All aboard the USS Failboat.
So Paul Ryan, eh? That’s who Romney is going with? Alrighty.
The Obama campaign is, of course, all over Romney/Ryan 2012 like brown on rice:
Jason Easley at PoliticusUSA nails it:
The Obama video and Messina’s statement both use Paul Ryan to tie Romney to the unpopular House, the policies of George W. Bush, the war on women, and privatizing Medicare and Social Security. It also reinforces the Obama campaign’s messages about Romney’s stance on the middle class, and his plan to give tax cuts for the wealthy while raising taxes on everyone else.
Instead of separating their candidate from the very unpopular congressional Republicans, the Romney campaign married them. The Romney campaign gave Democrats a message to deliver to those voters who are concerned about the Republican desire to gut Social Security and Medicare. The Ryan budget might be even more well known than Paul Ryan himself, so it a ridiculous for the Romney campaign to try to run away from the it.
After the Villagers stop wetting themselves about how Serious Paul Ryan is, it’s going to sink in that more than half the country hates Paul Ryan’s Serious Budget. and the GOP is going to realize they can’t win the election with the 27 percenters — unless…
The Republicans are going to have to set their Voter Suppression Phasers to eleventy in order to even have a shot. I mean, when Fox News is forced to report that Obama is up 9 points over Romney, you know shit is about to go down and the Romney campaign is not ready.
[via PoliticusUSA]
[cross-posted at ABLC]
japa21
That really is a well done ad. It summarizes the Ryan/Romney plan in very clear, short phrases and doesn’t allow Romney any wriggle room.
Chris_H
If Obama and the Dems keep using Ryan’s terminology — “vouchers” — their attack won’t be as powerful. Voters hear “vouchers” and think “oh okay, I get a slip of paper that gets me the same Medicare — who the eff cares?!?!”
For the love of God, Dems/Obama: start using “coupons.” Plenty of lefties have already done so (including Maddow). It shows that it’s a pre-set amount that doesn’t get you a service, only a (in this case, constantly-depreciating) piece of paper that redeemable for a couple bucks worth of insurance, not full insurance itself.
WereBear
Not like they have much of a bench. Several possibles have already self-destructed, like the vagina-probe VA Gov.
But really… Pawlenty is looking like the smarter choice. And I think a few brain cells just went into apoptosis as I typed that…
jl
The Romney campaign is no stranger to ridiculous, so that won’t stop him.
This is a repeat from previous thread, but can’t help myself and I think its important. I’ve been listening to Obama’s and Biden’s stump speeches. All of those are built around the idea that this is a pivotal election, which confronts the country with a stark choice between two completely different visions about what kind of society we will live in.
Dude, it’s like Obama did some time travel again.
On that score, the Ryan pick is like lunging into what has so far proven to be an effective roundhouse punch. I like it.
Also, listening to Ryan speechifying today reminded me of what an excellent whiner he is. Ryan loves to wave his personal offense and hurt feelings as a response to substantive argument. Media celebs will love it, voters not so much after a couple of weeks, I think. Another good sign for the election.
Violet
@jl:
Yeah, I heard something about how good he is in interviews or giving speeches and hadn’t paid much attention to him until this morning. Have to say, his speech was boring and he looked out of his element. Maybe Romney’s embracing him with the “I occasionally make mistakes” comment threw him off his game, but even so, he just sounded kind of whiny and dull. I was expecting much more.
jl
@efgoldman:
” BTW, you don’t think the Obama folks put this together overnight, so you? ”
As I said above, the Obama and Biden stump speeches for last several months read like they were tailor made for a Ryan pick. I think Obama can time travel.
Bruce S
It was noted on Chris Hayes this morning that Ryan’s approval rating nationally is 27%. His disapproval something like 19%. Most people haven’t heard of him. But that 27% approval is significant primarily because Ryan is a superstar among the hard Right minority. His approval ratings don’t have a lot of elasticity beyond that crowd. “Normal people” who don’t watch FOX or read detailed eviscerations of Ryan’s budget at places like Wonkblog or Washington Monthly are far more likely to boost the “disapproval” cohort than the “approval” once they get wind of what this guy wants to pull off at their expense, where he’s been on women’s issues, the fact that his “deficit reductions” are vague projections far into the future that could only be sustained by disastrous austerity, and his terrible record of voting for every deficit-inducing scheme that Bush and Dick “Reagan taught us deficits don’t matter” Cheney foisted on the country, starting with their clearly articulated crusade to destroy any vestiges of Clinton’s efforts to create a surplus. That existing 27% is perilously close to a cap on Ryan’s potential approval as his profile emerges from the shadows of congressional budget wonkery.
bemused
@Chris_H:
Exactly. Voucher sounds more encompassing as if you get a better deal. Seniors and most middle class folks use coupons so they know the limits of coupons making a big dent in their purchases.
