Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Never entrust democracy to any process that requires republicans to act in good faith.

The gop is a fucking disgrace.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

“But what about the lurkers?”

Biden: Oh no. We’ve upset Big Pharma again.

Glad to see john eastman going through some things.

When we show up, we win.

There are consequences to being an arrogant, sullen prick.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Days Since JD Vance Insulted Women Across America: Zero

The choice is between normal and crazy.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

… pundit janitors mopping up after the gop

In short, I come down firmly on all sides of the issue.

Let the trolls come, and then ignore them. that’s the worst thing you can do to a troll.

Tide comes in. Tide goes out. You can’t explain that.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

He seems like a smart guy, but JFC, what a dick!

Pelosi: “He either is stupid, or he thinks the rest of us are.” Why not both?

Too often we hand the biggest microphones to the cynics and the critics who delight in declaring failure.

This country desperately needs a functioning Fourth Estate.

You are here: Home / Elections / Election 2012 / Looks like Mittens will announce his pick in the morning

Looks like Mittens will announce his pick in the morning

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<a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/59124558@N06/7710839866/” title=”Romney Pawlenty by dengre.bj, on Flickr”><img src=”http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7275/7710839866_130fbebb39.jpg” width=”500″ height=”375″ alt=”Romney Pawlenty”></a>

I guess we’ll know who’s under the bag in just a few hours…

How about more speculation, rumors  and another open thread.

Cheers

Reader Interactions

281Comments

  5. 5.

    Rhoda

    What I love about this; it opens up the entire Medicare debate as the lead into the Republican convention.

    LMAO

    From Bain to Vouchercare…that is great.

  6. 6.

    ExurbanMom

    Heh, indeedy. How much of a diss would it be to Ryan if he announced aboard the USS Wisconsin that he’d chosen someone else? I mean, we know this campaign is stupid, but they would be vying for worst of all time status if they did that, wouldn’t they?

    Geez louise.

  8. 8.

    Martin

    I think he’s going to pick a Hamilton Beach Waffle Iron. It’s the only candidate that wouldn’t overshadow his personality.

  10. 10.

    feebog

    I’m sticking with Rex the Wonder Dog. He can ride in his own carrier on the top of the bus all the way to Tampa.

  11. 11.

    HOYA

    This is poor timing. The Olympics is going to step all over his newscycle. Why not wait until Monday at 9am? Is this solely to hit the sunday shows?

  13. 13.

    Dennis G.

    I saw this tweet:

    Romney campaign bus spotted en route to VA from WI with Paul Ryan strapped to the top #RomneyVP

    So I guess it must be Ryan…

  14. 14.

    Baud

    If Romney does pick Ryan, the more interesting question will be when Romney will drop Ryan for getting more attention than he is.

  15. 15.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @HOYA:

    But think of the opportunities for a new round of “McKayla is not impressed” Tumblr meme thingies.

  16. 16.

    sacrablue

    Romney has such high respect for the Olympics that he couldn’t wait to step all over the final days. His campaign must really be in panic mood. Keep calm and carry on, my ass.

  17. 17.

    Martin

    @HOYA: He needs the news cycle to change – badly. Polls are killing him. The ads are killing him. The tax return thing isn’t going away. It’s stupid to not wait 3 days, but then Romney keeps digging this hole deeper – touting Romneycare, requesting this truce.

    Someone in the campaign decided to yank on the reserve chute handle, but I don’t think that one is going to deploy either.

  18. 18.

    burnspbesq

    It’s going to be Ryan.

    Jack Ryan.

    And Romney will try to screw Tom Clancy on royalties. Cuz that’s how he rolls.

  19. 19.

    Mister Papercut

    @ExurbanMom:

    How much of a diss would it be to Ryan if he announced aboard the USS Wisconsin that he’d chosen someone else?

    I say it’s McDonnell. Announcing in Norfolk, which is Governor Vaginal Probe’s home area.

    And among about a hundred other reasons, McDonnell’s a lame duck, while they need Ryan where he is. Those Baby Boomers coming of grandma-age aren’t going to starve themselves.

  22. 22.

    Tom Q

    OK, can this mean anything else besides “We just had a horrible day/week/month, and the only way to stop the bleeding is to play our last high card”? Usually, campaigns wait till MUCH closer to the convention to announce this.

  25. 25.

    HOYA

    I think Ryan is a bad idea. Joe Biden, for all his faults, is really strong on delivering middle class economic messages. If he is able to frame Ryan as the bean counter trying to take Grandma’s heart medicine away, they are toast.

  26. 26.

    MikeBoyScout

    Somebody had better check Slick Willard’s diaper. The tweeter machine seems to say he made a boom-boom in his striped pants.

  28. 28.

    Quarks

    I don’t think this is going to go very well for Ryan. Either way.

    I’m surprisingly ok with that.

  30. 30.

    butler

    For what its worth, Ryan has surged 250% on Intrade today, and the contract is currently at 75% probability.

    Of course, in subjective things Intrade can be way off, like it was with SCOTUS and the Individual mandate. It also totally missed predicting Palin. It does a lot better when there’s actual data to back up people’s predictions.

    ETA: In the 3 minutes since I posted this he’s now up to 89%.

  34. 34.

    MoeLarryAndJesus

    Maybe it’s Brett Favre.

    How funny would that be?

    After a car accident Favre once had 30 inches of his small intestine removed, and that’s more guts than Romney has ever had.

  35. 35.

    Rhoda

    So, Romney announces Ryan tomorrow as Olympics wind down, closing ceremony on Sunday, and the President starts his bus trip on Monday with a full two days to plan out an attack and hit the new ticket while he goes through the swing state of Iowa.

    NOW they have not only Bain and Taxes…but Medicare issues to face if it’s Ryan. And I think it’s Ryan; I’m pretty sure the right bitchslapped Mittens into making the insane choice.

    YEAH Bill Kristol…God bless you’re sad and pathetic skills at picking VPs. From Quayle, to Palin, to Ryan (if true, is soooo goood, lol).

    I’m in too good a mood for the day I had. Another thing to thank that jackass for if true.

  37. 37.

    Valdivia

    I remember last time with Biden people knew before the campaign announced because of the Secret Service coming to his house. I wonder if we will hear before tomorrow.

