Archive for Paul Ryan

What’s the matter with Wisconsin… Republicans?

what's the matter with wisconsin

There’s a new Marquette University Law School poll that is mind-boggling, unless Republican amnesia is behind the responses, in which case it makes total sense.

The Journal Times is reporting that part of that stellar GOP ticket that lost to President Obama in a landslide is now  leading the field for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination in Wisconsin. To add insult to injury, Gov. Scott Walker came in third. Hillary Clinton was the Dem fave, with V.P. Biden coming in second:

27 percent of Wisconsin Republican voters and independents who lean Republican support Ryan, while 21 percent support Florida Sen. Marco Rubio. Walker received support from 16 percent.

This would be the same Paul Ryan who decided not to decide” whether or not to run for president in 2016.

This would be the same Paul Ryan who continues to use the derogatory “anchor babies” term.

The same Paul Ryan who cosponsored another fetal personhood bill. Which was after he and his former BFF Todd Akin co-sponsored their own personhood bill.

The same Paul Ryan who only last month had only a 35% approval rating among all likely U.S. voters, down 15 points from 50% in August just after Mitt Romney chose him as his running mate.

The same Paul Ryan who still wants to kill Medicare and whose “LaLaLand fantasy budget” was a laughingstock, because it catered to the same 1% that his old “Kill Medicare” did, yet said explaining his tax plan math was too time-consuming.

The same Paul Ryan who said, “We’re not going to give up on destroying the health care system…”

The same Paul Ryan who said that he thinks he can get Obamacare repealed. After 37 times, you’d think he’d finally realize that it just ain’t gonna happen.

The same Paul Ryan who refused to answer any questions.

The same Paul Ryan who “may have improperly used funds raised for his re-election effort in Wisconsin.

The same Paul Ryan who showed up all over “Rape Pregnancy Is Something God Intended” Mourdock’s Facebook page.

The same Paul Ryan whose hypocritical stimulus funding story makes front pages of most WI papers.

The same Paul Ryan who walked out on a local reporter for pressing him on taxes.

The same Paul Ryan who opposed the First-Responders Bill.

The same Paul Ryan who out and out lies.

And who can forget his “phoniest piece of baloney” photo op at a soup kitchen?

What’s the matter with Wisconsin?

paul ryan cartoon pumping ayn weightsVia.

GOP Rep. Pete Sessions: Romney was “like a kid” who couldn’t explain his science project, needed “Dad” Paul Ryan

romney science project

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-MomentarilySane) of Texas and chairman of the House Rules Committee doesn’t see any reason for his party to reinvent themselves. No, instead he blames the inferior candidates who were “lazy, undisciplined, didn’t know what they were talking about, and shot their mouth off.”  Think: Todd “legitimate rape” Akin.

And furthermore and even more to the point, think: Poster boy for inferior candidates, Willard M. Romney. Here’s how Pete Sessions described his presidential run in a D Magazine interview:

Mitt Romney appeared like a kid who showed up for his science project and the teacher said, ‘Explain it,’ and Mitt couldn’t do it,” Sessions said. “His ‘dad,’ Paul Ryan, explained it to him, but Mitt didn’t get it. … That’s why we lost the last election.”

ouch smallerSpeaking of science (or in the case of the GOP, science fiction) projects, his candidacy was the perfect example of one that exploded imploded, leaving a mess o’ rubble strewn all over what’s left of the Republican Laboratory for Mad (Anti) Scientists.

VIDEO– Paul Ryan’s version of “outreach”: Using the derogatory “anchor babies” term– again

Paul Ryan anchor babies 1
Anchor-Babies-what-now-301

Hey Paul Ryan, how’s that GOP reachy-outy, makeovery, reinventiony thing workin’ for ya?

Apparently, it’s not. At a town hall meeting in Burlington, Wisconsin, while he was pushing his idea of a House immigration reform bill, he used the offensive term “anchor babies.” Classy, Paul, classy. You know who else uses that one? Michele Bachmann, for one.

What next, “wetback”?

As Think Progress notes, that little “anchor baby” slur is used to describe American-born children of undocumented immigrants, who, by the way, are citizens under the 14th Amendment.

In 2012, Ryan got an earful for dropping the “A.B.” term:

Oops! He did it again:

Paul Ryan:

To the anchor baby issue– That’s what they call it, anchor babies. It’s a person who comes and has a child here, if you’re born here you’re a naturalized citizen. You have to change the Constitution. There’s a little bit of legal debate about whether you have to or not. I think it comes down fairly clearly that you have to change the Constitution to change the definition of citizenship to not being born here, right? Or being born with legal parents. That will take a long, long time, years …

But it’s really treating a symptom, right. People are coming across the border illegally, or overstaying their visas. And therefore illegal immigration is fairly easy, and then people are having what’s called anchor babies.

Note to Paul about his “legal parents” moment. People are not legal or illegal. Their actions are, but they are not. They are people, not “illegals” or “legals.”

They. Are. People.

paul ryan anchor babies 2 racist manner

So much for all that New and Improved Republican Outreach.

outreach my ass reach out inclusive

Reince Priebus confirms GOP’s not really serious about reinventing itself; Paul Ryan aids and abets

omg you are hilarious laugh joke

Reince Priebus, or as Garry Trudeau likes to call him, “Prieb-Dawg,” doesn’t seem to realize why his party lost in November. Did he not read his own autopsy report?