Romney/Ryan, Coupon King and Prince.
japa21
@jl: I was thinking about the whining aspect earlier today. Not only is there a major contrast in policy, but also a major contrast in personal character.
Neither Obama or Biden have gone around complaining about the lies that Romney throws out there, demanding that ads be pulled, demanding that certain things not be talked about.
Romney was recently asked about his opinion on something, I don’t remember what, but it wasn’t inconsequential and his response is that that subject “wasn’t part of my campaign” and therefore he wouldn’t answer it. Could you imagine Obama doing that?
And when Ryan first presented his “very deeply thought” budget plan, Obama had a presser the next day and invited Ryan and other Republicans to attend. It was obvious that Ryan felt that he was going to be congratulated for his “very deep thinking”. Instead, Obama ripped the plan to shreds and all Ryan could do was whine about unfair that was.
This campaign will be the whiners vs the winners.
dmsilev
@jl:
Well, duh. How else do you think he planted the evidence for his “birth”?
Maxwel
I wonder – is it possible for the rethugs to choose a different ticket?
kelrian
@jl: Probably has a TARDIS socked away somewhere in the White House, too.
In all seriousness, though, that ad is blistering.
Warren Terra
hippy.
ETA: Now that I’ve watched it, an excellent ad, and one that can probably be trimmed down to 30 or 60 seconds for broadcast, and be effective.
If you like this ad, or for that matter if you like your country, you can help pay for more like it.
jl
@japa21:
” [Romney’s] response is that that subject “wasn’t part of my campaign” and therefore he wouldn’t answer it. Could you imagine Obama doing that? ”
I think I saw press conferences where Obama did that once or twice, but in response to questions that were so loaded and unfair, that I think most people would approve. Romney does it because he wants to win without saying anything, but just with posturing, and empty symbolism and promises.
I think the contrast will be stark for both P and VP spots on ticket.
General Stuck
I have never gotten much, the drift in the republican world, of internal politics and the battles between the various factions with deeply disparate coalitions of lizard world.
I got some idea of the basics of which faction is which, but little else. So it is easy to miss the palace intrigue of dealing and double dealing, blame, fear and loathing.
The TNR, Scheiber lays out an intriguing analysis, and it sounds reasonable to me. When you figure Romney has had to pander to nativist wingnuts since he started running for prez a while ago. And whoring himself out for his personal ambition, is bound to have some tangled webs of deceit and revenge. Not to mention ass covering for the likely coming GOP disaster.
I can’t bring myself to think that Romney personally is so deluded that his pandering pretzel shapeshifting to please the GOP conservative base for a couple of years now, is going to be a hit with swing voters after the conventions.
He could still be thinking if he sucks up to the right wing just a little more, it might make a difference. But they were going to come out and vote for him no matter. It always was about the smallish indy vote that would have to be captured for a victory, and the same is likely true for Obama. And picking Ryan for those folks that truly swing vote, is not going to impress them with right wing purity of purpose that Ryan brings to the ticket. They hate ideologues left or right. And the only possible effect that this will have on reliable senior votes, is to vote more for Obama, or skip voting this time for a wingnut. Romney can cover his ass and blame the wingers for the loss. He’s been covering his own ass all his life, so it is not a new maneuver for that purpose.
Republicans can put on the dem clown shoes this time, with a moral victory and a thumping at the ballot box.
Brian R.
Great ad.
And the best part is that the Romney clips make endorsing the Ryan Plan sound like something he should be ashamed of.
He should, of course, but that’s not how GOP voters see it.
Violet
@bemused:
“Coupon care” has a much better ring to it, as well.
Both Sides Do It
I like the strings in this. It sounds kinda like Arvo Paert in his Tabula Rasa mode.
Hmm? Oh yeah Ryan’s a disastrous pick.
jl
@Brian R.:
And from what I see, first thing Romney did was to distance himself from Ryan budget. Its insane. I’m beginning to wonder if Romney is trying to throw the election. Secret agent man Romney, WTF?
