If you read that New Yorker article about Paul Ryan, you will notice that the zombie-eyed granny starver considers James Pethokoukis a confidant.
That’s what Ryanmentum is all about: turning up the Nuge and rocking out to Ayn Rand and Red Dawn.
Zombie-Eyed Granny Starver
The Dog that Ain’t Barking
GOS’s Laura Clawson is getting here before me, but there’s an overwhelmingly obvious truth unsaid within the now-notorious Politico piece on Republican campaign operatives’ despair over the Ryan pick.
The piece channels keening over the fact Ryan plan screws up what was presumed to be the Republican’s best tactical approach to winning the White House, by shifting focus from Obama’s record on the economy (however distorted or outright BS-ed the Romney characterization of that record was and would be) to one in which we will confront a choice between to sharply distinct policy and moral visions for the future.
That is: the Politico folks take the usual horserace approach to the latest twist in the campaign.
But that approach buries the lead lede. Yes, the economy ain’t that great and Romney could build traction there, again, however disengenously. But the real story here is something that we’ve been talking about more or less overtly for the last several days — and that’s the bit Politico and its GOP sources really want to avoid talk about.
Consider:
“I think it’s a very bold choice. And an exciting and interesting pick. It’s going to elevate the campaign into a debate over big ideas. It means Romney-Ryan can run on principles and provide some real direction and vision for the Republican Party. And probably lose. Maybe big,” said former President George W. Bush senior adviser Mark McKinnon.
…
Another strategist emailed midway through Romney and Ryan’s first joint event Saturday: “The good news is that this ticket now has a vision. The bad news is that vision is basically just a chart of numbers used to justify policies that are extremely unpopular.”
These are technical doubts: how is Romney going to win an election in which he has to defend very specific proposals that voters actually loathe.
But the real point isn’t that Ryan’s presence on the ticket makes it harder for the GOP to figure out how to write ads or get out the vote come November. It is that Ryan’s presence brings into sharp relief exactly what the party and its backers has spent decades trying to obscure. Republicanism doesn’t work. It sucks. Really, truly, deeply.
That is to say, as everyone reading this already knows — but too many in the country haven’t grasped, yet — the basic policy presumptions of the Republicans either have been tried and been seen to fail (see, e.g. tax cuts and economic growth, George Bush II edition) or can be analyzed and recognized as disastrous. (See, e.g., the GOP and Ryan plan to return health care to the status quo ante of the pre-Obamacare universe, only worse, with no cost controls and the burden of paying for health care inflation shifted from a national insurance pool to an individually aging population, AKA You and Me).
It never gets better. With every attempt to look at actual empirical evidence, the basic inadequacy of the low-tax/deregulated/War of All Against All approach to the social contract becomes more obvious. The voters get this — which is why the Ryan plan is seen as literally intolerable when described accurately to just folks.
That’s the real story. Not the horse race stuff. No. The GOP as “led” by Romney and actually headed by the forces behind him and Ryan is committed to a program that is literally destructive to America. Not just most Americans — but to the overall health of the economy, the environment, and all the physical, human, and moral infrastructure that makes somewhere a good or bad place to live.
Put this another way. As Politico likes to report, political tacticians worry about now to the election:
….
Republican consultant Terry Nelson is hoping that a big debate on the presidential level will make it tougher for Democrats to mischaracterize the debate down ballot, where many Republican candidates in the House and Senate have already taken votes in favor of the Ryan plan. The more Romney and Ryan have to defend Ryan’s plan in the presidential race, the more they’ll provide air cover for other candidates.
Well, perhaps.
But if that “defense” forces voters to think hard about what the Republican approach to America’s future actually means…well that’s Obama’s job, and ours, isn’t it?
Images: Edgar Degas, Race Horses in a Landscape, 1894
Pieter Breughel the Elder, Portrait of an Old Woman, c. 1564
Don’t Know Much…
There is the one bit of conventional wisdom coagulating around Romney’s Veep selection that is absolutely true. We face a stark — really an existential — choice this November.
