Republicans Panic Over Ryan Pick; Kaine Campaign Pounces, Ties Ryan to Allen

I don't disagree ... but... (0.00 / 0)

I wouldn't project GLEE!!  After all Scott Walker won the recall effort.

Over in the polling area I selected "He's great, exactly what this country needs! - 2 votes (11.11%)".

Why? Well I think the whole Young Guns / Tea Party crowd really needs to be the referendum that the country votes on. The economy sucks, yes indeed. But is it because of the President's efforts ... or because of Republican Obstructionism lead by the Paul Ryans of the repug party?

It is the later of course. It is due to the conservative echo chamber that's been created and advanced by Roger Ailes & Fox News, etc. Rachel Maddow pointed out how we have a bifurcated media, last night. There's the conservative bubble ... and than everyone else.

I want to thank team Romney for making this election about all the stonewalling bullshite that's been going on for the last 3.5 years (6 years if you take in Jim Webb's battle with obstructionism) .... and they did so by selecting Paul Ryan. In the end a good selection for the country to vote on.

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by: Say What @ Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 17:14:39 PM UTC

One thing to remember (0.00 / 0)

Walker won that election, but he outspent his opponent something like 7 to 1. Sure, in 2012, Romney and GOP PACs will outspendObama and Democrats at every level (Presidential, Senatorial and Congressional), but it will not be at the same lopsided level.

Also, in Wisconsin, the opposition to Walker was fueled by unions, but the Democratic candidate that came out of the Democratic primary was not the favored union candidate, taking some wind out of Democrat's sails.

In short, Walker's victory is Wisconsin is not indicative of much.

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by: aznew @ Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 18:07:03 PM UTC

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Plus (0.00 / 0)

A recall election is extremely difficult to pull off.  I really, really don't see how the Wisconsin recall election has any bearing on the Presidential election.  Probably less than any special election to replace a Congressman.

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by: NotJohnSMosby @ Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 18:35:35 PM UTC

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Good point, and (0.00 / 0)

it was actually the second round of recall elections, making the voter fatigue even worse.

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by: aznew @ Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 20:56:50 PM UTC

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Scott Walker's re-election .... (0.00 / 0)

is indicative of the fact that azzholes can and do win. Nothing more. And with Romney Ryan we've got two Scott Walkers.

But yes I agree ... the 2012 presidential election is very different. My real point is that Ryan, Walker, Cantor, Romney ... the whole crowd and philosophy of the Republican party should be the issue. They've obliged and made it so.

The Democrats really need to seize on this and punish the Republicans for their obstruction and unreasonableness. In short they need to capitalize on this VP pick to regain control of the House ... and keep the Senate.

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by: Say What @ Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 19:38:32 PM UTC

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Agree (0.00 / 0)

Exit polls from the recall election showed that a fairly large number of voters, including some union members, felt that recall after just one year in office was too close to trying to redo a settled election. I don't agree with that point of view, but that and the combination of massive money being spent by the right wing to save Walker worked. A presidential election is another animal entirely.

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by: Elaine in Roanoke @ Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 19:38:53 PM UTC

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Ryan would double down on slashing student loans as well (0.00 / 0)

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by: lowkell @ Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 17:39:06 PM UTC

Video: President Obama pounces as well (0.00 / 0)

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by: lowkell @ Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 17:43:48 PM UTC

Video: David Axelrod How Romney-Ryan Plan "A Death Spiral for Medicare" (0.00 / 0)

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by: lowkell @ Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 17:47:31 PM UTC

Cue winger complaints about the 'librul' media (0.00 / 0)

in cahoots with Obama to demonize Ryan (when, of course, all the media is doing is reporting the facts about Ryan's extreme plan)...

Four....three....two....

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by: aznew @ Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 18:09:39 PM UTC

Video: Romney spokesman called out for being a liar, keeps right on lying! (0.00 / 0)

It's truly astounding how you can present Team Romney - and many Republicans, as far as I can tell - with independent facts and independent analysis completely debunking the crap they're spewing out, yet instead of saying "whoops, I'm so sorry I screwed up," they double down and spew it out even more! If that's not pathological lying, I don't know what is.


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by: lowkell @ Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 18:10:43 PM UTC

Press release: Kaine campaign update (0.00 / 0)

KAINE FOR VIRGINIA HIGHLIGHTS GRASSROOTS SUPPORT, KEY SIMILARITIES OF ALLEN/RYAN AGENDA

Richmond, VA - During a conference call this morning, Kaine for Virginia senior advisor Mo Elleithee and campaign manager Mike Henry delivered an update on the state of the Virginia Senate race, highlighting Tim Kaine's significant grassroots support and the numerous positions shared by new vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan and George Allen.

"I'm excited to announce we recently crossed the 30,000 donor threshold which is really an unprecedented number for a Democratic campaign in Virginia," said Henry. "We've done this in a variety of ways, but I think the biggest thing is it shows there's a lot of excitement for our race. People are responding to what Tim has to say and people are really engaged in our race."

To date, Kaine for Virginia has purchased, not just reserved, more than $3.5 million in prime television advertising time for the fall.