If the Democrats want to run it, the follow up ad just wrote itself this morning, and it was written by Romney.
Weird.
Does Romney really think he can pick Ryan as a sop to the wingnuts, and then pass Ryan off as a moderate by avoiding everything Ryan has ever done? Trying to do that is way stupid, IMHO.
danah gaz (fka gaz)
@Chris_H: I disagree. The word “Voucher”, when coupled with the word “Medicare” is utterly toxic. Keep in mind that this has already been floated to the public before. And they didn’t like it. At all.
It also has a nice institutionalized sounding taint to it.
Warren Terra
Oh, and to add to this morning’s excellent quip “Vulture/Voucher 2012”, and “Robot/Zombie 2012”, The Shrill One contributes “Gekko/Galt 2012” (though he switches the places to poke fun in a way I don’t think is effective).
jl
@Both Sides Do It: Arvo paert, great composer. Need to work some Cantus In Memoriam stuff into the coming Ryan dystopia ad.
CW in LA
I hadn’t thought about Ryan’s propensity for whining. I was about to say that doesn’t sound much like a Galtian Objectivist Übermensch. But then, doesn’t Ayn Rand have her creation give a speech hundreds of pages long that’s all about how everyone sucks but people like him?
Violet
@jl:
Romney is a terrible liar. If he’s giving up the race already, I think we’ll be able to tell. It certainly looked to me like his heart isn’t in it, anointing Ryan as “the next president of the United States” this morning.
Bruce S
It is also imperative to make the point that according to the CBO, Ryan’s Insurance Coupon scheme doesn’t simply shift costs from a government-run single payer system for seniors to the seniors out-of-pocket, but that – given the far greater efficiency of Medicare over private insures – it will increase the total cost of medical care as a % of GDP.
The only way Ryan’s coupons could possibly bring down the % of GDP spent on health care for that senior cohort is via a “death panel” known as the “free market” wherein folks who couldn’t afford comprehensive health insurance wouldn’t get adequate treatment. (That of course is the ultimate “morality of capitalism” – as applied to our senior citizens – that Ayn Rand did “such a fantastic job of explaining” according to Romney’s Blue Eyed Son and Darling Young One, Paul “Atlas Shrugged” Ryan.
Even the godawful Catholic Bishops think he’s an amoral little prick, despite his siding with them and breaking with his idol Ayn Rand on the issue of criminalizing abortion (one of the few issues wherein that bad novelist’s extreme, narcissistic individualism didn’t translate into totally nuts and inhumane public policy.)
Both Sides Do It
@jl: . . . If I saw that I’d probably end up giving more money than I can afford to the Obama campaign. I wouldn’t be able to help myself.
Hill Dweller
As I posted in one of the earlier threads, Ryan wrote a piece of legislation in ’05 that privatized Social Security. It was too radical for Dubya’s administration, but it does give further proof of Ryan’s desire to destroy the social safety net.
The Obama campaign is going to hang all this stuff around Willard’s campaign.
bemused
@Violet:
Yes it does. I can hear an outraged senior citizen yelling, “What, I’m worth no more than a coupon now? After I’ve worked my ass off for 50 years?” etc, etc.
Zach
When Romney & Co. talk about how much better then America of the Greatest Generation was and how we’ve lost our way, I don’t know that many people realize that the main part of life back then that they’re looking to rekindle is having to have your elderly parents suffering dementia live with you because of cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. For my money, the transition to an America in which adults could freely move around the country to pursue careers of their choice while being assured a basically descent life for their parents was a good one.
taylormattd
@Chris_H: The plan is already deeply unpopular, and that is the terminology that has been used this entire time. When people hear that their Medicare is being replaced with vouchers to buy private insurance, they go nuts.
Jennifer
In his speech this morning, Ryan talked about how his dad had told him “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
Which is funny, because the way I’ve always heard it is “If you’re not part of the solution, you must be a Republican.”
Dennis SGMM
Seems to me that Romney/Ryan’s pusillanimous attempts to hold on to the senior vote by exempting those currently 55 and older is not going to work as well as they thought it would. Their plan fundamentally fucks with SS, Medicare and Medicaid. Seniors are not going to feel safe in the face of such massive changes and they are rightly going to suspect that they’re next no matter what kind of soothing noises the Republicans make.
