Paul Ryan Definitely Not Running?
[Guest post by Aaron Worthing; if you have tips, please send them here. Or by Twitter @AaronWorthing.]
So says the Weekly Standard.
Did he pinky swear this time? I mean didn’t the media already say that like fifteen times? Why should this denial be taken more seriously?
Still, I think that is the right decision, if he has made it. I don’t believe Paul Ryan has any significant administrative experience. I like him better for the job than Bachmann, but not by a lot.
And don’t take that as me dissing him as a legislator. I think he has been a rock star in the Representatives mainly for substantive reasons. But that is not the same job as being president.
[Posted and authored by Aaron Worthing.]
Next step: Replacing Kohl in the Senate.
Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (2cd90b) — 8/22/2011 @ 1:06 pmFollowing Step: The Governor’s Desk when Walker’s ready for a new challenge – unless he’s needed in some future GOP Administration in DC (Director OMB?).
Herb Kohl is retiring. Ryan would be a good candidate for that job requiring a less experienced politician.
Outside Miwaukee, Racine, Kenosha and Dane counties he’s golden.
gary gulrud (790d43) — 8/22/2011 @ 1:24 pmGood points all.
DohBiden (d54602) — 8/22/2011 @ 1:28 pmWe need to keep the good people we have in the house and the senate where they are. A lot of hard work went into getting them elected/reelected, so why pull them out now when the chance of a grand slam is in sight?
johnnycab23513 (0a3e09) — 8/22/2011 @ 2:41 pmI understand the argument about executive experience but I can’t help feeling in my gut that Paul Ryan, for all his lack of experience in that area, would run rings around Obama’s record as an on-the-job-training President.
I’ve been a military commander and a lot of what you learn about command is on the job (that, and a healthy dose of experience watching others do it well or poorly…hmmmm).
Just having Ryan anywhere in the federal government is a win…I just wish his ideas got more exposure and his Party was anything but mouth-breathing stupid on taking the fight to the Democrats in the war of ideas. This guy needs to be front and center on arguing for less government and more freedom/opportunity/prosperity and is probably why many dearly want him to run.
Attila of Argghhh! (7c91c1) — 8/22/2011 @ 2:58 pmThe GOP needs to start a farm club system to identify and develop new conservative talent and help them gain a mix of administrative and legislative experience. Waiting until 15 months before an election to start throwing darts at a list of “possible Presidential candidates” is nuts. There should be a naturally evolving set of rising stars who’s candidacy would be expected and enthusiastically welcomed.
in_awe (44fed5) — 8/22/2011 @ 3:01 pmI emphatically disagree with you about whether his lack of “executive” experience disqualified him, Aaron, for all of the reasons I wrote about last week. “Executive experience” is a proxy for leadership ability, and Ryan has already shown that, and on a national stage (which no governor can claim).
And comparing Ryan’s accomplishments to Bachmann’s is also very silly. Bachmann has made lots of speeches. That’s it. That’s all.
Ryan has actually united his fellow GOP legislators in the House and most of them in the Senate. He’s designed and written legislation and he’s seen it passed the only chamber that the GOP controls. He’s been both a workhorse and a showhorse. With due respect, Rep. Bachmann cannot make that claim, nor even get close to it. She has not been a member of the party leadership, she’s not even voted with most members of her party. The two are not remotely comparable, and I’m surprised you’d do so.
Beldar (485693) — 8/22/2011 @ 3:03 pmThat said, I respect Chairman Ryan’s decision, although I’m very disappointed by it.
Beldar (485693) — 8/22/2011 @ 3:04 pmNothing — not even being vice president, and certainly not being a state governor — is the same as being POTUS.
Beldar (485693) — 8/22/2011 @ 3:05 pmThe left thinks a criminals life is more worth saving than you or I.
Paul Ryan no 🙁
DohBiden (d54602) — 8/22/2011 @ 3:16 pmBeldar
Ryan would be a good governor, then in 8 a great president
EricPWJohnson (4fa599) — 8/22/2011 @ 3:27 pmI would have voted for him if he ran but I’m glad he didn’t cause he seems like a genuinely nice person.
happyfeet (a55ba0) — 8/22/2011 @ 3:45 pmRe: Experience.
Ryan is an Econ/Poli Sci Major with an Accountant’s personality. Remember Cain’s handling of anything having to do with the Middle East? How about Jurisprudence, Enviornmental Science, yada, yada. We literally have no idea whatever that these issues have crossed Ryan’s mind let alone his views.
Not ready for a run at POTUS.
gary gulrud (790d43) — 8/22/2011 @ 3:48 pmattila
i will repeat what i said before. There isn’t a single republican in this race that i wouldn’t vote for in a minute over obama, with the only exception being ron paul.
And the same goes for the cast of characters who are thinking about running but haven’t fully jumped in.
Beldar
i’ll have to check our your post, and you are right to say “governor” is not the same league as president.
and of course by my argument would have made me not want lincoln to be president, so…
Aaron Worthing (73a7ea) — 8/22/2011 @ 4:11 pmBummer!
Would it be wrong to still hold out hope that Rudy might run, or Pataki or Christie or maybe even SARAH!
Good times.
