2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumGOP Concerned Ryan Could Cost Party House And Senate Seats
By Cameron Joseph and Alexandra Jaffe - 08/13/12 06:11 PM ET
Republicans strategists are worried that Rep. Paul Ryans (R-Wis.) addition to the presidential ticket will cost their party House and Senate seats this fall.
Their concern: Democrats will successfully demonize Ryans budget plan, which contains controversial spending cuts and changes to Medicare.
There are a lot races that are close to the line we're not going to win now because they're going to battle out who's going to kill grandma first, ObamaCare or Paul Ryan's budget, said one Republican strategist who works on congressional races. It could put the Senate out of reach. In the House it puts a bunch of races in play that would have otherwise been safe. ... It remains to be seen how much damage this causes, but my first blush is this is not good.
Many Republicans in tough races this year, especially in the House, voted for Ryans proposal, which makes it hard for them to distance themselves from it.
MORE...
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/243473-gop-concerned-ryan-could-cost-party-house-and-senate-seats
southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)BeyondGeography
(39,276 posts)arcane1
(38,613 posts)Well-played, Mitt!!
Panasonic
(2,921 posts)Hopefully the Ryan seat will be turned over to the Democrats so Ryan has nowhere else to go but become a lobbyist for the first time ever and he wouldn't know how to fill the W-9 form correctly.
nichomachus
(12,754 posts)JNelson6563
(28,151 posts)Scuba
(53,475 posts)Politicalboi
(15,189 posts)Portman. But that's just my opinion. I'm glad he picked Ryan. He can't even make an easy pick. Had to go with the one who he is now distancing himself from.
Marvelous Mitt Marvelous.
zbdent
(35,392 posts)the Dems in the House number in the triple digits 1/4/2013 ...
global1
(25,166 posts)Tx4obama
(36,974 posts)It is pretty amazing that Romney's pick of Ryan blew up in the first 48 hours
high density
(13,397 posts)Oh, the HORROR!
Lil Missy
(17,865 posts)monmouth
(21,078 posts)Lil Missy
(17,865 posts)NewJeffCT
(56,827 posts)as well.
Thor_MN
(11,843 posts)much less having one with a 99%er?
gkhouston
(21,642 posts)It was a run-of-the-mill cute picture of the President chatting up a baby, but the linked article mentioned he got some beer and a pork chop on a stick. Can you image Romney eating food on a stick?
Thor_MN
(11,843 posts)I think he would consider that "quaint" and "roughng it".
In 88 when Poppy picked Quayle I didn't think I would ever see a dumber pol then came Dubya and now they found one even dumber than both put together, in Mittens
HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)NewJeffCT
(56,827 posts)I hope they're right and Democrats pick up as many seats as Republics did in 2010 because Republics are so un-enthused.
UnrepentantLiberal
(11,700 posts)Smooth move, Mitt.
Jeff In Milwaukee
(13,992 posts)LOL!
They damn will should be concerned. Democrats won two House seats in special elections in the past year, and let's not forget that even though Scott Walker kept his job in Wisconsin, three Republican State Senators lost theirs.
In a perfect world, I'd like to see the "big money" PACS focus their fire on the "do nothing" Congress. That would have the double benefit of helping Obama AND helping individual congressional candidates.
Motown_Johnny
(22,308 posts)^snip^
All Democrats can now run against the Ryan budget. All House and Senate candidates
now need to pick a side and it will be along party lines.
This is going to help us in Congress, not hurt us.
Mz Pip
(27,403 posts)Hard to believe he didn't have a bevy of GOP consultants and pollsters advising him on who to pick. I'm not sure how this was supposed to help Romney. There just aren't enough Teabaggers out there to win this for Romney. He already had their vote anyway since they hate Obama so much they would have voted for a dead rat over Obama.
Who is supposed to jump on board who already wasn't on board? Women? Ryan won't help there. Moderates? Fat chance. Minorities? I don't get it but then I don't get much of GOP politics these days.