There are any number of ways to characterize the two branches that split from that decision, but for me it boils down to a commitment to the idea of society — that we exist as both individuals and as members of groups, with all the enhancement and constraint of experience that comes with such associations. One side honors that concept; the other derides it.
All this is to say go read Benjamin Hale’s very thoughtful piece up at The New York Times‘ The Stone blog.
Hale offers a much more measured argument than anything I find myself capable of composing right now, channeling his inner John Rawls to provide a framework for understanding just how literally anti-social Ryan and Romney are. His restraint makes his conclusion all the more potent:
The question of fairness has widespread application throughout our political discourse. It affects taxation, health care, education, social safety nets and so on. The veil of opulence would have us screen for fairness by asking what the most fortunate among us are willing to bear. The veil of ignorance would have us screen for fairness by asking what any of us would be willing to bear, if it were the case that we, or the ones we love, might be born into difficult circumstances or, despite our hard work, blindsided by misfortune. Society is in place to correct for the injustices of the universe, to ensure that our lives can run smoothly despite the stuff that is far out of our control: not to hand us what we need, but to give us the opportunity to pursue life, liberty and happiness. The veil of ignorance helps us see that. The veil of opulence keeps us in the dark.
Do go read the whole thing.
The modern Republican Party can’t be reformed, I think; it can only be unmade, till not one brick stands on the next.
Factio Grandaeva Delenda Est.
Image: Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Potsdamer Platz,1914.
Politico Thinks Paul Ryan is Hot; Wonders if Paul Ryan *Likes Them* Likes Them
Oh for fuck’s sake, Politico:
Upon hearing the news of Ryan’s nomination, TMZ was quick to declare Ryan “the hottest vice presidential candidate ever.”
In 2008, Ryan was included in The Hill’s 50 Most Beautiful list with the following write-up: “Let’s face it, the reform of entitlements like Social Security is an important topic for members of Congress to debate. But listening to lawmakers speak about it on the floor does not exactly cause the heart to race. Unless, that is, the speech is being delivered by the tall, handsome and fiscally conservative Rep. Paul Ryan.”
One of the suggestions offered by Google when you search for “Paul Ryan”? “Paul Ryan shirtless.”
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Romney is Lying About President Obama Stealing Money from Medicare
Robot/Zombie 2012
Mitt Romney is still lying about Medicare — no surprise there. Also it is no surprise that Romney is now dog whistlin’ while he does it. It’s the southern strategy updated for the twenty-first century:
“What Paul Ryan and I have talked about is saving Medicare, is providing people greater choice in Medicare, making sure it’s there for current seniors. No changes, by the way, for current seniors, or those nearing retirement. But looking for young people down the road and saying, “We’re going to give you a bigger choice.” In America, the nature of this country has been giving people more freedom, more choices. That’s how we make Medicare work down the road.”
Get it? He is “robbing” Medicare. The black guy is stealing money from seniors! He is coming for your wallet!
Loath as I am to cite Politifact, they clearly explain why the current talking point about Obama cutting $500 billion from Medicare is a steaming pile of horseshit:
There’s a small bit of truth here. The Affordable Care Act does reduce Medicare spending by $500 billion over the next 10 years. But here’s the catch: Those dollars aren’t taken out of the current budget, they are not actual cuts, and nowhere does the bill actually eliminate any current benefits.
The $500 billion is all in future spending reductions and come through the law’s attempts to slow projected growth, not cut spending.
PolitiFact National has highlighted the biggest bits of savings: About $220 billion comes from reducing annual increases in Medicare payments to health care providers. Another $36 billion comes from increasing premiums for higher-income beneficiaries. Administrative changes land another $12 billion in savings. A new national board is set to come up with $15.5 billion in savings — but can’t get those savings from a reduction in benefits. The last big chunk of $136 billion comes in changes to the Medicare Advantage program, which has become more expensive than initially anticipated.
If all those numbers make your eyes glaze over like they do mine, the bottom line is this:
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Obama Campaign Ad Goes After #RomneyRyan2012: ‘Back to the Failed Top-Down Policies’
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.