Spartacvs (d05556) — 8/22/2011 @ 4:12 pmAttila @5
You & me both buddy
Spartacvs (d05556) — 8/22/2011 @ 4:14 pmWoah is this the new conservative Spartac?
DohBiden (d54602) — 8/22/2011 @ 4:21 pmThe spurty turd burglar strikes again.
JD (d56362) — 8/22/2011 @ 4:25 pmNo, just the same P/A weasel.
Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (2cd90b) — 8/22/2011 @ 4:27 pm@ gary gulrud:
You may have no idea what Ryan thinks about other issues, but if so, that’s because you have not been paying attention.
Ryan’s been in Congress since 1999. He’s on record on literally thousands of congressional votes on every subject that confronts our country.
Ryan’s not only taken positions and gone on record with votes, he’s spoken out on foreign policy and other issues for years. Did you do so much as 10 seconds Google research before you made your blanket statement? Because you could not possibly be more wrong.
You may have a one-dimensional view of Ryan, but he’s not one-dimensional. Your comment says more about you than about him.
Beldar (485693) — 8/22/2011 @ 4:37 pmRassmussen has Urkel polling 50% over Palin 33%.
Scott we luv ya but that means 50% of the Right stays home or votes Nor Laup.
Not a chance Maggot breaks 43%.
gary gulrud (790d43) — 8/22/2011 @ 4:44 pmThe little maggot troll is still coming back?
Hey, Farticvs? You really need to start answering some questions, instead of leaving your smelly nuggets here.
Simon Jester (b6f1be) — 8/22/2011 @ 4:51 pmApologies to Aaron (who deserves much better), and to anyone else with whom I’ve already been grumpy in these comments.
I’m really sad today, for my party and my country. I know Chairman Ryan has already devoted his life to public service, and that his family has already paid a price for that. And anyone with the burning passion in his or her belly to be POTUS has to be at least slightly insane; Ryan is the most sane politician I’ve ever seen, but I had hopes he might still respond to a draft, and I thought was sensed that coalescing this week.
I know Rick Perry’s record and I believe I know what he’s made of, and I believe he would be a fine president, but I’m not yet convinced he can overcome the anti-Texas/anti-Dubya bigotry in a national election in 2012. I’ll probably get aboard his campaign bandwagon anyway. But frankly, the kind of bigotry that the Dems will exploit and encourage if Perry gets the nomination is a lot harder to fight with facts and education than the “Mediscare” tactics they’d have used against Ryan. So I’m going to take the week to mumble and mutter and confuse my dog (who thinks I’m mad at her, which then makes me feel guilty, and appropriately so). She cuts me more slack than I’m due, so I beg that of the rest of you too today.
Beldar (485693) — 8/22/2011 @ 4:52 pmBeldar, I think that Mr. Ryan would have been a very interesting candidate. I’m sorry he isn’t running, too. You should write to him and tell him what you are saying here—it sounds odd, but it is better than being angry at the dog. And good people need encouragement. We shouldn’t assume that they know how they are perceived.
Just my two cents.
Simon Jester (b6f1be) — 8/22/2011 @ 4:59 pmThat’s disappointing that Ryan won’t enter the fray.
About Palin… just some anecdotal evidence… she has a tendency to rub a lot of older, what I would call “staunch” Republicans the wrong way. I know quite a few who feel this way. It’s unfortunate and I’m sure that some – maybe a lot – of that is fed by the whole media demonization of her. But that, nonetheless, may not matter when these folks are the most likely of all Americans to vote.
However, it remains to be seen that, if faced with the in-your-face choice of Obumbler and an if-nominated Palin, these old voters won’t disregard that bad taste in their mouths and vote for Palin.
That is what is lost in all of this daily polling about several potential Repub candidates vs. Barack Obama. How will people vote if faced with the stark choice of voting for the known Obumbler, Incompetent-in-Chief, or an acceptable alternative?
ColonelHaiku (8211ab) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:03 pmLet me know when you come up with one.
Spartacvs (9a5563) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:18 pmOne reason why Obumble finishes second to the “generic Republican”, Stupidicvs.
ColonelHaiku (8211ab) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:20 pmSounds commie
Are you now or have you ever been….
Spartacvs (9a5563) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:20 pm@ Simon (#24): Your point is well taken, and indeed, since April I’ve been printing and mailing to Chairman Ryan’s office hard-copy versions of everything I’ve written on my blog to encourage him to run.
I’m very sure that his decision wasn’t based on a failure to consider and weigh all the relevant factors. He’s been quite literally toe-to-toe with Obama, and I’m sure he can easily imagine himself in Obama’s shoes, doing a vastly better job for the country. And I know he’s confident in his own abilities and in his core philosophy. His ego is in tight control, but he does have one, and he’s not unaware of his relative strengths and weaknesses as a potential presidential candidate.
I’m reasonably sure that among the people who’ve been encouraging him to run, he received credible assurances of support, including serious promises of the sort of fund-raising that would have immediately made him competitive with Romney or Perry on that score.
I think large numbers of Republicans would have become enthusiastic supporters when they heard him speak in primary debates. By no means was this too late a date for him to join the race.
I’m sure he will do his very best as a non-candidate, but still as a leader of his party at the center of its most consequential current power (i.e., as head of the House Budget Committee) to affect the election. But that’s a distant runner-up to the influence he could have had as a candidate, even if he didn’t get the nomination, and not even in the same league as the influence he could have had as the GOP nominee.