  39. 39.

    Quarks

    Even aside from the combined competition of the Olympics and the PGA Championship (the second distracting Romney’s base) does anyone ever deliver good political news on a Saturday morning? Is the timing meant to ensure that nobody will be bothering to check much about the pick until Monday?

    Or is the timing just revenge against the Olympics because his horse lost?

  40. 40.

    Dennis G.

    Mitt’s crackerjack team behind his #Romneyshambles campaign have timed this announce to achieve minimum attention. One wonders what other surprising fuck-ups they bring to the party over the next few weeks.

    August is a little early for the Hail Mary pass, but when you’re panic I guess you do these kind of things.

  47. 47.

    Ira-NY

    Why tomorrow? It makes no sense.

    Saturday morning in August with many on vacation or just hanging on a late summer weekend, Olympics finishing up and Tiiger battling for a major – crazy ass!

  48. 48.

    amk

    So, this will be the first time where both the prez/veep tickets will come from states that they will lose to the opposition ?

  50. 50.

    Cassidy

    @Ira-NY:

    “Okay guys, we got to think outside a box and start being unpredictable”

    I’m pretty sure that’s how the conversation went.

  53. 53.

    patrick II

    I just watched the local news here in Virginia Beach and they are speculating it is McDonnell, who is supposed to be with Mitt on the podium.

  55. 55.

    Mister Papercut

    @butler:

    @Mister Papercut: I hope you are wrong but I think that’s a good prediction.

    I don’t get paid the big bucks, but that’s the way I would have gone. If I were looking to shore up the Southern fundie vote, I don’t see a down side of taking a governor of a Southern state with relatively low unemployment, one with pro-life bona fides, a degree from Pat Robertson U., and will be termed out of his job a year after the general anyway.

    But what the fuck do I know, I only live here. *shrug*

  58. 58.

    Dennis G.

    @Baud: If it is Ryan, it is just more proof that Romney lacks any kind of backbone. The wingnut mob tells him to jump and he jumps.

    I suspect that his lack of courage–his wimp factor–will become a big deal in the Fall.

  60. 60.

    John O

    NBC Chicago reports it will be Ryan.

    Gonna be funny to watch the old-people vote when they realize what Ryan-Care means for them.

    But it’s hard to deny this will be the handsomest ticket ever.

    Please someone just kill me. Soon, and quick.

  61. 61.

    Redshift

    @Martin:

    Well, I’m sure there’s no USS Please Stop Hitting Me

    Or a USS Not In The Face. We’re gonna need a whole new branch of the fleet just to supply appropriate locations for Romney campaign announcements.

  63. 63.

    Mark S.

    Wow, I think Ryan might actually be a worse pick than Palin. He’s going to scare the shit out of a lot of old people, who are about the only people who vote Republican.

    This is pretty much Mitt fully embracing the Ryan budget. My god, the man’s an idiot.

  69. 69.

    Martin

    Man, Obama/Biden is gonna open a can of whoopass on Ryan. How many hours after the announcement before the first ad drops?

  70. 70.

    Gian

    not scott walker?
    ryan?
    paul ryan?

    really paul ryan?
    are any of the sandmen from the Logan’s Run TV show available?

  72. 72.

    Hill Dweller

    @HOYA:

    Ryan voted for TARP, the GM bailout and Medicare part D.

    Ryan also voted against Bowles-Simpson, taking that talking point away from the wingnuts.

  74. 74.

    Redshift

    @folkbum:

    Thought two: Paul Ryan is the ultimate professional moocher. He’s never held a private sector job in his whole adult life.

    I happened to be looking up Portman’s bio, and his only private-sector job was as a Washington lobbyist, right out of law school.

  76. 76.

    Surreal American

    @Gian:

    are any of the sandmen from the Logan’s Run TV show available?

    Hmph! Willard can most certainly afford the ones from the movie.

  77. 77.

    dance around in your bones

    Oh Gawd, who the fuck cares who his VP pick is? He’s gonna lose, and badly, too.

    Just my 2 cents.

  78. 78.

    butler

    @HOYA: Keep it down! There’s still time for Romney not to kill himself with this pick, don’t go giving him reasons to reconsider!

  79. 79.

    scav

    Ok, everyone’s gotten a little giddy. TPM has “The announcement will come at the beginning of his bus tour aboard the USS Wisconsin.” and I’m busy trying to either fit Mitten’s Tour Bus on the USS Wisconsin or get the USS Wisconsin on the Interstate with RommBott decals.

  80. 80.

    Baud

    I’m looking forward to the ceremonial throwing of the elderly off the deck of the warship tomorrow.

  82. 82.

    max

    @Mister Papercut: And among about a hundred other reasons, McDonnell’s a lame duck, while they need Ryan where he is.

    Yeah. Exciting is not Romney’s bag. And McConnell is a boring white guy all right.

    He’s trying to churn the cycle and get the hell well away from that tax question, and McDonnell would be a roll of the dice and betting on winning Virginia being enough to derail Obama. (I was seriously wondering about that – either a veep candidate sews up your base, or your veep candidate sews up a base, or occasionally, addresses an experience hole. Sewing up a state in the situation is gambling that the voter suppression laws can carry Pennsylbama and Ohio, maybe, that Wisconsin will drop because of Scott Walker, Michigan is still fond of Daddy Romney, and Florida has enough racist white people to carry the day.

    On the other hand, the TV just told me that NBC is saying it’s Paul Ryan. Which would mean *Romney* doesn’t think the R’s will turn out for the Mormon Robot.

    God really does love me.

    max
    [‘Alahu akbar!’]

  90. 90.

    butler

    NBC just preempted the Olympics here to say its Ryan.

    So far I’ve only seen this news from NBC sources. Has anyone else heard from others?

  95. 95.

    MikeBoyScout

    Well, it is really sweet of Mittens to provide us all a great amount of time before the convention to fully discredit who ever will be cursed to be Slick Willard’s #2.

    We can only hope he’s teed up Ryan for Krgthulu’s wheelhouse.

  98. 98.

    Hill Dweller

    Why would Willard, who has absolutely nothing to do with the military, announce his VP pick on a ship?

  99. 99.

    lacp

    I for one can’t wait for 8:45 on a Saturday morning to find out who Willard’s running mate is. The suspense is killing me.

