Rep. Ryan Tastes The Grapes Of Wrath

[meegbear]

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), a leading advocate of shrinking entitlement spending and the architect of the plan to partially privatize Medicare, spent Tuesday evening sipping $350 wine with two likeminded conservative economists at the swanky Capitol Hill eatery Bistro Bis.

It was the same night reports started trickling out about President Obama pressing Congressional leaders to consider changes to Social Security and Medicare in exchange for GOP support for targeted tax increases.

The pomp and circumstance surrounding the waiter's presentation, uncorking and decanting of the pricey Pinot Noir caught the attention of another diner who had already recognized Ryan sitting with two other men nearby.

Susan Feinberg, an associate business professor at Rutgers, was at Bistro Bis celebrating her birthday with her husband that night. When she saw the label on the bottle of Jayer-Gilles 2004 Echezeaux Grand Cru Ryan's table had ordered, she quickly looked it up on the wine list and saw that it sold for an eye-popping $350, the most expensive wine in the house along with one other with the same pricetag.

Feinberg, an economist by training, was even more appalled when the table ordered a second bottle. She quickly did the math and figured out that the $700 in wine the trio consumed over the course of 90 minutes amounted to more than the entire weekly income of a couple making minimum wage.

<snip>

http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/07/rep-paul-ryans-pricey-pinot-noir.php?ref=fpa

[Militant_Populist]

1. Belt-tightening GOP style n/t

[MADem]

2. I LOVE stories like this! They make great campaign ads! nt

[corpseratemedia]

3. tax-payer funded OINK

[tritsofme]

4. Following politicians around to restaurants and razzing them over menu choices?

Is that what passes for political reporting these days? Bizarre.

I bet you can follow any of them all around town and see these scenes, and then count on one hand the number of congressmen that are not millionaires.

[pennylane100]

7. She did not follow him, she just happened to be at the same restaurant.

[LiberalAndProud]

9. This story serves to illustrate the disconnect between Ryan and most of the rest of us.

If you don't get that, I don't know what to say.

[lunatica]

12. If you read the OP you'll find she wasn't following him nor is she a reporter

[CBGLuthier]

5. Mr Harrison had his number

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXdKlpBOvs0

[pennylane100]

6. Many thanks to Ms Feinbergfor shining some light on the real Paul Ryan.

Does he not remember what happened to Marie Antoinette when she ignored the needs of the poor.

[Blue Owl]

8. Sour enough for ya there, Paul?

Because we can make it more sour.

[ThoughtCriminal]

10. We need to quit storing them

and trample out that vintage.

[TalkingDog]

11. Just think, if they could cut worker wages, they could afford even more wine.

(is the sarcasm thingy really necessary?)