And I’m still hopeful that whoever does get the nomination will look to him as a potential Veep choice.
Beldar (485693) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:23 pmspurty gone fishin’
ColonelHaiku (8211ab) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:24 pmno hook, line, sinker he use
bottom feeder hands
Generic v actual in the flesh candidates. It’s a problem Colonel, whether you acknowledge it or not.
Spartacvs (9a5563) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:24 pmhe like a walkin’
ColonelHaiku (8211ab) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:26 pmcatfish struttin’ all his stuff
all hat, no cowfish
Beldar, isn’t dog-cruelty grounds for disbarment in TX?
Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (2cd90b) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:27 pmLet’s see… choose the known smarmy, arrogantly incompetent, vacay-specialist, putz of a phuk-up behind door #1?… or the competent conservative behind door #2, who promises to work for a change for the better and gives some hope to the tens of millions of unemployed/underemployed citizens?
Now… that’s a tough choice… snicker, snicker…
ColonelHaiku (8211ab) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:31 pmI like the guy. He needs some time in bottle.
AZ Bob (a9c085) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:34 pmColonel –
Has it ever occurred to you that the reason for this might well be that the older folks remember the glory days, when easily identified grifters like Palin would never have stood a chance of running for national office on a republican ticket?
Spartacvs (9a5563) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:34 pmWill next year’s Republican nominee be chosen for their level of competence, their policies, or because they score highest on the “Drive the Progressives Bat-$hit” scale?
Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (2cd90b) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:35 pmOxymoron alert
Spartacvs (9a5563) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:36 pm“grifter”?
Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (2cd90b) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:37 pmThat’s a mighty strong accusation for such a little snot who has accomplished absolutely zero in his lifetime – if that much!
Spvrty – I hope the Democrats run Obama in 2012.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:38 pmThey have to, he’s the strongest candidate they can field.
Another Drew - Restore the Republic / Obama Sucks! (2cd90b) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:42 pmWell too bad, but he’s not going away and he’ll have a great influence on the next administration.
Pious Agnostic (6048a8) — 8/22/2011 @ 5:46 pmAn obot accusing others of grifting.
Next Charles Johnson will accuse Herman Cain of playing the race card……………Oh wait he did.
DohBiden (d54602) — 8/22/2011 @ 6:05 pm20. “Your comment says more about you than about him.”
Fine, Beldar, I grew up 40 min. away from Janesville, residing until 2002, > one quarter of my relations live in his district and a shyster from Texas knows chapter and verse on what a Renaissance man Ryan be.
Have it your way, he’s an idiot for putting his kiddies ahead of the country.
gary gulrud (790d43) — 8/22/2011 @ 6:15 pm#38….so here is an oxymoron: Farticvs posting in good faith.
Simon Jester (b6f1be) — 8/22/2011 @ 6:18 pmAnd still, cowardly little Sparticvs deposits his droppings, and runs.
Pathetic little poseur.
Simon Jester (b6f1be) — 8/22/2011 @ 6:19 pmBeldar, what insightful (and convincing) comments. There is certainly a lot of disappointment that he is not going to throw in.
One of his finest moments was his polite yet deadly takedown of Obamacare. I like to watch it periodically to be reminded that there are indeed brilliant, savvy, and fearless leaders in DC. One only hopes he has his sights fixed on 2016.
Dana (4eca6e) — 8/22/2011 @ 6:22 pmgary gulrud @ 13,
Here is nifty score sheet of Ryan’s stands and votes covering everything from foreign policy to free trade to social security. There are also accompanying links with quotes and discussion by Ryan on the subjects.
Dana (4eca6e) — 8/22/2011 @ 6:27 pm
Dana (4eca6e) — 8/22/2011 @ 6:30 pmOne only hopes he has his sights fixed on 2016.Well, that was silly considering we’ll have Republican in office then.@ gary gulrud (#44): They obviously have internet access where you live. So did you bother to use it to check out any of Ryan’s positions, or are you of the view that you ought to be able to deduce that osmotically, through the aether, while you’re sleeping near Ryan’s hometown?
Look, you made a stupid, ridiculous statement that can’t be supported. I’m in a bad mood already, and when people like you start pretending I’ve said anything remotely like “[Ryan’s] an idiot for putting his kiddies ahead of the country,” I run out of patience very quickly.
This will be your and my last exchange of comments because you’re frankly not worth any further effort on my part.
Beldar (485693) — 8/22/2011 @ 6:32 pmanyone what read Mr. Daffyd’s piece awhile back might can be forgiven for thinking Mr. Ryan maybe has some work to do I guess
Personally I thought it was overblown bibble babble.
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 8/22/2011 @ 6:44 pmalso that drunk hoochie what screeched at him about the wine at his table has to be pretty disappointed that he’s sitting this out she really thought she told Mr. Ryan how the cow ate the cabbage
silly git
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 8/22/2011 @ 6:48 pmIt’s a shame he’s not running, if only because he would push the serious candidates towards specific and serious solutions to the debt problem. Very few have gone as far as Ryan in that direction. I think Ryan’s role in solving this problem is going to grow regardless.
Gary, I have no idea what point you’re trying to make. If you disagree with Ryan on something, spit it out.