  101. 101.

    HOYA

    Besides his medicare plan, has Ryan sponsored or written any other significant legislation that actually became law? Wikipedia doesn’t say.

  102. 102.

    Suffern Ace

    Good choice. He can explain how once they shut off social security, you too can have a 23 million IRA just like his boss. Tax free. Without mothballing any battleships. And a balanced budget, too.

  105. 105.

    shortstop

    Speak up, y’all. I can hardly hear you over the boisterous singing coming from the Pru five miles away!

  110. 110.

    Violet

    So NBC just broke into the news and Chuck Todd said they have from three sources that it’s Ryan.

  111. 111.

    Ash Can

    So Mitt’s going to announce his VP pick, who appears likely to be Paul Ryan, on a Saturday morning, in the middle of August, when a bunch of sports are happening on the TV and the entire fucking world is on vacation.

    I get the distinct impression that there really is a FSM, and s/he really does want to see this nation hang on and survive for a few more years.

  114. 114.

    mclaren

    Oh. My. God.

    This is soooooooooo awesome.

    It’s like watching a prizefighter stride into the ring and beat himself to a pulp. Wham! Uppercut to his own jaw. Slam! A crushing right hook to his own kidney. And he’s down! The crowd is on its feet and they’re roaring!

    This is just so insanely funny, I want to do that dance like Gene Kelly “Singing in the Rain.”

    This is almost as good as Nixon’s impeachment, or Reagan’s press conference in which he admitted “there was an arms for hostage deal…”

  115. 115.

    trollhattan

    NBC just interrupted the left coast Olympics to say it’s Ryan. Chuck Todd delivered the nooz, which is the only time Chuck Todd will make me happy.

    Willard-Zombie-Eyed Grannie Starver ’12!

  117. 117.

    HOYA

    I was always scared it would be Christie. Good attack dog, moderate enough, good relations with DC/NY media types.

  120. 120.

    jl

    One good thing, if the veep is a standard issue reactionary white man, Biden can let his inner arrogant jackass out as much as he wants, which I think will do some good during the veep debate, and general attack dogging.

  122. 122.

    amk

    amibinder tweet

    Tagg Romney told Pawlenty and Portman that they weren’t the pick. Romney delegated the calls!

    fucking coward as usual.

  123. 123.

    Spectre

    The contradictions have been heightened. Romney rather than defend against the narrative, has now chosen to run with Ayn Rand. Good. If there is to be a fight, let’s have one out in the open.

    LEAVE THESE REACTIONARIES IN THE DUSTBIN OF HISTORY!!!

    Shit just got real.

  126. 126.

    Violet

    Chuck Todd also said that a very high up source in the Romney campaign told them that Romney son Tag called Portman and T-Paw to tell them it wasn’t them. And then Andrea Mitchell completely botched the commentary on how T-Paw had suffered that kind of loss before, when he was passed over in favor of Palin. It was such an awful delivery, everyone watching the TV burst out laughing.

  129. 129.

    jl

    @Valdivia:

    Thanks for that tweet from chickenshit land. Informative.

    Dammit dammit dammit. I was going to remember to make a comment this morning that the correct term for Mitt is chickenshit douche. I determined this yesterday through Science.

    But I forgot. Now it looks like Friday night quarterbacking.

    Edit: should get a that clip of Clooney in Up in the Air, describing the type of boss who hires a firm to fire people, and make it spot about Mitt.

  130. 130.

    David Koch

    This pick shows Mitty’s internal polling was in the toilet.

    That he’s still pandering to the base at this late date screams DOOOOOM

  131. 131.

    Jennifer

    Ok, looking upthread, I see reports have leaked that it’s Ryan.

    We have a new campaign slogan!

    Gormless Motherfucker/Gormless Motherfucker ’12!

  132. 132.

    Comrade Carter

    Paul Ryan, he’s from here.

    Hahahahahahaha.

    Gotta laugh! Hahahahahahahaha!

    Down the drain!

  134. 134.

    MikeBoyScout

    Dateline USS WISCONSIN – You didn’t build this and we could never find the time nor the patriotism of the many thousands of men who have walked these decks before us. Also, too, I told you those Olympics would not be successful. Take that Mr. Leader of London.

  135. 135.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    As I said before, I was totally expecting weekend news-cycle timing on the veep pick. Bonus points for not even waiting for the Olympics to wind down.

    This gang is proving consistent in their sheer ineptitude.

  136. 136.

    Valdivia

    @jl:

    he didn’t even have the balls to make the call himself. I have no words.

    also–the joy it gives me that his stupid app was good for nothing! :)

  138. 138.

    BD of MN

    I heard T-Paw is going to be on two Sunday shows this week, may be interesting enough to watch the “always a bridesmaid”…

    nah… I’ll outsource that to Bobblespeak Translations like usual…

  140. 140.

    L. Ron Obama

    This whole time Romney has been swearing up and down that this election is a referendum on the incumbent, and by picking Ryan he’s made it a choice election. Chicago must be thrilled right now.

  142. 142.

    jl

    @Valdivia: If mine don’t ring true for you, I think other commenters here will be helpful wrt to ‘words’ you can use. We will need ‘words’ for Willard.

    What is the word for Willard?

  143. 143.

    cckids

    Funniest part today about Ryan getting the pick: Romney has added a line to his stump speech about how the Constitution should be changed so that a requirement to be President is to have worked “in the business world” for at least 3 years.

    Then there’s Ryan, whose business experience is . . . zero.

    The fail, it is unending.

  144. 144.

    David Koch

    Burns-y was right, there is a God.

    This makes Ryan the front runner for 2016. Hillary is gonna win 45 states.

  145. 145.

    Alison

    I would pay money for MSNBC or wherever to get Krugman and Charles Pierce to do joint commentary/heads asplodin’ on the teevee tomorrow.

  146. 146.

    The Thin Black Duke

    Romney/Ryan 2012?

    O.K., let me get this straight: one guy shuts down companies, fires everybody and takes away their pensions and health insurance. The other guy wants to kill Medicare and Social Security.

    And this is who the GOP imagines can win back the White House.

    I think the last sane Republican in America just cut his throat.

