber of a Governor after a Recall election that should have rocked this Country. Even after being caught with his tail between his legs and his former partners in crime being targeted by the feds for illegal actions at the county level when he was in charge of Milwakee County. The idiots of Wisconsin could not see past their party allegiances and voted for him anyway (twice)......That speaks volumes about the state and its constituents. Stupid Is as Stupid Does. Take away the federally sponsored subsidies and make these people actually work for a living. Farmers use to be respected members of the communities,,,,now they are the butt of most of the jokes. I grew up in the state and I am embarrassed to admit I am from there.
So, are you saying the idiots that voted for Walker are the same idiots that voted for Obama? hmmm, another comment from an ideologically driven non-thinker.
"Come on People. His job is not in Jeopardy. There are far too many uneducated farmers collecting federal money"
As opposed to other states where the lazy pigs and illegals collect federal money? And it's good to know you're embarassed to be from Wisconsin. On behalf of the rest of the state, we're embarassed you're from here too.
jrl, not necessarily. In spite of the fact that Democrats carried the popular vote nationwide in house votes, thanks to gerrymandering, republicans retained majority of House seats. For that reason, redrawing districts should only be done after a census. That is one of the purposes of having the census in the first place so that demographic groups can get equitable representation.
In related news, Pelosi and Reid are now known as Heckle and Jeckle.
Doing the numbers will show that this will not eliminate our national debt (by a long shot) so where I ask will they get the money from?
Downwiththe Bolsheviks going into 2 wars, after blowing the surplus we had, under the guise of giving the "American" people back their money was also a stupid move. Trickle down economics was against us, too. Oh but let the rich keep all the precious money, huh? Freedom isn't free, a$$hole, as much as you'd like to believe that.....
He may not have been elected as the VP, but WIS did re-elect him as their Congressman, so that is saying something!!
aww so cute..democrats figure out how to use sharpies and glue and wave some signs and they think the republican party is dead..cuter than a kitten!
Lana... aww Republicans are still trying to sell their ugly message and ideology.
Good luck with that!
@chip...no one likes a low info moron lib..what message are you refering to?
I'm from Green Bay,Wisconsin, and would vote to toss this cloudy-minded guy, Ryan, out into the snow mighty quick...it is absurd, that any voter would be in favor of lower taxes for the wealthy...contrary to ones self-interest too. It's not as though the very wealthy pay just the same % in tax that 99% of Americans pay....these guys pay a much lower % tax rate....it's about time that taxpayer rage swells up against the entitled mega-rich...
No they don't. The rich pay a much higher rate, and even more so after the January 1st tax hike on everyone making over $400K.
You're a stupid, ignorant knuckle-dragging typical Democrat off in your own dreamworld.
In real life, the poor pay nothing, the middle class pay a little, and the rich pay everything else.
Chesty, you are not real good with percentages, are you?
The argument from many of us liberals is not just about income tax, but capital gains taxes, the tax that taxes money made from money, a tax of around 15 percent. And since so much of wealth in the western world is money made from money I think the rich would not be cheated if the government raisised capital gains taxes just a slight bit. Of course the right claims the wealthy are also the job creators, and must be free to let things roll, not be hindered by petty things like tax and regulation. Now, I don't argue the fact that the rich are usually the job creators. It's just I don't think their plans include the idea of "trickle down" once their business or industry becomes profitable, even enormously so. Rather, these upper echelon folk will bank even their largest gains while continually working to underpay the majority of their employees. I also think a good business man is not going to shy away from an investment because the tax rate is not optimal. A tax rate is but one factor in deciding if something makes for a good investment.
@liam...your an idiot..the wealthy pay MOST of the taxes in this country...try reading a little before you shoot your mouth off. He didn't want to lower their taxes..just not increase them. you Nobama lock step low info lib. tax and spend tax and spend
why don't you read. Romney with his loopholes was paying about 9% in taxes most pay about 35% and it was speculated that the reason Romney did't show older tax returns is that his money was in a tax shelter with the Mormon church in which he payed 0% in taxes.
bubba, it was speculated??? by whom??? The re-election campaign of Pres. Obama. Comments like this, with no basis in fact, are one of the main reasons this country has the problems we have. The right "speculated" that the Pres. was born in Kenya, now you want to "speculate" about what Romney's tax rate was.
What ever tax breaks he used, who do you think wrote the tax laws that allowed them. Unless you say Democrats and Republicans, you will show that you have done nothing to understand the problems we face. You may not like a persons policies, that's fine, but at least get the facts straight.
by the way, here is a link to estimated tax rates paid in US.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/robertlenzner/2013/01/07/the-average-tax-top-20-wealthy-will-pay-in-2013-is-28-1/
jrl, Mitt Romney only showed 1 year and 1 partial tax statement. He's the only candidate to refuse to open tax records for at least 5 years. About the birther claims. Obama produced his birth certificate, didn'tMitt's father run for President? If so, When was Mexico annexed into the United States? I didn't hear a bunch of birther claims then. Before you start claiming that his parents were both citizens, They were and hiding in Mexico to avoid prosecution in the United States.
This is the screeching, hysterical Left that we're used to here in America.
Boy, but did they not like it when Tea Partiers started doing the same thing to them in 2009 and 2010...oh no no no, you don't interrupt lefties, that's just not fair.
It's supposed to be only smelly Socialist scum like Medea Benjamin and other pieces of far left offal that are able to bust up speeches, hearings and meeting.
It isn't the tea party. The tea party wanted to cut everything - ryan...only wants to cut what he doesn't get lobby money for. That's the problem with the party; in fact - both parties. If he is supposed to be tea party; its co opted just like the base on the other side is for immigration or whatever cause of the day is - nothing based in reality. You would also think this fool would have learned from the last election. I mean, why are you trying to cut medicare ahead of the president. If he had any political instincts he would just sit on his hands the next 3 plus years and let obama care run this country into the proverbial toilet. Entire companies are reclassifying workers right now in full time 28 hour employees and getting ready to dump them into this health care exchange. Its going to be entertainment at its best next year.
Chesty, Bush instituted "free speech zones", to keep protesters a safe distance form his speeches so the media, and therefore the American electorate would not see the amount of disagreement with his policies. By the way, this is in violation of your Constitutional rights to free speech and the right to peacefully assemble. That was a direct quote from the First Amendment. What's that they say at Faux news? "Welcome to the no-spin zone".