Freddie
(9,231 posts)He was "advised by the party" just like McCain was. Remember how well that turned out.
If the PTB in the Repug Party didn't realize just how toxic Ryan's ideas are to the general public, then they really are living in an alternate universe.
My heart bleeds for them.
ailsagirl
(22,837 posts)Fingers crossed
tclambert
(11,080 posts)rocktivity
(44,555 posts)rocktivity
niyad
(112,424 posts)spinbaby
(15,073 posts)He not only picked the divisive candidate, he announced too early for the momentum to carry into the convention. Probably announced this weekend to distract us from that embarrassing whine where he begged Obama not to pick on his business record. And he STILL hasn't released his taxes. The billionaires can't throw enough money at this to cover up the stink.
tomm2thumbs
(13,297 posts)Sometimes throwing a drowning person an iron-anvil isn't the best thing
riverbendviewgal
(4,251 posts)I sure hope Obama gets the majority on both senate and hous.
It would be so good for America.
AdHocSolver
(2,561 posts)...by means of voting restrictions, phony "felon lists", and hacked voting machines so that the Republicans don't need to get more votes on the basis of their political agenda.
existentialist
(2,190 posts)to a more fitting bunch of folks.
californiamike49
(4 posts)They win elections by pretending not to be as right-wing as they really are (remember Gee Dubya, the "compassionate conservative Connecticut cowboy?" , but when they do win they decide America must have voted for their radical agenda.
Then they overreach and we have a real change election.
Currently the GOP makes Goldwater look like a liberal and Reagan look like a moderate. And isn't it a great move when you absolutely need to win Florida to nominate the scariest candidate possible to senior citizens? Mittens has a completely tin ear.
humbled_opinion
(4,423 posts)at my job are spinning this. "The trajectory of the debt because of the medicare and Social Security deficits puts both programs on an unsustainable path that will ruin the economy in the next 10-15 years. The time to act is now not leave this for the next generation because than it will be too late and the programs will fall to austerity and may destroy the entire economy. tax increases will not be enough to pay to fix the program and even tax increases only buy more time because the only way to deal with it is by dealing with the cost of medical care itself."
Then they claim that the country certainly will have a choice in NOV and they say that inevitably the people will decide if the majority has concluded that it is entitled to vote itself benefits from the public trust than they claim it will mean the end of the Democracy because it will only be a matter of time before the rich who pay for it all will abandon everyone else and prepare for the coming dictatorship... blah blah...
Amonester
(11,541 posts)Wow. Maybe a return to taxing those mega-duper-beyond-reason riches on the 1960 level is too simple a solution... and eliminating the cap for SS so everyone pays in it, everyone gets it, and they then do their taxes each year so those who don't need it pay it back.... too simple a solution for them I know.
humbled_opinion
(4,423 posts)They say what are we going the route of France with a 75 percent tax rate for the rich and if that is true, I always get hammered with this one.... " We all agree that the rich don't pay their fair share", but taxing them more will not ensure that they pay on single dime more, because the rich are not altruistic nor are they dumb they are rich and have the means and methods to hide, move, take advantage of loopholes, hire accountants, play tricks, cheat, and or ultimately pass on those tax increases to the consumers that buy their goods and services because after all when have you bought something produced by a poor person or ever got a job by a poor person, so although noble taxing the rich doesn't work and never has....
They are steeped in this mentality...
Yavin4
(35,354 posts)why don't they advocate raising taxes now as well?
humbled_opinion
(4,423 posts)reforming the programs will make them solvent and there will be no need for tax increases. Of course they say all Americans rich and poor are taxed enough already and they add that making government smaller will solve the fiscal issues. Of course I immediately get labled a tax and spend type because all I advocate according to them is more government programs which cost more taxpayer money and grant more benefits that simply cannot be paid for without additional revenue...