  147. 147.

    mclaren

    @Hill Dweller:

    Why would Willard, who has absolutely nothing to do with the military, announce his VP pick on a ship?

    To make sure there are no lampposts for the other GOP stalwarts to hang him from. Duh!

  151. 151.

    Baud

    @Hill Dweller:

    Why would Willard, who has absolutely nothing to do with the military, announce his VP pick on a ship?

    Three to one, the ship starts drifting away from the dock during the announcement.

  153. 153.

    arguingwithsignposts

    Just so we’re clear, NBC didn’t “interrupt” the Olympics, which are over for the day.

  154. 154.

    amk

    frum tweets

    Hypothesis 1) Like many Republicans, Romney has been genuinely radicalized since 2008;

    Hypothesis 2) Romney camp’s internal polling shows he’s not holding GOP base;

    Hypothesis 3) The donors demanded it

    Hypothesis 4) Romney imagines that he can control Ryan better as VP than as de facto Speaker

    Hypothesis 5) Romney crumbles under pressure

    I say H5.

  155. 155.

    mclaren

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Yes! Yes! YES!

    Isn’t this AWESOME!

    It’s the Terminator and the H.R. Giger alien from the “Alien” movie running for office together! And asking them to vote for you! So they can rip you limb from limb and tear your face off! And implant eggs in your stomach that will explode out of your stomach while you scream in agony and die once they’re elected!

  157. 157.

    jl

    @The Thin Black Duke:

    Well, that’s brilliant counter-intuitive campaign strategy for you. Obama and Biden have been organizing campaign speeches around the very clear choice American has in this election between two completely different visions for our society. Why not walk right into that round house with a Ryan pick?

    I smell win. I like it.

  158. 158.

    Nellcote

    I thought he would pick Liz Cheney for her foreign policy cred.

    Isn’t Ryan going to look like Rmoney’s Mini-me?

  162. 162.

    GG

    Good grief.

    My actual thought is that IF it’s true he’s announcing now, regardless of who it is, it s indeed a Hail Mary. But it may be a Hail Mary to secure the nomination.

  164. 164.

    MoeLarryAndJesus

    Ryan?

    He might as well have picked the singer from the FreeCreditReport.com commercials.

  165. 165.

    David Koch

    Also too, this pick shows how desperate they were to change the headlines from the tax returns.

    The election will now be about the draconian Ryan plan to kill Medicare.

  166. 166.

    mclaren

    @amk:

    You forgot Hypothesis 6:

    Hypothesis 6): Freaking out at the prospect of watching his life-long dream of being elected to high office evaporate, Mitt Romney sits in his mansion and does massive quantities of LSD and shrooms. Then phones Paul Ryan, who is wacked out on percocet and ether.

    And when they get together it’s like that scene in the hotel room from Hunter Thompson’s FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS where Thompson’s coked-out lawyer waves a .357 magnum and shouts “There’s a giant metallic snake in the sky! I’m going to kill it!” And Thompson grabs the gun and says “Don’t be ridiculous. I want to study its habits first.”

  167. 167.

    dance around in your bones

    @jl:

    What is the word for Willard?

    Lord Willard of the Fail.

    Saint Willard the Doofus?

    Emperor Willard of the No Clothes.

    OMG! Willard is naked!

  168. 168.

    Mister Papercut

    @butler:

    Any word on whether or not Romney will be wearing a flight suit tomorrow?

    On a battleship?

    On second thought, it’s a given.

  169. 169.

    burnspbesq

    So Romney’s announcement steps on the pre-game for the Olympic men’s soccer final between Mexico and Brazil.

    Writing off the Hispanic vote, Governor?

    Any bets on whether Telemundo bothers to cover the event?

  170. 170.

    David Koch

    Seniors will be crawling across broken glass and hot coals to save Medicare from Ryan’s chainsaw

  172. 172.

    Sparrowgal

    “Mark my word guys, there will be another couple of polls next week that show something, potentially show something different,” said the senior adviser. “I don’t know. It’s just– it’s unlikely that–. People are not paying as much attention to this process as we think they are, as we’d like them to.”

    Unnamed “senior Romney advisor” is stumbling badly trying to gin up his own enthusiasm for the possibility of improved poll numbers next week.

    Romney camp: Polls can change ‘next week’

  174. 174.

    jl

    Before I go to sleep, looking forward to sweet (edit: but maybe grotesque fever, maybe political mayhem) dreams, I wish to harsh mellow a bit.

    If it’s Ryan, I guess this is good, because I do not see how Ryan is any good for a Romney campaign that is not in deep trouble.

    But, it is not good to have an election for national leadership with a chickenshit douche nonentity and a megalomaniac (Edit, and delusional, I forgot delusional, and stupid) sociopath on the ticket.

    If it’s Ryan we are talking a super high stakes election.

    We can only hope that Romney Ryan continue their cowarin’ and lyin’ all the way to a thrashing in November. Because the alternative is a true mess. We gotta be serious when we talk to undecided voters about this mess in the GOP.

    Edit: Brave Juicers, we must all pledge to work for the complete political destruction, the total obliteration, of a political party that can produce such a ticket. Sorry, Abe, breaks my heart. But the show’s over.

  176. 176.

    mclaren

    @David Koch:

    Seniors will be crawling across broken glass and hot coals to save Medicare from Ryan’s chainsaw

    Yeah, it’ll be like that scene in the 1958 Steve McQueen movie THE BLOB where the blob gets into a movie theater and everyone runs out screaming. Congressmen will be clawing and howling like animals to get away from Ryan and Romney. Republican senators may be trampled to death in the melee as they try to flee the debacle of Ryan and Romney.

  177. 177.

    arguingwithsignposts

    @jl:

    But, it is not good to have an election for national leadership with a chickenshit douche nonentity and a megalomaniac sociopath on the ticket.
    __
    If it’s Ryan we are talking a super high stakes election.

    Um, Bush/Cheney? McCain/Palin?

  178. 178.

    David Koch

    Back in December Mittens desperately tried to distance himself from the box office poison that is the Ryan plan.

    Now Ryan’s an anvil around his neck. Blup, blup, blup.

  180. 180.

    John O

    Romney is trying to shave his deficit among women. Repeating now: Handsomest ticket ever, plus (!) Whitest ticket ever.

