Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Sometimes the world just tells you your cat is here.

Mediocre white men think RFK Jr’s pathetic midlife crisis is inspirational. The bar is set so low for them, it’s subterranean.

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

We will not go back.

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

I did not have this on my fuck 2025 bingo card.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

These days, even the boring Republicans are nuts.

The low info voters probably won’t even notice or remember by their next lap around the goldfish bowl.

If a good thing happens for a bad reason, it’s still a good thing.

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

Jesus watching the most hateful people claiming to be his followers

The arc of the moral universe does not bend itself. it is up to us to bend it.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

The worst democrat is better than the best republican.

Roe is not about choice. It is about freedom.

Of course you can have champagne before noon. That’s why orange juice was invented.

This really is a full service blog.

I see no possible difficulties whatsoever with this fool-proof plan.

The words do not have to be perfect.

American history and black history cannot be separated.

The unpunished coup was a training exercise.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

You are here: Home / Economics / C.R.E.A.M. / Zombie-Eyed Granny Starver Open Thread: Requiem for A World-Class Fraud

Zombie-Eyed Granny Starver Open Thread: Requiem for A World-Class Fraud

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Almost titled this “Respite from A WCF”, because we know he’ll be back on the Very Serious Media no later than Jan. 6 2019 (even sooner, if Trump completely decompensates and/or flees the country before then), making bank to represent whichever batch of oligarchs and kakistocrats offers him a dirty dollar.

But in this happy moment, let us remember the True Paul Ryan: lifelong suckler upon the gubmint teat, devout Ayn Rand fanboi, personage who stood out for unlikeability even in a party figureheaded by Donald Trump and frontlined by such specimens as Ted Cruz, Tom Cotton, and Stephen Miller…

A special panel dreamed up by Speaker Paul Ryan to end the constant cycle of government shutdowns crashed and burned on Thursday.

The special panel tasked with recommending budget fixes overwhelmingly rejected its own set of proposals, even after lawmakers admitted the package included only modest changes to the way Congress approves budgets and funds the government…

Over several months, the leadership-appointed panel swatted down the most ambitious ideas for overhauling the budget process. The final text of the agreement contained changes like requiring Congress to pass a budget every two years, instead of annually. It also would have required a “fiscal state of the nation” report each year.

Sweeping proposals to “de-weaponize” the debt ceiling, tighten spending limits and disband Congress’ budget committees were all voted down or withdrawn…

He’s going out as he came in, attempting to delegitimize votes along strictly partisan lines…

… Gee, ZEGS, let’s try to parcel this out, shall we? You fronted for an administration* that was xenophobic to the point of ripping families apart, apparently for sport, and for taking a brutally hard line on all immigrants, legal and otherwise. A somewhat gentler version of that was enough to end Pete Wilson’s political career in California 20 years ago. And Wilson was reasonably popular at the time and not a maniac…

Remember when people thought this guy was smart?

Jon Chait, at NYMag, “Paul Ryan Departing Washington in a Blaze of Fraudulence“:

In a valedictory interview with the Washington Post, House Speaker Paul Ryan depicted himself, and was in turn depicted by his hosts, as he has always chosen to be seen: a wonk-statesman, a little too good and pure for the ugly world of politics, who pointed the way toward a brighter and more responsible future and of whom it could be said, at the very worst, failed only to achieve the ideals for which he strived…

Nobody present was so impolite as to point out that Ryan has devoted his career to passing policies that would increase the national debt. Under the Bush administration, he supported every one of the debt-financed measures that turned the surplus the administration inherited into the trillion-dollar annual deficit it bequeathed its successor: tax cuts, a Medicare prescription-drug benefit, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a large security buildup, all financed by debt. Indeed, Ryan distinguished himself from his party by urging the administration to support even larger, costlier, and more debt-laden versions of the tax cuts and Social Security privatization schemes than it was willing to endorse. Ryan’s primary complaint with Bush was that he was too fiscally responsible.

Under the Obama administration, Ryan opposed the deficit-reducing health-care reform that has led to falling health-care inflation, and foiled efforts by President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner to craft a bipartisan deal to reduce the debt. Once he was able to enjoy a Republican president who would sign his bills, Ryan passed a huge debt-financed tax cut…

“I think history is going to be very good to this [Republican] majority,” he proclaimed. Only if historians are as gullible as the news media.

Reader Interactions

45Comments

  5. 5.

    Waldo

    Coulda been worse. If Romney hadn’t flopped in 2012, we might be looking at Ryan 2020. I mean, that’s not going to happen now, right?

  8. 8.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Waldo: Ryan’s political career is dead. Now he is off to receive his just receipts from the Koch brothers-1, Adelson, Freiss, Mercers, etc etc. They owe him big time. Here’s hoping they pull a trump on him and never pay up at the contracted rates.

  11. 11.

    Platonailedit

    Yet another media made monster of a fraud. Pity WI assholes handed over his seat to another rethug.

  13. 13.

    David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch

    The pig didn’t even have the guts to hand over the gavel to Nancy Smash.

    The coward is cutting and running.

