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For more than a year, President Obama has been trying to run against Paul Ryan and House Republicans.
And now -- with Ryan’s selection as Mitt Romney’s running mate -- he is.
It started in April of last year when the president invited the Wisconsin congressman and House Budget Committee chairman to hear his speech on fiscal policy at George Washington University here in Washington.
Asking Ryan to be there might have seemed like a gesture of good will toward Ryan, who had just weeks earlier unveiled his controversial budget.
Instead, sitting in the front row, Ryan listened as his plan -- and by extension Ryan himself -- was eviscerated by the president of the United States.
As Obama picked it apart, Ryan grew more annoyed, shaking his head at times and scribbling notes. As soon as the speech was over, Ryan darted out of the room.
For all of the policy discussion that will happen over the next several weeks, and deep dives into Ryan’s budget, the episode highlights that politics can be awfully personal. It also began the president’s year-long effort to draw a very distinct line between his vision for the country and that of congressional Republicans, led by Ryan and his budget after the 2010 GOP midterm sweep of the House. With Congress’ abysmal ratings, it was an easy foil.
Perhaps nothing provides clearer evidence for how Obama will go after the Romney-Ryan ticket than three speeches Obama has given in the past year -- that one in April 2011, another months later in Kansas, and one earlier this year before newspaper editors.
Different visions
“I was excited when we got invited to attend his speech today,” Ryan said, reacting to the April 2011 speech at the time. “I thought the president’s invitation … was an olive branch.”
It was not.
“We have a number of members of Congress here today. I'm grateful for all of you taking the time to attend,” Obama said benignly near the beginning of his speech. That was just minutes before he would launch his broadside on Ryan’s plan, which the president dismissed as not “serious” and “deeply pessimistic.”
Romney told NBC’s Chuck Todd this week he wanted a vice president with a “vision for the country.” Obama swatted at that vision during the George Washington University speech.
“It’s a vision that says if our roads crumble and our bridges collapse, we can’t afford to fix them,” Obama said. “If there are bright young Americans who have the drive and the will but not the money to go to college, we can’t afford to send them. … It’s a vision that says America can’t afford to keep the promise we’ve made to care for our seniors.”
He went on, slamming the plan on health care, education, clean energy and tax breaks for the wealthy.
“[W]orst of all,” Obama declared, “this is a vision that says even though Americans can’t afford to invest in education at current levels, or clean energy, even though we can’t afford to maintain our commitment on Medicare and Medicaid, we can somehow afford more than $1 trillion in new tax breaks for the wealthy. Think about that. …
“This vision is less about reducing the deficit than it is about changing the basic social compact in America. Ronald Reagan’s own budget director said there’s nothing ‘serious’ or ‘courageous’ about this plan.”
You can bet Ryan will remember those words.
‘Not on the level’
Obama may not have mentioned Ryan by name in the speech, but he did a couple of days later when he thought no one was listening.
"When Paul Ryan says his priority is to make sure, you know, he's just being America's accountant, trying to be responsible … this is the same guy who voted for two wars that were unpaid for, voted for the Bush tax cuts that were unpaid for, voted for the prescription drug bill that cost as much as my health care bill -- but wasn't paid for. So it's not on the level,” Obama said at a closed-door fundraiser after the media was ushered out, but with the microphones still on.
‘You’re-on-your-own economics’
In December, during the height of the Republican primary, the president traveled to Osawatomie, Kan., where he delivered a major economic address. There, he again made it clear he was running against Republicans in Congress and conservative economic ideology.
“[I]n 2001 and 2003, Congress passed two of the most expensive tax cuts for the wealthy in history,” Obama said. “And what did it get us? … Remember that in those same years, thanks to some of the same folks who are now running Congress, we had weak regulation; we had little oversight; and what did it get us?”
He added this line: “We simply cannot return to this brand of ‘you’re-on-your-own’ economics….”
‘This is what they’re running on’
This past April, a year after his speech at George Washington University, Obama refined his attack, slamming Ryan’s budget – and doing it with specifics.
“Instead of moderating their views even slightly, the Republicans running Congress right now have doubled down and proposed a budget so far to the right it makes the Contract with America look like the New Deal,” Obama said before the Associated Press luncheon. Obama then added that former House Speaker Newt Gingrich had called it “right-wing social engineering” on Meet the Press.
(After Ryan’s speech Saturday, Gingrich called the pick “courageous” and “the largest step the GOP has taken towards solving the USA’s problems since Reagan and Kemp.”)
Obama continued, trying to tie Romney to the plan.
“And yet this isn’t a budget supported by some small group in the Republican Party,” Obama said. “This is now the party’s governing platform. This is what they’re running on. One of my potential opponents, Governor Romney, has said that he hoped a similar version of this plan from last year would be introduced as a bill on day one of his presidency. He said that he’s very supportive of this new budget. And he even called it ‘marvelous,’ which is a word you don’t often hear when it comes to describing a budget. It’s a word you don’t often hear generally.”
He went on to skewer Ryan’s budget, making the most detailed case this election on it. He cited specific numbers and consequences of cuts to financial aid, medical and research grants, clean energy, education, the Department of Justice, FBI, national parks.
The president claimed, “We wouldn’t have the capacity to enforce the laws that protect the air we breathe, the water we drink or the food that we eat.”
He even said Ryan’s budget “would likely result in more flight cancellations, delays and the complete elimination of air traffic control services” as a consequence of the cuts proposed to the Federal Aviation Administration.
That’s not to mention Medicare, which Obama warned would become a “voucher plan” and “end Medicare as we know it.”
“If health care costs rise faster than the amount of the voucher, as, by the way, they’ve been doing for decades, that’s too bad,” Obama said of the plan. “Seniors bear the risk. If the voucher isn’t enough to buy a private plan with the specific doctors and care that you need, that’s too bad.”
He continued, “So most experts will tell you the way this voucher plan encourages savings is not through better care at cheaper cost. The way these private insurance companies save money is by designing and marketing plans to attract the youngest and healthiest seniors, cherry-picking, leaving the older and sicker seniors in traditional Medicare, where they have access to a wide range of doctors and guaranteed care. But that, of course, makes the traditional Medicare program even more expensive and raises premiums even further. The net result is that our country will end up spending more on health care, and the only reason the government will save any money, it won’t be on our books, is because we shifted it to seniors. They’ll bear more of the costs themselves. It’s a bad idea, and it will ultimately end Medicare as we know it.”
Expect to hear a lot of that in the next few weeks.
Lines are drawn
Ryan proved again during his speech Saturday why he is one of the best ideological economic messengers in his party. He may make a tough policy charge, but he does it with a soft edge.
“No one disputes President Obama inherited a difficult situation. And, in his first two years, with his party in complete control of Washington, he passed nearly every item on his agenda,” Ryan said before hitting the president hard. “But that didn't make things better. In fact, we find ourselves in a nation facing debt, doubt and despair.”
That will be the central Romney-Ryan argument – President Obama tried, but his policies failed.
Obama’s argument – we tried it Republicans’ way, and it’s what got us into this mess in the first place.
And now Romney has handed Obama the specifics the president has been trying to tie to the presumptive Republican nominee. (“This is what they’re running on. … He even called it ‘marvelous.’”)
The Obama campaign is already out with a web video with this message: “With Romney and Ryan, the choice for women, the elderly, veterans, students, middle-class families, couldn't be clearer.” It closes with: "Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan: Back to the failed top-down policies that crashed our economy."
There are already indications the Romney campaign may try to give the candidate some wiggle room on the Ryan budget. According to Romney campaign talking points reported by CNN, Romney “will be putting together his own plan for cutting the deficit and putting the budget on a path to balance.”
But it is going to be very difficult for Romney to try to separate himself from Ryan’s plan with Ryan on the ticket.
The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol and Stephen Hayes, the same authors who pushed for the Ryan pick, wrote before the selection that Romney had given “a clear and unequivocal defense of Ryan’s entitlement reforms. No hedging, no qualification.” And: “Romney has praised Ryan’s budget without qualification.” And they called the Ryan budget “in a sense, the official Republican governing roadmap.”
Picking Ryan will be seen as a full embrace of the Ryan plan. If it’s not, economic conservatives would likely pounce.
The two sides will have starkly different economic messages. The lines of division couldn’t be more clearly drawn. Not only did Romney get his man, but so did Obama.
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Ryan's economic polices are those that helped cause the great recession and our debt. His budget doesn't even reduce the deficit by much. Yet it does manage to take a staggering amount of money from the middle class and redistribute it to the wealthy to tinkle overseas. Ayn Rand would be proud of the Ryan budget. It's diametrically opposed to Christianity. The budget gives charity to the wealthy donors that are pouring money into the Romney campaign providing them a good return on investment. Robbing the middle class to give Welfare for the Wealthy! Romneyhood! That's what Paul Ryan is about.
Since this feels like Christmas morning, here's an apropos classic: Playing the role of Ebenezer Scrooge is a fine young actor by the name of Paul Ryan.
His nephew left the room without an angry word, notwithstanding. He stopped at the outer door to bestow the greetings of the season on the clerk, who cold as he was, was warmer than Scrooge; for he returned them cordially.
"There's another fellow," muttered Scrooge; who overheard him: "my clerk, with fifteen shillings a week, and a wife and family, talking about a merry Christmas. I'll retire to Bedlam."
This lunatic, in letting Scrooge's nephew out, had let two other people in. They were portly gentlemen, pleasant to behold, and now stood, with their hats off, in Scrooge's office. They had books and papers in their hands, and bowed to him.
"Scrooge and Marley's, I believe," said one of the gentlemen, referring to his list. "Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr. Scrooge, or Mr. Marley?"
"Mr. Marley has been dead these seven years," Scrooge replied. "He died seven years ago, this very night."
"We have no doubt his liberality is well represented by his surviving partner," said the gentleman, presenting his credentials.
It certainly was; for they had been two kindred spirits. At the ominous word "liberality," Scrooge frowned, and shook his head, and handed the credentials back.
"At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge," said the gentleman, taking up a pen, "it is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and Destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts, sir."
"Are there no prisons?" asked Scrooge.
"Plenty of prisons," said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.
"And the Union workhouses?" demanded Scrooge. "Are they still in operation?"
"They are. Still," returned the gentleman, "I wish I could say they were not."
"The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?" said Scrooge.
"Both very busy, sir."
"Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course," said Scrooge. "I'm very glad to hear it."
"Under the impression that they scarcely furnish Christian cheer of mind or body to the multitude," returned the gentleman, "a few of us are endeavouring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices. What shall I put you down for?"
"Nothing!" Scrooge replied.
"You wish to be anonymous?"
"I wish to be left alone," said Scrooge. "Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don't make merry myself at Christmas and I can't afford to make idle people merry. I help to support the establishments I have mentioned -- they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there."
"Many can't go there; and many would rather die."
"If they would rather die," said Scrooge, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population. Besides -- excuse me -- I don't know that."
"But you might know it," observed the gentleman.
"It's not my business," Scrooge returned. "It's enough for a man to understand his own business, and not to interfere with other people's. Mine occupies me constantly. Good afternoon, gentlemen!"
Seeing clearly that it would be useless to pursue their point, the gentlemen withdrew. Scrooge returned his labours with an improved opinion of himself, and in a more facetious temper than was usual with him.
I wonder how that story turned out?
Jaw dropping: over 100-million now on Federal Welfare
by Norm Van Ness
Posted: 08.08.2012 at 5:34 PM ....
Thanks Obama .... "LOL"
The new numbers stem from the U.S. Census's Survey of Income and Program Participation which shows that nearly 110,000 million individuals received a welfare benefit in 2011. The benefits counted were not limited to U.S. citizens...as non-citizens were included in the final tally ....
And 36% of illegal aliens are on some type of Obama welfare now .... "LOL"
Domenico,
Thanks for what you have written.
...........................................................................
(Ezra Klein)
"For instance: Ryan has told the Congressional Budget Office that his budget will bring all federal spending outside Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to 3.75 percent of GDP by 2050.
That means defense, infrastructure, education, food safety, basic research, and food stamps — to name just a few — will be less than four percent of GDP in 2050.
To get a sense for how unrealistic that is, Congress has never permitted defense spending to fall below three percent of GDP, and Romney has pledged that he'll never let defense spending fall beneath four percent of GDP".
Ryan wants to eliminate entitlements completely, and get rid of the security of Medicare for millions of Americans - just for starters.
Giving Romney/Ryan the slightest chance to do any of the above, is not an option.
KNOCK OFF the comment spamming Ben!
ben, being ben, usual ignorant self.
Obama 2012
Thank you Mr. President for highlighting Paul Ryan's "Road Map to Destruction".
Roads will crumble and our bridges collapse
He went on, slamming the plan on
People will die under Ryan health care plan
Our youth won't get education enough to compete globally
The planet will revolt and wreak havoc from lack of clean energy as the the filthy Koch Bros and other Oil barons Pollute the air.
The best that can happen to the the wealthy with their tax breaks is while they are on their yachts sipping champagne a tsunami wipes their debris off the face of the planet.
Ryan is now Romney's pick as veep? I guess that is the last nail in the coffin that contains the Republican Party's crumbling election hopes for November.
President Obama by default in 2012! American is holding an election and the GOP is not planning on showing up!
Bev, you make such a great point.
WE ARE ONE WORLD -- and whatever damage is done to one sector of our global population, will come home to roost on the other.
We are inextricably all in this together -- melting ice caps, rising sea levels, droughts, boiling temperatures and all.
Norm Van Ness? Is Benny now taking his political direction from a small-time meteorologist for a third-rate TV station in Northwestern Ohio? What next, Benny? A Ouija board?
OBAMA IN 2012.
