Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Disappointing to see gov. newsom with his finger to the wind.

Dear media: perhaps we ought to let Donald Trump speak for himself!

Michigan is a great lesson for Dems everywhere: when you have power…use it!

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Tick tock motherfuckers!

When I was faster i was always behind.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Republicans choose power over democracy, every day.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

How stupid are these people?

I like political parties that aren’t owned by foreign adversaries.

The republican ‘Pastor’ of the House is an odious authoritarian little creep.

Marge, god is saying you’re stupid.

It is not hopeless, and we are not helpless.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

Anyone who bans teaching American history has no right to shape America’s future.

They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

The desire to stay informed is directly at odds with the need to not be constantly enraged.

“woke” is the new caravan.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Repub Venality Open Thread: Paul Ryan, Still Dangerous

Repub Venality Open Thread: Paul Ryan, Still Dangerous

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60Comments

  2. 2.

    NotMax

    Write-in campaign (well funded by out of state money, of course) for Ryan as WI governor in the offing?

  5. 5.

    Feebog

    Ryan’s constant targeting of the social safety net that millions of Americans rely on to survive will be the blackest mark on his legacy. Doubly so since he used Social Security benefits to get through college.

  7. 7.

    Mike in NC

    Paul Ryan — like so many who went before him — will forever have unlimited access to the news media and the wingnut welfare circuit. The Beltway media will revere him forever as a policy wonk and intellectual.

  8. 8.

    NorthLeft12

    And there are still some people foolish enough to believe that Paul Ryan will change course and summon up some kind of courage and integrity to do the right thing for the US and stand up to Deadbeat Donald.

    Lyin’ Ryan sold out every shred of his soul long before The Orange Idiot was elected President. There is no there, there.

  10. 10.

    Mary G

    He’s as much a sociopath as Trump is. He’s just much, much better at hiding it. He won’t do a damn thing to help this country.

  12. 12.

    Major Major Major Major

    @Mike in NC: I think a lot of people who got wonk starbursts from him had their bubble popped by last year’s multitude of magical budgets, healthcare bills, the tax bill, etc. I say this because I’ve read it. Saletan at slate has a piece about his own journey today I think.

  13. 13.

    dmsilev

    @NorthLeft12: Yes, of course there are people who are that stupid. Unfortunately, a large swath of them hold positions as political pundits and journalists.

  14. 14.

    Mike in NC

    @Feebog: Ryan infamously complained that the so-called safety net was a “hammock”. One that apparently tens of millions of American losers and moochers constantly take advantage of to the detriment of right wing billionaires.

  16. 16.

    lollipopguild

    Just imagine what the public verdict will be about Ryan when it comes out that he and most other elected GOP members knew about the Russians throwing the election and they did nothing to stop it and also took millions of dollars from the Russians to finance the rigging of the election.

  17. 17.

    debbie

    @Mary G:

    NPR ran a segment this afternoon with a slew of audio clips of Ryan opposing Trump’s candidacy again and again, up until the moment tax reform came up. Whore.

  18. 18.

    Calouste

    I wouldn’t be surprised if the reason for both Ryan’s retirement and his lack of spine in the face of the shitgibbon is that he had an affair and the Russkis blackmailed him. Remember that his wife has the real money.

  19. 19.

    Yutsano

    @debbie: I cry foul dear lady! Whores perform a vital and necessary function in our society. Paulie Boy does no such thing.

  20. 20.

    Amir Khalid

    @lollipopguild:
    I imagine that a considerable segment of that public will ultimately be okay with any Republican action, however corrupt and/or illegal, that leads to a Democrat losing, or that mocks Democratic values.

  21. 21.

    Sm*t Cl*de

    Ryan names “normalizing entitlement reform” as one of his political achievements

    Never lend money to Republican politicians. When you remind them of the repayment you expect, they will relabel it as “entitlement”, something to be reformed.

  25. 25.

    MomSense

    @Calouste:

    My guess is that it’s financial. He is a big fundraiser for the Republicans. Wouldn’t be surprised if foreign money made it into his Super PAC.

  27. 27.

    The Moar You Know

    As I expect from her these days, Nancy Smash sums up the situation with deadly accuracy.

  31. 31.

    Amir Khalid

    @khead:
    Maybe Shrub did want to pardon Scooter like Darth did, but judged it was too soon and risked backfiring on the party.

  32. 32.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    Ryan names “normalizing entitlement reform” as one of his political achievements

    That’s almost funny. Joe Klein and Tom Brokaw were wagging their “liberal” fingers about “getting serious about entitlement reform” when Paul Ryan was about as famous as Justin Amash.

    OTOH, promising not to touch Social Security and Medicare (and Medicaid, if only because he doesn’t know what it is) was key to trump winning the nomination and the EC. When Conor Lamb gave his speech the night he won, he didn’t celebrate bipartisanship– much less bash Nancy Pelosi– he talked about Social Security and the New Deal

    ETA: @Amir Khalid: I suspect he just didn’t give enough a fuck about anyone not named Bush to generate more bad press. And if anyone missed Nick Kristof mewling about how he has no problem with this on the O’Donnell show, trust me: Nick Kristof can go fuck himself.

