Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

So it was an October Surprise A Day, like an Advent calendar but for crime.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Good lord, these people are nuts.

“woke” is the new caravan.

if you can’t see it, then you are useless in the fight to stop it.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

I’d try pessimism, but it probably wouldn’t work.

If you are still in the GOP, you are an extremist.

Conservatism: there are some people the law protects but does not bind and others who the law binds but does not protect.

rich, arrogant assholes who equate luck with genius

Republicans are radicals, not conservatives.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

The revolution will be supervised.

I know this must be bad for Joe Biden, I just don’t know how.

I’m sure you banged some questionable people yourself.

Come on, man.

If you’re pissed about Biden’s speech, he was talking about you.

When your entire life is steeped in white supremacy, equality feels like discrimination.

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

White supremacy is terrorism.

Give the craziest people you know everything they want and hope they don’t ask for more? Great plan.

Republican obstruction dressed up as bipartisanship. Again.

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

You are here: Home / I’m the man on the mountain, come on up

I’m the man on the mountain, come on up

by | 233 Comments

This post is in: 

So awesome (via):

Why does it matter that Paul Ryan is a mountain man, at home above timberline on the fourteeners? Because there is no better index of character. It tells of someone’s backbone under pressure, resourcefulness in facing adversity, and trustworthiness for power. Conservative or liberal isn’t the point. The high peaks simply test your mettle. Declinists and defeatists need not apply. Excuses are for flatlanders.

Reader Interactions

233Comments

  2. 2.

    Felinious Wench

    Great. Now I have the Monty Python Luumberjack skit in my head.

    As for the article, I think being president is actually quite the character-shaper compared to climbing a mountain.

  3. 3.

    Honest Observations

    Don’t get to confident about the ads being pulled from Michigan and Pennsylvania. I smell a headfake.

  4. 4.

    kindness

    Funny part of all this though. Ryan claims 40 14ers but he was forced to admit he didn’t summit 40 14ers. He’d been ON 40 14ers.

    That’s like me claiming to have been to Atlanta because I spent an hour in the airport there on a lay over.

  5. 5.

    Felinious Wench

    @Scott S.:

    Paul Ryan can beat up Chuck Norris and Bill Braskey.

    With his hands tied behind his back and his eyes closed, using only the Force. Because that’s how Paul Ryan rolls, people.

  8. 8.

    Triassic Sands

    I know (from many years of personal experience) that the world of “climbers” (rock and mountaneers) is filled with some of the most selfish, egocentric people imaginable. Being at home above timberline says absolutely nothing about one’s fitness for public office. If anything, it is a cautionary note that should have to be overcome by the individuals to demonstrate that they are fit to hold public office.

  10. 10.

    Balconesfault

    Each step of the way as Ryan climbs a mountain, is he thinking about how much better off the experience would be if the Federal Parks/Forests lands he were hiking on had long ago been sold off to private parties?

  13. 13.

    Rafer Janders

    This is my favorite part:

    Can you imagine Barack Obama turning around the Olympics from impending failure or mobilizing the volunteers who rescued a lost girl from the mean streets of New York, as Mitt Romney did? Me, neither. The GOP nominee has summited some steep ones of his own.

    No, I cannot imagine the man who has run the entire federal government of the United States for the last three and a half years, who is Commander-in-Chief of the United States military, who rescued the world financial industry and the US auto industry, who spearheaded universal health care for all Americans, and who got bin Laden, from doing something as monumentally difficult as running the Winter Olympics, or from coordinating a few dozen people to walk around New York City. The mind is simply incapable of such imagination….

    The GOP nominee has summited some steep ones of his own.

    Nudge, nudge, wink wink. Know what I mean?

    Why does wingnut writing always devolve so quickly into homoerotic subtext?

  15. 15.

    Rathskeller

    Why does the GOP always want to spooge all over their heroes? I greatly admire Barack Obama, but I do not want to sleep with him.

    Also, too, do mountain men typically lie about their marathon times? Just curious.

  16. 16.

    beltane

    That passage smells like week-old moose chili.

    Next thing we’ll here is how Paul Ryan climbed Mt Everest and K2 in the buff.

  17. 17.

    Felinious Wench

    And my favorite Chuck Norris homage, translated for Little Rand.

    Paul Ryan doesn’t sleep. He waits.

  18. 18.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    I think a better test of mettle is if you can wear a Roman uniform.

    Also, really, this argument could be made about anything:

    Why does it matter that Belafon is a programmer, at home in front of a screen hashing code? Because there is no better index of character. It tells of someone’s backbone under pressure, resourcefulness in facing adversity, and trustworthiness for power. Conservative or liberal isn’t the point. The mountains of code simply test your mettle. Declinists and defeatists need not apply. Excuses are for muggles.

  19. 19.

    Bruce S

    Actually, from a “character” perspective, the kind of person drawn to mountain climbing (“not that there’s anything wrong with that”) is one of the last types I want in the Oval Office. Aside from all of the other disqualifying pieces of Paul Ryan, like his being a serial liar and a sociopathic “Objectivist” (who is, again, too cowardly to admit it when it’s become inconvenient, and runs to hide in the skirts of Thomas Aquinas.)

  21. 21.

    Balconesfault

    If you want backbone and resourcefulness, why not pick a VP candidate who lives a remote shack in Montana?

  22. 22.

    Jewish Steel

    Excuses are for flatlanders.

    So that prairie sun-chapping is outre now? Noted.

    Can I also take this opportunity to respond to commenters who were bitching about John and ABL not giving up to the second reports of their doings at the DNC? I contributed a little money too and my expectation was not in-the-field reportage but some more carefully considered commentary post convention. I’m sure John and ABL will have some interesting insights. That’s why I read this blog, not for BREAKING NEWS!!!

    But even if nobody has anything insightful to say, I’m glad to help send John and ABL there for all the larfs they provide (for free!) the rest of the year.

    My .02

  23. 23.

    Comrade Dread

    Oh sweet f***ing Buddha.

    Are there really this many conservative closet cases working the political beat in our media?

    Just come out and say you think he’s pretty and you’d climb Brokeback Mountain with him any day. Jeez…

  25. 25.

    Mr. Longform

    “Best parody ever” I’m thinking for the first couple of lines; then I’m thinking, “OK, parody is only good if you don’t push it too far;” and then I realized, “shit, they got me again.” This guy has some serious starbursts going on. The mountain he is trying desperately not to name is Brokeback.

  28. 28.

    Mr. Longform

    “Best parody ever” I’m thinking for the first couple of lines; then I’m thinking, “OK, parody is only good if you don’t push it too far;” and then I realized, “shit, they got me again.” This guy has some serious starbursts going on. The mountain The is trying desperately not to name is Brokeback.