Sparrowgal
Romney’s reference to things ‘not being part of his campaign’ came under the guise of his neutrality regarding Michelle Bachmann’s Muslim Infiltration outrage and the Chick-Fil-A brouhaha:
Money quote: “I’m not going to tell other people what things to talk about,” Romney responded. “Those are not things that are part of my campaign.”
Valdivia
I love this, Romney would pay less than 1% of taxes under the Ryan plan.
Just. wow.
Violet
@Valdivia: How does he pay less than zero?
dance around in your bones
Gawd, watching Romney/Ryan blather on in Virginia (via tweety) – Romney always has this kind of cringing “Don’t hit me” sort of affect.
Plus, the lies are coming in fast and furious.
beltane
@Valdivia: That will make a great ad. American families will have to work their asses off until they die on the job so that parasitic plutocrats like Mitt Romney can live in this country without contributing anything to this country.
mdblanche
How toxic is Paul Ryan? I suggest we ask Congresswoman Kathy Hochul. She won a very Republican congressional district in upstate New York back when the Tea Party was still riding high by tying her opponent to the Ryan budget then beating him with it like a rented mule. How Republican is her district? Consider this. Back in 2006 when the Mark Foley/congressional page scandal was the icing on the cake for Democrats, this district re-elected Foley’s procurer. So there we have it: electoral evidence that being connected to Paul Ryan is literally more toxic than being connected to someone caught in bed with a dead girl or a live boy.
Michael G
@Chris_H:
They really should go all the way: “It turns Medicare into a program with coupons–you know, like food stamps.”
Valdivia
@Violet:
not less than zero, but almost. Also great links in that article on the tax rate with lots of charts about how the Ryan plan works.
@efgoldman: @beltane:
and he thought we wouldn’t be talking about taxes. ha!
dance around in your bones
Damn, Romney is fired up. He is going to take our country back, doncha know.
From That One.
MikeJ
@Chris_H: Before you start playing junior Luntz, you should learn the history of the plan. Yes, voucher was the word the Republicans first used, and it’s now toxic. Last few times around they insisted they weren’t vouchers, but instead were “premium supports”.
jl
Sorry if repeat, but a comment seemed to get eated.
CW will be that VP makes little difference unless it is a disaster like Palin, or whoever the guy was who had tx for depression and dropped off ticket.
So pundits will say radicals like us are celebrating too soon.
But assumes that the top of the ticket has a there there. Nature abohors a vacuum, and Mitt has tried hard to be a vaccum. And Ryan is perfect to rush in to fill the Romney void, whether he or Mitt want him to or not.
And is there any indication that the crazy wingers will be satisfied with a quiet symbol as VP? They will insist Mitt honk Ryan like vuvuzela.
beltane
@mdblanche: There is nothing more toxic than someone threatening to take away your health care so that you can die by the side of the road like a stray dog. Maybe if Ryan were older with more gravitas he could get away with it (probably not), but as it is now he looks like the type of young thug who would kidnap granny and hold her hostage until she gave him the contents of her bank account so that he could pay for his next heroin fix.
Violet
Pawlenty is sounding like a lukewarm supporter today. I think his feelings are hurt:
“I’m totally supporting Romney, but I’m, uh, you know, a busy guy, so I’m not sure I’ll be able to get out there on the campaign trail all that much. I’ll try though. Really! I’ll really try!”
Valdivia
@jl:
the Romney-Void. Thanks for that, too funny.
Betsy
We can eat cake. Or better yet we could have these two white guys for lunch — the “Romney Ryan” blue plate special.
Two skinny white bread slices topped with a white sauce, sauteed in sanctimony until it’s too good to believe. The senior plate comes with a side of cat food.
The Thin Black Duke
The fact that the GOP and their obedient sock puppets in the media think the combination of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan is a good idea, clearly illustrates the folly of living in a gold-plated bubble of White Male Entitlement.
wrb
@Dennis SGMM:
Exactly.
It is clear that their goal is to destroy the programs and the exemption is for the politics of the moment, and they will renege at first opportunity.
Violet
Ezra Klein warns Dems not to underestimate Ryan. Someone else, can’t remember who, said Biden was really going to need to prepare hard for the debates, that Ryan is likeable and can sell his policies well.
Thoughts?
jl
@wrb: Not with Romney at the top of the ticket.