Dustin (b7410e) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:11 pmHe’s like Jack Kemp in his prime, not surprising he first worked for him,
ian cormac (0bd903) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:18 pmAll that blabbering and jabbing and still not one post from Spurty that outlines Bumble’s stellar “accomplishments” or makes a case why he deserves to be re-elected.
Reasons to support Obama are in very short supply as we all know. I’m starting to think Spurty can’t come up with any.
elissa (4d600b) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:22 pmElissa, early on this “Sparticvs” person described someone else as writing notes like bags of dog poop left on someone’s porch.
It’s projection that reveals what he feels his role here is. He blathers on, and then runs away. Remember when he claimed that none of the Founders had done anything to oppose slavery? Literally one minute on the Internet would demonstrate that is a pernicious slander. He also has a history of posting links that he clearly hasn’t read.
This troll might be smart, or he might be stupid. What is irrefutable is that he is very, very lazy.
Simon Jester (b6f1be) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:25 pmI absolutely agree it’s a shame he’s not running Dusty. I was so looking forward to his stumping that plan to end Medicare as we know it of his.
Spartacvs (d05556) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:25 pmSee what I mean, Elissa? Just a little coward.
Simon Jester (b6f1be) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:26 pmI can’t wait to hear this troll discuss stocks and bonds again, by the way.
Aren’t you ever embarrassed by how often you get skooled? Oh, that’s right: you run away, like Brave Sir Robin.
Simon Jester (b6f1be) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:27 pmIs it wrong of me to say Spartac belongs in hell.
DohBiden (d54602) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:29 pmHe’s been quite literally toe-to-toe with Obama – Beldar
We know we don’t want to elect someone who will not be a good president, and we don’t want to run someone who would be a good president but “can’t win”, all agreed? Of course, none of us have perfect insight into who fits the bill which is the problem.
But we know that to get elected president in the US a person does NOT have to have executive experience, does NOT have to give definite positions on topics, does NOT have to have any background in national issues or foreign affairs. One DOES have to manage to come across better than the other guy to the general public. Now, to be president it takes more than that. President Obama has shown all of this to be true.
I agree with Beldar, Ryan has been willing and able to take on Obama face to face (as I’ve said before), show where Obama is wrong, and get under Obama’s (thin) skin. A winning candidate will need to face to face give reason for being elected rather than Obama, and that in a decisive but not hostile appearing way. I think Ryan has the best odds of doing this (again).
The top three reasons for Ryan not to run are:
1) personal cost to his family
2) personal cost to his family
3) personal cost to his family
(the same as Mitch Daniels).
It should not be presumed that Ryan is the only one in the nation that can defeat Obama and be a good president. It is a given that only he can be the husband and father in his family.
Unfortunately the public, the political system, and MSM have made putting your family through hell a requirement to be president, at least if you are a Republican. The most important qualification for president is to have a reputation and a family beyond reproach. That could mean they are trusted that profoundly, or it could mean the person is already known for their using marijuana, cocaine, their disreputable associates, questionable financial dealings, marital infidelities, and who knows what else, and “no one” is bothered by it.
From what I can see, Ryan is qualified to be a good candidate and would make a good president. He has enough brains and personal integrity to get honest experts to advise in matters where he isn’t an expert himself. Unfortunately, personal integrity and honesty don’t pull as much influence as they should.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:30 pmHe kind of reminds me of that mental patient troll who got arrested up in Canada, Doh. Living in his mother’s house, trying to act all tough and knowledgeable.
Simon Jester (b6f1be) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:30 pmIt’s obviously about how much he hates whoever he’s been ordered to hate by Maxine Waters and MSNBC and the rest of them. It’s not about anything Obama can or has accomplished. Used to be about Obama’s ability to bring a post partisan deficit cutting war stopping government, but we all know that was a lie now.
So the only card left is opposition to ridiculous caricatures of the right.
Dustin (b7410e) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:31 pmMD, I wonder how BHO’s children feel, when people who could beat their father like a drum in 2012 bow out because of their own family.
Simon Jester (b6f1be) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:32 pmDustin, the guy kind of is a ridiculous caricature, all on his own.
Simon Jester (b6f1be) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:32 pm57.I absolutely agree it’s a shame he’s not running Dusty. I was so looking forward to his stumping that plan to end Medicare as we know it of his.
Comment by Spartacvs
Exactly. What works is lieing to the public, the Congress, and the SCOTUS to their face and having no one call you on it, and when they do, those raising the issues get the derision, not the one making the lies. Ryan is one who has a chance to call him on it and make it stick.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:35 pmSimon, I wonder how they felt when friends from their school were kicked out because their daddy and his friends wouldn’t allow them to stay. (Ending the DC program that allowed some kids into private schools, at less of a cost than in DC public shools).
Actually, I imagine their perspective on the world is being carefully nurtured as was that of their father, but they will one day need to reconcile what they always thought about their parents with what they come to learn, like all children.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:42 pmMaybe like Huntsman, Ryan didn’t feel good about the requirement to deny evolution, global warming or science in general?
Just a thought.
Spartacvs (d05556) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:42 pmSpartacvs,
Comments like the one above continually remind me how very little you know and understand about conservatism.
Dana (4eca6e) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:52 pmNo need for a conservative, not even a conservative Christian, to deny science.