  30. 30.

    jl

    Why does it matter that Paul Ryan may be bald face lying about being a mountain man, perhaps pretending to be at home above timberline on the fourteeners when he is not?

    Because there is no better index of character than lying about ability to travel in wilderness. It tells of someone’s judgment either about telling the truth and being able to survive on their own, foolishness in facing adversity, and trustworthiness for power. Conservative or liberal isn’t the point. The high peaks simply test your mettle. Liars and delusional fabulists need not apply.

    Excuses won;t work when you are lost in the woods and dying from hypothermia, or falling a thousand feet down a rock face with your dishonest or delusional fake guide, Paul Ryan.

  31. 31.

    Aet

    Because nothing says ‘I am well qualified to lead’ than someone who retreats to an isolated area.

    Community volunteering? F that. I want a guy who hunts furry things with a god-damned bow.

  32. 32.

    kindness

    @beltane:

    Next thing we’ll here is how Paul Ryan climbed Mt Everest and K2 in the buff.

    And he did it in under 3 hours!

    Sorry Rafer, I didn’t see your post before I put this in.

  33. 33.

    Zifnab

    Why not just drop the pretense and let Ryan go full Anthony Weiner. He can release a picture of a penis on Twitter, and then all the pundits can marvel at how big it is and how great it would feel in their mouths. :-p

    I also should note that Gary Johnson has, like, a million pictures of himself on mountain bikes and motorcycles. Yet he continues to get virtually no coverage in the press. Double :-p God forbid anyone get a hard-on towards the spoiler candidate.

  34. 34.

    Violet

    Oh, come on. A little respect. I posted that excerpt here almost a week ago.

    My take is, he went to Colorado in the summer as a kid, like lots of families do on vacation. He hiked a couple of the easier fourteeners, some of them more than once. He’s gone back as an adult and also with his own family.

    At some point he may have climbed some of the slightly harder ones, but not technical climbs. Just ones that take a bit more effort and aren’t a simple day hike. So, add in 1-3 of those. Then back to the easier fourteeners, like the kind you can drive all the way up or most of the way up.

    He figures he’s “climbed”one or two of the fourteeners a year…that makes “almost 40” since he’s been going to Colorado for 20 years. That’s how he got that number. Sheer pulling it out of his ass.

  35. 35.

    Nina

    First he claims he ran a marathon in 3 hours, turns out it was 4. Then he claims he climbed 40 fourteeners, turns out he just noodled along below the timberline.

    Are we going to find out next that he never drove the weenermobile, he just pushed around a hot dog cart?

  36. 36.

    Bokonon

    The bottom line is that Ryan is working out and climbing mountains and perfecting his physique… and fundraising … while other people draft his positions and talking points and speeches for him.

    Great thinker.

    I am going to guess that Ryan comes up with his lies (about 3 hour marathons and such) on his own, though.

  37. 37.

    beltane

    The only conclusion I can draw from this is that Paul Ryan has also hiked the Appalachian Trail with a male companion.

  39. 39.

    Downpuppy

    From what I can tell, Andrews is a putz who took a fairly innocent story of having been on 2 climbs a year for 20 years (no reference to how many different mountains, or how many summits) and let his mancrush run away with the facts.

  41. 41.

    JPL

    Well I climbed a mountain when I was seven months pregnant so take that Paul Ryan. I did use a rope for last 500 ft though. That is something Paul Ryan won’t boast about.

  43. 43.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    When he’s not re-reading that Men’s Health issue with Ryan Gosling on the cover (for the articles!), John Andrews is president of something called the “Centennial Institute“, a subdivision of something called “Colorado Christian University”. I don’t see the name Coors anywhere on the site, but I can’t imagine they’re not bankrolling these clowns. They do have Marilyn Musgrave, who was Michelle Bachmann without the telegenics.

    @Violet: that’s actually pretty much the official explanation the campaign gave James Fallows.

  44. 44.

    jwb

    @kindness: given what I’ve heard about the remoteness of many of these 14ers, I’d throw down a nice Mitwitt 10 grand that Ryan’s lying about having been on 40 14ers as well.

  45. 45.

    Anoniminous

    Speaking as a person who has done mountaineering (trail, x-country, snow, and climbing) in the Cascades, Olympic peninsula, California Sierras, Rockies, and here in NM, taught mountaineering skills, and a former Search and Rescue person (too old to do it now,) manly-men who venture out into the mountains by their Randian Lonesomeness to impose their Galtian Power Fantasies on the wilderness tend to venture out of the mountains in body bags.

    Ryan is a poseur and the idiot who wrote that article is an idiot.

    ETA: @jl:

    This

  46. 46.

    jgaugust

    By the way, if none of you have seen this yet:

    Paulryantimecalculator.com

    It’s kinda brilliant…

  48. 48.

    Chyron HR

    Can you imagine Barack Obama turning around the Olympics from impending failure?

    At some point (the debates, maybe?) can we please have a public discussion about what would have happened to the 2002 Winter Olympic Games if Romney had not allegedly “saved” them?

    Because I find the idea that an Olympics would have simply been canceled for the first time since World War II about as implausible as every other piece of the White Horse’s resume.

  49. 49.

    Bruce S

    “Are we going to find out next that he never drove the weenermobile, he just pushed around a hot dog cart?”

    Isn’t there an “if you know what I mean?” missing from that sentence?

  50. 50.

    ChrisNYC

    The term “mountain man” is not, I think, generally a winner politics wise. Or anything wise.

  51. 51.

    Warren Terra

    Don’t miss this dedicated fan’s byline:

    Freelance columnist John Andrews ([email protected]) directs the Centennial Institute, a conservative think tank, and has climbed many Colorado Fourteeners.

    Basically, thinktank Wingnut Welfare recipient and (alleged) Colorado mountain climber Paul Ryan is, or at least claims to be, the man the author always wished himself to be. In context, it’s a love letter to the author’s own idealized self-image. It is in a way more deserving of pity and sympathy than of scorn.

  53. 53.

    quannlace

    Whats with all these ‘oh, be still my heart’ fluttery articles about Ryan’s baby-blues, his work-out routine, his running, his frat-house days and now, his manly peak-scaling.
    And scant little lately about his credintntials as VP. And now that his main talking points were trashed last night, they’ll probably be even less.
    ******
    All this romance of mountain climbing. All I can think of all those ’boutique climbers’ who’ve died trying to scale Everest.

  54. 54.

    Violet

    @Nina:

    Are we going to find out next that he never drove the weenermobile, he just pushed around a hot dog cart?

    No, we’re going to find out that the weinermobile drivers just did laundry at the laundromat he used in college and gave him some free stuff.