Bev - to quote our very own Pat Boston,
The Ryan/Romney/GOP/Koch view is:
"Let the future generations take care of it. That's their MO. While they themselves continue to scam the system.
America is just an ATM to people like Romney and his ilk."
Feisty Redhead Roselle, IL
KNOCK OFF the comment spamming Ben!
Feisty,
Ben is a troll from the wilderness.
Ben why can't you go away and stop trolling here?
Your inflammatory posts and extraneous off-topic messages are totally unnecessary
Yep, Ben you are a troll trolling to make trouble and be disagreeable where you don't belong.
Ryan is another Palin !
IF there were a choice worse than Palin, Romney found it!
Democrats are more excited about this pick than Republicans.
The first time I heard Paul Ryan speak, was when he gave the State of the Union rebuttal. In the beginning,I thought, well isn't this nice, he's playing the part of the loyal opposition, bringing up issues that were not mentioned by President Obama, providing a healthy balance. In the beginning, I thought, "he has a valid point of view" But as he talked, the realization dawned on me "oh, my God, he's nuts."
Typical rightwinger, Ryan has a one track mind: government spending is the source of all evil. No room in his mind to contemplate global warming, threats from terrorism, opportunities on Mars, the lobster war between Maine and Canada, or what is happening in Afghanistan. He's like an infomercial host trying to tell us that the amazing gizmo he is selling will transform our lives - it slices! it dices! save money on restaurant food! bring the family to the table! It's the amazing Ryan budget!
A one trick pony does not a President make.
@Amy, The SHAM WOW! commercial comes to mind! :)
Congratulations Mr. Obama for being my President, and of course the continuing President, Ruler, Master, and Overlord of all those Tax-Cheating, Pension Robbing Republican thieves, and those crazy Rightwing Wacko Teabaggers.
And God Bless you President Obama for keeping my Family safe, and the Families of all Policemen, Firemen, Teachers, all you voting SENIOR citizens from FLORIDA.
Also all the Women, the Mexican and Gay Community, and all you remaining MIDDLE-CLASS Undecided Voters, FINANCIALLY SAFE, from the likes of Mitt Romney, the "Etch-A-Scetch" wannabe "Outsourcer and Chief" a known Liar, Tax Cheat Felon, and Pension Robber, and all his Republican puppetmasters.
Don't you Republicans and Teabaggers "get it"?
You're NOT just LOSING.
You've ALREADY LOST.
Thank-you President Obama, you Killed the terrorist Bin-Laden and Saved General Motors, and the Middle-Class.
Is this a Great post, or whaT/
The Sunday New York Times blistering editorial on the Ryan selection.
h/t Daily Kos:
As House Budget Committee chairman, Mr. Ryan has drawn a blueprint of a government that will be absent when people need it the most. It will not be there when the unemployed need job training, or when a struggling student needs help to get into college. It will not be there when a miner needs more than a hardhat for protection, or when a city is unable to replace a crumbling bridge.
More than three-fifths of the cuts proposed by Mr. Ryan, and eagerly accepted by the Tea-Party-driven House, come from programs for low-income Americans. That means billions of dollars lost for job training for the displaced, Pell grants for students and food stamps for the hungry. These cuts are so severe that the nation’s Catholic bishops raised their voices in protest at the shredding of the nation’s moral obligations.
Mr. Ryan’s budget “will hurt hungry children, poor families, vulnerable seniors and workers who cannot find employment,” the bishops wrote in an April letter to the House. “These cuts are unjustified and wrong…”
Those are the kinds of reductions voters of all income levels would actually feel. People might nod their heads at Mr. Romney’s nostrums of smaller government, but they are likely to feel quite different when they realize Mr. Ryan plans to take away their new sewage treatment plant, the asphalt for their streets, and the replacements for retiring police officers and firefighters.
All of this will be accompanied, of course, by even greater tax giveaways to the rich, and extravagant benefits to powerful military contractors. Business leaders will be granted their wish for severely diminished watchdogs over the environment, mine safety and food quality.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/opinion/paul-ryans-cramped-vision.html?_r=1
_______________
It is so so important that this ticket lose. The future of our country is literally at stake.
Why have none of these articles on Ryan mentioned the inconvenient fact that he is a disciple of Ayn Rand's godless Objectivism philosopy? Is the media trying to sweep this under the rug so that Ryan's promotion of an atheistic philosophy won't cut into Romney's Religious Right voting base?
Beverly, Amy & Backhouse.
Going to be an interesting campaign. But a more interesting second Obama Administration. Can't wait.
Houston! -- Ryan pulled a Romney (flip-flop) about Ayn Rand. But Glenn Beck's chalkboard of guilt by association proves otherwise -- Ayn Rand = Rand Paul = Paul Ryan -- Hahaha!
Pat Boston MA. -- Who would more likely be the next POTUS, Paul Ryan or Hillary Clinton? The rightwing believes their own lies, that's why they are going down the toilet.
Run Obama, run! Across the floor and out the door! Run, Obama, run!
Backhouse
Bev, you make such a great point.
WE ARE ONE WORLD -- and whatever damage is done to one sector of our global population, will come home to roost on the other.
Indeed Backhouse,
But the corporatist, social welfare holders think they are immune to world tragedies and above the law; particularly "MYTH" Romney. "MYTH" dances around more than his wife's Dressage horse, Rafalca!! I guess he'll do a jig for his Romeycare.
The Central Americans provided roughly $9 million -- 40 percent -- of Bain Capital's initial outside funding, the Los Angeles Times reported recently. And they became valued clients.
"Myth" also took money from death squads in Italy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/08/mitt-romney-death-squads-bain_n_1710133.html#comments
Of course, these idiots are in such denial due to their greed that they even deny the laws of nature so much so they think women are their servants..
May the trade winds blow, ice caps melt, seas levels rise , droughts cause them enough famine to never eat their expensive meals, and boiling temperatures affect their brains enough to take them out of the denial of mother nature's law.
Yes, Backhouse, they do think America is their ATM for their piggy banks
Excellent point Houston - although I did see a post on another article questioning the evangelical support for an atheist. Apparently, when it comes to money, religion doesn't matter. In fact, if you reject communism, religion is also irrelevant. I believe the combination looks something like this:
Pro-Atheist/Capitalist; Anti-Communist = Approved
Pro-Capitalist; Anti-Communist/Atheist = Approved
All other combinations = Denied
As well they should be.
Keep in mind, that Paul Ryan was one of the invited attendees at that little gathering of 15 on the night President Obama was inaugurated. At this gathering a set of steps was laid out as to how the GOP would make his dealings with Congress pure hell trying to ensure he'd be a one term President.
That one moment at which Paul Ryan was an interested and willing participant, tells us much about him and what a mendacious individual he is. He simply would not be a good choice for any office, that evening spent plotting the ruination of a duly elected President and his administration was knocking on the door of treason.
For those unaware of this event or looking for further information, read Robert Draper's recent book: Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives
Romney/Ryan are only "fiscal" conservatives when it comes to policies that help the people. They are all for GOVERNMENT spending when it comes to things like Defense. Romney's plan will significantly increase Defense spending.
They will "starve" any program that helps We the People.
They will "feed" the any program that beefs up the war machine.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-215_162-57401800/romney-defense-plan-throws-money-at-pentagon/
Gingerbread Mamma -- So true. And Republicans who have since left politics are blowing the whistle about this now -- Along with voter suppression efforts. There will be news coverage with interviews of all those departing and they all say inability to compromise and govern is why they are leaving.
The obstructionism is catching up with these anti-democracy douchebags. The GOP/TP in congress has gone down in all the polls since the 2010 mid-term. Many voters have figured out it is the Teapublicans who have been throwing them under the bus. Where are the JOBS you arseholes promised McConnell/Boehner?
And stop trying to block people from voting you anti-democracy jagoffs -- PA, FL, OH to name a few key swing states. We aren't going to let you steal another election like 2000 -- Never again!
Romney/Ryan -- Where are your tax returns?!!!
The Koch Bros first order to Rmoney, your VP will be Paul Ryan.
Two questions: Did Paul Ryan get a copy of this letter? Is he still a practicing Catholic? If so, he sure seems to be at odds with the leadership in his church.
I guess the Bishop's have read Dickens.
Good choice Ryan the most despised man in the mid west. It will be easy to beat him
Romney pulls a McCain. That's all I seem to be able to say. Every time I bring Koch brothers I seem to get cut off at the knee's. Someone at NBC don't like what I am saying. Two times yesterday when I was posting about renewable energy, I was kicked. The second time they only allowed me to post 1/2 of what I wrote. When I said, if we could get off oil, there would be no reason for wars anymore. And that we pay all the bill to keep the oil flowing for the rest of the world. I guess we can't talk about that.
Big Ben,
That 'survey' by House Republicans couldn't be more flawed. Look at the fine print on that graph - every person in any household where even one member receives a benefit is counted.
Which means my niece with MS (and on SS Disability Income) is counted 5 times, because she's married with children.
Republicans should be very ashamed of themselves for these lies. And every American should read the fine print every time Republicans say anything.
chuck, were you posting here yesterday when your comments were deleted?
True Patriot, Hillary Clinton. With plenty of great choices for VP.
Keep the GOP out of the White House. They don't belong there.
Obamanov? LoL.
Pat I was posting here yesterday when I got kicked. But it has happened several times. Seems like every time I bring up the Koch Brother and there Hi Jacking the Tea party. Bam I am out.
The visions are clear, Republicans are for the rich and against the middle class.
Obama is for the middle class and asking the wealthy to pay more.
So Willard said he's never met anyone who doesn't like Ryan, or something to that effect.
You don't get out much do you, Willard?
chuck, a lot of us go after the Koch Bros on a daily basis here at First Read. There are absolutely no rules against that. Seems strange.
The moderators don't like Nazi stuff and personal attacks against each other that go over the line, but other than that, we are given a lot of freedom to voice our opinions.
If you have a problem with the Koch Bros., as most of us do, please do express your opinion. It's why we're all here. To hit back at the Kochs of the world. They are literally destroying our democracy.
A friend in Wisconsin sent me this colorfully-worded email:
"Ryan's charismatic persona will ensure that the GOP Tea Party will enthusiastically double-down on their vision of Social Darwinism, where only the bigger corporations and the ultra-conservative wealthy survive, and everyone else becomes impoverished slaves to support their misogynist and racist vision of bible-thumping war machines."
At this time in the 2008 election cycle, John McCain knew he was in trouble so the threw a hail Mary pass named Sarah Palin. Like most hail Mary passes, it was incomplete. Paul Ryan is Mitt Romney's hail Mary pass. But this one won't just be incomplete, this one will be intercepted and ran back for a touchdown.
Mitt Romney just gave Florida and their 29 electoral votes to President Obama. This puts President Obama over the top. He can now lose Ohio, Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado and every other swing state and still win the election.
Obama/Biden in a landslide
Wouldn't do the dance of joy too quickly here. Gas is now up to $4.00 a gallon in many areas and heading higher. Almost one-third of the country is on welfare, more are on food stamps. There are tent cities popping up in more and more places. If this is the America that Obama has created, you can have it.
Before the great excuse makers appear on the scene, Obama holds this baby and has held it for almost four years. His policies like killing coal as fuel have resulted in much higher energy costs and many, many job losses. Recently he and Holder announced that there would be no criminal prosecutions against the Wall Street and Bank criminals. None.
Obama's record isn't good and outside of liberal sites like the vine, the mood is less favorable for Obama. When you're out of work and the best he offers is more welfare, well, it's like giving a thirsty man a drink of vinegar.
Looks like the Right that comes here is taking another break from reality. Let's just hope that they continue to do so. And maybe they will miss November altogether.
" ... it's like giving a thirsty man a drink of vinegar. ... "
And I'd rather drink vinegar, then the urine that the Right is offering us.
Obama wants you to drink urine. Enjoy.
The money is gone folks....Obama is toast and hopefully another administration can get our Nation back on track noW that it's been PROVEN 100% that you can't spend your way out of debt!! Thanks to Epic Fail Obama we now have a AAA- credit rating.
GO TO WORK! OOPS NO JOBS? WHO PROMISED THEM 4 YEARS AGO?
@mygirl1. Did you read the article about WHY gas prices are going up again? Have you followed the commodities stock market the past three weeks? The rise in gas prices has NOTHING to do with the president, but totally to do with problems at refineries and commodities speculation. Plus this is the time of the year when refineries begin their conversion to winter fuel production, thus reducing their inventories of gasoline. Combine the refinery problems and the conversion, and you have the gas price increase, even without the rising price of a barrel of oil on the market.
Anti-Trust... you can not reason to somebody who doesn't know anything about the real facts of life... or to somebody who doesn't know anything at all....!!!
I would love to have people understand that there is no such thing as THE MIDDLE CLASS in the USA. We are THE WORKING CLASS.
anti-trust: It doesn't matter the cause of increases, guess who gets the blame?
I feel like I just won the lottery with Willard chosing Ryan as his running mate!
He just took the referendum meme off the table and the election is truly about CHOICE!
Do you want to move this country forward or return to the same failed policies which drove us off the cliff in the first place!
Keep in mind, Ryan voted for 2 unfunded wars and the Medicare prescription plan!
Beware of wolves in sheeps clothing...
actually Mitt introduced him as "the next President of the United States!" Do they know something we don't?
After the pitiful performance overseas, I wondered if Romney could tank his chances even more. And he just did! (Romney fasted and prayed, and now I know there is a God guiding our nation away from further disaster.)
Look at Romney, already trying to have it both ways! What an arrogant entitled fool. The only congressman richer than Paul Ryan is Darrell Issa? Wow, the 1% poster boys who want economic/tax plans to enrich themselves by impoverishing the rest of us. Show us both tax returns!
tonybeeerm -- Agreed. Neither are ready for prime time, but does anyone really think Paul Ryan would ever be presidential material? The so-called "deep bench" and "rising stars" in the GOP/TP is just another delusion of the rightwing.