    Hope this is fun, and I’m sure ol’ Joe will make a hash out of Ryan in the VP debate, but we live in a very superficial world.

    I’m still having a lot of trouble believing that we’ve even come to this point. Ayn Rand. Fantasy-fiction. Perfect heroes, morally superior.

    Seriously, a bullet to the head would be OK.

  181. 181.

    Violet

    @GG:

    IF it’s true he’s announcing now, regardless of who it is, it s indeed a Hail Mary. But it may be a Hail Mary to secure the nomination.

    Exactly. He’s on thin ice even to keep his shot at the nomination and he knows it. Picking Ryan helps him with the base. Or so he thinks. They may decide to dump him for Ryan.

  184. 184.

    David Koch

    @mclaren: that’s a very, very good point.

    Ryan heavily damages the down ticket ballot.

    Boehner is crying so hard his two coats of fake tan just washed off.

  185. 185.

    Violet

    @David Koch:

    Seniors will be crawling across broken glass and hot coals to save Medicare from Ryan’s chainsaw

    Does Ryan’s plan hurt current seniors? I thought it left them alone because they vote Republican and instead destroyed almost-seniors.

  186. 186.

    MikeJ

    Quinnipiac has Obama up 6 in Wisconsin, Marquette University Law School makes it 5. I don’t think there are enough people in Wisconsin that want to get rid of Ryan bad enough to vote for him for veep to overcome the odds.

  191. 191.

    freelancer

    So, Romney just cemented losing Florida and the Hispanic Vote. He needs to win the non-elderly, racist white male vote by pretty much 100% to do how well?

  193. 193.

    Jennifer

    Seriously, could there be a ticket that more perfectly crystallizes the GOP attitude towards anyone who’s not rich?

    For the top of the ticket, they’ve got a greedy, unethical and dishonest motherfucker who would unplug his own grandma from life support if it would keep another nickel in his pocket, a guy who raped viable businesses for personal profit, leaving behind empty husks and broken lives.

    And for Veep, they’ve got a guy who would make sure that the lives broken by the guy at the top of the ticket stay broken.

    Played correctly, this could spell disaster for Republicans downticket as well.

    The ads, they write themselves.

  194. 194.

    asiangrrlMN

    @Valdivia: As a woman, I agree with you, Valdivia. Both Romney and Ryan are deeply unattractive to me.

    I would, however, begrudgingly give Romney kudos if his pick turned out to be someone like Antonio Scalia instead of Ryan just because it would cause the Villagers’ heads to collectively explode.

  195. 195.

    Carl Nyberg

    I think Romney is a plant for the Democratic Party if he picks Paul Ryan. Or a complete narcissist.

    I was predicting Tommy Thompson for awhile.

    But I also see a mad genius angle to picking Scott Walker. Or a total coward angle.

    With Walker, the conversation shifts to the decisions Walker has made. Romney is more comfortable defending Scott Walker’s actions than talking about tax returns and the like.

    Sure, there’s the possibility Walker will be indicted. But Romney will simply pardon Walker claiming the prosecution was a malicious political prosecution and that Walker needs to be able to pursue his duties as VP unencumbered by harassment by a prosecutor grandstanding for political gain.

  196. 196.

    amk

    @MikeJ: It’s a two-fer. Get rid of the voucher boy as well as win the WH. As Begala said, it’s too good to be true.

  197. 197.

    David Koch

    @Violet: remember the special election last year in new york where they lost a seat they had held since the civil war because the candidate embraced the Ryan plan. Seniors freaked.

  199. 199.

    dance around in your bones

    All I can say is BWAHAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

    You go, dead-eyes Ryan!

    You so smaht, mebbe you can pull this off.

    BWAHAHAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! RomneyFail.

  200. 200.

    jl

    As a hetero man, I will admit that Ryan kind of gives me violent shivers all up and down my spine.

    Not sure that counts as sextytime type reaction, but, hey, I got no insecurity issues, and I will admit it.

    Make of it what you will.

  201. 201.

    scav

    Oh Wait, Wait, He’s going to shake his Etch a Sketch on a Battleship? What is this sudden Hasbro influence? Can a Barrel of Monkeys and promises of Candyland and Monopoly in The Game of Life be on the horizon?

  202. 202.

    The Dangerman

    @Violet:

    Picking Ryan helps him with the base.

    And that’s about all; I don’t see Ryan flipping a swing state (at least in their direction).

  203. 203.

    Citizen_X

    @Redshift:

    Or a USS Not In The Face.

    Apparently, the Romney campaign wants to launch a USS Fuck Up a Wet Dream.

    Meanwhile, over on the USS Obama, the crew is doing an inventory of Forward Magazine No. 1, also known as The Paul Ryan Room.

  205. 205.

    Carl Nyberg

    @Violet:

    Does Ryan’s plan hurt current seniors? I thought it left them alone because they vote Republican and instead destroyed almost-seniors.

    I need to make a video explaining this point to seniors, I think.

    If seniors elect Republicans who then cut Medicare for people born after 1956, the people born after 1956 should elect a new crop of Republicans who cut Medicare for current retirees.

    Fuck me? No, fuck you!

    People born after 1956 aren’t going to pay for current retirees to live high off the hog when we are going to get a shitty medical benefit. Ain’t gonna happen.

  206. 206.

    David Koch

    Obama must have a 4-leaf-clover woven into his DNA.

    The first office Obama ran for, his opponent was disqualified for failing to get enough signatures.

    When he ran for the Senate his opponent was forced off the ballot over a sex scandal and then he was replaced by the nutty Alan Keyes.

    He runs for president and they put Palin on the ticket.

    And now they’re gonna run on ending Medicare.

  207. 207.

    danimal

    Romney/Ryan: Because, hell, we may as well try to draw to an inside straight, nothing else is working.

  208. 208.

    MikeBoyScout

    Not normally a conspiracy theorist, but could there be some weird connection with the Magic Underpants candidate choosing the author of The Underpants Gnome budget?

  209. 209.

    FlipYrWhig

    Wasn’t Ryan getting hammered by Catholic social justice people just a month or so ago?

  210. 210.

    gf120581

    There are so many reasons why Ryan is a horrible choice. So many. But here’s a few.