    True story: this actually happened to me, although it was the laundromat I used while in my first apartment after college. I think I still have the weinermobile whistle somewhere that they gave me. It was fun to talk to them. They had great stories.

  56. 56.

    Seanly

    I’m surprised that Paul Ryan didn’t tell us about how he’ll always remember the time he and Neil Armstrong had on the Moon.

  57. 57.

    Holden Pattern

    You know who didn’t climb mountains? That fucking pansy cripple Franklin Delano Roosevelt and that fat fucking drunk Winston Churchill. So we know for a fact those flatlander assholes never did anything important, like showing resolve, leading a country, or defeating the Axis Powers.

  58. 58.

    JPL

    Read the comments.. Lyin Ryan once again has to explain why he exaggerated.. link

    Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign today released a statement, saying that vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan did not climb nearly 40 of Colorado’s fourteeners, but climbed nearly 40 climbs on 28 different peaks.

    Maybe Paul got out of the car and walked ten feet up a few peaks.

  59. 59.

    jl

    @Nina:

    ” First he claims he ran a marathon in 3 hours, turns out it was 4. Then he claims he climbed 40 fourteeners, turns out he just noodled along below the timberline.

    Are we going to find out next that he never drove the weenermobile, he just pushed around a hot dog cart? ”

    Come to think of it, Ryan claims to know arithmetic too, and used it for his budget calculations.

    Enquiring Minds Want to Know.

  60. 60.

    slag

    The high peaks simply test your mettle. Declinists and defeatists need not apply. Excuses are for flatlanders.

    Oh great. So, now we can only choose Presidents and Vice-Presidents who have spent a significant amount of time at extremely high altitudes. What could go wrong?

  61. 61.

    Butch

    Why didn’t you tell me it was John Andrews? The guy’s a nitwit. Yes, Paul Ryan scaling the giant peaks around Janesville. (If you’ve never been there – Janesville couldn’t be much flatter.)

  66. 66.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Chyron HR: In one of those rare moments when I’m in step with the broader electorate, the whole “savior of the Olympics” things seems to have fallen flat outside Romney HQ. But I do hope he brings it up in the debate, because I’m sure BHO has the numbers on the cost of that gov’t bail-out.

  67. 67.

    The Dangerman

    P90X? Sub-3-hour marathon? Mountain Man? I’m fairly certain that fairly soon that Ryan will make the claim that the 14ers wasn’t in reference to any wilderness area.

    /johnholmes

  69. 69.

    jl

    @slag:

    ” now we can only choose Presidents and Vice-Presidents who have spent a significant amount of time at extremely high altitudes. ”

    Vindication for Big Dwag’s, Dub’s and Obama’s youthful indescretions!

    Cheech Marin/Charlie Sheen 2016!

  70. 70.

    cckids

    @Chyron HR: Because I find the idea that an Olympics would have simply been canceled for the first time since World War II about as implausible as every other piece of the White Horse’s resume.

    This. I can’t imagine Romney would have been able to “save” it anywhere but Utah, anyway, with the armies of Mormon volunteers who swooped in to help. Not to mention the boatloads of federal cash he siphoned to float the games. As with so many Romney stories, this doesn’t hold up to the slightest scrutiny.

    Some surrogate or other needs to get the facts out though, it would look small for Pres. O to bring it up in the debates.

  74. 74.

    jl

    @JPL:

    ” I think the real question is: “Paul Lyin’” or “Lyin’ Ryan”? I’m betting the latter is going to stick, but I think the former is a little classier. ”

    “Lyin’ Ryan” has a more frontier flavor to it, fitting for a mountain man, so I will bet on that one getting the nod.

    If Ryan keeps this up, suggest looking into John Muir for where Ryan lifted the stories Muir did a lot of crazy shit out in the boondocks and survived.

  76. 76.

    catclub

    @slag: You could easily say the same about people who spend their time at sea. The ocean is unforgiving, blah-di-blah-diblah. But what you also learn about very many of the people who spend their time at sea is that they are highly unsuited for living with large numbers of people in the civilized world, and when they hit land, promptly get drunk until they are carried back to the ship.

    I suspect the same of mountain climbers.

  77. 77.

    Seanly

    Why does he even have to make such claims anyway? Most people I know wouldn’t always be applying so many qualifiers. They’d be humble about their accomplishments – “I ran a marathon and I’ve climbed a few mountains in CO.”

    I’ve gotten to do a lot of cool things in my life, but in telling them to a crowd, I’d keep it short.

    Also, “climbing” a mountain means different things to different folks. Did he hike up? Did he ascend on a line (I don’t even know the right terms)? I summitted Mt Whitney, but it’s highly accessible to backpackers & even day hikes without what I consider mountain climbing.

  78. 78.

    Violet

    @JPL: From that article:

    Ryan: “I’ve done it 38 times. … I’ve done 38, but I think the number of unique peaks is something like twenty … no, no it’s like thirty or something like that. I counted it up a year or two ago.”

    This is the guy who’s supposed to be good with numbers? Did he swallow McMegan’s calculator or something?

  79. 79.

    henrythefifth

    I’d like to see some pics/logistics/dates/travel plans from those summits. Oh, they don’t exist? Surprising.

    I seriously thought that column was a joke and there would be a punchline at the end about how, no, Paul Ryan had not in fact climbed anything close to 40 of the 14-ers.

    It’s even funnier that it was for real.

  81. 81.

    slag

    @jl:

    Vindication for Big Dwag’s, Dub’s and Obama’s youthful indescretions!

    I look forward to Ryan’s “I couldn’t inhale” explanation.

  82. 82.

    JWL

    Cartoon paraphrase: “Call them mountain men or sons of the soil, but in fact they’re just hillbillies”.

  84. 84.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Seanly:

    Why does he even have to make such claims anyway?

    He knows his primary constituency: The green rooms at MTP and CNN. He’s the macho wonk with the big blue eyes. And I think it’s time to wonder about colored contacts.

  85. 85.

    Villago Delenda Est

    The problems with this “character” test is that Ryan has failed it, because he hasn’t summited all those 14ers. He’s lied about it, like he lied about his marathon time.

    He’s a lying, boastful sack of shit, and he’s too fucking stupid to know that his lies can be checked against objective reality and found to be lies.

    Those who praise him are dogshit, too.

  87. 87.

    Argive

    When one of my forebears was six years old, he drew a picture of an elephant and mailed it to Theodore Roosevelt shortly before TR was set to go on a hunting trip in Africa. Teddy actually wrote back, saying in part:

    Thank you for the lovely picture of the elephant. While I hope that I can get an elephant in Africa, I am sure that it will not have such pretty colors as your elephant. Perhaps I can get a rhinocerous.

    What are the chances Ryan would do something that cool?