PurpleGirl
@Dennis SGMM: Also, how many of that 55+ group are unemployed and living on savings and/or aid from children and friends because they are too young for SS (even early SS)?
jl
@Violet:
As I said in comment last night, one point in favor of a mayo and white bread white dude VP nom, is that Biden can let his inner arrogant wise ass jackass out.
Remember how he gutted Rudy? Biden couldn’t really do that with Palin or someone too different from him. But Ryan is ready made Biden prey.
WereBear
@Violet: No one who saw his speech this morning was impressed.
I mean, he’s a step above Palin, but I have cats smarter and more self-aware than Palin.
MikeJ
@WereBear:
All of them, Katie.
jl
@Valdivia: I have an important mission for you in this election :).
Edit: should you accept it. Tape will self destruct…
raven
@Violet: Who gives a shit? There will be all kinds of bet hedging going on.
Craig
@Violet: Ryan’s a good pol; he wins in a not-terribly-friendly district by pretty wide margins because people seem to genuinely connect with the guy. He can be extremely glib but he’s not some kind of gaffe machine.
I don’t think anyone should underestimate anyone, and I hope that Biden prepares very hard to debate him. But Democrats shouldn’t view this pick as anything but an enormous gift. Romney has turned an election that was a referendum on the state of the economy into a battle for the soul of America where his side of the debate is enormously unpopular. But this isn’t like Palin, where the job of the Obama campaign was just to watch her implode; attacking Ryan will require pro-active steps and good, targeted ads. Done right, they will be devastating.
Jim, Foolish Literalist
@Violet: In this, I agree with EK. Ryan is incredibly dishonest, possibly unconsciously so– look at the way he’s sold himself as a blue-collar orphan who work his way up– he seems like a very nice young man, and remember that focus group who simply didn’t believe the Ryan budget didn’t contain the things that it does? He’ll talk about liberty and eliminating bureaucracy, and a lot of people will eat it up. This whole election, hundreds of millions of dollars, is about chasing the 5-7% of the least informed, least engaged voters. It’s fucking depressing.
Omnes Omnibus
@Violet: Of course, the Obama campaign could fuck this up, but that is what it would take – a fuck up. I do not think that Obama, Biden, or the rest of the campaign team intends to let up for a second from now until the election. The fact that Ryan was a gift to the Obama campaign by no means exempts them from doing their job.
Lojasmo
@Violet:
Biden is likeable, Ryan is not.
ETA joe is going to pound Ryan like a square peg in a round hole (yes, it works if you use enough force.)
The Thin Black Duke
@Violet: Remember, Biden was the guy who destroyed Giuliani with his infamous “noun, verb, 9/11” one-liner. Don’t worry, Joe’s gonna do fine.
jl
@Craig: I bet Biden’s congratulations to Ryan today were very very sincere.
PZ
Deep Thought on Ryan-did he agree to be Romney’s running mate because he wants to be Vice President or is he auditioning for a show on FOX News?
quannlace
Do you think Biden’s mouth is watering over the VP debate? Let’s see how fast we can make Ryan cry.
Valdivia
@jl:
:)
I am ready to serve, as you know, anything for the cause.
Apparently, the hatefulness has already begun under Ryan in the events he attends. It’s not even November!
MikeJ
@Violet:
It’s never good to enter a contest with expectations set so high that you can’t meet them. Tactically it will make sense to talk up Ryan’s skill as a debater.
Also keep in mind that the village is wired for republicans, so Luke Russert and Chuck Todd and all of the “liberals” at NBC will cheer him Ryan on when he talks about letting the elderly die in the streets.
Martin
@jl:
I’m going to put 11 dimensional chess forward:
OFA is ready for this because this was Obama’s plan before it was Bill Kristols. The Democrats have completely punked the hard right on this.
Valdivia
I already have seen conservatives saying Obama is attacking Ryan because he is scared of him. Ha!
Also–kind of like with Palin–a lot of commentary saying he is so likeable that attacking him will backfire. They are already trying to make it out of bounds to hold him accountable.
quannlace
I’m finishing up the cartoon to upload to NewsCartoons.com
“Announcing our End-Of-Summer-Sale. Two empty suits, for the price of one!”
Michael Bersin
@jl:
Now you’ve gone and done it. The lunatic fringe will now offer your comment as irrefutable proof of how that birth announcement got in the paper in Hawaii all those many years ago.