I argued this point down with them before and it appears they are totally convinced that moving any money out of the private economy to be managed by government is always a bad move because of the government waste involved leaves little or no ROI and only manages to give government more power and more control over our lives....
It's impossible to change their minds...
outsideworld
(601 posts)Just Joined to Get You folks help make this viral
The first video is self-explanatory, but I have transcribed as much of it here as possible because of the poor quality of the audiovisuals. This took place last fall at one of Congressman Rep. Ryans Pay to Play town hall meetings where he was discussing cutting Seniors Social Security, and Medicare as a means of debt reduction. As you might imagine, one senior was not pleased.
Ryan: Most of our debt in the future comes from our entitlement programs.
Senior citizen: Hey, (Garbled; Ryan continues to speak). I paid into that for 50 years, my unemployment and my Social Security and my Medicare, and now youre gonna
At this point you hear the police who are dragging him out shouting, on the ground, on the ground.
Ryan then jokes, I hope hes taken his blood-pressure medication, and the room laughs with him.
http://www.addictinginfo.org/2012/08/11/paul-ryan-cracks-joke-as-71-year-old-citizen-is-forced-to-the-ground-videos/
CNN AARP ETC lets get this to them . thx
Kali
(54,990 posts)so it is getting around
welcome to DU - it can be hard to scoop this place! LOL
best place on the tubes for news and info
progressivebydesign
(19,458 posts)I notice that every time Ryan gives his power point presentation, he starts with "end entitlements."
DianaForRussFeingold
(2,552 posts)Welcome to DU!
Here's a DU Op with updates:
"Paul Ryan CRACKS JOKE As 71 Year-Old CITIZEN Is FORCED To The Ground":
Post 18.: "71 year old retiree Tom Nielsen on why Paul Ryan had him arrested Audio Interview": http://www.democraticunderground.com/101748185
CobaltBlue
(1,122 posts)I think the Koch brothers are involved in this vice-presidential pick.
progressivebydesign
(19,458 posts)GOP should be worried. But this is what they got from their primaries. An vapid egomaniac that refused to listen to anyone's advice, and picked Ryan who is going to be a world of hurt for the GOP down ticket. He exposes you for the heartless pricks you really are.
So the Dems aren't making anything up about the Budget. It's there in black and white.. ain't no interpretation in a budget, folks. It's not fucking modern dance!!
KurtNYC
(14,549 posts)For example, Romney says shit like: "I will repeal Obamacare and replace it." He carefully never says WHAT he will replace it with.
Paul Ryan has already put his cards on the table.
What many fear Romney would do, Ryan has already promised to do.
Rosa Luxemburg
(28,627 posts)humbled_opinion
(4,423 posts)It is a tricky dance, but based on my talking with the teaheads at my job and what I am seeing starting to build up, I think they are trying to convince 51 percecnt that the debt trajectory is the number one threat to a our national security, they will talk about things like the sequestration that is going to take effect in the DOD because no one cut spending or raised revenues they will try and convince them that America as we understand it will not exist for our children and theirs because fiscal calamity ultimately destroys all the social programs via austerity, they will claim that we can see this trajectory in the last few years that even a recession can double the national debt overnight... They will start using charts and economists to show worst case scenarios. They will argue that when the interest rates are raised on our current debt there will never be enough revenue to even pay the interest payments
... and then when enough people are ripe they will say and what have the Democrats done about this for the last 6 years since the great change election of 2006 and when they took over the House and Senate they have failed to address any of these concerns they see the train wreck coming and refuse to offer any reforms to the entitlement programs that are causing this coming catastrophe no they only offer new programs, new spending, more debt for Obamacare and more debt by growing government bigger and more debt by bailing out the auto industry and more debt by their welfare free giveaways more debt that will ultimately destroy the USA..
jillan
(39,451 posts)had in 2009/2010.
Only problem is that Ted Kennedy was sick for most of the year, and then passed on (man - do I miss him!!) and it took forever to seat Al Franken.
It was actually less than 1 year when we controlled both houses of Congress.