  88. 88.

    slag

    @catclub:

    But what you also learn about very many of the people who spend their time at sea is that they are highly unsuited for living with large numbers of people in the civilized world, and when they hit land, promptly get drunk until they are carried back to the ship.

    Alaska has both a lot of mountain men and a lot of seamen. We should get a VP from there!

  90. 90.

    Don SinFalta

    From Fallows

    Why does it matter that Paul Ryan–as seems likely in light of his marathon fabrication–is not a “mountain man” and is lying about his fourteener record? Because there is no better index of character. It tells of someone’s desperation to connect to the voters of a swing state, his ability to make stuff up without conscience, and ruthless ambition to obtain power through any means. It also indicates his contempt for the citizens of Colorado. He apparently believes that Colorado voters are clueless and that the press is a lapdog that has lost any ability to check facts. Dedicated hikers, scramblers, climbers, hunters, fishermen and other aficionados of the Colorado high peaks do not need to exaggerate their visceral connection to the Colorado high country and need not apply to become a faux mountain man, like Paul Ryan.

  91. 91.

    jl

    @Anoniminous:

    I nearly bit the dust doing dumb things just cross country camping.

    You meet a lot of those he man types in Alaska. They have amazing stories when they come back alive. Met a guy who tried be the first person to canoe down a wild river in the Talkeetna range, and crawled over a day with a broken leg getting back from one attempt to the Hwy to flag down a car and go to hospital.

    Thing is, I noticed, you go back to the area a few years later and remember to ask about crasy so and so, and you hear “Oh, yeah, that guy. He went tried that again two or three years ago and he never came back. Guess somebody will stumble across what’s left of him someday.”

    Edit: which brings to mind, I remember when I had a friend who flew air taxi in Alaska and would let me go along when there was room. Almost every trip he would say “We gotta go do a little detour along the way. Got request to do a little look around for some guy out hiking x country (or climbing, or canoeing). He’s missing out there someplace. We’ll see some fun country.”

  92. 92.

    curiousleo

    Ryan’s many lies kinda remind me of another VP candidate that had a little truth problem.

    I won’t give Sullivan the page views but I’m guessing some of you do. Has he started obsessively documenting all of Ryan’s lies like he did Palin?

    Oh. Wait. Ryan is a dude and Palin is a woman. So, that’s a no, then.

  94. 94.

    burnspbesq

    Further proof that it should have been the Rocky Mountain News that survived and the Post that died off.

  95. 95.

    Nerull

    As a Wisconsin resident, I would just like to note that there are no mountains in WI. A few big hills. That’s it.

  96. 96.

    pragmatism

    lived in CO for 8 yrs. Only summits are counted. You don’t get to 40 by being on 40 different mountains. You don’t get to 40 by reaching the summit of the same mountain 40 times. That will get you beat up on the trail and get your gorp stolen.

  99. 99.

    Svensker

    @Chyron HR:

    Because I find the idea that an Olympics would have simply been canceled for the first time since World War II about as implausible as every other piece of the White Horse’s resume.

    The US and 64 other countries boycotted the 1980 Olympics because the Soviets were in Afghanistan (irony, huh?). A friend of mine had the merchandising contract from NBC for the games. He had about ten tons of T-shirts, hats, pins, etc. that got sent to the dumpster. Oh well.

  101. 101.

    andy

    From the breathless quality of the column, I’m thinking the writer must be suffering from oxygen starvation. I guess it really does enhance a man-crush…

  105. 105.

    jl

    @curiousleo:

    ” Oh. Wait. Ryan is a dude and Palin is a woman. So, that’s a no, then. ”

    I guess some fantasies are harder to give up than others, depending on your tastes. I would go easier on Palin;’s tall tales, and felt sorry for her re the faux hunting TV episode, go figure.

  106. 106.

    MaryRC

    @Felinious Wench:

    Paul Ryan has a grizzly bear rug in his living room. The grizzly isn’t dead, it’s just scared to move.

    Paul Ryan has already been to Mars. That’s why there are no signs of life there.

    Before the boogieman goes to sleep, he checks under the bed for Paul Ryan.

    Paul Ryan and Superman had a fight. Loser had to wear his underpants on top of his pants.

  107. 107.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @Nerull: Rib Mountain.

    There is decent climbing at Devils Lake but not the kind of thing that Ryan would use in a lying boast.

  109. 109.

    Violet

    @curiousleo: To give Sully a little credit, Ryan’s lies are going viral. Sully was the only one paying attention to Palin’s lies. Everyone else was paying attention to her naughty librarian look.

  110. 110.

    elmo

    I used to live in Mammoth Lakes, California, a ski town at 8000 feet in the Eastern Sierra. I know a lot of mountain climbers. Most of the ones I know are stone liberals.

    My old boss, a great guy and a tough son of a bitch, did the High Route on skis between Mammoth and Fresno when he was 55 years old. Nine days above treeline, traversing about 50 miles. You eat only what you’ve carried in. He’s summitted Aconcagua – the highest mountain in all the Americas at almost 23K – and been up to Everest Base Camp (but didn’t summit Everest).

    And he’s way too left for the Democrats – he’s one of the last remaining registered Peace and Freedom Party members.

    So yeah, you want to talk about character, balls, and grit? Talk to him and he’ll school you.

  111. 111.

    Culture of Truth

    Can you imagine Barack Obama turning around the Olympics from impending failure or mobilizing the volunteers who rescued a lost girl from the mean streets of New York, as Mitt Romney did? Me, neither.

    He was a freaking community organizer! This is parody, I suppose.

  112. 112.

    jwb

    OT, so Twitter tells me that the Wurlitzer is pounding out a mighty chorus on the great God-booing at the convention last night.

  113. 113.

    Johannes

    Lyin’ Ryan kilt him a bear when he was only 3, too.

    Ok, it was his Teddy.

    What? He’s manly, fit for the mountain that dare not speak its name…

  114. 114.

    Patricia Kayden

    Huh! So mountain climbing trumps all? I’ll remember that when Ryan runs for Pres in 2016. Repub standards are getting lower all the time.

  115. 115.

    hep kitty

    Why does it matter that Paul Ryan is a mountain man?

    Who says it matters? Oh you! So then it matters. Got it.

    Rly? I am so sick of these man-crushes.

  116. 116.

    The Moar You Know

    Why does it matter that The Moar You Know is a bassist, at home ripping out awesome licks in front of thousands of people? Because there is no better index of character. It tells of someone’s backbone under pressure, resourcefulness in facing adversity, and trustworthiness for power. Conservative or liberal isn’t the point. The high volume and groupies simply test your mettle. Guitar Hero wankers need not apply. Excuses are for drummers.

    Oh this is fun.

