The Truth About Paul Ryan

[Donnachaidh]

http://www.progressive.org/bybee0311.html

When Republican leaders chose Representative Paul Ryan to give the response to President Obama’s State of the Union speech, they bestowed their blessing on this fast-rising star from Wisconsin’s First District.

His is the boyishly handsome face and cheery demeanor of free market fundamentalism—a philosophy that has devastated his own district with particularly acute suffering. And now, as the new chair of the House Budget Committee, Ryan promises more devastation for the rest of the nation.

“Paul Ryan is a phony and a disaster,” says John Dohner, president of Local 95 of the United Auto Workers in Janesville, Ryan’s hometown. “The people I know aren’t fooled by his smile or surprised by his votes. They see him as a slickster, not a friend.”

But a huge majority of voters in Ryan’s district seem to be fooled, or at least fail to see any credible alternative. They keep sending him back to Washington. Last fall, Ryan’s opponents were frustrated yet again as he skated to victory with 68 percent of the vote over barely funded—and thus barely visible—Democrat John Heckenlively. Ryan pulled this off even though on Election Day, cities in his district had jobless rates between 10.3 percent and 13.4 percent.

More at the link --

[lunatica]

1. He's not the first slick sociopath elected to Congress

And the more I see these sociopaths the more I see them as grifters. It makes sense that they're there. Just look at the power they wield. Literally life and death power.

[Ilsa]

2. I was listening to the Thom Hartman program. They said Ryan

was a beneficiary of Social Security benefits in his youth because his father died prematurely. I am amazed that he could grow up under that protection then attempt to tear it away from others.

[Donnachaidh]

3. He saved that money to go to college

He certainly wasn't the typical kid who needs the money to live. I received death benefits from my Mom, and that $160 a month meant I could EAT.