    1. The GOP may have just lost the House. Now the Ryan budget that every single GOP House member voted for will now be front and center. Every Democratic challenger will wrap it around his opponent’s neck like an anvil.

    2. Ryan may end be the de facto Presidential nominee, not Mitt. The base loves him like they never loved Romney and he will likely overshadow Mitt. I thought Christie wasn’t a choice for Veep because he would overshadow Mitt. So why Ryan then?

    3. The way this is being announced. At 8 in the morning on a Saturday, while the Olympics are still going on? This doesn’t sound planned, this sounds slapped together at the last minute in a desperate attempt to staunch the bleeding and quiet the conservative hordes howling for blood after Andrea Saul’s fuckup.

    Once again: Worst. Campaign. Ever.

  212. 212.

    amk

    twitterdom

    Dem operative: “We’ve spent 18 months trying to make House races about their plan for Medicare and Mitt Romney just did it for us overnight”

  213. 213.

    RinaX

    You know, I had honestly tuned out any talk of Paul Ryan being the VP pick for the simple fact that I didn’t think that even Mitt Romney was that stupid. I’m so stunned right now. Is there some brilliant political strategy that I’m just not seeing where what I see as, again, the stupidest fucking move that Romney could make is actually some out-of-the-box political jujitsu that will lead to Ultimate Rombot Victory!!!…?

    Seriously….what?

  214. 214.

    FlipYrWhig

    I still wouldn’t put it past Team Romney, the guys who drove a honking bus past a Democratic event, to announce someone besides Ryan tomorrow just to make the “MSM” look foolish.

  215. 215.

    scav

    @MikeJ: So long as only one of them is in functional order — we were given a list today of acceptable behavior, remember? Nerf balls might just make the cut, if thrown with the non-dominant arm.

  216. 216.

    The Thin Black Duke

    Again, this moronic and disastrous decision just reinforces my belief that what’s left of the GOP brain trust has been lobotomized.

    Let me make this clear, I believe that Romney and Ryan clearly represent what the Republican party has always wanted to do to America, step by step, inch by inch.

    Problem is, they’ve been able to disguise their malicious intentions for decades with lies, smoke and mirrors and racist dog whistles. But not any more.

    No matter how loudly the GOP yells at us to not pay attention to the two sociopaths behind the curtain, it’s too late. We can finally see exactly who and what they are.

    And it’s terrifying.

  217. 217.

    smintheus

    @Violet: You’d have to be pretty naive to think that everybody younger than yourself would meekly accept a trashy imitation Medicare but continue to pay hefty payroll taxes to support the continuation of a full benefits version of Medicare for everybody older than yourself. If anybody’s going to get shafted, then sooner or later everybody may get shafted.

    Besides, old people have younger relatives they care about. Ryan thinks he can split the country against itself by creating a generational schism. I don’t see that working.

  218. 218.

    trollhattan

    I’m celebrating in spirit with my very best Burgundy. Ryan’s a man of the peepel.

  219. 219.

    Citizen_X

    @mclaren:

    Republican senators may be trampled to death in the melee as they try to flee the debacle of Ryan and Romney.

    I just wanted to read that again.

  220. 220.

    patrick II

    Ryan wants to take government programs and privatize them — changing Social Security in for private retirement accounts and Medicare for private Medical insurance. And Ryan is running with a guy who made a lot of money by robbing private retirement accounts and depriving people of private medical insurance. Sounds like a winning combo to me.

  222. 222.

    mclaren

    @gf120581:

    Ooohhh. Good point.

    Not only is Romney definitely going down in flames, but this VP pick could swing the house back to the Democrats. And it could widen the margin for Dems in the senate.

    Calloo, callay, O frabjous day!

  223. 223.

    GG

    @Violet: I wrote that before Mr S told me that the WSJ yesterday had an editorial saying Mittuns’s VP needed to be Ryan. I’m sure that was merely co-inkydink.

  224. 224.

    smintheus

    Wonder whether Obama will finally roll out the attack ads about Romney’s role in Damon Corp.? That was the company that was engaged in Medicare fraud while Bain owned it and Romney sat on the board. Paid a massive fraud settlement after Romney sold it off. That would make quite a nice counterweight to any GOP attempt to portray the Ryan plan as expressing their serious concern about the continued financial stability of Medicare.

  225. 225.

    M31

    Maybe the powers that be know that Romney will lose, so they forced Ryan on him so that Ryan would be first in line for 2016.

  226. 226.

    Suffern Ace

    @smintheus: Never underestimate the ability of salt o the earth voters who think they’re the backbone of what made this country great to think that only those non-deserving other people will get their entitlements cut.

  229. 229.

    Mark S.

    @RinaX:

    Is there some brilliant political strategy that I’m just not seeing

    No, absolutely not. It’s the dumbest pick he could have possibly made. Trump would have been a better pick.

  230. 230.

    dance around in your bones

    I just can’t stop giggling.

    Also, mclaren has been a howl tonight. In a GOOD way.

  232. 232.

    Yutsano

    @Valdivia: Not up for re-election. But I doubt he’ll lose because of that. Totally okay with a primary though, since the People’s Republic of Portland dominates Oregon politics.

    Either Willard is secretly teh ghey or he misread the White Horse Prophecy. Please note these are not mutually exclusive.

  233. 233.

    Mike

    I like this quote from a conservative blogger:

    chas emberger@chasemberger
    @LarrySabato I keep repeating; If Romney has to rely on the VP choice to win, he has already lost.

  234. 234.

    RadioOne

    I just had a conservation about Romney’s veep pick yesterday, and I said that if Mitt thought the race was close, he’d probably choose a “safe” pick like Portman or Pawlenty. OTOH, if Mitt though he was clearly losing this race, he would pick Paul Ryan as a “game changer” in an attempt to shore up the base.

    I think I’ve somehow managed to get inside Mitt Romney’s head.

  237. 237.

    Spaghetti Lee

    Please don’t call me a concern troll, but I’m not ready to pop the champagne. Paul Ryan is, of course, a gibbering Randian psycho loon in real life, but can appear sane if desired. And the media loves him, especially the WSJ/WaPo/etc. The tongue baths are going to drive us all nuts. I think the media has been (deservedly) slapping Willard around a bit for being such a loser this last week or so, but he’ll be back in their good graces right away after picking the SERIOUS and INTELLECTUAL and did I mention HANDSOME Paul Ryan.