MikeJ
@Martin: Romney casts this election as a referendum on Obama. Obama casts it as a choice between two competing views of the world. Picking Ryan is the clearest way to make Obama’s point.
Craig
@jl: Yeah, Biden has a reputation (earned, to a large degree) as something of a doofus, but he’s also really smart, and really dedicated, and I imagine he is absolutely chomping at the bit to get his teeth into this motherfucker’s neck. Last time he sort of had to hold back on Dumbass McWinksalot for fear of seeming like a bully. But with Ryan, attacking him at full capacity is all upside.
Anya
@Violet: John Nichols of the Nation said something similar when he was at Up With Chris Hayes. He said Ryan was likable and he can easily charm people. He also said Ryan likes to debate and he would have enjoyed being on a panel like this.
Omnes Omnibus
@quannlace: A Men’s Warehouse ad? Excellent.
Martin
@MikeJ: Well, Ryan is good at that, but there’s only one VP debate and Biden is too often underestimated by the right.
And Obama’s strategy will likely be to target Ryan rather than Romney. He’s going to hang Ryan’s policies around Romney’s neck and make it seem like Romney it too weak to lead that ticket.
PZ
@MikeJ: Also, let’s remember to keep the focus on Romney. Paul Ryan is important only to extent that is means Mitt Romney supports his budget. Agnew and Quayle didn’t cost Republicans the election in 68 and 88 respectively. The best thing Biden can do is keep hitting on Romney, not make the focus on Ryan…
Villago Delenda Est
@jl:
Well, of course he can! How do you think those birth announcements got into the Honolulu papers?
var
Did Ryan say how many years of tax returns he turned over to Rmoney? Surely not more than two, right?
Anya
@Craig: I hope he does that without sounding like a lecturing frustrated uncle.
Svensker
@wrb:
I know a lot of 53-year-olds who were REALLY pissed about the Ryan Plan. Maybe bitter and pissed would be a better description. A couple of them were “maybe” Obama voters but I can gar-on-tee you they’ll be voting for Big O now.
Elizabelle
Virginia is for white people.
Photo set — 33 pics from the Virginia Pilot. Click on photo for the full set.
You see a scattered few non-caucasian faces in frames 12 and 21.
It is really hard to do that in this day and age.
Martin
@Michael Bersin: Now? They’ve been offering that for a while:
Omnes Omnibus
@Craig: Biden is very good politician. He was one media magnified mistake from being the D nominee in 1988 and, I think, would have had a decent shot at beating Bush. His doofus persona, such as it is, masks a very shrewd and witty pol.
MikeJ
@Michael Bersin:
wired.com/dangerroom/2012/01/obama-mars/
GregB
Wait until the adsters lash Ryan to some of Ayn Rands most horrendous quotes and bon mots.
Shawn in ShowMe
@Violet:
It would be irresponsible for professional pundits not to hedge their bets. I mean, a meteor MIGHT hit the earth and wipe out all of civilization, the Chicago Cubs MIGHT win the pennant this year, Pat Buchanan MIGHT be elected president of the NAACP, etc. It would be the height of arrogance not to mention these possibilities. The American
sheeplepeople need enough of a heads-up to prepare accordingly.Martin
@Elizabelle:
Nah. Just go to any polling place on Nov 6 in PA, Ohio, Florida…
MikeJ
@Martin: We must have been c&p’ing at the same time.
Martin
@MikeJ:
And here I thought I was the only one who read that article.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@Martin: What they will do is make all of Ryan’s policy ideas belong to Romney. It’s Romney’s plan to end Medicare because he chose Ryan. It’s Romney’s plan to end Medicaid because he chose Ryan.
Villago Delenda Est
@jl:
Thomas Eagleton.
That was a huge fuckup on McGovern’s part, especially the way it was handled. Whatever momentum they might have had from the convention was totally consumed by the Eagleton affair.
In 1972, the Democrats gave Richard Nixon a gift. Here we are, 40 years later, and the Rethugs are doing the same for Barack Obama.
Villago Delenda Est
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Exactly. This pick of Rmoney’s is going straight into the Obama/Biden wheelhouse.
The Thin Black Duke
@Anya: Again, underestimate Uncle Joe at your peril. Biden’s a tough son of a bitch.