Science is empirical, fact based.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:55 pmConservatives are the ones who understand that if you keep spending more money than you have that eventually it will catch up with you, dems are the ones with the magical thinking that you can make choices today and ignore the consequences that come due tomorrow.
But we all know that you really don’t care about what is true.
I wonder how BHO’s children feel, when people who could beat their father like a drum in 2012 bow out because of their own family.
If even the slightest bit of Reverend Wright had an effect on their impressionable minds, they’ll be blaming The Man, Simon.
ColonelHaiku (8211ab) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:55 pm==Just a little coward== Comment by Simon Jester — 8/22/2011 @ 7:26 pm
Of course you are correct in your observations regarding Spurty’s, uh, performance issues. He persists in wanting to utter harangues about each and every team R candidate while routinely offering up false statements on all the other important issues of the day. He knows most commenters here are not remotely interested in his opinions about anything. But I doubt that he is aware of how few people even bother to read his bags of poop and just skip right on by them. Putting on a smelly clown show doesn’t mean much if there’s no audience.
elissa (4d600b) — 8/22/2011 @ 7:57 pm#68: you know what I am waiting for? Farticvs to bring to science what he has brought to geopolitics and economics. That is, preening ignorance.
Simon Jester (b6f1be) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:02 pmGlobal Warming is not science.
DohBiden (d54602) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:09 pmGlobal warming is politics, not science. It is science-y.
JD (318f81) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:11 pmSeriously, I think we should adopt sporty as a mascot.
He’s kind of like a village idiot. He’s embarrasing, but you feel sorry for him, so you do things to make him fit in.
I wonder what would be a good costume.
Ag80 (9a213d) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:13 pmhttp://www.lynx-lair.com/zen/images/mc/TA408.jpg
Like this, Ag?
JD (318f81) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:16 pmHey Dana, I know enough about the current iteration of conservatism to know that you have lost control of the base and as a result they will become ever more demanding and destructive.
Spartacvs (d05556) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:21 pmThat’s not bad, JD, but I was thinking more like this:
http://www.thisnext.com/tag/silly-costumes/
Ag80 (9a213d) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:21 pmSporty, I don’t think you have any idea of what the base of conservatism is. I’ll give you a hint: It’s not God botherers.
By the way, what is the base of the left, anyway? Obama botherers?
Ag80 (9a213d) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:24 pmspartavcus @ 78,
I know enough about the current iteration of conservatism to know that you have lost control of the base and as a result they will become ever more demanding and destructive.
It would be helpful to understand your argument if you would explain what you believe the base of current conservatism to be as well as giving an example of control having been lost.
Dana (4eca6e) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:30 pmWithout the God botherers the numbers don’t stack up Ag. You need them more than you will admit, because without them you are doomed to minority status.
Spartacvs (d05556) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:31 pmI’m sorta curious whether Spartacvs receives his SorosBucks through direct deposit, or whether he has to actually go to the bank and deposit his SorosChecks in person.
Either way I’ll tell ya Georgie: you’re not gettin’ a good return on your (microscopic) investment here.
Back to real things:
Ryan strikes me as a man of integrity and serious-mindedness. He seems to fit the basic profile of a Good And Faithful Servant. I don’t feel I’m technically qualified to judge whether the Ryan Plan is the best idea or not; but Ryan seems like a serious and trustworthy patriot, whereas Bammy has always seemed like an ideologue and a race-revanchist. I know which one I’d trust in a lifeboat.
d. in c. (68ff46) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:32 pman example of control having been lost.
Sure, the teabaggers.
Spartacvs (d05556) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:36 pmSporty, seriously, get out of the house, talk to people.
God botherers are really OK people. They do things. They’re not ignorant.
See how I set you up. I’m a straight man for a clown. Have fun.
Ag80 (9a213d) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:42 pmI know enough about …
When spurty typed that, anything that followed, by definition, must be a lie.
And it likes nuts in his mouf.
JD (318f81) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:42 pmSpvrty is just more pus oozing from the infected tumor of progressivism which is causing this country to rot and fall into fetid swamp failed euroweenie socialism.
His motto is if it isn’t broken, break it.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:44 pmJD and daley: You’re giving him too much credit.
Sporty is a one-trick pony, without a trick.
This is his life. He has to live with it.
Ag80 (9a213d) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:46 pm“JD and daley: You’re giving him too much credit.”
Ag80 – Naw, he vents his spleen out of jealousy because progressivism has no principles apart from a quest for power by those who will be in charge of the lives of others at the end of the day. That’s why Spvrty never describes what he actually supports. He can’t.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:52 pmAnd by the way, I mean, for realz, (snicker) …”Spartacvs”? THAT’s the best you could come up with? I’m amazed you didn’t go for “Eric Blair” and think it was wicked clever, like all the other blowhards do.
“Spartacvs”?! Srsly? Didn’t those stylings die out in the days of bad Soviet ballet and Yevtushenko and shit like that? “Spartacvs”?! What do you live in, like 1955? Howzabout some Mumia, d00d, or even Joe bloody Hill?
Spartacvs. What a snore. Even the cute little “v” thing got done better by Mel Brooks in like 1982. (Ancient Rome joke via Mel: “You’re nuts! N-V-T-S, nuts!”)