"Our strong fundraising advantage has become even more meaningful when you look at the outside money being spent on the race," said Henry. "There's more and more money in the system against us but we've really been able to hold our own. To date, the outside spending against is us over $8.2 million. We're at a 6:1 disadvantage in this race when it comes to spending from outside groups and the lion's share of that money, as you all know, is being spent on negative and misleading attacks."

Despite a massive influx of money from outside groups like Karl Rove's Crossroads organization, Americans for Prosperity, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, all public polling shows the race remains a dead head.

"We're keeping even because of the reputation of Tim Kaine, the record he has, the great work that we're doing communicating through earned media, and also the excitement that's out there with grassroots donors and grassroots supporters, as well. I'm really excited about the position we're in as we move into the traditional Labor Day kick-off of the campaign," said Henry.

Senior advisor Mo Elleithee also discussed the striking similarities between the policies of Paul Ryan and George Allen.

"I've been doing Virginia politics for a long time and it's not often that you see an election where there is such a clear contrast between the two candidates," said Elleithee. "The contrast between these two candidates has become even more pronounced and more amplified since the addition of Paul Ryan to the national ticket. You would be hard pressed to find many Republican Senate candidates around the country who are just so strikingly similar to Paul Ryan and whose views and record are so strikingly similar to Paul Ryan."

Elleithee focused on three main areas where Ryan and Allen agree and where their positions put them well out of the Virginia mainstream.

On Medicare and Social Security

"First, on the future of Medicare and Social Security. There's nothing he's better known for than his efforts to dismantle Medicare, end the Medicare program as we know it, and privatize Social Security," said Elleithee. "Well George Allen has been right there with him. The last time he was in the Senate George Allen voted alongside Paul Ryan in voting for President Bush's plan to partially privatize Social Security. On the campaign trail he has repeatedly praised the Ryan plan to privatize Medicare and shift costs to seniors. While he has spent a lot of time trying to avoid talking about both of these issues, the selection of Paul Ryan is going to make it very difficult for him to continue to avoid talking about either Social Security or Medicare."
On fiscal responsibility

"The second issue is a basic fiscal approach. Paul Ryan and George Allen have nearly identical records when it comes to fiscal issues," said Elleithee. "They were elected to Congress about two years apart and during the time they were both in Washington they presided over our nation's spiral from record surpluses to massive deficits. They both supported two wars without paying for them, tax cuts that ballooned the deficit without paying for them, domestic spending that helped add more than $3 trillion to the national debt because they didn't pay for it. And when you look at what both Paul Ryan and George Allen are advocating moving forward, they are saying that the right approach is to continue to extend the Bush tax cuts for all Americans including the top earners, and to deal with the deficit by advocating a 'cuts only' approach. That is not a fiscally responsible approach. It is not a balanced approach. And it is not an approach that Virginians support."

On women's health care

"Despite the fact that our nation faces really significant economic and fiscal challenges, Paul Ryan and George Allen have put federal personhood legislation towards the top of their priorities for federal legislation," said Elleithee. "Paul Ryan in 2009, as we were teetering on the brink of economic collapse, co-sponsored personhood legislation that could outlaw abortion and ban some forms of birth control. George Allen has said in this campaign that he will press for national personhood policy if voters send him back to Washington. That is not where most Virginians are."

Finally, Elleithee emphasized Tim Kaine's history of bringing people together to find common ground, strengthen the economy, and protect the rights of women to make their own health care decisions.

"Tim Kaine does not believe that these are the types of issues we ought to be focusing on in Congress, said Elleithee. "We need to actually find ways to unite people in order to get our economic and fiscal house back on the road to recovery, as opposed to fighting these ideological battles that divide us. And these aren't just ideological issues. These are economic issues, as well. When you go after women's health care issues you are fundamentally threatening the economic security of a family. Those are contrasts that we are looking forward to continuing to make during this campaign."

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by: lowkell @ Tue Aug 14, 2012 at 20:23:00 PM UTC

This couldn't be happening to a better group of losers. (0.00 / 0)

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by: pol @ Wed Aug 15, 2012 at 00:44:15 AM UTC

I'd give the Ryan choice a B- (0.00 / 0)

I think Romney could have chosen a better running mate -- e.g., Pawlenty, or Huntsman.  I was listening to a Ryan speech on CSPAN radio yesterday, and he seems to be only an average speaker, considering that he is a career politician.  He will probably soon wish that he had been working on his public speaking rather than P90X.  Ryan has a reputation as being a substantive guy, but he also brings a lot of baggage.  

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by: Quizzical @ Wed Aug 15, 2012 at 02:16:36 AM UTC

Huntsman Out (0.00 / 0)

Huntsman was never a possible choice. He, too, is a Mormon. He actually believes in evolution, the reality of climate change, etc. In other words, a classic, rational conservative. During the primary season, Huntsman was the only rational choice for the GOP to make if they were serious about governing. So, of course, he went nowhere.

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by: Elaine in Roanoke @ Wed Aug 15, 2012 at 11:58:28 AM UTC

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