  117. 117.

    Turgidson

    Maybe on one of his heroic mountain climbs, Paul Ryan will stumble upon Galt’s Gulch and stay there and leave the rest of the country the fuck alone. If they’d let him stay, which they probably wouldn’t.

    Here’s to hoping.

  118. 118.

    Culture of Truth

    There were payoffs so they brought in somebody fresh. The idea that the games were in a shambles or about to be canceled is ridiculous.

  119. 119.

    lamh35

    WTF! The Romney camp really have NOTHING to combat Bill Clinton’s barn burner last night. They made the strategic mistake of complimenting Clinton and raising him as a good Dem vs Obama that they forgot A)unlike Reagan, Bill Clinton is still alive and B)unlike GWB, Bill Clinton is still active in politics and still loves the game and relishes being on scene and C)unlike the RNC, the Dems still like their former Presidents

    oh please.

    Romney camp just released a new video with Bill Clinton. This is just sad, is this all they got!

    http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/new-romney-ad-features-bill-clinton

  126. 126.

    Anoniminous

    @jl:

    Yeah. Bought that t-shirt. “Oh the dumb things I have done.”

    LOL

    I’ve known and met, as you have, the people Lyin’ Ryan pretends to be. His big Fails in my eyes is his lack of Respect for them and also for the mountains and wilderness. Without it, a person ain’t nothing but a blow-hard.

  129. 129.

    Mandalay

    @Tractarian:

    Paul Ryan is a serial exaggerator. He is also extremely vain.

    I don’t think it is vanity at all. It would be vanity if he really did all the climbs, and truly ran a marathon in less than three hours, and then he bragged about it.

    This lying is from someone who is desperately insecure. I think his problem is that he is in way over his head running for the vice presidency, and he knows it.

  131. 131.

    AnotherBruce

    Hey, Al Gore climbed Mt. Rainier. Screw those Colorado mountains with a few snow fields in the summer. Try negotiating glaciers with crevasses and falling ice and then get back to me Mr.Nacho Ryan.

    I’ll bet Al Gore could still beat you in an arm wrestling contest too, also. So there.

  138. 138.

    Honest Observations

    Whatever the Teleprompter says tonight will be overshadowed by a dismal to mediocre jobs report tomorrow.

    The ad pullouts? Total headfake. The voter integrity laws and Super PAC cash will pull in both Michigan and Pennsylvania.

    Karl Rove and the Koch Bros. are planning a MASSIVE Fall Assault, Hopey Changey is about to get hit over the head with a motherfuckig hammer of Super PAC ads.

  139. 139.

    Original Lee

    @Holden Pattern: I think Winston Churchill may have climbed a couple of mountains as a young man, when he was in South Africa. But it’s been a while since I’ve read a biography of him, so I could be wrong.

  140. 140.

    slag

    @The Moar You Know: Haha! That is so true.

    As someone who has spent a bit of time on mountains–climbing, skiing, snowshoeing, etc–I never really appreciated the quien es mas macho approach to any kind of activity. I find the people who take that approach often get in the way of my fun. And, almost always, I find that they’re overcompensating…for something.

  141. 141.

    quannlace

    just released a new video with Bill Clinton. This is just sad, is this all they got!

    No, they also released a new ad of some chick arguing with a cardboard cutout of Obama. Cause the empty chair thing went over so well.

  143. 143.

    brantl

    How did a kid that was “just scraping by” as Ryan claims happened when his dad died, afford all these vacations in Colorado? One part of his story or the other is full of shit…..

  146. 146.

    Turgidson

    I hope Bill is being deployed to the swing states to keep smacking Romney/Ryan around. They’ll rue the day they tried to drive a wedge between the two best politicians of the era, who I think have genuinely grown fond of each other since 2008, even if they’re not best buddies.

    Much like FLOTUS, but in a completely different style, Clinton can deliver a crippling blow with subtlty and a smile. And he will. I think it was evident how much he was enjoying himself up there.

  148. 148.

    trollhattan

    @slag:
    The truism about pilots applies equally to mountaineers: There are are old mountaineers, there are bold mountaineers, but there are no old, bold mountaineers.

    “Into Thin Air” is perhaps the best tale of the importance of decision-making under stress I’ve ever read.

  149. 149.

    Honest Observations

    @John D:

    Pennsylvania is pretty much in the bag thanks to the new election integrity laws. They’ll move onto Michigan after they’ve secured Ohio.

  150. 150.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @Belafon (formerly anonevent):

    Also, really, this argument could be made about anything:

    Why yes, yes it could:

    Why does it matter that Tunch is a mountain, at home anywhere he damn pleases? Because there is no better index of character. It tells of someone’s backbone under massive amounts of floofy, resourcefulness in confronting the Furminator, and trustworthiness for not killing pantsless monkey in his sleep. Friskies or Meow Mix isn’t the point. The high windowsills simply test your mettle. Rosie and Lily need not apply. Excuses are for Jack Russells.

  151. 151.

    ThatLeftTurnInABQ

    This never would have happened if Paul Ryan hadn’t borrowed Fred Thompson’s Old Spice one day and woke up the next morning feeling like he can do anything.

  154. 154.

    ericblair

    In other mendacity news of the day,

    Disillusioned Obama Supporter, uh, isn’t.

    “Republicans debuted a new ad Thursday in which a frustrated former Obama supporter expresses her disappointment with the president. The only problem: The woman in the video is actually an RNC staffer.”

    Keep it up, assholes.

    “…and has climbed many Colorado Fourteeners.”

    Izzat what kids are calling “hiking the Appalachian Trail” this year? I can’t keep up.

  158. 158.

    Yutsano

    @curiousleo: Yesbut…have you seen his blue eyes? And those hard abs? And a conservative?? Sully needs a damn papert towel factory for all the drooling he’s doing.

  159. 159.

    jl

    Unlimited Corporate Cash is right. We are doomed.

    Just think about it, with unlimited corporate cash, it doesn’t make any difference that they just gave up on MI and PA. Since it is unlimited, exactly the same amount of unlimited corporate cash is available for other states.

    I think that makes sense, I am trying to emulate the logic of Unlimited Corporate Cash, since UCC is a winner.

    The fact that they just got raised a Clinton makes no difference.

    I predict that in their own way, Biden and Obama speeches will be just as memorable, and so, thusly, we are doomed. QED.

  160. 160.

    JGabriel

    __
    __
    John Andrews:

    Why does it matter that Paul Ryan is a mountain man, at home above timberline on the fourteeners? Because there is no better index of character. It tells of someone’s backbone under pressure, resourcefulness in facing adversity …

    Paul Ryan’s Resourcefulness In Adversity: “Dad’s dead, I better marry up.”

