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2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumDiagnosing Paul Ryan’s psychopathy: Arrogant, manipulative, deceitful, remorseless
Paul Krugman revealed Ryan's big con years ago. It's gotten worse. Why does anyone take him seriously on policy?PAUL ROSENBERG
If the GOP as a whole has pretty much given up on the whole rebranding thing, their 2012 vice presidential nominee, Congressman Paul Ryan, most definitely has not. In fact, rebranding is pretty much his thing, regardless of how credible or incredible, actually his efforts may be.
For years, Ryan touted himself as an avid Ayn Rand disciple, until he didnt in early 2012, even calling it an urban legend that he had anything serious to do with Rand at all. He then tried to present the latest iteration of his draconian soak-the-poor/shower the rich budget proposal as grounded in Catholic social teaching, rather than Rands fiercely anti-Christian philosophy, a claim that the conservative U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops soundly rejected, writing that his proposed budget failed to meet certain moral criteria by disproportionately cutting programs that serve poor and vulnerable people.
Now, seeking to put all memory of the 47 percent campaign behind him, Ryans trying to take that reinvention to a whole new level. Hes still touting a budget that dramatically slashes spending on programs that benefit Americans of limited means 69 percent of all cuts including $137 billion from food stamps, 24 percent or $732 billion from Medicaid, and $125 billion from Pell Grants, among others while giving millionaires an average tax cut of at least $200,000. Yet, at the same time, Ryan is trying to reinvent himself as someone whos serious about fighting poverty, only from a conservative perspective.
Setting the massive contradictions aside for the moment, its not an absurd idea in theory. The modern European welfare state was actually invented by conservatives, beginning in Germany, under the first post-unification chancellor, Otto von Bismarck. But this happened in the face of a powerful socialist movement, amidst tremendous dislocations, as well as international pressures that gave German elites powerful reasons to want to make life in Germany much more tolerable for the German people as a whole. In short, when the real-world political incentives are there, history shows that conservatives really can find effective ways to help fight poverty. The only problem is, the solutions they come up are the very thing that cause conservatives today, like Ryan and his Tea Party brethren, to foam at the mouth, and call socialism!
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http://www.salon.com/2014/05/03/diagnosing_paul_ryans_psychopathy_arrogant_manipulative_deceitful_remorseless/
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Diagnosing Paul Ryan’s psychopathy: Arrogant, manipulative, deceitful, remorseless (Original Post)
DonViejo
May 2014
OP
gopiscrap
(23,757 posts)1. Self centered, spoiled piece of shit
is what he is!
Third Doctor
(1,574 posts)3. Exactly
He is the face of what's wrong with the GOP and about 40% of the country imo.
gopiscrap
(23,757 posts)6. agreed.
demigoddess
(6,640 posts)4. narcissist
pathological self centeredness, can't be cured or talked out of.
Scuba
(53,475 posts)2. Just another sleazy snake oil salesman.
HooptieWagon
(17,064 posts)5. Did he come up with his plan while climbing a mountain?
Both are fabrications.