Jaw dropping: over 100-million now on Federal Welfare
by Norm Van Ness
Posted: 08.08.2012 at 5:34 PM ....
Thanks Obama .... "LOL"
The new numbers stem from the U.S. Census's Survey of Income and Program Participation which shows that nearly 110,000 million individuals received a welfare benefit in 2011. The benefits counted were not limited to U.S. citizens...as non-citizens were included in the final tally ....
And 36% of illegal aliens are on some type of Obama welfare now .... "LOL"
ben, your still an ignoramus, go home fool.
Obama 2012
I guess benalaska is one of the spammers we need to block in our settings. He's good at copying and pasting multiple times, but that's about it. Perhaps there is a way to ban spamming trolls?
"Keep in mind, Ryan voted for 2 unfunded wars and the Medicare prescription plan"
Keep in mind, so did Joe Biden !
Joe Biden isn't running around the country claiming to be a fiscal conservative & savior of the deficit!
Paul Ryan is a fiscal conservative when the topic is cutting Medicare spending, but not when he supports giving tax breaks to millionaires. Even the Simpson-Bowles commission said, the fiscally prudent path is to raise revenues while cutting spending. When did fically conservative mean giving away money to the top 1% before paying for the nation's two recent wars?
And what kind of fiscal conservative spents $700.00 on two bottles of wine, split among two hedge fund executives and a congressman?
I mean, I can see spending that much to impress your date, if she is a beautiful woman, but what a waste to spend it on a couple of middleaged guys.
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/07/mystery_solved_ryans_dinner_dates_ided.php?ref=fpa
What is the freakish fantasy with the GOP/TP and Health Insurance. Romney likes closing plants, leaving people without insurance coverage. Romeny/Ryan want to repeal Obamacare leaving millions without health insurance coverage. Romney/Ryan want to eliminate Medicare, leaving future seniors without health care.
The Romney/Ryan ticket - Forcing 100's of Millions into the uninsured pool.
Amy
Paul Ryan's plan which " MYTH"thought was a marvelous tax plan is "Robin Hood in reverse.
Feisty, I read somewhere last night, that in High School, Paul Ryan was vote Biggest Brown Noser and I thought, that is exactly how I see him: a two faced, forked tongue individual and a perfect partner Mitt the Twit the many faced liar.
Interesting three-some. Wonder if Ryan played the role of the girl or the guy, after the 'tab' was paid. Inquiring minds would really like to know who played the role of Rand atheist - after all, religious conversions are shaping up the politics of the Romney/Ryan ticket. Hint to Ryan - get a Prenup from Romney or make sure you stay away from large bodies of water. All it takes is one dunk, and poof, you are a Mormon.
tonybeeerm
First time I saw Paul Ryan speak, I thought -the neocons will push for this guy to be president sooner or later. Neocons are so out of touch, they don't understand just how destructive a Paul Ryan administration would be.
This is the kind of person Romney hired at Bain too. The Bay of Pigs versus the Cuban Missile Crisis are case studies for "group think" failures. Romney is losing now because he wouldn't take advise about getting his taxes in order back in 2002, and certainly starting in 2007.
Romney can't stand anyone but a Yes Men around him because he thinks he is so special, so gifted, so important, so above 'you people' and how dare anyone demand his tax returns. Riiight, because his tax returns are central to his tax policy, that's why!
Hilarious that Romney the one-trick-pony doesn't even want folks to question his *business experience* though he made this the sole core of his campaign. Voters already know Romney the corporate raider and job off-shorer would be disastrous for the economy. With Ryan on the ticket, b-bye....
Jon Huntsman appears to be Senator Reid's deep throat. Makes sense.
Jon has been a high level Bain investor for many years.
There is a trilateral Mormon connection between the three and its a reasonable observation that they talked with the expectation of confidence.
Jon's motivation is Romney's trashing his son during the GOP nomination race.
Bottom line is that if Mitt the investment wizard incurred big losses in 2008 that he was able to convert into operating loss carryforwards, he may have ended up paying no tax in 2009. All legal.
Reid may have got it wrong, maybe only one year of no taxes, but still damaging to Team Romney.
Really? Well, LoyalBoy, why don't you keep rambling and tell us all exactly how a senile senator's claim that a little bird told him some ridiculous crap about Romney is damaging to him in any way. As long as Crazy Harry can't name his source, we are reduced to hearing pure speculation, such as yours, on discussion sites and on left wing talk shows. Now, I for one, always make it a point to base my vote on some lib's biased speculation....most reliable damned source I now of!
Why won't Romney release his tax returns? All previous pres. candidates have. There must be some truth in Reid's contention. Otherwise it is political suicide to continue to hold them back. When the debates begin, this issue will be like a twisting knife in Romney's back. He won't be able to dodge it And he shouldn't. Now the republicans have the audacity to demand Obama's Harvard records. Something is very wrong with this picture. Romney has much to hide apparently. Now with Ryan on board we have two 1%ers trying to tell the nation we all need to cut back our standard of living. Astounding!
Ryan's medicare plan will now be front and center.
Romney just lost the senior vote.
Spider, look at it this way. (1) If there is nothing "there" why not release the returns? (2) Romney's "Nervous Nellie" laugh whenever asked about the subject of his taxes. Ask any good detective what that means and they will tell you the person is nervous due to guilt, or the fact that they are lying. I'm giving you the benefit of doubt that even you can comprehend this.
"Keep in mind, so did Joe Biden !"
For those just tuning in...
The latest adaptation of “A Nightmare on Easy Street,” a classic film noir produced especially for Republicans, written and directed by the American People:
President Obama is re-elected handily in November. The Democrats also reach a
super-majority in the Senate and recapture the House.
Now the fun begins.
Hillary Clinton tenders her resignation as Secretary of State in early December,
effective at noon on Inauguration Day in January, 2013.
President Obama nominates popular and highly-regarded former U.N. Ambassador and ex-Governor of New Mexico Bill Richardson to succeed Hillary at the State Department.
Eric Holder quietly resigns as Attorney General a few months into 2013, neutralizing the animus of the Right regarding Fast and Furious while at the same time effectively neutering chief inquisitor Darrel Issa himself, an act for which Holder is awarded the Medal of Freedom.
President Obama nominates New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to replace departing Attorney General Holder, effectively opening the door for Hillary to run for and win the Governorship of her home state, New York. With her election to the New York statehouse, Hillary fills the only remaining gap in her resume, that of Chief Executive of a large mid-Atlantic state, providing her with the day-to-day managerial expertise which so many claim is essential to any legitimate
national candidate possessing presidential aspirations.
As Governor of New York, Hillary leads the way for the wholesale statewide
implementation of the Affordable Care Act, establishing a paradigm for other
states across the nation while simultaneously fulfilling her lifelong dream,
begun as First Lady in 1992, of providing affordable quality health care to a
beleaguered populace.
Having comfortably and strategically distanced herself from the day-to-day operations of the ground-breaking Obama Presidency, Hillary positions herself for her own run for the Oval Office in 2016.
Secretary of State Richardson is positioned to accept the nomination of his party as Democratic Vice-Presidential candidate in 2016, thereby blunting the allure of
GOP presidential nominee Chris Christie [“I’m not an actual bully!”] selecting
either Marco Rubio [“I’m not an actual Mormon!”] or Ted Cruz [“I’m not an
actual member of La Raza Unida!”] as running mate to a growing number of
staunchly Roman Catholic Hispanic voters while at the same time energizing the
Democratic base across the western states.
Upon their historic victory, powered in no small part by the unanticipated emergence of a coalition of bipartisan women voters who see in Hillary’s candidacy their greatest near-term opportunity to shatter once and for all the glass ceiling inside the Oval Office, President Hillary Clinton now leads the way for the nationwide implementation of the Affordable Care Act, laying the groundwork for what will become within her second term the ultimate prize of single-payer in the form of Medicare-for-All.
Upon the anticipated death of an aging Justice Scalia or the unanticipated but
largely welcomed institutionalization of either Justice Thomas or Justice Alito
within her Presidency, President Clinton sets another historic precedent by
placing in nomination the name of a humbled and grateful former President
Barack Hussein Obama as Justice on the Supreme Court, the first American to
have served in each of the three branches of the federal government,
effectively restoring a Center-Left majority which upholds and affirms
Medicare-for-All, and while so doing publishes the most succinct majority opinion
in the history of American jurisprudence, invoking the age-old populist axiom:
“It’s Constitutional, Bitches!”
President Clinton and Vice-President Richardson serve through 2024, by which time the United States of America has succeeded in colonizing Mars under Space Admiral and diamond-mining chief engineer Newt Gingrich, his pointy-eared
War-on-Science Officer Rick Santorum, and a litany of psuedo-intellectual
junior communications officers from FOX NEWS Channel and AM Talk Radio, all
competing for the attention of Chief Petty[ness] Officer Sarah Palin [“I can
see Jupiter from my house!”] under the watchful pointy-fingered glare of Chief
[in]Security Officer Jan Brewer [“Eye-Scans, please!”], each selected by
President Clinton for the undeniable ‘Win-Win’ potential of the appointments.
Ultra-conservatives engage en masse in the time-tested Republican immigration
reform program of voluntary interplanetary self-deportation.
In their first transmission from the appropriately named ‘Red Planet,’ an
overworked Chief Medical Officer Dr. Ron Paul is overheard complaining “Damn
it, Newt, I’m a Doctor not a bricklayer!”
Fade to black.
[No animals were injured in the production of this Right Wing nightmare, although Romney’s dog Seamus was last seen strapped to the outside of Curiosity XIII, theoretically enjoying the ride]
It is our President who ran for President as a fiscal conservative. He said that deficit spending was bad and he promised to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. To keep his promise the 2012 federal deficit cannot exceed 229.27 billion dollars yet it has already gone many times over that. The President's approach to solving our unemployment problems has been and still is to increase spending but it has not worked. According to a report issued by Obama's own administration unemployment has been worse than if the stimulus had never been passed. The President needs to tell the American people how he is going to keep those promises he made regarding the economy. The fiscal year is almost over. All hail the chief!
The President needs to be reminded of some words of wisdom that were spoken back in March of 2006. The words were as true then as they are today.
"The fact that we are here today to debate raising America's debt limit is a sign of leadership failure. It is a sign that the US Government cannot pay its own bills. It is a sign that we now depend on ongoing financial assistance from foreign countries to finance our Government's reckless fiscal policies. Increasing America 's debt weakens us domestically and internationally. Leadership means that, "the buck stops here.' Instead, Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren. America has a debt problem and a failure of leadership. Americans deserve better."
~ Senator Barack H. Obama, March 2006
"Obama gets his target with pick of Ryan"
The headline says it all doesn't it? It's hard to produce attack ads when you don't know who to "target" isn't it?
Funny how even the liberal media knows that B.O. has nothing worth campaigning on than hate-filled, divisive rhetoric. Welcome to the most sickening presidential re-election campaign the U.S. has ever had to endure.
pjam09: You are "projecting". Typical conservative.
Ok, so now we have Ryan telling us that hes plan will save the country from all that spending even though he voted for all that spending. And that the only way to do it is to cut medicare and SS while giving tax breaks to the rich.
Everyone with more than a fux news level of intelligence knows that williard is hiding something extremely damaging in his tax returns. Otherwise he would have published them as the other candidates have done and made this issue go away.
It seems williard is like someone being accused of armed robbery and can avoid the charge by proving where he was at the time. However, since he was raping children at the time he would rather accept the armed robbery charge.
The Liberal media can be quite ironic and hypocritical.
The story of how Hussein invited Ryan to discuss his budget proposal, only to stab him in the back (this from the man who campiagned on a bipartisan message) is hilarious. NBC is practically praising Hussein for his 'brilliant' move. Yet if it were the other way around, we all know NBC would be blasting the Republicans for their inability to compromise.
Smh. With regards for which party is right or wrong, I just want to make clear that both parties play dirty tricks, and are both equally responsible for all the partisan nonsense that goes on in Washington.
Washington politics is such a mess. Romney is a weak candidate, but Obama is a weak leader, and the infighting is ultimately his fault (the buck stops at the top with any organization).
Paul Ryan has lived off the government since he was a teen--getting SS after his father died, taking SS to pay his way through school--and the only job he's ever had has been in government in Washington DC. Now, however, he wants to take away the safety net he had to rely on--even if you paid into it for 40 years! (Of course, he's never paid into it or returned the money he took from it, although he's one of the richest congressmen in the House.)
Right-wing evangelicals love him--but if you actually buy into the teachings of Christ--you should think, rather, Paul Ryan is the anti-Christ.
Wow, if ANY Conservative media outlet used the word "target" against any Democrat, there would be a heck of a lot of posts saying some very nasty words. Uh oh......Palin ring a bell ?
But.....this is NBC.....this is about Obama.....this is about Liberals.
Hypocrites.
Just wait, the first time Mr. Obama, or his down in the dirt Chicago political campaigners, says anything nasty about Ryan they had better watch out. Their glass houses will be shattered.
Heya FLYesity, I see you are back to using your normal screen name and not one from Roswell (I sorta thought you were an alien). Glad to see you are still buzzing around.
Yeah, you got it:
Romney-Ryan 2012.
yosolo -- Spare folks the propaganda.
The Ryan budget reduces the top tax rate from 35% to 25% -- that in itself is suspect coming from two rich dudes, Romney and Ryan.
To cut programs for poor seniors to give more tax cuts to the rich is immoral. And worst of all, it doesn't balance the budget for 23 years. WTF!?