Still, I think what’s so disconcerting about this particular election cycle is that everybody–teabaggers, the GOP, glibertarians and some confused Blue Dogs–are confused by the new reality of Democrats who are not only punching back, but punching back hard, and don’t care if it gets Jon Stewart upset.
We’re not in Kansas anymore, and I like it.
Rommie
My congressman, Fred Upton, threw in his support for Purina Paul. Yay Fred! Tie yourself to that anchor, and throw away your usually comfortable victories. If Upton ends up in a dogfight because of this, he’ll cut ties faster than a sprinting weasel with the top of the ticket, and you’ll see that happen all over the country.
Valdivia
I saw this on twitter (maybe it was Olivia Wilde?)
Martin
@Belafon (formerly anonevent): Exactly. And because these aren’t sweeping broad strokes things – they’re pretty detailed proposals in proposed legislation, it’s hard to wave them away. The GOP never wanted to vote on that budget. Now Obama is going to make that the source of his attacks not just against Romney, but against every House and Senate Republican that voted for it (which is nearly all of them save Ron Paul and a few others).
Ryan’s budget is going to be the centerpiece of the entire Democratic campaign. The public is going to get to know that budget really, really well.
Michael Bersin
@Martin:
There you have it, Proposition 13 passed in California in 1978. The funding cuts to the community college time travel laboratory would have made the continuation of the program an impossibility in 1980. Unless, Obama traveled back in time to fix it…
Anne Laurie
@Craig:
Biden’s got the best of the Blue-Collar Irish Catholic Pol down — “I worked hard to make it here, now I want to help you make it too”. Ryan’s also ex-blue collar Irish Catholic, but his personality is so totally snotty & entitled that Biden will have no trouble painting him as a spoilt little brat who doesn’t appreciate what his older relatives went through so that he could sit on his arse and weeble about Objectivism with the Preps from the rich side of the tracks.
Ryan will be lucky if Biden doesn’t end the debate by grabbing him around the neck and giving him a noogie. Which would, of course, cause the Zombie-Eyed Granny Starver to burst into tears. And possibly wet himself, on camera.
brendan sexton
@Chris_H: excellently said. ‘coupons”–i’m going to use this in the future (not that anyone cares what i say, but we all have to do our part).
brendan sexton
@Chris_H: excellently said. ‘coupons”–i’m going to use this in the future (not that anyone cares what i say, but we all have to do our part).
Chris_H
Hopefully, this’ll be the Hochul race all over again. Commercials in FL and IA, saying that Ryan/Romney want to get rid of your Medicare, but will get you some coupons for insurance if you need it … old-ish Joe Biden debating young-ish Paul Ryan and making him look frightening to older voters … it’s just too great.
The Ryan pick just makes no sense. Mitt is obsessed with solidifying his base, but his base was always voting against Obama anyway. He has been so far determined to lose independents, and now he seems determined to freak out older, more conservative voters, too. I don’t get it.
danah gaz and MikeJ -> I usually hate “framing” stuff but this is just too juicy, especially for a place like FL. And it’s more accurate! A “voucher” makes it seem like you get the same service, just delivered differently.
Please someone make this ad: some old person feebly cutting coupons, as they cough up a lung. Because that’s what the freaking Ryan plan gets us. If it becomes Paul Ryan trying to out-wonk Joe Biden, Ryan will do awesome and voters won’t care. If it’s about some young ignorant kid endangering your twilight years w/ plans old people actually understand, that’s a good thing for Dems.
mdblanche
@MikeJ: Sure. That’s what you chrononauts want us to believe.
Mnemosyne (iPhone)
@Chris_H:
Remember “school vouchers,” which were supposed to let your kids escape their crappy public schools and go to a private school instead? Note how those programs all flopped when people figured out it was a way for rich people to get a tuition refund.
People know what RepublIcans mean when they say “voucher,” and they don’t like it one bit.
@Violet:
I have no fears whatsoever that Biden will not be prepared to the gills for his debate with Ryan. I also have no doubt that Biden is going to fucking eviscerate Ryan while Ryan stands there with his mouth hanging open.
As someone else mentioned, Biden is the originator of the “a noun, a verb, and 9/11” quip that Giuliani can’t shake. I’m really lookIng forward to seeing what he comes up with for Ryan.
karen
@Violet:
Huge refunds.
Violet
@Chris_H:
“Coupons for a bit off YOUR cost for insurance.” Make sure people know they’re paying for the insurance. The coupon might save them fifty cents. Maybe a dollar if they have a supermarket card.
