Comedian Andy Borowitz joked on Lawrence O'Donnell's show last night that Paul Ryan has replaced Sarah Palin as the dumbest veep pick ever, although Borowitz wasn't laughing. I doubt anyone in the audience was, either, because Borowitz's joke was actually a vivid, irrefutable political assessment.
Still, it's funny as hell; funny in a baffling, mind-boggling, Romney-must-be-joking sort of way. This clown made how many millions in high finance? Just goes to show you: If you start with enough advantages, you can't possibly lose them all. Thus even the dumbest of the rich just keep getting richer.
But back to Ryan. The only potentially admissible argument for Romney's choosing this Randian twirp was that he shored up the base. Yet Ryan is synonymous with the extermination of Medicare, and, according to a Kaiser Health Tracking Poll of this year, 53 percent of Republicans "say they would prefer to keep Medicare as currently structured, rather than move toward a defined contribution model that offers the choice between traditional Medicare or a private plan."
So Romney's singular argument for Ryan is rendered not merely pointless but counterproductive, leaving embarrassingly laughable justifications to be made only by the likes of the Weekly Standard. How laughable? "Having won over the crowd with pleasantries, Ryan imperceptibly worked his speech to a crescendo" as the "famous wonk wisely ... made a series of moral arguments." Jesus! Pass the insulin.
It is conventionally observed, and I've observed it myself, that veep picks, since Lyndon Johnson, haven't amounted electorally to a warm bucket of spit. Well, there's one convention that's dead--done plugged by the unsteady hand of the magnificently witless Mitt Romney.
Lawrence O'Donnell said the other night that not only is Paul Ryan the latest vice presidential pick who will never be president, but that Mitt Romney has effectively ended Paul Ryan's political career. One can only hope.
Posted by: AnneJ | August 15, 2012 at 12:35 PM
Doesn't this strike you as odd? Step by fatal step Romney is setting up the Republicans for a crushing defeat. Having assured his own loss some time ago, he is now working down ticket through the Ryan choice, to inflict as much damage on the electoral prospects of his party as is humanly possible. All the while convincing the tea party loonies that he has done them a favor. I see only two possible reasons for this. The first is that he is determined to take down the bastards who took him down by dragging him so far out to sea that he couldn't swim back again. And the second is that he has nobly decided to fall on his sword on behalf of the American people by hastening the collapse of his party in the hopes of a swifter rebirth. Given all that we know of Romney, I'm going with option one.
Posted by: Peter G | August 15, 2012 at 12:40 PM
I will flog this dead horse once again.
According to numerous, presumably unbiased reports, many or or morelikely most of GOP candidates running for reelection assume the "Ryan plan" as pure poison - even though they voted for the Republican (Ryan) plan twice. Why would someone vote twice for something they know is poison? One must assume that these people voted for the Republican Plan because: (a) they were forced to; (b) they thought they could slip it by the electorate unnoticed; or (c) BOTH. I'm betting both.
Add in that there is a civil war brewing in the party between Conservative (Tea Party/Club for Growth/corporatist) Republicans and Establishment (electable outside the south/mountain states) Republicans. So, who is controlling the shots in the GOP? See "Americans United" and Super PACs. These guys hane not targeted nearly as many Democrats as they have Establishment Republicans. Richard Lugar for God's sake.
As you point out, Romney is not stupid in terms of business or politics or even "walking around sense". I have no doubt that he would absolutely love to install the Republican Plan. I also have no doubt that he knows he is trying to jump the shark. so, he is no true believer who thinks he can sell this.
so, why did he do it? It must be; (a) he was forced to; (b) it's a cynical, passive-aggressive means of rubbing the Conservative Republicans' noses in it; or (c) BOTH. I'm betting both.
Posted by: Robert Lipscomb | August 15, 2012 at 12:44 PM
For some reason, my utter certitude that Obama has this in the bag (barring an external shock) is shaken this week. It should be stronger than ever with the addition of electoral cyanide to the ticket as VP. But:
The GOP seems to have their lying-their-asses-off mojo back. They came out so fast and hard with the $716 billion Medicare lie that it's not being effectively knocked down from what I can tell. And they're going full speed ahead with the race-baiting welfare lie - the news media spent an hour or so saying it wasn't true and then moved on, but the GOP never did.
The PA court refused to enjoin the repellant voter law. The number of voters potentially barred from casting their ballots thanks to this law exceed Obama's 2008 margin.
I dunno. After 2004, I have trouble staying confident in this country's ability to see reason. Someone talk me down, please.
Posted by: Turgidson | August 15, 2012 at 12:52 PM