Paul Ryan: The Smoke and Mirrors Man

Paul Ryan: The Smoke and Mirrors Man
P. Schultz
August 16, 2012

Here are two selections from two columnists, John Dionne and David Stockman, who can be fairly characterized as from different parts of the political spectrum, commenting on Paul Ryan and his allegedly incredibly smart budget proposal. When will people understand that Ryan is anything but an intellectual giant but only looks like one in the midst of intellectual midgets and that he is anything but a deficit hawk? His goal is not to reduce the deficit but rather to redistribute the wealth UP!

“What’s striking is not just that down-ballot Republican candidates are distancing themselves from Ryan’s proposals, particularly on Medicare, but that Romney won’t take ownership of them either, except in vague terms. Worse, the Romney apparatus is forcing Ryan to distance himself from his own budget. It was sad to watch Ryan dancing around these issues on Fox News Tuesday night and having to say that Romney is the boss. How long before conservatives start producing “Let Ryan Be Ryan” bumper stickers?

“Oh, yes, and Ryan could not explain when his fiscal plan would balance the books (presumably because the right answer is somewhere past 2030). “I don’t know exactly when it balances,” Ryan told Brit Hume. So much for specificity.” John Dionne, in the Washington Post, August 16, 2012

“In short, Mr. Ryan’s plan is devoid of credible math or hard policy choices. And it couldn’t pass even if Republicans were to take the presidency and both houses of Congress. Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan have no plan to take on Wall Street, the Fed, the military-industrial complex, social insurance or the nation’s fiscal calamity and no plan to revive capitalist prosperity — just empty sermons.” David Stockman in the New York Times, August 13, 2012