    .

  161. 161.

    Another Halocene Human

    @Violet: Not true. The independent Alaskan press (can’t recall name of journalists/outfits) was my source of Sarah Palin info and news in 2008. (Thank you, internet.)

    Sully was flogging the switched baby theory long after it failed to hold water. Alaskan journalists blew the troopergate scandal wide open. Now THAT was far more indicative of the sort of person Palin is.

  163. 163.

    Honest Observations

    @jl:

    Remember: new election integrity laws are in place in PA!

    There will be no bounce for Obama because of a dismal job report combined with the low number of undecided voters.

    It’s going to remain a very close race, with money being the decided factor. For the first time in history, an incumbent will be outspent by his challenger…scared?

  164. 164.

    Southern Beale

    I’m picking up a homoerotic subtext here.

    Also, with all of Ryan’s exaggerations about how many mountains he’s climbed and how fast his marathon times are, I’m thinking he’s compensating for something here. Maybe it’s just me.

  165. 165.

    GxB

    Really, come on people this claim is clearly bull. Let’s just discuss the numbers.

    I mean there’s Ron Jeremy and that Jonah Falcon guy they did a Daily Show segment a while back… so it’s not like there’s an army of us so well endowed… Though I’d guess they could be using the metric system, that’d be quite average, but who’d brag about that? But even so those two didn’t seem to be the type, let alone inclined to be willing to… what’s that?

    [holds finger to ear]…

    Atop a fourteener is a what now?… …and above the treeline doesn’t mean… Really?… Are you sure? These are Republicans after all…

    Oh, Okay.

    Nevermind.

  167. 167.

    MaryRC

    Thanks, but not that good! They’re all shamelessly stolen from Chuck Norris jokes. Chuck Norris, OTOH, is that good.

  170. 170.

    Chyron HR

    @Honest Observations:

    There will be no bounce for Obama

    And if there is, you’ll change your name to “Truthful Thoughts” and pretend that you never said anything of the sort. That’s just how you roll.

  171. 171.

    Svensker

    It tells of someone’s backbone under pressure

    Wait, didn’t he say that he hurt his back so he can’t run marathons anymore? Doesn’t sound like his backbone is up to snuff!

  173. 173.

    patroclus

    When I was younger, I was sort of a mountain climber and used to hang out with real mountain climbers (who are almost all very cool people and left-libertarians, to the extent that they care about politics). Nowadays, my mountain climbing is all done with the help of a chairlift and I enjoy the skiing down much better.

    I’ve done 3 14’s. Paul Ryan is Lyin.

  177. 177.

    jl

    Quick Employment Report Preview

    Also on the generally positive side was the gain in the ADP payrolls numbers, with private employees rising by 201k in August. Finally, initial claims were somewhat lower than in August. You can take these bits and pieces to create a quick model of the monthly change in nonfarm payrolls as a function of the ISM employment index (NMFEI), the monthly change in the ADP report, and the monthly change in initial claims:

    (snipped out stat output and graph)

    The model forecasts a nonfarm payroll gain of 198k for August. To be sure, the standard error of 88k is large in terms of payroll forecasts; I wouldn’t be surprised by anything between 110k and 290k. That said, the current consensus is 125k with a range of 70k to 177k, which seems low to me. So when Bill McBride concludes:

    Overall it seems like the August report will be somewhat stronger than expected.

    I find myself in agreement.

    Bottom Line: The range of consensus forecasts for the August employment report look to be on the low side of what we should expect. If the consensus is correct, then the odds of the Fed easing further this month will swell; 125k or lower seems too low to rapidly alleviate what Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke describes as a “grave” employment situation. But something closer to the top of the consensus range and above could throw a wrench in expectations for the next Fed meeting.

    http://economistsview.typepad.com/timduy/2012/09/quick-employment-report-preview.html

  179. 179.

    Mandalay

    A brutal takedown of Paul Ryan from a member of one of his favorite bands, Rage Against The Machine:

    You see, the super rich must rationalize having more than they could ever spend while millions of children in the U.S. go to bed hungry every night. So, when they look themselves in the mirror, they convince themselves that “Those people are undeserving. They’re . . . lesser.” Some of these guys on the extreme right are more cynical than Paul Ryan, but he seems to really believe in this stuff. This unbridled rage against those who have the least is a cornerstone of the Romney-Ryan ticket.

    http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/tom-morello-paul-ryan-is-the-embodiment-of-the-machine-our-music-rages-against-20120816

  180. 180.

    GxB

    Just a friendly reminder, don’t feed the trolls, it’ll only encourage them to breed and multiply.

  181. 181.

    GxB

    Just a friendly reminder, don’t feed the trolls, it’ll only encourage them to breed and multiply.

  182. 182.

    jimmiraybob

    Why does it matter that Paul Ryan is a mountain man, at home above timberline on the fourteeners? Because there is no better index of character. It tells of someone’s backbone under pressure, resourcefulness in facing adversity, and trustworthiness for power. Conservative or liberal isn’t the point. The high peaks simply test your mettle. Declinists and defeatists need not apply. Excuses are for flatlanders.

    It should be pointed out that many if not all of the CO 14ers are accessible by hiking trail. Still takes effort though. I “climbed” three in a long day a few years ago (when I was young – still in the 40s), even doing some bushwhacking on the way back to camp. There was even a “girl” along. Our backbones were fortified by encountering an interesting porcupine. We were further tested by having to eat fresh trout. Our senses were sharpened by having to use a map. I didn’t have a goosedown bag. To endure was to survive.

    Our characters were greater.

    We were mountain men.

  186. 186.

    Mandalay

    A brutal takedown of Paul Ryan from a member of one of his favorite bands, Rage Against The Machine:

    You see, the super rich must rationalize having more than they could ever spend while millions of children in the U.S. go to bed hungry every night. So, when they look themselves in the mirror, they convince themselves that “Those people are undeserving. They’re . . . lesser.” Some of these guys on the extreme right are more cynical than Paul Ryan, but he seems to really believe in this stuff. This unbridled rage against those who have the least is a cornerstone of the Romney-Ryan ticket.

    http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/tom-morello-paul-ryan-is-the-embodiment-of-the-machine-our-music-rages-against-20120816

  190. 190.

    grandpa john

    @Chyron HR: He saved them is the same way that Salt Lake City would have eventually saved them, by going to the government and pleading for a bunch of cash to bail them out. So no he didn’t build that by himself but with load of help from the government, another of his lies.

  191. 191.

    SiubhanDuinne

    @schrodinger’s cat:

    “BTW if Ryan is real manly man, manlier than Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer put together, he should give Tunch a bath.”

    Hahaha.