Violet
@Chris_H:
“Coupons for a bit off YOUR cost for insurance.” Make sure people know they’re paying for the insurance. The coupon might save them fifty cents. Maybe a dollar if they have a supermarket card.
aimai
Biden is really well liked among older voters–he was specifically chosen by Obama to be a kind of guarantor to older White Democratic/Rust Belt/Reagan Dem voters, to reassure them. He is going to mop the floor with Ryan because he will seem like the very personification of the grandparent generation that Ryan and Romney are planning to fuck over. Remember that all this is going on just as the GOP is actually going after the “greatest generation” as, essentially, communist leeches. Biden is going to grandfather that little eddie munster to death and Ryan isn’t going to know what hit him.
aimai
aimai
Biden is really well liked among older voters–he was specifically chosen by Obama to be a kind of guarantor to older White Democratic/Rust Belt/Reagan Dem voters, to reassure them. He is going to mop the floor with Ryan because he will seem like the very personification of the grandparent generation that Ryan and Romney are planning to fuck over. Remember that all this is going on just as the GOP is actually going after the “greatest generation” as, essentially, communist leeches. Biden is going to grandfather that little eddie munster to death and Ryan isn’t going to know what hit him.
aimai
aimai
Biden is really well liked among older voters–he was specifically chosen by Obama to be a kind of guarantor to older White Democratic/Rust Belt/Reagan Dem voters, to reassure them. He is going to mop the floor with Ryan because he will seem like the very personification of the grandparent generation that Ryan and Romney are planning to fuck over. Remember that all this is going on just as the GOP is actually going after the “greatest generation” as, essentially, communist leeches. Biden is going to grandfather that little eddie munster to death and Ryan isn’t going to know what hit him.
aimai
aimai
Biden is really well liked among older voters–he was specifically chosen by Obama to be a kind of guarantor to older White Democratic/Rust Belt/Reagan Dem voters, to reassure them. He is going to mop the floor with Ryan because he will seem like the very personification of the grandparent generation that Ryan and Romney are planning to fuck over. Remember that all this is going on just as the GOP is actually going after the “greatest generation” as, essentially, communist leeches. Biden is going to grandfather that little eddie munster to death and Ryan isn’t going to know what hit him.
aimai
aimai
Biden is really well liked among older voters–he was specifically chosen by Obama to be a kind of guarantor to older White Democratic/Rust Belt/Reagan Dem voters, to reassure them. He is going to mop the floor with Ryan because he will seem like the very personification of the grandparent generation that Ryan and Romney are planning to fuck over. Remember that all this is going on just as the GOP is actually going after the “greatest generation” as, essentially, communist leeches. Biden is going to grandfather that little eddie munster to death and Ryan isn’t going to know what hit him.
aimai
Julie
@Dennis SGMM: Actually, the Ryan Plan kicks in for people born after 1956, which means it exempts people 56 and older. Lucky me, I am 55. The prospect of coupon care is going to motivate my next donation to the Obama campaign.
Ghostface Killa
@Violet:
I don’t know if anyone else has picked this up or if I was just having auditory hallucinations when I heard it in while on my way to breakfast (had already read about the gaffe on the tubes), but NPR this morning appears to have edited the Romney audio from today’s introduction of Ryan as the next “president of the united states” to next “vice president of the united states”. Did Romney correct himself after the blunder or is NPR doing some super duper shady shit?
My SO is a reporter and she tells me this is beyond unethical if true.
Craig
@Ghostface Killa: He came back to the mic to correct himself. I don’t really think it’s unethical for NPR to use the second try and omit the first because really, who cares?
Ghostface Killa
@Craig:
Thanks for clearing it up. Fucking hell do I hate NPR, I just don’t get Pacifica where I live.
Bruce S
It can’t be said often enough:
“Biden is really well liked among older voters…”
TR
Does anyone know how older voters feel about Biden?
Omnes Omnibus
@TR: I heard somewhere that they tend to like him.
JustAnotherBob
@Dennis SGMM:
I’m a senior. I’ve talked to all the seniors I know. We all agree that those younger than us should not have to go through their senior years without the support systems that make our lives secure.
Everyone I know thinks we’ve given too much to the rich already. Let the rich work harder if they want more.
liberal
@JustAnotherBob:
That kind of implies that they’re already working, rather than stealing.