The stupid, it burns! It burns!
d. in c. (ae55d7) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:54 pmSpvrty, let Obama know that it’s “We the people,” not “Me the President,” please.
His honeymoon is over. The country wants a divorce.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 8/22/2011 @ 8:56 pmSpvrty – Remember Winston Churchill:
“We contend that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 8/22/2011 @ 9:00 pmSparty’s a tragic example of what happens when they bring a kid up to the Soros troll major leagues before he’s ready. He can’t cut it and obviously he needed more time on the farm team. But once the rookie’s been on the big field and has blown it time after time, and people have seen him fail and booed lustily, then his career’s pretty much over. Second chances for a lucrative contract are rare in trolldom. I hope Sparty has saved up some money for the upcoming economic hard times that are a’coming for him.
elissa (4d600b) — 8/22/2011 @ 9:01 pmAg80 – Sometimes I just get on a roll, sorry.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 8/22/2011 @ 9:01 pmBeldar
> Apologies to Aaron (who deserves much better), and to anyone else with whom I’ve already been grumpy in these comments.
Speaking for myself, you didn’t offend in the slightest. i am not even precisely sure what you are apologizing for, that’s how little i was offended.
But I do keep wondering why you keep telling me to get off your lawn. 🙂
Aaron Worthing (73a7ea) — 8/22/2011 @ 9:14 pmRobert Costas notes five reasons Why Ryan Bowed Out
1- He’d rather frame the debate.
2- He wasn’t enthused.
3- He did not want to play catch-up.
4- He did not want to discredit the cause.
5- There is no reason to rush.
Of particular interest and impressiveness is his desire to be the one to frame the debate. More evidence of just how smart and savvy he is. This was certainly more effective in the end: he made his name known, he stood toe-to-toe with the President over healthcare – and clearly impressed the public with his knowledge and was able to articulate the mistruths and gimmicks being used to fool the American public.
Ryan had hoped that Indiana governor Mitch Daniels would run. But that didn’t happen, and, after he saw the tepid response to his budget from leading GOP presidential contenders, Ryan began to consider making a run of his own in order to force an “adult conversation” about the looming debt crisis.
In the end, he decided that if he could amp up his political-action committee in early primary states and make more of an effort to frame the 2012 debate inside and outside the Beltway, then he could achieve many of his most important objectives without having to launch a full-scale presidential campaign. Look for him to take a higher profile in coming weeks.
Being the framer of the debate is certainly a very powerful position to hold. This is what the left cannot deal with.
Dana (4eca6e) — 8/22/2011 @ 9:38 pmThey are not progressives they are regressives.
DohBiden (d54602) — 8/22/2011 @ 9:54 pmPaul Ryan Tries To Create Tax Loopholes For His Biggest Donors
WASHINGTON — House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) has for months argued for closing tax loopholes as a way to pay for his proposed tax cuts. But it turns out he has a penchant for creating those same loopholes when it comes to helping out his biggest donors.
Since unveiling the House GOP budget in the spring, Ryan has been touting provisions aimed at ending tax loopholes and deductions in exchange for lowering tax rates in general. “We’re talking about keeping revenues where they are, but having a better tax system to collect those revenues with an eye on economic growth and job creation,” he said during an April interview on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”
He added, “You have to remember, the people in the top tax brackets are the ones who enjoy most of the loopholes and deductions.”
But a look at Ryan’s record since he was elected to Congress in 1998 shows that he has tried to create an array of special loopholes for his top contributors, whose interests range from air fresheners to fraternity housing to beer.
Take S.C. Johnson & Son, one of Ryan’s biggest donors. The multibillion-dollar company, which is based in Ryan’s district and manufactures popular cleaning products like Pledge and Windex, donated $41,092 to the congressman between 1998 and 2012, according to OpenSecrets.org.
Ryan introduced two bills in May 2005 that would have granted the company special exemptions from tariffs. Specifically, his bills sought to suspend duties for imported components of “unique air freshener products … assembled by S.C. Johnson in the United States,” Ryan said during floor remarks at the time. Neither bill advanced.
A year later, Ryan put forward another bill to reduce the duty on S.C. Johnson cleaning appliances “capable of dispensing cleaning solution into a tub or shower enclosure using a button-activated, battery-powered piston pump controlled by a microchip.” That bill didn’t move.
The Wisconsin Republican has also pushed legislation that would have created tax loopholes for fraternity and sorority housing. Ryan himself was a member of Delta Tau Delta and, in 2004, received the fraternity’s alumni achievement award. A year later, Fraternity & Sorority PAC began giving donations to Ryan that, by 2010, totaled $24,500, according to OpenSecrets.org.
During those same years, Ryan sponsored or cosponsored three bills that would have allowed college fraternities and sororities to accept tax-deductible charitable contributions for the construction of more housing. None of the bills became law.
Ryan has also backed numerous tax loopholes for the beer industry. The National Wholesalers Association, his second biggest contributor, gave him more than $72,000 between 1998 and 2010, according to OpenSecrets.org.
During those years, Ryan cosponsored five bills to cut taxes for beer brewers, reduce beer taxes to pre-1991 levels and repeal occupational taxes relating to distilled spirits, wine and beer. None became law.