    All I’m saying is, Obama and co. better have those Paul Ryan the Medicare-Killer ads up and running fucking tomorrow. Ryan seems like a classic Reagan/GWB mold of a politician liberals know is crazy but is not so crazy that he can’t be effectively “sold” to the indie voters.

  238. 238.

    The Thin Black Duke

    I have visions of the great Hunter Thompson coming back from the grave just for the opportunity to cover Romney’s epic clusterfuck of a presidential campaign: Fear and Loathing in the Magic Underpants.

  240. 240.

    Alison

    I mean, not really. But it’s a funny image.

    And so, the voter groups the GOP has given up on are now Hispanics, Jews, LGBT, women, seniors, the disabled, college kids, Catholics…yeah, great strategy, guys. Sure.

  241. 241.

    Martin

    The problem with Ryan is that the only thing on his resume is the budget. That’s it. There’s nothing else to talk about but Medicare vouchers and a tax strategy that comes up trillions shy on revenue, just like Mitt’s plan, which he’s getting hammered on.

    This doesn’t change the narrative at all. There’s nothing about Ryan to point to in order to change the subject.

  243. 243.

    Alison

    @Spaghetti Lee: I think the debates will be a big way for Obama and Biden to get people to see how horrid Ryan really is. Make him answer specific questions about his budget, about slashing old folks’ food money, making them go online and buy their own insurance, etc. There’s no way to defend those ideas without sounding like a callous jackass.

  244. 244.

    Yutsano

    @Martin: But he’s just so DREAMY! And those ABS! Oh and did you know he’s very Serious? Such a deep thinker! 350 EVs for Willard now easily!!

  245. 245.

    trollhattan

    @The Thin Black Duke:
    So true. I have hopes maybe Charlie Pierce might do a campaign book. Even Taibbi (HST-lite) could be okay if he could get access. Which the great ship Willard would never allow.

    Best hopes for zombie Thompson is he protects us from zombie Reagan by kicking him in the dessicated balls when they bring him out to keynote the convention.

    “I won’t hold your being alive against you.” Hey-oh!

  246. 246.

    Tractarian

    @FlipYrWhig:

    I still wouldn’t put it past Team Romney, the guys who drove a honking bus past a Democratic event, to announce someone besides Ryan tomorrow just to make the “MSM” look foolish.

    I had the same thought. Team Romney may intend to make NBC, in particular, look foolish. (NBC is the only news outlet that has been “leaked” this “information”.)

  247. 247.

    GregB

    @Yutsano:

    I think Harry Reid was the man started Mitt’s whole big shit-pile whirling down the drain. Maybe Harry’s the dude in the White Horse Prophecy.

  249. 249.

    gf120581

    @RadioOne: That’s my feeling too. You only have to look at how they’re announcing this decision. Would you announce your VP choice at 8 on a Saturday morning, a time when most people are still asleep or hung over? And during the Olympics no less? This stinks of something hastily thrown together over the last 48 hours out of desperation.

  250. 250.

    Tom Q

    @Martin: And there’s this: it wsa widely reported that focus groups hated the Ryan plan so much — found its premises so absurd — that they assumed the people running the group were making it up. Having Ryan on the ticket assures that significant amount of broadcast/newspaper space is devoted to spelling out the details…meaning more people will see it in all its glory, and understand it’s real.

    I think this is a cataclysmically bad decision (made in a panic, as I said earlier). Palin looks like a sober choice by comparison.

    But, prepare yourselves: for a while, the press will spin this as a positive…until the Obama campaign makes mincemeat of their efforts.

  251. 251.

    jayjaybear

    And Bill Kristol keeps his perfect record of being wrong about pretty much everything but STILL being able to get Republican leaders to follow his advice intact…

  252. 252.

    Tom Q

    @Tractarian: CNN is now saying it, as well.

    If it were to turn out to be a head-fake, the fury of the disappointed right-wingers would consume Romney on the spot.

  253. 253.

    scav

    @Spaghetti Lee: It’s August. Wouldn’t be that unusual for there to be a little bounce in the polls after an announcement, nor after the convention. Plenty of time for ads to be rolled in before the actual election.

    8:45 am on the East Coast on a Saturday though. I’m oscillating rapidly between the options of finding that more a sign of cluelessness or arrogance. Certainly not aiming for anyone watching it live, especially as he seems to have announced it so late the day before. Not getting the reasoning. ETA: Apparently I’m not alone in this!

  254. 254.

    suzanne

    I am honestly shocked that Ryan would swallow this shit sandwich he got served. This is going to damage his brand and his career big time, and I thought he was smarter than that.

    But I guess that I should never be surprised when a Republican does something dumb.

  255. 255.

    Yutsano

    @Tom Q: It just occurred to me that Willard is throwing the South under the bus. He selected a follower of the Whore of Babylon. This is gonna make quite a few Talibangelicals pout.

  256. 256.

    robertdsc-PowerBook

    USS Obama

    I wonder if BHO will get his own Gerald Ford-class aircraft carrier. Neat idea. The ship’s nickname could be “Renegade”.

  257. 257.

    Kane

    Sensing imminent defeat and desperate for a game change, the GOP presidential nominee selects an unqualified running mate in hope that the choice will excite the base.

    Now where have I heard that before?

  259. 259.

    PeakVT

    Paul Ryan.

    My FSM.

    This might be the thing that will turn the House races around. Show what Ryan’s budgets would do, and then tie the House to him.

    It won’t be easy, but I think Ryan would (will) give the Dems a chance to really pressure some Republicans.

  260. 260.

    Redshift

    @RadioOne:

    I just had a conservation about Romney’s veep pick yesterday, and I said that if Mitt thought the race was close, he’d probably choose a “safe” pick like Portman or Pawlenty. OTOH, if Mitt though he was clearly losing this race, he would pick Paul Ryan as a “game changer” in an attempt to shore up the base.

    Yup. A week or two ago I was saying here that if Romney picked someone “exciting,” it would mean that he was desperate.

    He’s right, of course, but I didn’t expect an executive douchenozzle like Romney to admit it even to himself.

  261. 261.