The money is gone folks....Obama is toast and hopefully another administration can get our Nation back on track now that it's been PROVEN 100% that you can't spend your way out of debt!! Thanks to Epic Fail Obama we now have a AAA- credit rating.
GO TO WORK! OOPS NO JOBS? WHO PROMISED THEM 4 YEARS AGO?
Obama on Ryan's economic plan:
"He [Obama] even said Ryan’s budget “would likely result in more flight cancellations, delays and the complete elimination of air traffic control services”
That is the biggest, most ridiculous, lie to come out of Obama's mouth yet. If Obama actually believes that ANYONE in Washington would completely eliminate all air traffic control services he (Obama) belongs in the "nut house" - not the White House.
Is a Obama a nut or a liar. You pick.

What's Obama's plan to save Social Security? Is it to let it go down the drain? Did I miss something?
Not only Paul Ryan voted for all that spending, he also continues supporting the idea that big oil needs subsidies, and REFUSES to cut those. Instead, he wants seniors to be "fiscally responsible" and pay for their OWN medical bills, masquerading his "solution" with vouchers.
This would not be bad if he supported President Obama's bill of accesible health care, but he is also determined to kill that as well.
WTF? Are people so STUPID that they will vote for this greedy bastard?
I just tried to watch Romney/Ryan on TV but my blood pressure was starting to go up so I changed the station. In that short period of time, however, I saw Romney looking at Ryan during his speech with a look of such awe and affection that I was a little uncomfortable.
Bigbenalaska - It took a while to get past your math error "110,000 million" by which I take you actually meant 110 million. But think about it a little. 110 million is about a third of the population of the United States. It seems absurd on the face of it that 1/3 of the population of the United States is on welfare at any one point in time, but it does ring true that over the course of an average 75 year life 1/3 of the US population does received some sort of state run assistance to help them get out of financial trouble, not a bad thing and not out of line. Getting a person who has been knock down back on their feet is not only a Christian thing to do but also pragmatic for the nation as a whole and certainly not an albatross to hang on the Obama Administration.
The Repubs promised jobs,jobs, jobs in 2010.
What happened to Rubio I wonder?
As far as the Romney/Ryan ticket, Romney is now pulling the ole I was for RomneyCare but now I'm not - only this time it's with Ryan's buget, which he has now decided to step away from, even though he was - you know - FOR IT before he was AGAINST IT.
We have the tapes.
btw, nice job to all @ NBC/First Read. I first learned of this pick late last night here at First Read. I think most people around the country did. I questioned the selection of Ryan, but as usual you all nailed it.
Good job.
Hi Pat,
I can't figure out why Willard would make the announcement at 11:00 pm on a Friday night?
Isn't that the slot usually reserved for 'news dumps'? lol
Nice job of them running of the ship to remind voters neither one has ever served a day in the military!
Domenico,
Thanks for what you have written.
...........................................................................
"For instance: Ryan has told the Congressional Budget Office that his budget will bring all federal spending outside Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security to 3.75 percent of GDP by 2050.
That means defense, infrastructure, education, food safety, basic research, and food stamps — to name just a few — will be less than four percent of GDP in 2050.
To get a sense for how unrealistic that is, Congress has never permitted defense spending to fall below three percent of GDP, and Romney has pledged that he’ll never let defense spending fall beneath four percent of GDP" (Klein)
Ryan wants to eliminate entitlements completely, and get rid of the security of Medicare for millions of Americans - just for starters. Giving Romney/Ryan a chance to do any of the above is not an option.
Jaw dropping: over 100-million now on Federal Welfare
by Norm Van Ness
Posted: 08.08.2012 at 5:34 PM ....
Thanks Obama .... "LOL"
The new numbers stem from the U.S. Census's Survey of Income and Program Participation which shows that nearly 110,000 million individuals received a welfare benefit in 2011. The benefits counted were not limited to U.S. citizens...as non-citizens were included in the final tally ....
And 36% of illegal aliens are on some type of Obama welfare now .... "LOL"
Feisty, it was odd. But not only that, Romney has now cancelled all interviews he had set up for today.
Strange strange man. There's no "there" there.
Couldn't have been better pick for the President, watch the hampstes spin.
Obama 2012
What is most intriguing is that it really seemed like Romney was going to pivot back to the middle, all part of his etch-a-sketch plan.
Instead, he decided to tack to the right and double-down on the tea party, who would have voted for Mitt if only to vote against Obama, and risk losing the independents and moderates that will decide the election.
Fighting and dying for one's country is for the common man's children. It is beneath Romney Hood and Friar Ryan to either serve in the military or to allow their children to do so.
Rubio is far too rational and competent. He wants solutions, not ideology. He probably turned it down.
Pat Boston MA.
What happened to Rubio I wonder?
Pat Some blabbermouth, gossip monger blowhard said on F0X
NEWSF0X LIES said since the Hispanic vote was not in favor of "MYTH" he decied on Ryan hoping to bring energy to "MYTH's" campaign.The attempt to tack back to the center in regard to Romneycare (Andrea Saul's comments were testing the waters), and the outrage by rightwingers like Coulter, Limbaugh, Ingram, etc. is probably why Romney picked Ryan over Portman. This proves that entertainers and conspiracy commentators are the real leaders of the GOP/TP, and Romney is yet again a weak, capitulating, mistake.
Bev, is that really what happened? So they have given up on the Hispanic vote and are now just settling for the nut cases, and of course the rich, who we all know need the nut cases in order to win. I suppose MittWitt had to pick a nut case, since the right are all nut cases, including all those ridiculous people on Fox, plus Limbaugh and Norquist and Congress.
The Republican Party CAUSED THIS MESS. And we'll be damned if we're going to let them back in. They are so incompetent that it defies logic.
Some Republican voters are so clueless that they still haven't realized that they have been exploited since the days of Ronald Reagan. When are they going to snap out of it for Gsakes. The Ronald Reagan legacy is one big fat lie.
GingerbreadMama, I didn't realize Ryan was in that meeting. I do remember President Obama making mince meat out of Ryan's budget and Ryan walking away after listening to the president's speech, literally a beaten man. I wish I could find that photo.
Am I the only one tha questions the timing of this role out. Sat. morning, the press don't do so much on the weekend, so they have a few days to get ready for the real heavy hitting Monday morning. Well the Sunday talk shows.
Things were fine until Bush cut taxes and went to war twice. Shouting "deficits don't matter".
Yet we are now supposed to trust the same GOP that brought us this mess.
Robme/Ruin. I think NOT!
So here it be. The final recap of those who Romney was afraid to pick:
It proved NOT to be Daniels; he scared first wives, ex-wives, the first wife a second time (but living next door), oh hell, just wives in general.
It proved NOT to be Pawlenty; he scared himself.
It proved NOT to be Rubio; he scared Latinos, or at least Latinos who were brown.
It proved NOT to be Condi; she scared Mormons, or at least Mormons who were white.
It proved NOT to be Portman; he scared people who remembered Bush.
It proved NOT to be Jeb; he still IS a Bush.
It proved NOT to be Paul; he scared people who couldn't remember a dang thing.
It proved NOT to be Jindal; he scared the entire cast of The Simpsons, with the
possible exception of Apu at the Kwik-E-Mart.
It proved NOT to be Trump; he scared Mr. Burns. Who would have thought ANYONE capable of THAT?
It proved NOT to be Haley; she scared the extreme Right Wing.
It proved NOT to be Christie; he scared the entire chicken.
It proved NOT to be Ayotte; she scared men.
It proved NOT to be McDonnell; he scared women. Well, those with...you know.
It proved NOT to be Bachman; she scared the living.
It proved NOT to be Cheney; he scared the dead, as well as anyone still on a
transplant list.
It proved NOT to be Palin; thank God.
It DID prove to be someone human; presenting quite the stark contrast.
It proved to be Paul Ryan; he who scares seniors, at least those who haven't already done him the favor of dying.
In the end, Mr. Romney, in seeking to become Commander in Chief of the United States of America and symbolic leader of the entire free world, proved that he himself had been scared.
Mitt, in the end, proved himself a dime-store, bought-and-sold coward.
Mitt was afraid of the Tea Party.
MSNBCMFE:
Great Post!
If I may add, Cain, Santorum, Gingrich, Perry and Johnson to your list as well.
I guess it's safe to say that Congressmen Ryan was the only one that picked up the phone!
Salud.
I watched the entire video that you posted, and after listening through 6 minutes of jibberish from Paul Ryan talking about Obamacare, then you ended the video before hearing Obama's rebuttal.
I should have stopped listening when Ryan said something to the effect of, "The CBO was unable to score your bill but here is my analysis based on a different bill from the Senate...".
VinnieSaltine -- Thank you for informing the rest of us what a POS waste of time that video is. yosolo, if you spam that again, hopefully other members will vote to collapse it.
Ryan stated that the bill was financially unsustainable which is gibberish to your mind. Obama's face was interesting, if looks could kill, Ryan would have died then and there. Obama also invited Ryan over for a 'conversation' and proceeded to insult him, think that didn't leave a memory or two?
Obama is not nearly as intelligent as his supporters believe him to be. His supporters generally are more about emotion than intellect and he does know how to play to that base. The rest of the country? We shall wait and see. Remember the 2010 elections?
True Patriot: Typical, don't think for yourself, don't investigate for yourself, just bray and make threats. Spam? Hardly. To you anything that doesn't reek of Obama adoration is of course irrelevant. Don't waste your time doing research, it would upset the narrative and throw you off script.
YoSolo,
If you think in this video Ryan appears adroit and impressive god save the republic. He was like the old cowboy in Blazing Saddles spouting authentic frontier gibberish. he blathered about The Affordable Care Act without presenting one verifiable number he just made crap up. If you want to be a fair minded American see how the CBO evaluates Ryans budget. The CBO estimates that instead of saving a dime Ryans budget will cost 5 trillion over ten years and will shift as much to the states. Ryan uses his own unknown accounting sources and not the CBO and tells the CBO to use a revenue figure of 19% of GDP through 2050. In the Bush years it averaged 14.5. For the 50 prior years during boom times it averaged just below 18% how does revenue rise with more ludicrous tax cuts for the wealthy that caused the problem. Ryans budget has been condemned by his own religion and he would eliminate healthcare for tens of millions leading to hundreds of thousands if not millions of premature deaths and increasing out of pocket healthcare costs to seniors by 68%. If implemented in 2012 the CBO tells us the Ryan Budget woul cost 70% of GDP. The current budget costs 67%. Even a moron can see that 70% is more than 67%. He provides absolutely no validation for any of his projections as far as anyone knows his staff just makes them up. The CBO is at a loss to explain any of Ryans projections.
jkh
yosolo,
Exactly what gimmicks, smoke and mirrors. This is gibberish could he be less definitive. The CBO has in fact graded The Affordable Care Act and finds that it reduces the deficit by 210 billion and costs 900 billion. The GOP and Ryan continue to use a figure of 2.6 trillion while again providing no figures. Again Ryan refuses to give the CBO ANY methodology as to how he arrived at the numbers he spews. Ryan has a degree in Economics and PoliSci from Miami of Ohio the lowliest numbers cruncher at the CBO has greater credentials. The head of the CBO graduated from Princeton and got his Masters and Phd at Harvard. The CBO has dozens of Phds on staff and virtually everyone has at least a masters in everything from applied mathematics to accounting. The best guess is that the Hacks at the Heritage Foundation fed him most of the numbers. They are the same geniuses that brought us Reaganomics and started this whole mess. The Heritage Foundation data has been almost uniformly discredited by the entire world economic community. Apparently the CBO doesn't do its job well enough for Ryan to explain how his math works because they dispute virtually every supposition in his proposal.
jkh
Oddly enough, the highly educated people at the CBO are now verifying what the 'less-educated' Ryan stated to Obama during the taping of the video segment, said taped event happening prior to the recent Supreme Court's decision.
Obamacare will spend more, tax more and reduce the deficit less than we (the CBO) thought. This information from the CBO is of recent extraction, BTW.
Hmmmm, so Ryan was correct in his original asessment and this has now been verified by the Princeton, Harvard, etc. educated folks at the CBO, interesting, no?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/aroy/2012/07/27/cbo-estimates-obamacare-will-spend-more-tax-more-and-reduce-the-deficit-less-than-we-previously-thought/
Obama also invited Ryan over for a 'conversation' and proceeded to insult him, think that didn't leave a memory or two?
WOW! Selective memory of the GOP. I watched Paul Ryan one time "debating" his budget in the house. He insulted repeatedly Timothy Gaithner. He told him to shut up several times.
I was AMAZED that Timothy Gaithener did not strike back at him the same way.
The GOP only sees rudeness and wrong one way. They never cease to amaze me that they fail to see the arrogance and rudeness of their own
There is a bittersweet tinge to this election. America, a large Nation, the first real Capitalistic Nation in the history of the world that created a Constitution identifying large central Government as highly suspect and so created a format whereby the States within the political framework were imbued with the majority of duties to its Citizens. Almost immediately, that pure and unique turn away from all-powerful Central governance that always existed before in other countries, began to change. Jefferson saw it coming and wrote "A Government that gives you all you want can take all you have". How True!
So, here we are! We're no longer that pure capitalistic State we were supposed to be. But, under President Reagan and Clinton we revisited perhaps a reflective glimpse of that greatness. This last four years we have willingly, for the first time really, stepped into true Central Government Socialism. We watch a Government side step law to take over companies and banks. We've seen a Federal Reserve create debt for our children they'll never be able to pay. We've seen a dividing of rich and poor, blacks against whites, immigrants against native born, man against wife, gay against straight, Christian against secular, Republican against Democrat, rich against "middle class", Muslim against Jew, makers against takers, liberty against tyranny, wasn't it Mr. Obama in 2008 that said he would be a uniter?. We've seen illegal immigration by the millions and a play to make the federal Government as the sole provider to the masses. It is Leninism, Marxism and Castro all mixed in a stew of Socialistic principal designed for one purpose. Reform this country into what has existed everywhere else, Caretaker Socialism.