The list goes on: In 1999, the congressman tried to give a tax break to a group the Los Angeles Times referred to as “the golf-course underprivileged.” That year, he cosponsored the Caddie Relief Act, which would have allowed golf caddies to forgo paying taxes on their earnings.
Ryan has also opposed efforts to close offshore tax loopholes. He voted against an amendment in 2006 that would have barred funding for contracts with U.S. companies incorporated offshore to avoid paying U.S. taxes. In 2004, he opposed an amendment that would have prohibited the Export-Import Bank from approving direct loans to U.S. companies incorporated offshore to avoid U.S. taxes.
Ryan spokesman Kevin Seifert said the lawmaker’s record is consistent when it comes to special interest tax breaks.
“Paul Ryan believes the tax code is fundamentally broken — imposing burdens on small businesses and working families and creating barriers to job creation,” Seifert said. “He has proposed specific solutions that eliminate or scale back all special interest tax breaks while advancing pro-growth reforms to help get America back to work.”-source, huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/22
DCSCA (9d1bb3) — 8/22/2011 @ 10:34 pmLinking to Huffpo?
Piss off.
You reactionary leftys want us to return to the 1930S soviet union.
DohBiden (d54602) — 8/22/2011 @ 10:51 pm48., 50., 53. Ryan, as reported by Costa, via Hot Air makes my point for me: He wasn’t “prepared to play catch up”; while he has a PAC it is nowhere as lucrative as DeMint’s for one; he doesn’t even raise the Senate prospect but prefers to think in terms of carrying the fight from the House, rising up the ladder to Ways and Means chair; he never changed his earlier disposition against but merely extended a courtesy to “supporters” in weighing their opinions.
May I repeat, he is “not ready for a run at POTUS”? Your points measure a record, not a man.
gary gulrud (790d43) — 8/22/2011 @ 10:54 pm@ Aaron (#94): You’re being typically generous. I ought to have started by saying that we agree, as a premise, that executive-type experience is important for presidential candidates.
My argument is really that Ryan’s exercise of leadership in the House — a performance which I can’t recall seeing matched by any other member of the House of Representatives in a long, long time, probably going back at least to Jack Kemp (a Ryan mentor) — ought to be another acceptable proxy from which to draw confident inferences about his ability to perform as POTUS.
I was actually working on a variation or expansion of that argument this afternoon, one based on a distinction between those “party leaders” in Congress who are merely exercising a spokesperson/whip role (i.e., speaking for the caucus, enforcing party discipline) and those whose leadership consists of substantive contributions in the form of concrete legislation on the most difficult and important national policy issues. Because Ryan’s crafting of the Plan to Prosperity — and then his efforts to educate and persuade almost all of his fellow GOP members of the House, and all but a few GOP senators, too, regarding its merits — seem to me to be exactly the sort of leadership that can also be shown by a president. I think a powerful case can be made that as a consequence of the 2010 election, since January 2011 Ryan has already been influencing events in Washington more powerfully even than Obama. He’s a “big ideas” guy, as well as an incredible wonk on all the implementing details.
So: I’m arguing that Ryan is a worthy exception to the general principles that correctly cause us both to value executive experience. And I ought not be fussy, or snippy, when asked to justify and establish the exception.
Beldar (485693) — 8/22/2011 @ 11:01 pm95. “Ryan had hoped that Indiana governor Mitch Daniels would run.”
Again apropos of measuring the man, go check the tape, I told you all Daniels would not run precisely for the reason he ended in giving, his wife. The response was identical, non sequitur.
Ryan is ready for national debate on one important subject, the deficit and debt. He has neither the confidence nor prior trial by fire on a multitude of other pertinent issues.
gary gulrud (790d43) — 8/22/2011 @ 11:12 pmThe “one important subject” in the national debate is to go face to face with Obama, be the better of the two, and watch Obama lose his cool. I don’t know anyone other than Ryan who has demonstrated an ability to do this.
I’m thinking the repubs don’t need a candidate who eventually wins the nomination through a hard fought primary campaign, but a candidate who captures the imagination and enthusiasm of the majority of the Repubs and conservative independents. I’m not sure who that will be.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 8/23/2011 @ 12:07 amMr. Governor Perry’s just going to have to do I think
happyfeet (3c92a1) — 8/23/2011 @ 12:40 amRyan would have zero Tea Party support and he knows this. He keeps blowing the big calls. TARP I and II, auto company bailouts, the Continuing Resolution punt this spring and the Debt Ceiling debacle earlier this month. Sure he has a nice plan but his votes, when they count, miss the mark by a mile.
quiznilo (6151d2) — 8/23/2011 @ 1:20 amI am hoping Ryan for VP. Perry/Ryan 2012 or Rubio
Texas Mom 2012 (cee89f) — 8/23/2011 @ 4:38 amMr Perry will do nicely feet.
Obama v Bush III
Lovin it!
Spartacvs (339fc1) — 8/23/2011 @ 5:16 amSporty’s idiocy never sleeps.
Daily integrity check, spartacvs. What are all the names you have commented under?
JD (822109) — 8/23/2011 @ 5:25 amA new day dawns and
elissa (4f267c) — 8/23/2011 @ 5:26 amlike irritating rooster
Sparty wakes up, crows
A new day dawns and
like irritating rooster
Sparty wakes up, crows
Comment by elissa
Truly inspired.