  33. 33.

    catclub

    @Mike in NC:

    The Beltway media will revere him forever as a policy wonk and intellectual.

    Yep. previous example: Newt Gingrich is still polluting the airwaves

  34. 34.

    Omnes Omnibus

    @NotMax:Okay, explain how this is even possible. Or likely. You know nothing about current WI politics. Why be an asshole?

  35. 35.

    Aleta

    He couldn’t even do what he said he would do, and he didn’t even do what he now says he did. His contribution to the US is a few fake photo ops and a projected deficit over $1 trillion by 2020.

  36. 36.

    Ruckus

    @NorthLeft12:

    Lyin’ Ryan sold out every shred of his soul long before The Orange Idiot was elected President. There is no there, there.

    Don’t know if he was born an asshole but he’s been practicing at it for a very long time. He is the epitome of the rethuglican party/conservatives. Their goal is to steal every thing they can, to fuck over anyone and everyone who isn’t rich including their supporters, and laugh all the way to the bank. They are a plague on humanity.

  38. 38.

    JohnO

    Paul Ryan didn’t know what insurance is/how it works. “The problem with [ACA] is that healthy people are paying for the sick.” That anyone (ANYONE!) can consider him in any way a “wonk” after this and his Rand worship is why I think I was born at the perfect time in the arc of American history.

    LOL What a moron/asshole (the distilled definition of the modern Republican).

    The actual quote, according to the Great Gazoogle: “The whole idea of Obamacare is…the people who are healthy pay for the…sick. It’s not working, & that’s why it’s in a death spiral.”

  39. 39.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @khead: Peter Alexander @ PeterAlexander
    If it happens, Trump would effectively be using a megaphone, blaring that pardons are available to those who lie under other & obstruct justice.

  42. 42.

    khead

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Yeah, I understand that it’s about this.

    Still a bit bonkers though. Even with a fuck Nick Kristof thrown in. The somewhat non-political folks I know are all kinds of WTF? because they have the attention span of a gnat and can’t remember Scooter Libby.

  43. 43.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @khead: hell, non-political folks barely remember who Dick Cheney was. Which is why the studied, self-congratulatory and precious high-mindedness of Nick Kristof– our justice system is too punitive, he’s paid a high price, he didn’t enrich himself– makes me want to feed him to a herd of snapping turtles

  44. 44.

    Steeplejack (phone)

    @Amir Khalid:

    Nicolle Wallace, who worked in the Bush administration and was closely involved in the media planning around the Libby affair, said on Rachel Maddow’s show tonight that Dubya was adamant about not pardoning Libby.

  45. 45.

    burnspbesq

    On a much happier note, Princeton forward Leslie Robinson, niece of the Obamas, was selected by New York in the third round of the WNBA draft.

  46. 46.

    danielx

    @Mary G:

    Purely as a matter of curiosity, does anyone know how much your average pundit is paid? I realize it’s a large range, but if you had to pick a number out of the air?

  52. 52.

    Mike in NC

    Maddow’s covering the juicy stuff that will come out of James Comey’s book, while he’s being attacked by the usual suspects.

  53. 53.

    Mnemosyne

    @Steeplejack (phone):

    Remember, Pappy Bush ran the CIA before he was Reagan’s VP. There used to be some residual feeling that blowing a CIA agent’s cover for partisan political reasons was a bad idea.

    Used to be, that is.

  56. 56.

    danielx

    @Steve on St. Simons Island:

    Well, I am in no doubt that they’re paid a damn sight more than they are worth. Just wondering…though if there is one thing in this uncertain world of which I am tolerably certain, it is that David Brooks (an egregious example) has been paid millions in the last decade. Realizing that most of his money comes from the FNYT, he’s certainly not spending his Sunday mornings wearing a pound of makeup for free.

    ETA: Yeah, I know, Brooks should be living in a cardboard box under an overpass in Wheeling WV or some such. It should only be so….

  58. 58.

    Barry

    @Calouste: 9f-Ingalls IPad won’t copy)

    It’s not an affair, it’s that Ryan doesn’t have the guts to fight as minority leader, like Pelosi. He’s gotten his tax cuts and will be richly rewarded. All that awaits him in Congress is hard work.

  59. 59.

    Uncle Cosmo

    @JohnO: Most of yinz overlook the fact that the term wonk was coined at Hahvahd at least 2 generations ago (FTR I know this because I heard it as an undergrad at another school) by simply – wait for it –

    spelling “know” backwards.

    And that’s about right for ZEGS: Everything he “knows” is ass-backward. Bastard.

    @Calouste: Big blue eyes, workout “wonder” – my money’d be on “live boy.” And Vlad the Paler has the vids.

  60. 60.

    Raven Onthill

    My influential Democratic Senator, Patricia Murray, tweeted:

    I got to know @SpeakerRyan well when we worked together on a bipartisan budget deal in 2013, and while we frequently found areas of disagreement, I have tremendous respect for his commitment to public service. I hope that @SpeakerRyan spends the rest of his time as Speaker working to make meaningful progress for families and the middle class—and I wish him and his family the best. -PM

    Always good to see honest, competent, effective opposition leadership.

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