"Give us full control and it will be OK" Look we give unemployment benefits because we drove all the Capitalistic Industry to Asia and Mexico. We give easy Social Security Disability to slow down the unemployment numbers. Our IRS gives Billions of tax return dollars to illegal families to make them feel welcome. We give the States permission not to require work for welfare payments, as set by a great President. Perhaps we must go through the kind of Night in our land that Russia and satellite countries went through with the Soviet Union. Hopefully the American citizens will be so horrified at what we allowed that we will have a resurgence to capitalism and never allow what is about to occur never again
Months ago I wrote of the Ayn Rand-addled Conservative Movement. Paul Ryan was front and center among those I was thinking about. Below;
Conservatives get a little upset when talk turns to attacks on the middle class, society turning its back on those in need, that sort of thing. That makes a certain amount of sense. Most of the “regular folk” Conservatives I know tend to be pretty reasonable people who realize we all depend on each other to a degree but they also value spending money wisely and perhaps have some concerns over social issues. They remind me of good Republicans like Gerald Ford, Robert Ray, Nelson Rockefeller, Jim Leach…even George HW Bush. Right now like most of us they’re particularly worried about oil prices.
My concern is really more with leaders in the Conservative Movement. What do they believe? Perhaps their concerns with oil prices aren’t the same as the rest of us;
First, the Koch brothers fought efforts to give the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission more oversight over speculative trading, whereby companies can artificially
inflate prices on things such as oil, during the Wall Street reform debate. One
of the Koch companies—Koch Supply & Trading—takes part in oil and derivatives
trading. We should point out that oil speculation has reached an all-time high at the
same time gas prices continue to skyrocket.
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/2011/04/pdf/koch_brothers.pdf
When President Obama spoke on the budget a couple of weeks ago he said a great deal that most Americans can agree with. He sees a nation of people who work together, cooperating to do great things. He sees a nation that reaches a hand to the fallen, helping them get up and regain their role as productive members of society. He sees an America in which hard work has value, no matter the work. It’s a vision that even appeals to a lot of Conservatives;
Surprise, surprise! Faced with the prospect of Medicare cuts, even tea party folks find griping about "big government" to be a lot more fun than actually shrinking it.
Seventy percent of those who identified themselves as supporters of the fiscally conservative movement in a new McClatchy-Marist poll oppose cuts to Medicaid and Medicare to solve the country's deficit woes.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/columnists/ct-oped-0424-page-20110424,0,3425049.column
Again, Conservative leaders have a different path in mind;
On Day 2 of Glenn Beck’s weeklong series devoted to “The Plan” to save America, Beck revived one of his former pet projects: abolishing Social Security and Medicare. This time, however, Beck enlisted a couple of pals to help him sell his audience on the benefits of living without a social safety net. One guest, Chris Edwards of The Cato Institute argued that retirees would be safer without the safety net. Beck, however, revealed that his only real interest was in getting rid of the programs, not to figure out any alternatives; when he argued against Edwards’ plan, Beck admitted that he had just made up his own plan on the spot. In other words, destroying other people’s social safety net was the only part of Beck’s Plan that he had bothered to plan. As everyone sang the praises of getting young people to give up their Social Security and Medicare, nobody mentioned that the one sure benefit of getting rid of Social Security and Medicare would be to the bottom line of Beck’s and other millionaires’ tax bill.
http://www.newshounds.us/2010/04/14/mulitmillionaire_glenn_beck_tries_to_sell_you_on_giving_up_social_security_and_medicare_.php
How is it that beliefs of these Conservative Republican leaders differ so dramatically from the common sense Conservatives I’ve known all my life? As far as I can tell it’s because the reasonable Conservatives I know they come to their beliefs honestly, through a simple belief in moderation and caution. The hard core seem to be under the influence of something a little stronger;
"For over half a century," says Jennifer Burns, a recent biographer of the novelist, "(Ayn) Rand has been the ultimate gateway drug to life on the right."
http://northdenvernews.com/content/view/2272/2/
So what? What could it hurt if a novelist is popular with a particular segment of society? Certainly in America we’re all free to read as we wish, but some writings are better read and rejected than read and believed. A study of Ayn Rand uncovers a great deal to see in that light;
The philosophy, such as it was, which Rand laid out in her novels and essays was a frightful concoction of hyper-egotism, power-worship and anarcho-capitalism. She opposed all forms of welfare, unemployment insurance, support for the poor and middle-class, regulation of industry and government provision for roads or other infrastructure. She also insisted that law enforcement, defense and the courts were the only appropriate arenas for government, and that all taxation should be purely voluntary.
It certainly would appear that the GOPTP is trying to bring works of fiction into a real world that’s stubbornly more complicated than a world we write to suit our whims. Perhaps there are also clues as to why Conservatives are so insistent on working on the priorities of the wealthy elites at the exclusion of the middle class.
Her view of economics starkly divided the world into a contest between "moochers" and "producers," with the small group making up the latter generally composed of the spectacularly wealthy, the successful, and the titans of industry. The "moochers" were more or less everyone else, leading TNR's Jonathan Chait to describe Rand's thinking as a kind of inverted Marxism. Marx considered wealth creation to result solely from the labor of the masses, and viewed the owners of capital and the economic elite to be parasites feeding off that labor. Rand simply reversed that value judgment, applying the role of "parasite" to everyday working people instead. On the level of personal behavior, the heroes in Rand's novels commit borderline rape, blow up buildings, and dynamite oil fields -- actions which Rand portrays as admirable and virtuous fulfillments of the characters' personal will and desires. Her early diaries gush with admiration for William Hickman, a serial killer who raped and murdered a young girl. Hickman showed no understanding of "the necessity, meaning or importance of other people," a trait Rand apparently found quite admirable. For good measure, Rand dismissed the feminist movement as "false" and "phony," denigrated both Arabs and Native Americans as "savages" (going so far as to say the latter had no rights and that Europeans were right to take North American lands by force) and expressed horror that taxpayer money was being spent on government programs aimed at educating "subnormal children" and helping the handicapped. Needless to say, when Rand told Mike Wallace in 1953 that altruism was evil, that selfishness is a virtue, and that anyone who succumbs to weakness or frailty is unworthy of love, she meant it.
So if you ever wonder if Conservative leaders understand what it’s like to be a regular American you’re asking the wrong question. It’s not enough to know they don’t understand—they don’t even care.
Hmmmmmmmm.
Paul Ryan vs senile Joe Biden.
That should be an interesting debate.
a Constitution identifying large central Government as highly suspect and so created a format whereby the States within the political framework were imbued with the majority of duties to its Citizens
Yeah...then the Articles of Confederation proved to be a miserable flop and were replaced with our current Constitution.
Jim Hayes-375865 "The CBO has in fact graded The Affordable Care Act and finds that it reduces the deficit by 210 billion and costs 900 billion"
I guess you missed the update;
"President Obama's national health care law will cost $1.76 trillion over a decade, according to a new projection released today by the Congressional Budget Office ..."
That's pretty typical of the government - if they say a new program will cost $X, you can expect it to actually cost twice as much. Here's the link;
http://washingtonexaminer.com/cbo-obamacare-to-cost-1.76-trillion-over-10-yrs/article/1175831
What Roy isn't telling you is that he's deliberately using deceptive numbers, counting only the costs but ignoring the savings.
That's what happens when you use as your source a free, Conservative propaganda front. http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Washington_Examiner
yosolo
Thanks for the youtube video link of Ryan's meeting with Obama - Ryan certainly picked apart Obama's health care scheme and exposed all of the 'smoke and mirrors' and gimmicks and double counting that the Democrats used to justify the bill. When it was passed in 2009, the CBO said it would cost $900 Billion over ten years, but the latest estimate is $1.76 Trillion, so Ryan was right, of course. Here is your link again for those interested; By the way - confirmation of the increase in cost for Obamacare from $900 Billion to $1.76 Trillion is also below;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPxMZ1WdINs
http://washingtonexaminer.com/cbo-obamacare-to-cost-1.76-trillion-over-10-yrs/article/1175831
John B, Des Moines, IA "What Roy isn't telling you is that he's deliberately using deceptive numbers, counting only the costs but ignoring the savings."
What the article doesn't say is that the supposed $200 Billion 'Deficit Reduction' quoted by the Democrats when it was passed is now going to a be about a $1.5 Trillion Deficit INCREASE - net of 'savings'.
By the way - they are not MY numbers - they came straight from the CBO.
Apparently your definition of a "fair-minded, intelligent American capable of rational thought" is someone that only agrees with you, anyone else fails to qualify.
The "Ryan Plan" will NOT COST any one presently on Social Security and Medicare ONE PENNEY and those over 55 will still be eligable for Social Security and Medicare as it is today. Why are Obama and the Democrats lying about this. Why are Obama and the Democrats running a totally false ad "pushing Grandma over the cliff" when they know it's not true?
Only to scare seniors.
Why does Obama persist upon lying. Below is Obama's biggest lie, I doubt that even the most ardent Liberals will believe it.
Obama on Ryan's economic plan:
"He [Obama] even said Ryan’s budget “would likely result in more flight cancellations, delays and the complete elimination of air traffic control services”
That is the biggest, most ridiculous, lie to come out of Obama's mouth yet. If Obama actually believes that ANYONE in Washington would completely eliminate all air traffic control services (paralyzing the nation) he (Obama) belongs in the "nut house" - not the White House.
Is a Obama a nut or a liar. You pick.
Obama, campaign all you want but stop. the lying
So typical Obama. What a sneaky, back-stabbing, dishonest piece of #$%@
I hope Paul Ryan helps Romney send that lying Muslim back to Chicago!
All Ryan needs, the good fascist that he is, is a tooth brush mustache. Why can't the hard core GOP see Ryan for the greedy monster that he is?
The smart Dems, if there are any (you certainly can't count any in the forgoing posts), are quite possibly scared of this VP pick, for a multitude of reasons. Just think about this conundrum: If Ryan is an extremist and his proposals are so unpopular, how has he won election seven times in a Democratic district?
At least Ryan realizes that SS can no longer sustain itself since LBJ and the Democrats raided the SS Trust fund, Ryan is proposing to close it down for those under 55. Very few below that age believe it will be there when they retire anyway, and nothing of what they pay in is going to their retirement in any event. Why because it is going to the elderly. The trust fund is gone! Those seniors who want it to survive to help out there children and grand children do not understand that it will not be there for them. Today the SS promise comes out of the treasury. The dollars just about balance -- what comes in today goes out tomorrow.
The baby boomers and longevity are increasing. Soon, SS can only be sustained by digging into the treasury, increasing the deficit, or by raising the FICA (Federal Insurance Contribution Act) tax (Obama has conveniently renamed it the "wage tax"). Or children and grandchildren cannot survive this ever increasing tax burden. SS as we know it must go.
Ryan is suggestion a revamp to take effect in ten years. His Plan will not cost those presently on SS a penny and those 55 and older would still be eligible under the SS program.
If there is no revamp SS will simply go broke. The taxpayers, as I said will not be able to sustain it. Thanks to the Democrats no federal retirement system will exist and all the money paid in by our children and grandchildren will have been wasted on us. Sort of reverse inheritance.
Remember we paid a premium for SS, through the FICA tax, all of our working lives. We similarly paid the premium for Medicare Part A so it disgusts me when Democrats like Obama call them "entitlements". If they are entitlements today its only because the Democrats were afraid to raise taxes and instead raided the SS Trust Fund. (BTW: They did something more complicated to the USPS which is one reason it is also broke today)
Presently the elderly pay monthly for Medicare Part B and D coverage. The Democrats say Part D is unfunded -- maybe true but the Democrats "unfunded" the whole system.
Ryan at least has a plan!
I have not heard S**T from shinola as to what Obama plans to do about this mess, and he didn't inherit it from George Bush. Obama even weakened SS when, by a pre-election Executive Order, he reduced FICA (the "wage tax") to give some money to all American workers at the expense of the US Treasury.
Tell us your plan Mr. President. What are you going to do to help out our children and grandchildren. How about "running grandma over the cliff" . That would reduce costs.
You are correct, smart Dems, smart Independents, and smart Republicans are terrified of the prospect of a VP Ryan because it will destroy our middle class and further perpetuate the concentration of wealth to the top.
There is outrage on the right at the prospect of adding $1.1T to the deficit to expand healthcare for more Americans, and yet they are at peace with the prospect of a $4.6T tax cut for the wealthiest Americans.
As the President astutely pointed out, it's Robin Hood-in-reverse, and the GOTP has gone "all-in" on this failed ideology.
If I were a 1%er, I would love the Rmoney/Ryan ticket...sadly, I'm just a middle-class American who remembers that Bill Clinton left office with a budget surplus and a real plan in place to reduce our debt, and W pissed it away on tax cuts for the wealthy, 2 unfunded wars, and a Medicare plan that was all on the country's credit card and wound up crashing our economy to the tune of 8M lost jobs and double-digit unemployment.
President Obama has worked to help create almost 4M jobs since 2009 and is working to climb us out of the morass that Bush got us into, and will complete the job of restoring America.
Rmoney/Ryan are just more of the same failed policies that got us into this mess in the first place.