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 8/23/2011 @ 5:35 amColonel will have to stay on his toes.
pink slip to Spurty
elissa (4f267c) — 8/23/2011 @ 5:36 amin the mail. Soros lose
shirt. Thanks Obama!
Spvrty, I would like to feel your pain, but I can’t.
I’m just not that stupid.
daleyrocks (bf33e9) — 8/23/2011 @ 5:37 amThank you MD but–
Colonel need not fear.
elissa (4f267c) — 8/23/2011 @ 5:43 amHe Academy Award
winner for haiku
Spurty acts so snide
Simon Jester (b6f1be) — 8/23/2011 @ 5:49 amHiding his twenty twelve fears
A partisan hack
for words that describe
ColonelHaiku (8211ab) — 8/23/2011 @ 5:49 amstupidicvs maximvs
good people dig deep
No one told me this,
MD in Philly (3d3f72) — 8/23/2011 @ 5:55 ambut appears that today it
Haiku tuesday is.
Beldar
I can’t help but feel that you need more than just leadership to be a good president, although Obama lacks that as well. Managing people takes more than that, imho.
With the usual caveat that it would be almost impossible for ryan to be worse at this than Obama.
Here’s hoping that the next admin listens to him a lot, though. I do really like the guy, just not as President.
Aaron Worthing (73a7ea) — 8/23/2011 @ 6:28 am102. Doubtless their are other important subjects, e.g., tax reform, Ryan has thought deeply about and is fully prepared to address.
Not his fault that he’s gotten national exposure only on battles with Urkel the Media hopes are to their advantage.
gary gulrud (790d43) — 8/23/2011 @ 6:52 amBrilliant strategy, he’ll go far:
http://althouse.blogspot.com/2011/08/jon-huntsman-has-anti-gop-approach.html
ian cormac (0bd903) — 8/23/2011 @ 7:46 amYou regressives are so evil.
DohBiden (d54602) — 8/23/2011 @ 8:05 am@ quiznilo (#104): Your comment that Ryan “would have zero Tea Party support” is demonstrably false. Were it a serious enough assertion to deserve 30 seconds of my effort, I could find you dozens of links of various Tea Party-related individuals and aggregations — for, of course, there is no party apparatus and there are no official Tea Party leaders, whatever you think you may be — urging Ryan to run and pledging their support. So “zero” is so untrue and so obvious as to be a lie, or morally equivalent to a lie, on your part.
Only the self-deluded, the insane, and those who skipped high school civics can rationally expect perfect ideological purity in a voting record. Yes, Ryan voted for TARP. So, too, did a great many other Republicans who concluded that as awful a choice as that was, all of the alternatives were worse. You haven’t even tried — and I respectfully submit, you couldn’t, even if you did try — to demonstrate that America would have been better off enduring the 1929-style financial collapse that TARP at least temporarily forestalled. If that’s your reason for refusing to support Ryan, you’re of course entitled to it. But you’ve not persuaded me nor, indeed, made an argument that I can even respect.
Beldar (485693) — 8/23/2011 @ 2:17 pm@ Aaron (#116): I don’t understand, frankly, what “manag[ing] people” skills you think Ryan hasn’t demonstrated.
“Managing people” is the art of eliciting from others their best performances in a common endeavor. I can’t think of a better example of that on the national stage than what Paul Ryan, having first devised and written the Path to Prosperity, then proceeded to do to sell it to the herd of cats we call Republican Reps and Senators.
If your concept of management simply can’t be satisfied by anything anyone does while beneath the Capitol Dome, I think it’s an unduly restrictive definition.
Beldar (485693) — 8/23/2011 @ 2:21 pmIf you meant “management” in the business-school sense — e.g., giving directives and setting policy for each branch of an organizational chart (like the one which describes the executive branch of the federal government), I respectfully submit that Ryan’s budget also proves he can do that. I don’t think that’s what you mean, though, since you referred to “managing people.”
I would concede that Ryan hasn’t had a position of command beyond that of his own congressional staff: he hasn’t had a job from which people jumped high in the air just because he said “Frog!”
But I’m pretty sure that Paul Ryan could figure out how to say “Frog!” when those under his command might need to jump. Heck, for all the problems Obama has had, tamping down insubordination from those he commands in the executive departments or the military has not been his problem.
And I think the awesome responsibilities Ryan has undertaken, and discharged brilliantly and faithfully, are good grounds to trust his judgment on the sorts of issues on which a POTUS must be a commander, not just a manager.
Beldar (485693) — 8/23/2011 @ 2:30 pm(Obviously these are moot points for the foreseeable future, so if you’re disinclined to continue the discussion right now, I’ll take no offense at all. I’m mostly still venting my grumpiness from yesterday.)
Beldar (485693) — 8/23/2011 @ 2:31 pm🙄 SpartacBS is on booze.
DohBiden (d54602) — 8/23/2011 @ 2:44 pmBeldar as always is a commendably civil and intelligent correspondent, a model for the rest of us.
Regardless of which points we might agree or disagree on (I’m not even sure of that scoreboard really), Beldar is consistently sane, well-spoken and thoughtful, it is always a pleasure to hear his thoughts.
Just thought I’d point that out.
d. in c. (cae88c) — 8/23/2011 @ 10:46 pm