    Kane

    @PeakVT: Now every republican up for re-election has to go back home and explain to their constituency why they voted for the Ryan plan that dismantles the safety net.

  262. 262.

    TS

    Speaking as to the selection of Paul Ryan – a truly RED site (please don’t ask why I went there) had the following comment

    “It seems more like the CEO picking his hot shot finance guy for his apprentice”

  263. 263.

    InternetDragons

    lol! I was going to post about how Ryan has no business experience, and how funny that is after Romney making his idiotic statement about amending the Constitution to require that a Presidential candidate have experience in the business world.

    But according to Wikipedia, Ryan actually DID get some business experience. Sort of:

    “In college, he briefly worked for Oscar Mayer as a Wienermobile driver”

    That’s fantastic :)

  264. 264.

    Shawn in ShowMe

    Who knew Queen Coulter had this much juice in the Republican party? She chews him a new asshole on Fox, he whimpers “Yes, mistress” and invites an Ayn Rand fanfic writer onto the sinking ship to please her. Herman Cain should really consider unsuspending his campaign. His party needs him in this dark hour.

  265. 265.

    Spaghetti Lee

    @Yutsano:

    I was going to type ‘oh, like hell they’re gonna vote for Obama anyway,’ but I wonder…is it possible that a non-zero number of old-school Solid South bubbas that were voting D as recently as 2000 could be reclaimed with enough “Romney and Ryan are arrogant Wall Street yankees” messaging and, maybe, Bill Clinton on the campaign trail? Maybe a local could tell me this.

    I’m perhaps a bit inordinately happy that, assuming it’s Ryan, this will be the 2nd election without a Southerner on the ticket. No offense to any Southerners here, but I sometimes think the rest of the country’s politics spends an inordinate amount of time worrying about the South’s obsessions and hang-ups.

  267. 267.

    Suffern Ace

    @scav: No one actually wants to listen to Romney speak for any period of time. He is probably the least engaging candidate of any party in my lifetime and my lifetime includes dukakis and ford. Look for his acceptance speech at the convention to run at 530 am.

  268. 268.

    Yutsano

    @Spaghetti Lee: I’m thinking more depressed turnout. Those poor Baptist preachers are gonna lose their neck vertebrae with all the head twisting they’ll have to do to get the Bubbas to vote for a cult member and a Yankee Catholic. Willard sure can pick ’em though I tell you what. Hell we might even get lucky enough to get a Democratic Senator from Tejas.

  270. 270.

    Hill Dweller

    @suzanne:

    I am honestly shocked that Ryan would swallow this shit sandwich he got served. This is going to damage his brand and his career big time, and I thought he was smarter than that.

    That makes one of us.

    Ryan is a complete fraud. He’d make a great time share salesman, but that’s about it.

    I do agree that Ryan’s brand is going to be destroyed. The beltway has pumped him up, but he and his policies are going to be facing a whole new level of scrutiny now. None of his economic plans have ever added up, but his allies in the media have ignored it. That won’t be possible now.

  271. 271.

    Donut

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    I am in agreement with you. I see this move as a pretty telling move. Romney’s odds, though shrinking, are still pretty decent to win. He’s not out of the race by any means, just limping badly right now. This is a ploy to reinvigorate the campaign and get the base super hyped. There is still a chance they can get it together and start to turn it around, but after the last three weeks, they see their window closing. The punditry and the base are pretty much demanding this scenario. It turns something that was getting to be dull, in the elites’ eyes, into a real race, even if temporarily. This, at best, gets Romney through the convention – maybe – provided that’s the Ryan rollout and convention are both managed and performed well. I wouldn’t count on thst happening, but that is what they need.

  272. 272.

    Redshift

    @Alison:

    I think the debates will be a big way for Obama and Biden to get people to see how horrid Ryan really is. Make him answer specific questions about his budget, about slashing old folks’ food money, making them go online and buy their own insurance, etc. There’s no way to defend those ideas without sounding like a callous jackass.

    The best part is, Ryan is a true believer, and he really wants to talk about it. (A Few Good Men is on TV right now, and Paul Ryan in the debates will be Jack Nicholson without the charm.) There was a profile of him in the New Yorker recently, and he thinks all the Republicans who didn’t support the earlier, even more extreme version of his budget are cowards who are on the wrong side of history. He thinks his plan is the true future of conservatism.

  273. 273.

    Anne Laurie

    @Spaghetti Lee:

    I’m perhaps a bit inordinately happy that, assuming it’s Ryan, this will be the 2nd election without a Southerner on the ticket. No offense to any Southerners here, but I sometimes think the rest of the country’s politics spends an inordinate amount of time worrying about the South’s obsessions and hang-ups.

    Yeah, in my wilder dreams, I could see this as the socio-cultural equivalent to a chronic substance abuser finally reaching that nadir where the long-suffering spouse and much-taken-advantage-of friends finally stop enabling. The parts of ‘Southern culture’ that conventional wisdom has been propping up since at least Nixon decided to co-opt the Dixiecrat bigots have been even more toxic for the South than for the rest of us. But then, for the region as for an individual, progress is based on the patient actually wanting to change!

  274. 274.

    Martin

    @Donut:

    Romney’s odds, though shrinking, are still pretty decent to win.

    McCains odds to win were much higher at this point. It was a dead heat leading into the ‘suspend the campaign’ decision. He collapsed after that. McCain was never below 30% until quite late in the race. Romney is there now – and shrinking as you note.

  277. 277.

    Death Panel Truck

    @GregB: “A Republican with knowledge of the situation” told the AP that Ryan was the pick.

    ETA: My response was to Tractarian @246

  279. 279.

    Origuy

    @David Koch:
    I have never made but one prayer to God, a very short one: “O Lord make my enemies ridiculous.” And God granted it.
    Voltaire

    Is Wisconsin one of those states which doesn’t allow running for two offices at once? Or can Ryan run for his House seat and VP at the same time?

  281. 281.

    dww44

    @Spaghetti Lee: Actually, as a lifelong Southerner, I’ve noted that when the rest of the country obsesses about Southerners’ preferences, we end up with regressive government at all levels. It will be nice to see the ego of my GOP relatives ratcheted down a few knots by being forced to realize that they don’t own the future politically. And with climate change, I think the population shift southwards is gonna slow down a lot.

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