At least there is a chance of turning things around with Romney/Ryan. With Obama you will see the economy tank. Failed policies that increase the debt by TRILLIONS and one third of the country on welfare are Obama's current legacy. If you want more of the same and worse, vote Obama. He is great friends with Soros, a man who has stated that his goal is globalization and the destruction of the dollar to bring in a one-world currency. Obama seems to be greatly helpful in bringing that about.
http://www.canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/8574
As to the BS numbers coming from the Obama website, his job creation is great if you work in the IRS. Stimulus money created lots of temporary jobs and his energy policies have cost billions in bankrupt companies, Government Motors benefited the UAW and cost thousands of share holders and non-union employees their pensions and lots and lots of lost revenue. Amazing as well how anyone can support a man who refuses to prosecute Wall Street criminals. Interesting how Obama supporters can ignore all the discrepancies and lies, broken promises and disingenuousness. Cult of personality is the only thing that explains the slavish support.
Seriously?? What party line bull@!$%#. Have you ever known a VP to make any difference in anything. They are in the case of Ryan window dressing and with Biden a distraction. As with all in the past NO power
All this about Ryan is vile party politics and liberal lies to distract once again from obama s miserable failures. get real people VP's are powerless
All well and good, Roy, but as I've pointed out many times in the past it isn't the numbers that are the problem, it's your deliberate use of numbers to distort and mislead. As proof of that let's look at WHAT ELSE the CBO said;
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/43473
I stand by my earlier statement. You are counting the costs, ignoring the savings to deliberately misrepresent the facts. As is your custom.
Let the games begin! :o)
Obama/Biden 2012
Nashville, I don't think there is any doubt that VP Biden will have no problem in the debate. Neither will the president for that matter.
Decency is on our side. Again.
We need to get the voter ethnic cleansing cleared up, Lee County Fl. says that maybe 1 instance of voter fraud occurred, 1 and that's a maybe.
Obama 2012
No, he won't have to utter one word. Ryan will hang himself trying to justify his budget plan.
tonybeeerm -- Agreed. Ryan is such a zealot he will hang himself. I hope Brian Williams sets the trap for Ryan the way he got Romney to show his CEO arrogance about the UK Olympics. Buwahahaha!
tony
It is justified. I know you libs do not know what a budget is but look one up sometime.
Joe and his side kick are toast in november.
Umm, we know one when it smells like sh!t as Ryan's plan does. Guess he figured no one would read the fine print. Well, he guessed wrong. And so did Willard by picking him as running mate.
I wouldn't hold my breath, my friend. You'll turn a deep shade of blue.
The fascist policies of the Republican party are what got us into this mess.
Don't privatize social security and medicare, fix them.
news98 what a moron. The Rep's caused all this mess. You don't start 2 wars and don't pay for them. You don't give tax brakes to the rich and give the bill to the working class, and then when the Rep's sent all the jobs overseas and the middle class don't have jobs to pay the taxes for the rich, Well here we are. Good old boys like the very smart Mitt Romney, Hadn't thought far enough ahead, when they sent all our jobs overseas. We were the ones buying everything. Everything China, India makes, was shipped over here. Well guess what, We don't have any money to buy that Crap anymore. If the Americans would just buy American first, we wouldn't be in the mess we are in now.
"Obama gets his target with pick of Ryan"
The headline says it all doesn't it? It's hard to produce attack ads when you don't know who to "target" isn't it?
Funny how even the liberal media knows that B.O. has nothing worth campaigning on than hate-filled, divisive rhetoric. Welcome to the most sickening presidential re-election campaign the U.S. has ever had to endure.
Let the games begin, INDEED!
Now that we are officially in the "Playoff Season" there's a couple things to keep in mind.
Vote -
Know the rules in your state and county. In the past year alone, 41 States introduced 180 bills that had changes to voting rules – Is your state one of them?
Electorial College -
Wisconsin goes to Republicans - 10
Florida goes to Democrats - 29
Michigan goes to Democrats - 16
Massachusetts goes to Democrats - 10
Ouch - Govenor Romney won't even take his own states.
House of Representatives -
All, REPEAT, All seats in the House of Representative are up for grabs.
Democrats only need 26 to take it back. We can do this!
BTW,
The 2012 election cycle is ontrack to break the record for the highest number of female candidates running for House seats in the general election, according to calculations by the 2012 Project, a campaign of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.
Senate -
33 seats are up for grabs. Democrats have 23 seats up for election.
In Conclusion:
To all my Republican, Independent, and Democrat friends, its time to re-elect President Obama and take back the Koch Party House of Represenatives so we can lead the world out of this economic recession.
Salud.
And hand it over to the likes of currency collapsers and economy destroyers like Soros? No thanks. America is not France. Hollande and Obama are cut from the same cloth, hate the rich while living rich off the taxpayers. Kill the economy by destroying business and then blame it all on any and everything but failed ideological agendas/
RU86,
Apparently Ryan doesn't know either. According to the CBO Ryans budget comes in for 2012 at 70% of GDP. The current budget comes in at 67%. Duh. The CBO also questions Ryans figures and he has offered no explanation. He assumes revenue at 19% of GDP while cutting top bracket taxes this is 4-5% higher than it has been since the Bush tax cuts were enacted and 1% higher than the 18% average over the 50 years prior to 2001. CBO says it adds 5 trillion to the deficit over 10 years and does not balance the budget for 30 years while shifting trillions of dollars of debt to the states. His budget is a continuation of the Reagan/Bush Ponzi Scheme to turn the US into an economic Oligarchy like Victorian England or the US during the Long Depression 1870-1900.
jkh
My Girl,
Do you realize that Americas 20th century growth came under the Progressives in the 1st two decades of the 20th century or under Democrats and that virtually all recessions, depressions, market crashes and panics have occurred during Republican Administrations. Under Dems the middle class grows and poverty is reduced. Under Republicans wealth is redistributed upward while debt both public and private is distributed downward. In GOP economics the poorest American would bear the same responsibility for our debt as the wealthiest citizen. The tax code is overburdened with methods for corporations and wealthy individuals to write off losses and defer or eliminate taxation and to take market losses or gains as a capital gain which is a complete perversion of the idea of a reduced capital gain rate. Meanwhile mortgage companies and lenders are indemnified while borrowers are left unprotected. Yeah the GOP has been great for the country.
jkh
The Ryan "budget" is nothing but a self-serving book full of ideas to turn this country into a third world country.
Mitt Romney can't even show us his tax returns, but he is "promising"to fix all the problems that his own party created. Paul Ryan just sees seniors and disabled as a cesspool of useless individuals. He, however, has been the most outspoken -rude- individual about protecting "big oil'" and he won't raise taxes for them.
This worm wants the American people to die of some medical condition, by repealing all the health measures that President Obama has put in place. He and Mitt Romney "promise" to replace it with something of their own. SURE! That "something" is just some sort of business scheme that they will work out for the benefit of a few, including the insurance companies.
Haven't we had enough of the same "old" BS that the GOP has been serving us for YEARS?
Jim: you can post all kinds of wishful fantasy, progressives are wonderful nonsense, however, if you look at the current state of affairs and you claim that all that wonderful stuff and ignore the flip side. You do realize that half of America pays no federal income taxes and, in fact, gets money back from the government. Then you ignore the welfare that is crippling the nation, you ignore the welfare fraud, the billions that go to support illegal aliens and the fraud that is perpetrated by large numbers of same.
Perhaps you should examine California closely, it is the penultimate progressive state, following all the rule of the progressive playbook and it is broke, shedding productive people by the boatloads and pushing for ever more failed progressive policies and taxes. Then, go look at progressive Greece, they followed the progressive playbook and now the people are starving. Don't start with the austerity measures either, had the progressive policies not been in place for so long there wouldn't have been a need to even discuss austerity, they would have lived within their means rather than going bankrupt attempting to pay for ever increasing social welfare.
Progressivism is socialism and it only works if the economy is affluent enough to support the bennies. When the producers are punished and destroyed and forced to pay for ever more unsustainable programs that socialists create to buy votes then you have a collapsed country.
Obama is destroying America bit by tiny bit and the rhetoric coming out of his camp, kill granny, etc, never takes into account the tiny little question of who pays for all that largesse. How long will granny last if the country is bankrupt? Think those wonderful social programs can exist if there is no money to pay for them? Liberals are like children, they have great notions and expect mommy and daddy to pay for them.
Ha ha! Romney is already trying to distance himself from Ryan "Path to Hell" budget proposal.
From Romney campaign talking points, distributed to reporters after Romney’s first appearance with his VP pick (emphasis added):
uh yowser! Good Luck with that "simply mahvalous" plan! Haha!
And Romney actually introduced Ryan as the next President?? Oh brother!
Obama/Biden 2012
I know Cynthia, I saw that. The posters over @ The Huffington Post are having a field day with this one. haha. Too funny.
OBAMA IN 2012.
Obama will have to draw a very careful line with Ryan as a VP pick. Attacking him too hard will turn voters off, yet he can't pretend he's not there. Obama will have to go with a 'my plan' 'their plan' strategy. He can't just say, they are wrong, they are evil without extensively discussing his own plans; past, present and future.
Are you kidding? WTF do you think they're going to do, offer an olive branch? I say go for the jugular and take no prisoners. Obama and Biden have been at the end of a four year hate fest courtesy of FOX and friends. Do you think they care if they ruffle the feathers of these morally bankrupt clowns?
tony, I totally totally agree. GO FOR IT.
To David Axelrod, the entire Obama campaign and First Lady Michelle Obama:
No more Mr. Nice Guy. Please advise the president to come out swinging. We have his back. We are well aware that he is fighting for us, and we the people in turn are fighting for him.
Team effort.
False attacks calling Romney a tax cheat, a felon, a murderer of employees's wives, and an ally of Central American right wing death squads.
And you now say "No more Mr. Nice Guy", get tough?
LOL !
What's next? Accusing Romney of child sex abuse?
There is a clear choice --
Reverse Romney/Ryan Hood (The Shyster and the Miser) -- The rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.
OR
Obama/Biden -- Growing the middle class and improving upward mobility, enriching everyone including businesses and the rich.
No more failed supply-side Reaganomics and GOP/Bush-era voodoo economics. Trickle down doesn't work, the 1% are NOT job creators. Old Europe austerity will result in 11% unemployment. Deregulation will result in Too Big To Fail tanking the economy again. There is no invisible hand to correct the market -- Government has an important role to play.
The American people are realizing this by seeing Romney's tax returns -- He and the rich like his new running mate Paul Ryan have been gaming the system long enough. End the loopholes for the rich NOW before our country is completely destroyed.
True Patriot, the choice is so clear this election. Ryan is the Koch Brothers personal savior. The rest of us? Eh, we're not in the picture. This election is about continuing to turn this ship around which the elite in our country destroyed by their own personal greed and war mongering.
There's a reason why the GOP are so incompetent. They place no value on democracy or responsible governing, so they are completely out of tune to the consequences of their actions. They don't care. They really don't care.
Let the future generations take care of it. That's their MO. While they themselves continue to scam the system.
America is just an ATM to people like Romney and his ilk.
But it's okay to call the POTUS a communist that hates America, right? Not getting out my violin for ya' Bob. You guys deserve to be skewered like a shrimp on the barbie. This is just the beginning. Wait until after Labor Day when the real campaigning starts.
Speaking of Bob's, where is Bob 180....? The one that thinks he's infinitely smarter than everyone else. Guess he sees the writing on the wall and has bailed.
When did the Obama campaign make any of those accusations against Romney? They didn't. Gotta love the Romno-bots screaming "victim". Do tell, does that Drama Queen act include pulling a kerchief from your bosom, and pressing the back of your hand to your forehead just before you feign a <<wink, wink>> faint?
Bob in Va.,Nobody is accusing Romney of child sex abuse, but his hero is Warren Jeffs. What the hell does that tell you.
Bob in Virginia, what happened to your candidates????
McDonnell???? Rubio????? Where's your avatar??? Be careful with your next choice.
Bob in Virginia-5210392
False attacks calling Romney a tax cheat, a felon, a murderer of employees's wives, and an ally of Central American right wing death squads
Bob,
You don't think so? Ask the Heron Tycoons in South America about "MYTH's" financial boons.
Or the Italian death squads about "MYTH's" facades.
I bet "MYTH" will dance and prance like Queen Anne's Dressage horse avoiding the questions.
Naw, that wouldn't do no good.
Them hard core religious folk LOVE CHILD @!$%#ERS!
They visit them every sunday.
And the ultra religious a few times a week!
All bringing to bare Romney's love for child sex would do is fire up his base.
"Obama gets his target with pick of Ryan"
The headline says it all doesn't it? It's hard to produce attack ads when you don't know who to "target" isn't it?
Funny how even the liberal media knows that B.O. has nothing worth campaigning on other than hate-filled, divisive rhetoric. Welcome to the most sickening presidential re-election campaign the U.S. has ever had to endure.
Ya' think? Wow, I knew Republicans were dumb, but this one takes the cake. The debates will be "must see TV" this fall.
But this one takes the cake.
It sure does tony. It sure does.
The convention speeches and debates -- Romney's hehehe laugh every time he lies gets really old, and Paul Ryan only knows how to repeat fallacious talking points.
Romney is like a chameleon---- he can (and does) switch positions at the drop of a hat.
So Obama and the Democrats will demagogue entitlement reform, and beat the class warfare drum by falsely claiming millionaires are getting tax cuts?
How original !
Whenever the campaign actually address real substsntive issues, Obama loses.
So Obama and Democrats, be careful what you wish for....
I have to give you credit Booby for at least showing up today!
Remember how we had to listen to you for months on end about how Bob McDonnell was going to be the VP pick!
Loser!
Oh Bob, turn off FOX. Stop falling for their "Big Lie" strategery. They're playing you for a fool. Don't oblige.
Tell us Bob,
What happened to your icon?