    @trollhattan:

    “BTW if Ryan is real manly man, manlier than Chuck Norris and Jack Bauer put together, he should give Tunch a tongue bath.”

    Hahahahahahahahahahahaha!!

  192. 192.

    Downpuppy

    @jl: If I EVER meet one o’ you Texas YAY-HOOS that AINT drunk water from a hoof print, I’ll…I’ll shake his hand or buy him a Dan’l Webster see-gar.

  193. 193.

    ? Martin

    @Villago Delenda Est: I’m struggling to accept he’s climbed Pyramid and Capitol. Those are really hard climbs. Those are climbs that at least one person dies doing pretty much every year. I’m going to need a bit more to accept he did those. I don’t take issue that he’s summited a lot of the easier 14ers, but he’s way to casual about how he describes all of this – just as with the marathon. Yeah, he did the marathon, but he embellished his result. I think the same is happening here.

  195. 195.

    jl

    @jimmiraybob:

    That’s nothing. When I did Mt. Whitney, no TP in the last pit toilet before the summit. But I was resourceful and read NPS trail advice beforehand, and had some in a baggie.

    That was a close one.

  196. 196.

    ? Martin

    Obama should challenge Ryan to a televised 3 on 3 basketball game at the WH. Do something for charity. Each brings two non-pro players for their team.

    We’ll be able to tell instantly how fit and athletic Ryan is from that. It should settle a lot of this down.

  197. 197.

    geg6

    OT

    I am not a huge Ed Kilgore fan. But I have to say that this might be the best piece on the effect of Clinton’s speech I’ve read anywhere:

    http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_09/the_onesided_battle_of_ideas039711.php

    It’s clear one reason Bill Clinton’s speech in Charlotte is getting so much attention is that it represented the kind of policy-rich argument we so notably did not hear in Tampa. The interesting thing, though, that did not get enough attention during the GOP Convention, is that the brain-dead “don’t think of anything other than deciding whether you’re better off” messaging is the opposite of what many in both parties expected when Paul Ryan was placed on the ticket. Daniel Larison captures this irony particularly well at The American Conservative today:
    __
    Another reason the speech was so devastating to them was that he gave the sort of speech that Ryanmaniacs might have once imagined that Ryan would deliver and the sort that some Romney supporters still imagine Romney is capable of giving. Romney-Ryan was supposed to be the presidential ticket of the “data-driven” manager and his budget wonk sidekick, and between the absence of any significant policy discussion last week and what happened tonight that has lost all credibility. Clinton outperformed both of them in terms of discussing policy details, and underscored just how meaningless the “campaign of ideas” phrase has been. Ryan fans had been convinced for over a year that the election had to be a contest over “big ideas,” and when it came time to engage in that contest their party leaders didn’t even try.
    __
    Larison’s analysis strengthens my growing belief that in choosing Ryan as a running-mate, Romney had zero intention of making a robust defense of the Ryan Budget or pursuing anything else the conservative movement was panting for him to say or do (other than the racially-tinged demagoguery about welfare). It was precisely the opposite: he figured he could shut up the noisy ideologues by offering them the symbolic prize of Ryan and then running his campaign in exactly the non-substantive way he always intended. This end-the-primaries strategy, as I’ve called it earlier, depended, of course, on swing-voter ignorance about Ryan and indeed the entire GOP agenda, and on Democratic complicity in a campaign about pre-set cartoon caricatures rather than anything that might look like an “idea.” As Larison observes, Clinton has sort of blown that all up. And unfortunately for Mitt, conservatives will likely again become restive, and demand that he and their hero from Wisconsin respond—with specific policy proposals that will become less popular the more they are aired.
    __
    If Clinton’s sprung a trap, it’s one the Romney campaign worked hard to set.

    I think that is exactly right. That Big Dawg. He’s smarter than I ever thought he was. I’m not someone who ever underestimated him. Damn, if this is right, it could up end the whole race, and not in a good news for John McCain Mitt Romney way.

  199. 199.

    Dennis SGMM

    @jimmiraybob:

    Our senses were sharpened by having to use a map.

    Still use topo maps and lensatic compass. Still hit the mountains, although I seem to need to stop and catch my breath more than I used to.
    I doubt that Ryan has any idea of the can of worms that he’s so thoughtlessly opened up.

  200. 200.

    slag

    @ThatLeftTurnInABQ:

    This thread really should have been titled: Peak Wingnut.

    Genius. Or maybe some state will generously name one of it’s hilltops after Ryan. Who wouldn’t want to climb Wingnut Peak?

  201. 201.

    BC

    @Holden Pattern: Aww, but I did read that Churchill carried Roosevelt on his back up to a minaret to view the sunset (I think) in Casablanca in 1943. I think I read that in one of Churchill’s memoirs.

  202. 202.

    The Moar You Know

    I’m beginning to realize that at some point in the last decade or so, it’s become socially acceptable to lie. To anybody, for any reason.

    This is not a good development for society.

  205. 205.

    SiubhanDuinne

    You know, I should never have climbed out of that mountain boat — but I did.

    And this paragraph, oy:

    Self-discipline, surefootedness, stamina, grit, gumption, vision, daring, toughness, prudence, drive, the will to rise, the refusal to quit, team thinking, practical intelligence, joie de vivre, a zest for the difficult and a disdain for the allegedly impossible — these are the mountain-conquering qualities we see literally in Ryan and figuratively in Romney.

    I don’t know whether to laugh, sob, or throw up.

  206. 206.

    JGabriel

    __
    __
    Honest Observations:

    There will be no bounce for Obama because of a dismal job report combined with the low number of undecided voters.
    __
    It’s going to remain a very close race, with money being the decided factor. For the first time in history, an incumbent will be outspent by his challenger…scared?

    Nope. Wanna know why?

    Because tonight President Obama is giving his speech. And he won’t be competing with Mitt Romney. He’ll be competing with Bill Clinton’s performance from last night. President Obama will bring his A game.

    Romney will never measure up.

    Self-interested conservative billionaires who put greed before country can give Romney as much as they want (and they will), but the Insecure Flip-Floppin’ Quarter-Billionaire Opportunist from Uncanny Valley will never make the sale.

    .

  207. 207.

    Rafer Janders

    @Mandalay:

    I don’t think it is vanity at all. It would be vanity if he really did all the climbs, and truly ran a marathon in less than three hours, and then he bragged about it. This lying is from someone who is desperately insecure. I think his problem is that he is in way over his head running for the vice presidency, and he knows it.

    Umm, vanity IS insecurity. Secure people are not vain.

    Remember, vanity is not another word for confidence.

  208. 208.

    tBone

    Jesus Christ. That skeevy little mash note reads like it was written by Peggy Noonan after a 48-hour bathtub meth and Red Bull binge, and then edited by Erick Erickson and Rich Lowry. God help us all if Ryan ever shows up on an aircraft carrier in a flightsuit.