  14. 14.

    NotMax

    Ugh. Rearrangement project underway necessitated slitherling underneath the sofa and also under and partially behind the desk in order to switch out some wires among equipment and at wall outlets in both locations.

    If anyone is missing any dust, give a holler. I found it. With accumulated interest.

    Only way to fit under the sofa – after pulling out various and sundry items stored there – and be able to reach far enough was on my back (trust me, moving it far enough out from the wall is out of the question), which made things even more cumbersome and required nearly a full half hour recovery time afterwards, sitting slumped in a chair, dizzily light-headed, sneezing copiously, and drenched in sweat. Mucho new respect for the small yet powerful rechargeable LED flashlight.

    Big thing was getting into place, out of sight and off the floor a six foot long 14 gauge extension cord for something newly acquired which is capable of drawing a goodly bit o’ power. But it is now all accomplished, and that was the last step, so huzzah.

  18. 18.

    NotMax

    As I understand it, he’ll continue to have House gym privileges, so his direct presence (and machinations) will not be entirely removed from the legislative playing field.

  19. 19.

    Lapassionara

    Good morning, everyone. I made the mistake of reading the story about the young women who claims she had sex with Dershowitz and now I need brain bleach. Blecch.

  20. 20.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @joel hanes: It’s over, killed by his own hand. He never liked politics all that much. He had a lot more fun when he was just another back bencher. It was actually painful to watch him as candidate for VP with Romney.

  22. 22.

    opiejeanne

    Off Topic, somewhat, but have any of you seen the recent proposal by the junior senator from Okahoma to take $5 billion from Social Security in cuts in order to pay for the damned wall? Senator James Lankford. Says it’s not too much to spend on such a worthwhile project. Can’t find the link now. I know they’ve been trying this out, huge cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, but this is the latest attempt to raid the funds.

  24. 24.

    opiejeanne

    @NotMax: Every time Ryan’s job driving the Weinermobile comes up, I think of the ending of The Santa Clause and how as a kid the second husband just wanted a Weiner Whistle for Christmas.

    Somebody give Paul Ryan one of those damned whistles!

  26. 26.

    TS (the original)

    @David ??Merry Christmas?? Koch:

    The pig didn’t even have the guts to hand over the gavel to Nancy Smash.

    Cut and run is all they know – weak in the extreme. trump will do the same – no way will he be around to meet the new dem President.

  27. 27.

    NotMax

    @Raven

    As always, does that consist of enough channels you’d actually want to watch? Although I believe they do carry TCM.

  29. 29.

    satby

    @TS (the original):

    trump will do the same – no way will he be around to meet the new dem President.

    with any luck the reason will be because he and Dense are in the slammer and the new Democratic President is Nancy Smash.

  35. 35.

    NotMax

    One good thing about the internet, it gives access to otherwise mothballed bits ‘n’ bobs.

    For example, a leisurely stretch o’ comedy from days of yore. Mr. Blanc excelled at making Mr. Benny crack up and milked his bits to the nth degree to do so.

  36. 36.

    Amir Khalid

    As Willard Romney’s running mate, Paul liked to present himself as an economics wonk. but his economics was only ever a cargo-cult approximation.

  39. 39.

    Another Scott

    @Raven: I signed up for it when it was $35 a month, but honestly haven’t even looked at it yet. I don’t watch a lot of TV but wanted the option when we finally cut the cable cord.

    Cheers,
    Scott.

  41. 41.

    SFAW

    @Raven:

    Anybody tried youtube TV?

    My brother has it, he really likes it. (I would have said “loves,” but not sure about that level of like.) Plenty of variety, local channels too (which means we can watch Jeopardy unencumbered, I think)

    He “invited” us to be on his “family plan,” so we’re going to try that soon (I hope). If/when we do it, I’ll report back to you. (May take a while.)

    As with satby, we have DirecTV. We’ve been trying to figure out how to dump it without also losing the things important to us (local TV, and, yes, Jeopardy).

  42. 42.

    SFAW

    @NotMax:

    “They have the Lower Slobovian Laundromat channel? Woo-hoo! Where do I sign?”

    Freakin’ libtard elitist SOB. Have you ever actually WATCHED that channel? No? Then don’t look down your nose at it. It’s amazing!

    OK, maybe not “amazing.” Maybe “better than watching and listening to Shitgibbon and Traitor Turtle all day.” Still …

  44. 44.

    bemused

    Every time I see or hear Paul Ryan, I think of his workout glamour photo wearing cap backwards with his chin on resting his fist. Ridiculous and pathetic but he must have been proud of those photos if he put them out there.

  45. 45.

    J R in WV

    @Raven:

    Youtube TV?

    $40 a month for 73 channels and a unlimited DVR, hmm.

    What do you need to plug into for that? Fiber innertubes?

    How much does that cost for unlimited bandwidth?

    We can’t get hi-speed unlimited bandwidth at any cost, guess Youtube TV just won’t be in the cards for us, huh? Too bad…. glad I don’t watch much TV… football and a little news and weather is pretty much it for me.

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