Entitlement reform that does not throw grandma from the train is necessary in the long run. Gutting a program to give tax breaks for the wealthy to invest overseas would be bad for the country as a whole. Welfare for the wealthy is not a winning campaign slogan!
My icon is in temporary retirement, thanks for asking...
Gov McDonnell will now focus on making sure Virginia votes for the Romney-Ryan ticket..
Feisty is known for over the top nasty namecalling, so Feisty calling me a mere "loser"... she must be kinda fond of me ...
Romney wants to give a $5Trillion dollar tax cut aimed for the high-end, while RAISING taxes on below $20,000 incomes.
No "false claim" there!
Romney wants to do all of this while eviscerating health care, and anything and everything that is critical to the survival of the non-wealthy.
You are watching your party do this stuff. But as long as you face up to it and say NO on behalf of the future of America, it is not your fault.
bob, I think the vaginal prober is done, considering how much Va. gets from the Feds., I know the booger is finished with women.
Obama 2012
Brian J -- Tea Party Matt Kibbe supports strengthening trust fund entitlements. He does not support cutting these programs. There a many ways to balance the budget without being immoral like Paul Ryan. All the Manichean rightwingers who believe draconian "eat the corn seed" measures are necessary are feeble-minded at best.
As for Bob "Vaginal Probe" McDonnell who's thesis was about Christian Sharia Law theocracy -- thanks for reminding us of yet more good news that this f'd-up fundamentalist is not on the ticket. Romney's Day 2 might be to make a new Legislate Morality Dept. and put McDonnell in the cabinet in charge of it?
Wow, Obama was just plain mean. I didn't know he did that to Ryan. He certainly doesn't play well with others who disagree with him!! That puts Obama down a notch in my book. I've noticed him sneering when talking about the other half of America, but I've never seen something so overtly mean like this. Sigh. Just when I was starting to lean toward his side. And I guess this means Romney takes his austerity very seriously. Not a fan of either development today.
No offense, but dont sweat it; your Presidential vote in moonbatty California is worthless either way...
Whereas my vote , and my neighbors and friend's votes here in Virginia, are quite important.
bob, Va. can stop taking federal money, go it alone there fella, stand up and be counted for romney/ryan.
Obama 2012
The country is NOT moving to the far-Right as conservatives claim. This is only happening within the GOP/TP because more sane Republicans are being "primaried" from the far-Right.
Changing demographics along with more liberal younger voters means the Dems will gain more voters in their tent. If Teapublicans continue to become more and more extreme and to exclude more and more groups from their Party, soon they will no longer exist. And the underhanded efforts of gerrymandering, suppressing the vote, etc. is no substitute for a platform and merit in the long term either. We are on to the anti-democracy efforts whether ALEC or State FAUX Noise propaganda or what have you.
Romney picking Paul Ryan is just another nail in the coffin of rightwing extremism.
If you are voting in Florida, yet live somewhere else, you are breaking the law.
GBM, WOW!
Shouldn't illegal activity as described here, be properly investigated?
Romney played the same game: In MA/CA when applying to be governor ... as well as in MA/Utah when voting for Scott Walker.
The right wing have long blamed their Voter Suppression Laws on voter fraud -- but former GOP RNC Chair Greer said there was never a mention of fraud at the GOP meetings. Because there isn't any documented fraud.
GOP officials spoke only of suppressing the minority vote. Something that Greer disagreed with.
So, are illegal aliens minorities?
[Obama] went on to skewer Ryan’s budget, making the most detailed case this election on it. He cited specific numbers and consequences of cuts..."
Stop right there... "cuts"?
Liberal definition of a "cut" to government program: any massive increase in government spending not massive enough for them...
Ryan's budget plan would spend $3.5 trillion in 2013 and $4.9 trillion in 2022...only in liberal fantasy land, are these "cuts"..
bob, Va. needs to stop taking federal money, and if you folks do, I guarantee the state will collapse.
Obama 2012
No, they ran from the third rail of politics and that third rail, if not addressed intelligently will bankrupt the nation. Guess what? If the country is broke then it can't afford welfare. Vote Obama, vote to bankrupt the country.
Virginia receives $1.5 in federal spending per $1 of federal taxes. Want to reduce that? OK. California with 0.78$ per 1$ of taxes is OK with that.
Not a good comparison. CA used to be the third largest economy in the world. Now look at it and look at what they elected for govenor. Also, where did you get your numbers?
Jaw dropping: over 100-million now on Federal Welfare
by Norm Van Ness
Posted: 08.08.2012 at 5:34 PM ....
Thanks Obama .... "LOL"
The new numbers stem from the U.S. Census's Survey of Income and Program Participation which shows that nearly 110,000 million individuals received a welfare benefit in 2011. The benefits counted were not limited to U.S. citizens...as non-citizens were included in the final tally ....
And 36% of illegal aliens are on some type of Obama welfare now .... "LOL"
Ben, you're truly showing your age! Keep posting the same thing over and over and over again. You remind me of a four year old in a store crying for candy or a toy.
We all understand you have reason to be upset today. Just try to be an adult about it. Quit crying for attention!
Oh, I almost forgot "LOL" and yes we're laughing at you, not with you.
Thankfully, we have the option to ignore posts by authors. I've chosen to ignore posts by this spamming troll. Let's all ignore him! He makes a post then spams it many times. Once might be relevant, after that it's simply duplication and adds nothing to the discussion. Unless he has something about Romney releasing his taxes soon. Or some juicy tidbits about some of the tax dodges Mitt the twit has engaged in over the years. Maybe some details about the houses Mitt owns from a rent to own tax evasion scheme in the 1980's, where people are still writing checks to Mitt Romney as the mortgagee.
ben, whats jaw dropping is many of those on foodstamps have 2 to 3 jobs and still cant make enough to feed their family, and of course that big thank you goes out to paul ryan and GW Bush. and now not one pub will vote for the jobs act to put these people back to work.
don't feed the troll, just a a toadie for fox howlers. Same nonsense on three different discussions.
Obama 2012
just added him to yhe ignore list!
BigBen has math problems. 110,000 million is110 billion. Almost 20 times the Earth's population. Proves he is from another planet? Hmmm... Just wodering, if he got his check?
You must understand that the liberal 'mind' cannot understand or accept reality. In order to maintain the fantasy, the liberal will destroy anything that speaks to reality. They must silence the voices of reason, they cannot have any opposition, they are always right, always. They are very good at attacking in mobs, they have the mob mentality down pat. Like a pack of dogs, they are brave and smart when surrounded by the other dogs, isolate them from the pack and they cannot survive, which is why they are so determined to destroy anything that threatens the pack.
Hahahaha...Stated like a true conservative trolling the internet. Good luck with your faux outrage.
remember, its who controls the voting booth? the republicans are becoming very good at it. stand up and fight!
Elections are always National IQ tests, and the Republicans are famous for exploiting ignorance
Abe Lincoln and MLKjr were Republicans both murdered by Democrats.
are you smoking crack? Dr. Martin Luther King was certainly not Republican and Abraham Lincoln would disown the Republican Party of today.
Your moniker is offensive in addition to your post.
"Abe Lincoln and MLKjr were Republicans both murdered by Democrats."
Less than 3 months before the healing of America can begin. Debt, Doubt, Despair are correct, but we could also add Divisiveness and Deflection for a 5 of a kind description of Obama's tenure in office.
I think dumb, dumber, and dumbest are the titles Romney and Ryan will have in 3 months. :)
Said the man who owns 11 dogs and calls himself mlkboneunderwear!
My screenname is just an old joke, but the uber left won't be laughing much longer.
It would be great if the uber left posters would have policy conversations instead of just taking personal shots at the next Pres and VP, but that's kind of who you guys are, right?
@Brian...."dumb, dumber and dumbest" infers THREE people. You only mention TWO. How smart is that?
I got it, the dumbest is you and the the ones that will vote for R&R.
Well, there's Ryan, there's the Romney who is for the issue at hand and there's the Romney who's against it.
@tempusfugit1. Dumb, dumber, and dumbest are used to reflect the stages that the Romney campaign will go through on the way to the election. Will Mitt the twit set new gaffe records, outdoing even President Ford? (Who was a good man by the way. Just a tad clumsy as Chevy Chase brilliantly highlighted on SNL. )
Remember what a politician called something.... good lord, labels are what you base your vote on? No wonder America is circling the drain.
Yep! Borrow, Borrow, Borrow ... Spend, Spend, Spend.
Here's a question that the Republicans now consider appropriate and germaine to government healthcare programs--why do Paul Ryan and his wife have only 3 kids and none in the last 4years or so and who pays for their family planning. Is it family planning that is acceptable to the Catholic bishops?
opa, hypocrites and who pays for their health care, why of course we the taxpayers do.
Obama 2012
Hey, you attack dog moonbats are slipping...it took almost 8 hours before personal attacks on Ryan's family began!
Romney's taxes 13 percent mine 30 percent. Pays to be a millionaire. That welfare for the rich working for you guys?
Perfect pick for romney, deflects some barbs from himself, he'll let ryan speak for him and Koch Boys through ryan, now we know what Mitt the Stiff really meant by "Vision." Get set for some real fire works, I wonder if ryan showed romney his tax returns, duh.
Obama 2012
Obama gets his target??? Why doesnt he just try to be a decent successful president? Does the media think he can just wipe out his whole colossal failure by targeting someone else???.......Yes, I suppose that is what they are thinking....
J.A., "target" is exactly what liberals do. They are afraid to talk about Obama's dismal record and, instead, go to politics of personal destruction. Just look at the hateful posts on this thread about Ryan. Even Biden and Pres. Clinton had good things to say about Ryan. Their followers, though, are rabid with hatred for anything that doesn't fit in their little world.
How can liberals discuss something that doesn't exist? Obama has an outstanding record, and liberals would happily discuss those successes, except conservatives refuse to acknowledge them. Conservatives are the masters of politics of personal destruction - starting with the name calling like Obummer, Obalmo, and on, and on, and on, ending with that fantastically false claim that Obama has no record to run on. Oh really?
Sorry Rick there is no dismal record to speak of except you party's delusional ones.Now you run back to faux news, and ask what you can BS about now.
Rich and Red....yea, you guys want everyone to believe that Obama is wonderful, that the economy is great, the budget is balanced and industry is growing along with American jobs. Everyone knows better, so the only thing left is to talk trash and to find someone else to blame and ridicule....It would be funny....if it werent so dangerous and such a disaster... It reminds me of a keystone cops movie....except that it is not pretend....
To: Mitt Romney
From: Democratic National Committee
The entire Democratic National Committee thanks you for choosing Representative Paul Ryan as your Vice presidential candidate. This assures a victory in Florida for President Obama resulting in more than the 270 electoral college voted needed for his reelection as President. We can now spend more of our resources in Ohio, Colorado, Virginia, North Catalonia and Nevada to insure an even larger victory.
Does the DNC do their planning in Moscow now? Or, is it Cuba? Venezuela? Which does Obama prefer the most?
Cairo
The VP choice makes sense because Ryan is probably the one and only nominee who could make Romney look compassionate and charismatic in comparison, but I'm not sure that having a tag-team of socially awkward rich clueless white guys is a winning team.
On the other hand it presents a conundrum for Catholic bishops......do they vote for the guy whose budget they've already condemned as "un-Christian", or are they forced to vote for the guy who thinks all Americans should have the same legal rights and that women should have access to health care?
What will they do? I'll bet the pedophile protectors go with the "un-Christian" guy. After all, he protects rich old white guys.
We've had charisma and its gotten us 42 months of unemployment over 8% (its really in the area of 15%). Perhaps we need good and boring to correct the problems that have gone unsolved.
How is it possible that the Bush and Twice Signed by Obama tax cuts are the cause of the deficit, how do you explain that spending is up three times the decline in revenues?
laser,
Were you asleep in 2008? There was this little thing called the financial crisis that came close to being as bad as the Great Depression. President Obama sent stimulus money to the states to make sure YOUR police department could keep paying cops and YOUR kids would have a teacher. You're welcome.
PS The Affordable Care Act REDUCES the federal debt, it doesn't increase it, per the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Just a little something FOX NEWS won't tell you, but I just did.
Amy
President Obama Sends Romney Back Into the Fetal Position With Video on the Ryan Budget
The interesting thing about Romney and Ryan’s speeches this morning is that they both tried to avoid talking about what Paul Ryan is famous for. They didn’t specifically mention the Ryan budget. They talked about preserving Medicare, while hoping that voters wouldn’t realize that they plan to save Medicare by killing it and turning it into a voucher system.
The Obama video and Messina’s statement both use Paul Ryan to tie Romney to the unpopular House, the policies of George W. Bush, the war on women, and privatizing Medicare and Social Security. It also reinforces the Obama campaign’s messages about Romney’s stance on the middle class, and his plan to give tax cuts for the wealthy while raising taxes on everyone else.
Instead of separating their candidate from the very unpopular congressional Republicans, the Romney campaign married them. The Romney campaign gave Democrats a message to deliver to those voters who are concerned about the Republican desire to gut Social Security and Medicare. The Ryan budget might be even more well known than Paul Ryan himself, so it a ridiculous for the Romney campaign to try to run away from the it.
http://www.politicususa.com/obama-send-romney-fetal-position-video-ryan-budget.html
==============================================
Yup, MYTH picked a game ender instead of a game changer. The Republicans are going to have to set their Voter Suppression Phasers to eleventy in order to even have a shot. I mean, when Fox News is forced to report that Obama is up 9 points over Romney, you know @!$%# is about to go down and the Romney campaign is not ready.
Soon they will all be lying on Sean Hannity's couch in a fetal position complaining about Our President and how he is kicking their azzes
Obama/Biden 2012
4 more years
Beverly, you have signed up to listen to Obamas loser story and trash talk for another four years....I dont think that even the far left thinks that Obama would have improved anything in all that time....