  209. 209.

    Brachiator

    Why does it matter that Paul Ryan is a mountain man, at home above timberline on the fourteeners? Because there is no better index of character. It tells of someone’s backbone under pressure, resourcefulness in facing adversity, and trustworthiness for power.

    You know who else was a mountain man?

    The Unabomber.

    The GOP: Working hard for the nutcase survivalist vote.

    And yeah, this shit is reaching the nutcase event horizon where it is indistinguishable from a parody gay sex video or a Leni Riefenstahl film.

  211. 211.

    Citizen_X

    Like a Colorado Rocky Mountain lie,
    who cares if Mom eats cat food till she dies?
    Do you doubt my three-hour marathons, my abs and my blue eyes?
    Rocky Mountain lie…lie in Colorado

  212. 212.

    Tractarian

    @Mandalay:

    vain/vān/
    Adjective:
    Having or showing an excessively high opinion of one’s appearance, abilities, or worth.

    I’m gonna stick with vain.

  214. 214.

    Tonal Crow

    Why does it matter that Paul Ryan is a lying lout, at home in the party of loonies, lack-wits, and liars? Because there is no better index of character. It tells of Ryan’s unwillingness to meet the pressure of reality, his resourcefulness in propagandizing us, and his utter untrustworthiness to lead. But liar or loony isn’t the point: America can’t afford either. Denialists, dogmatists, and dodgers of truth need not apply. Excuses are for Republicans; the future is for the rest of us.

    Fixed.

  217. 217.

    F7

    @? Martin:

    Capitol and Pyramid are pretty burly (Capitol in particular). Everyone I know who’s done Capitol has a picture of themselves dry-humping across the knife-edge, so I hope some good Coloradoan asks for that.

    But most 14ers (~80% of the 54) are basically
    1. Drive to trailhead (4WD helps for some).
    2. Walk a bunch up a relatively clear standard route, maybe a bit of Class 3 scrambling here or there.
    3. Eat at summit.
    4. Walk a bunch back down.
    5. Drive home.

    It’s reasonably physically challenging, but to put it in perspective, my flatlander 60-year-old father did two 14er summits with me last year, so clearly he’s ready to be Vice-President, what with his Self-discipline, surefootedness, stamina, grit, gumption, vision, daring, toughness, prudence, drive, the will to rise, the refusal to quit, team thinking, practical intelligence, joie de vivre, a zest for the difficult and a disdain for the allegedly impossible.

  218. 218.

    kindness

    OK so we all see that Ryan is a serial exaggerator. Typically, if I remember my 101 Psych this is to compensate for some perceived deficiency in his own mind.

    Could it be that this stud muffin Ryan is actually carrying around an Angry Inch in his pup tent? Sully would like to know. Me….not so much.

  219. 219.

    LittlePig

    I thought they arrested people for climbing on Colorado fourteeners. I thought they had to be eightteeners before that kind of thing happened.

  220. 220.

    Matt McIrvin

    I hiked up Longs Peak once! Almost! I got too lightheaded to keep going at about 13,500, there was a storm coming and we had to turn around.

    This makes me exactly 1/40 as awesome as Paul Ryan, which means that I should be able to run a sub-120-hour marathon.

    Or read 30 pages of Atlas Shrugged.

  221. 221.

    JGabriel

    @The Moar You Know:

    I’m beginning to realize that at some point in the last decade or so, it’s become socially acceptable to lie.

    It started in the Reagan era, particularly among MBAs.

    .

  222. 222.

    mai naem

    I brought up Fallow’s column yesterday with the Romney campaign’s clarification. Look, I am no mountain climber but my bullshit detector is pinging pretty damn loud. Why would you say 40 climbs. It makes so sense. I have done climbing around where I live. Not anywhere near 14000 feet but unless you are doing some super high or super dangerous peak you are just not going to count it as 5 individual climbs. If it’s just a regular no big deal peak you’re just going to say “Oh, yeah I’ve climbed X peaka few times.” Additionally, why was Paul Ryan in Colorado anyway? The way he makes it sound, he’s been working hard,going to school, getting married, running marathons, doing P90X. Seriously, now I am supposed to believe he’s made several trips to Colorado to do 40 climbs. Whatevah.
    And, BTW, I still think this twit is lying about his height. I’m even more convinced now. He had pics with Barack Obama during the healthcare debate and Obama looks either taller or the same height and Obama’s supposed to be 6’1″ Bill Clinton was 6’2″ but you figure he’s shrunk. They were both the same height on stage last night. Tony Horton the P90x guy is 5’11”. The one pic with Horton and Ryan looks like they’re about the same height but it’s possible Ryan’s leaning over a little. I know this is not a big deal, I know it’s not policy, but it’s just one more thing he’s willing to lie about and, well, if he wants to lie about something so stupid what else is he going to lie about?

  225. 225.

    AA+ Bonds

    This rugged mountain militia-man bullshit is not exactly the best way for Republicans to address the demographic changes that have made Colorado into a Democratic state

    That’s just my opinion

  226. 226.

    Tonal Crow

    Ha! John Galt didn’t just climb 14,000-foot mountains, he made them with his own hands. As an infant.

  228. 228.

    peggy

    @F7:
    Exactly the point.
    5’5″ fighting weight of 177 I climbed Long’s Peak- no one was asking me to run for office. I’ve climbed all the peaks over 4,000 in NH- looking like a lump on every single one. If ropes aren’t involved, it isn’t very difficult or even that athletic, compared to say basketball.

  229. 229.

    sm*t cl*de

    Because there is no better index of character.

    I don’t know. For me, “willingness to write obsequious hackwork, swallowing egregious lies and regurgitating them” is a better index.

  230. 230.

    rea

    @Zifnab: Why not just drop the pretense and let Ryan go full Anthony Weiner. He can release a picture of a penis on Twitter

    Ryan would twitter a penis picture, and it would turn out to be someone else’s . . .

  231. 231.

    SW

    Yes, this in Colorado Springs where they built a fucking road up to the top of their fourteener, Pikes peak so every fat assed turd bucket from Texas driving an SUV can slither up there eating cheese doodles.

  232. 232.

    Flatlander

    @Nerull: Just another whopper from Lyin’ Ryan. Wisconsin is the flatlands. The state is flatter than a pancake. Timms Hill, the highest point, is below 2000 feet. Ryan is a flatlander.

  233. 233.

    lou

    Another point. He regularly flies to Colorado for weekends to do this. How many Americans can afford to do that? and his constituency has to be reading between the lines and wondering why he isn’t spending more time in Wisconsin.

Comments are closed.