(CNN)“Let me make crystal clear something I’ve said since January,” RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said in a speech before the vote on the resolutions. “While we have to do things differently, there’s one thing that can’t and won’t change: our principles. … [A]s long as I’m Chairman, we’ll stay true to them. Some would have us turn into Democrats-lite, but I refuse.”

Attaboy, Reince! Status quo! Status quo!

Time to haul out the ol’ images again:

outreach my ass reach out inclusiveextreme makeover my ass

Wait. It gets funnier:

“For the GOP to appeal to younger voters, we do not have to agree on every issue, but we do need to make sure young people do not see the Party as totally intolerant of alternative points of view,” the five members of the task force wrote in the report titled the Growth and Opportunity Project.

No, they wouldn’t want youth voters to see the Party as “totally” intolerant… just partially intolerant. Check.

They may want to look up the definitions of “growth” and “opportunity” while they’re at it.

Already, there is a generational difference within the conservative movement about issues involving the treatment and the rights of gaysIf our Party is not welcoming and inclusive, young people and increasingly other voters will continue to tune us out.”

Why, whoever would want to tune out a party that tunes out so many whoevers?

Here’s the punch line: The Republican National Committee approved two resolutions today re-affirming the party’s position on marriage. It’s apparently very important for them to make sure we all know that, to them, marriage is still a “union of one man and one woman,” dammit. Not two men and one woman, or two women and one man, or three men and three men, or one woman and one woman, or… Well, you get the idea….

… all while they’re being “welcoming and inclusive.” Check. 

They probably missed this headline: Poll: Latinos move in favor of gay marriage.

And this one: Poll: Women outpace men in support for stricter gun laws, immigration reform.

Oops.

but wait there's more

Speaking of women, here’s where Paul Ryan comes in. He spoke at the Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List gala.

Via The Hill:

Our critics say we should abandon our pro-life beliefs. But that would only demoralize our voters,” Ryan said. “It’s an odd strategy, I think: the cynical ploy followed by the thumping defeat.”

Ryan opposes abortion rights, except when the woman’s life is in danger.

“Except when the woman’s life is in danger” must have come after he cosponsored another fetal personhood bill. Which was after he and his former BFF Todd Akin co-sponsored their own personhood bill. But remember, there’s no War on Women.

 

Ryan added, “Our task isn’t to purge our ranks. It’s to grow them.”

 

Isn’t hypocrisy entertaining?

 

You can stop laughing now. On second thought, don’t.

Poll-itics– Paul Ryan in one word: Thud.

ouchThis is what happens when you are tone deaf, when you keep returning to the same failed policies, and when voters are on to you. Take a look at how Paul Ryan, Boy Wonder, is viewed these days. Keep in mind, this comes from Rasmussen, a right-leaning pollster:

Even Republicans have a lower opinion these days of Congressman Paul Ryan [...]

[J]ust 35% of all Likely U.S. Voters now view Ryan favorably. That’s down 15 points from 50% in August just after Mitt Romney chose him as his running mate.

Fifty-four percent (54%) have an unfavorable opinion of the Wisconsin congressman.

Paul Ryan

It gets worse. 23% gave him a Very Unfavorable.

rock bottom2

That sound you hear is a stunned Paul Ryan dropping his weights.

thud nancy and sluggo

Video- Real Time: Bill Maher & Rachel Maddow vs GOP Panelist Over Paul Ryan Budget 3/15/13

I think we need Rachel and Jared on ALL the talk shows, every week.

Via.

Shorter GOP: “We’re not gonna help the poor, ever.”

gop screw the people me me me

Today’s column by David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times reminds us what the Affordable Care Act has done to date:

• Created a system to extend coverage to about 30 million of the roughly 50 million people in this country now without insurance.

• Provided coverage to about 2.5 million young people who are able to remain on their parents’ insurance policies until age 26.

• Laid the groundwork for preventing insurers from denying coverage to people with preexisting medical conditions or from canceling people’s policies after they get sick.

• Set in motion an overhaul of insurance reimbursements to reward doctors for keeping people healthy rather than profiting only when people require costly tests or hospitalization.

Wow, that sucks, doesn’t it? And by sucks, I mean improves our health care access and coverage. Of course, single payer would be way more preferable, but unfortunately, that’s not going to happen any time soon. But we should keep pushing for it, hard.

Of course, Paul Ryan’s Kill Medicare Plan calls for vouchers, which “would create an incentive for private insurers to cherry pick healthier people by offering them cheaper insurance.”

Then government-run plans would see costs drastically increase because of the “greater risk posed by remaining beneficiaries.” Vouchers wouldn’t cover rising premium costs, and the sick and elderly wouldn’t be able to afford proper care.

Those compassionate Republicans and their fresh, new, innovative ways, always looking out for the little guy.

golden rule comic stick figures

Lazarus:

Not only would the Republican budget plan take away all these advances, but it would also drastically cut spending for Medicaid, the insurance program for low-income people. The Urban Institute estimated last year that the GOP‘s approach could reduce Medicaid enrollment by half. [...]

Republican lawmakers should think about expanding the Medicare system, not shrinking it. Or do they think it’s just a quirk of being French or British or Swedish that allows these people to spend less on healthcare but to enjoy longer life spans than average Americans?

tweet anomaly Nikki HaleyLink