Bev --- Shame on me but I happen to be one of those that knows more of the plan than of the man . I can almost quote the plan and it stinks , what does that tell you about the man?
Old, You have been around the horse .... for so long that you think that flowers smell bad......The rest of us smell the horse .......and it is not a good smell
Old vet 19.1....Pedophile protectors???? Come on, have a little decency. Are you really that pathetic and filthy that you would say such a thing?? Well, yes I see that you have proven that point....
Ummmmm.......what would you call the Catholic hierarchy which conspired to hide pedophiles and which didn't give a crap about the safety of children?
In fact, it's recently been learned that the Catholic church was paying $20K bonuses to priests who raped children.
Wow, with 'facts' like that you should get a job with Obama's super PACs....or possibly Harry Reid. Unnamed sources?
Mygirl, are you willfully ignorant or do you just not keep up with the news?
Romney said he wanted to get us all talking about the issues! I suppose that his selection of Ryan actually has done that. The way things are going Mitt might yearn for the good old days when all he had to do was refuse to show his tax returns.
like pelosi and reid do?
Just like Barry won't show his college transcripts or how he managed to pay for an ivy league education?
What could be more damaging? Romney showing he is a rich guy (we know that) or that Barry Obama was really hiding as a foreign national as a college student that barely attended classes and who got by by the color of half his skin?
oh--Since when are Pelosi and Reid running for president? And have you seen McConnell's or Boehner's tax returns? Show us the link to them.
laser--Is it traditional for candidates to show college transcripts? No, of course not. Bush's were leaked. The Obama as foreign student bullsh*t was exposed as false years ago. http://www.snopes.com/politics/obama/birthers/occidental.asp. Repeating a lie does not make it true; it just makes you a liar.
Laser, don't you love the way they skirt the issue about Obama's college records? When, I ask, have you ever applied for a job and they asked for your tax records? How often, though, have they asked for your educational background and college transcripts? Why don't the liberals care about Obama's educational background?
Uh no, now we want to see Romney's tax returns AND Paul Ryan's. How many years of returns did Ryan giver you Team Romney? Or do you not care since Ryan is also rich and that was criteria enough?
True, you REALLY don't care that Obama is hiding his college transcripts? That is astounding for someone who calls him/herself a "true patriot." You begrudge a successful man, but care nothing about one of the MAJOR qualifications to be the President of the United States. Simply stunning.
Liberals don't care about his transcript because his intelligence and knowledge have already demonstrated that he is well qualified. Romney's refusal to show his tax returns, however, only strengthen the belief that he's a crook.
Barry won't show his college transcripts or how he managed to pay for an ivy league education?
Ummm... where have you been? According to Harvard, he graduated with honors. In case you're not up to speed... that's pretty good.
As if tax returns matter. Talk about desperation, next the liberal idiots will be demanding he release his automobile maintenance records, just to have something else moronic to whine about.
How can tax returns show he's a crook? If it's filed with the IRS, I doubt there's incriminating evidence (of a crime); otherwise, he'd be charged.
What's most likely is that Romney probably made a lot of money and didn't pay much tax. Obama is trying to make this election about Romney's inability to connect with voters, rather than his record (which is pretty crappy. Compared to what he promised he would do in 2008, his mark should be an F).
Romney is a very weak candidate. Even after years of being attacked for being rich and successful, and the fact that he knows Obama is going to hammer him on it for the next few months, Romney simply doesn't know how to handle it.
Historically, I have always voted Republican and still will this year, but it's unfortunate how crappy Republican leadership is nowadays and that the crazed Tea Partiers are actually taking over this once proud, competent political force.
Now I most likely will have to deal with 4 more years of that arrogant, racist prick, who really has no clue about how to run a country. I have no doubt that he has some grand plans after he gets re-elected. For instance, he's going to toss Israel under the bus. He's going to start spending money like crazy.
This country is going in the wrong direction. What a shame. I have been living in Canada in recent years, and I absolutely love Stephen Harper. Now that's a responsible, smart Conservative. American Republicans could learn a lot from him.
I agree with you N . . we haven't had any great political candidates for sometime. What astute, successful person wants to preside over a failed economy and divided country? (except a career politician/organizer like Obama) who seems to just enjoy the travel, attention, and campaigning..
As a female voter I am particularly concerned about the rhetoric I hear from Obama's supporters about the 'war on women', 'war on the middle class', etc. These types of battle cries only serve to move our country further in the wrong direction. Don't forget to get your absentee ballot . . I am ordering mine this week!!
N-529260... please stay in Canada and migrate there.... because Obama will win this one with one eye closed.
owebama really cannot say much, look at his poor moronic record
Now we bring religion into the conversation - ok sure. How about that Romney Moronic Record?
Romney is as Moronic as one can get. Red you have company!
Uh... I think you three are on the same side of this conversation... But looks like Def likes to fight anyone, even if they are on his side.
Moronic record is not really a religious topic either, unless you are making a play of words.?
*two
Bingo!!
"Obama gets his target with pick of Ryan"
The headline says it all doesn't it? It's hard to produce attack ads when you don't know who to "target" isn't it?
Funny how even the liberal media knows that B.O. has nothing worth campaigning on other than hate-filled, divisive rhetoric. Welcome to the most sickening presidential re-election campaign the U.S. has ever had to endure.
Pjam09 . . I agree. I am really interested in hearing what Mr. Ryan has to say! However, if the Obama campaign has their way with their divisive fear-mongering tactics, most American people will never have that chance.
Be careful what you wish for socialist pigs. Ryan is no mental lightweight like President Teleprompter and Vice Perpetrator Joe Bite Me. Ryan will be able to handle Bite Me and give Barry everything and more. Barry will be left sticking his foot in his mouth with his off-teleprompter remarks and Ryan will be all over him.
Ryan may look like a tasty morsel for you socialist mutts - but you won't be laughing in November. Party on, fools.
laser--Yeah, mental lightweights always graduate summa cum laude from Harvard Law. And didn't your mother ever tell you that when all you have is insults, you haven't much of an argument?
Old Vet, from another old veteran, have you actually seen Obama's college transcripts that prove he is summa cum laude from Harvard Law? Didn't think so.
Rick, why are republicans always asking Obama to prove the obvious? Are you people all as stupid as donald trump or are you just pretending to be?
Sure he isn't - he is a self-described NERD!! What a campaign slogan - Nerds for VP!!
Ryan might not be a mental lightweight, but he sure is a mental case.
Rick--Harvard has confirmed that Obama is a summa cum laude graduate. I have seen Obama's tax returns and am looking forward to seeing Mitt's.
The debates will be interesting. President Obama will make both look like the fools they are!
Say it with me LIBS...President Romney!!! Vice President Ryan!!!
Yeah libs, we need to cleanup DC from the CHICAGO SYNDICATE that moved in there in 2009. Some housekeeping is in ORDER.
What kind of LOW LIFE SCUM would lie about a steel worker LOSING his insurance in 2001, that led to HIS WIFE DYING OF CANCER IN 2006, when she HAD HER OWN INSURANCE FOR AT LEAST 2 YEARS THRU 2005 OR SO??
What kind of POND SCUM would lie LIKE THAT?? Oh, IT'S OBUMMER!! THE CHICAGO SYNDICATE PRESIDENT!!
what, are you gonna arrest everyone who votes Democrat? The only thing we are expecting at this point would be something so stunningly hateful and hurtful that would divide the United States of America, which would cease to exist.
Say goodbye Florida Mitt
Say it with me LIBS...President Romney!!! Vice President Ryan!!!
Yeah libs, we need to cleanup DC from the CHICAGO SYNDICATE that moved in there in 2009. Some housekeeping is in ORDER.
What kind of LOW LIFE SCUM would lie about a steel worker LOSING his insurance in 2001, that led to HIS WIFE DYING OF CANCER IN 2006, when she HAD HER OWN INSURANCE FOR AT LEAST 2 YEARS THRU 2005 OR SO??
What kind of POND SCUM would lie LIKE THAT?? Oh, IT'S OBUMMER!! THE CHICAGO SYNDICATE PRESIDENT!!
whoa, there, tiger.....please calm down. For your own good. Really.
N-529260.........Mitt claimed he had nothing to do with Bain after his "retroactive retirement". Returns might prove he lied abou that. Mitt claimed he knew nothing about offshore investments and tax havens, returns might show something quite different, Mitt says he is for fair taxes, but his returns might show that he has paid very little in taxes over the years ( not illegal, but embarassing). Mitt's own father said that 12 years of tax returns for a pres candidate is reasonable, why is it suddenly not reasonable for Mitt ? What is he hiding ? Meanwhile he has not even released the 2011 tax return that he said he would release, how come ? Do you really think his accountants and lawyers are so bogged down that they could not get around to doing his returns ? Maybe it is taking longer to scrub them while still trying to remain legal. I doubt there is anything illegal in the returns, but there could be a lot of embarassing things and it could shed a lot of light on Mitt's way of doing things and paying his fair share of taxes.
For weeks on these blogs the Republicans have touted the real life experience in the business world of Romney.
Well, Romney's real life experience seems to be focused on hiring the best legal and tax accounting minds in the nation to ensure that Mitt pays little or no taxes.
Then Mitt picks someone as his VP whose only private sector experience has been as a 'marketing consultant' for the family's business.
Mitt's goal in life seems to be to amass the largest fortune possible which is the height of narcissism. Ryan's goal seems to be to emulate Ayn Rand. If you don't know her, better get to know her through her writings. In a nutshell, her philosophy is every man for himself.
Going to be an interesting campaign with Obama and Biden running against a man who thinks wealth is everything and a guy who has an ideology of every man is an island and on his own.
Hey his private sector experience is highlighted by driving the Wienermobile, that is really cool
Bruce,
Yes the business man, vulture capitalist ,is now wedded to a insider 14year Congress person who helped get our country down this road.
This leader of Congress, head of fiance committee had the hubris to say today that he will work for unity for all of us???
Ryan who voted against the stimulus package, who voted against ACA, who voted against the debt ceiling deal.
Ryan/Romney budget will indeed make old "Newt's Contract for America look like the New Deal."
Great article to start this thread, thanks FR.
Say it with me LIBS...President Romney!!! Vice President Ryan!!!
Yeah libs, we need to cleanup DC from the CHICAGO SYNDICATE that moved in there in 2009. Some housekeeping is in ORDER.
What kind of LOW LIFE SCUM would lie about a steel worker LOSING his insurance in 2001, that led to HIS WIFE DYING OF CANCER IN 2006, when she HAD HER OWN INSURANCE FOR AT LEAST 2 YEARS THRU 2005 OR SO??
What kind of POND SCUM would lie LIKE THAT?? Oh, IT'S OBUMMER!! THE CHICAGO SYNDICATE PRESIDENT!!
Romney picked a man who was a rubber stamp for Bush policies. Going backwards instead of forward.
Feisty
Biden's running around the country @!$%#ting his pants, cuz he knows Ryan will eviscerate him in any debate.
Joe's never had an original thought in his life.
Oh...excuse me...I'm wrong...he did come up with "this is a big f...... deal!
Pure genius!
Keep hangin' in there libs. Hope springs eternal...but Obungler's woken a sleeping giant.
Swing voters aren't going to be making the same boo boo they did in 2008!
R&R 2012!
As an independent I am one of those swing voters.. Still waiting for one of them to come to the middle... with this pick romney went farther to the right... Guess he's trying to retain his base by picking someone that they like...
Paul Ryan sounds so fiscally responsible in that video clip. Too bad he was a rubber stamp for Bush policies that got us into this mess in the first place. Where was that Paul Ryan when Bush cut taxes and started 2 unfunded wars not even added to the deficit and the unfunded Medicare prescription plan.
I didn't vote for Bush or agree with his policies. He actually spent like a liberal. He added to the deficit but nothing like Obama. Obama started out in a hole but he made it far worse. He had two full years with all of the control. He added 130,000 government workers to the payroll. These people make more money, with better benefits, than the people who pay them. Unemployment is the highest it's been in decades and his tax the rich scheme is strictly designed to divide the country and help him get elected for a second term. He flipped from "taxing anyone in a recession is a bad idea". According to Ernst & Young, a private accounting firm, this will effect 900,000 businesses and will cost 710,000 jobs. It will raise the unemployment by .5% to 8.8%. Businesses see tax increases as a business expense. If they can't pass it on to the consumer, they cut expenses and that usually includes people. These are not simply an increase in tax rate, there are a number of taxes that will effect business and healthcare is a part.
No institution can function where there is more going out than is coming in. The reality is that if Obama gets the tax increase, it won't begin to solve the problem. It will only pay for 8.5 days at current spending levels.
I'm glad to have someone like Ryan added to the debate. Maybe Americans will start focusing on the real issues. Obama isn't going to talk about cuts and that is the only way that we can address the issue.
Neither the Democrats or Republicans are going to talk about the unfairness of our tax code. It doesn't matter who wins this election, those people that have donated to the campaigns are coming to Washington for payback. This payback might be actual funds from the treasury (green energy) but usually it involves tax brakes, exemptions or deductions. These donations don't come from patriots or out of civic duty, most of these donate to both sides.
All politicans want the tax code to stay as it is. This is where their power comes from. Any exemption is unfair to someone else. Giving one group an exemption proportionately raises the burdon on someone else. It doesn't matter if it is a group of individuals or a business. If you give a bicycle manufacturer an exemption but not a skate board manufacturer, you have increased the burdon on one relative to the other. A single person that owns a home could pay less taxes than another, with the same income, that rents.
Funny! Biden will eat Ryan alive in the debate. Can't wait to see it.
Lets leave bidens sexual orientation out of it please