Initially I thougth I’d use a variety of sources to point out the umm, let's call them "issues" a lot of folks had with Paul Ryan’s GOP Convention speech. Then it occurred to me that no matter how many prior articles I cited and no matter how many times I used data from the Congressional Record, all such “evidence” would be cast aside as the machinations of a liberal press. (as R&R have stated, they won’t let factcheckers ruin a good convention) It was at about that point in my searching that I ran across a very succinct analysis of Ryan’s speech by none other than Fox’s own Sally Kohn ON FOX’s Web site! If a Fox columnist said it about the GOP VP, it couldn’t possibly fall into the automatically discredited pile of liberal trash, right?
(Of course, by the time you read this, Ms. Kohn will probably no longer be employed by Fox)
Fox’s own headline for Ms. Kohn’s Aug. 30 column was: Ryan’s Speech In Three Words: Dazzling, Deceitful, Distracting.
Kohn sums it up in this favorite quote of mine:
"…to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to facts, Ryan’s speech was an apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech."
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/08/30/paul-ryans-speech-in-three-words/#ixzz257uJYZEB
Again, I want to be VERY clear about this: these are Fox News columnist, Sally Kohn’s words, not mine!
Ms. Kohn goes on to delineate the more, uh, shall we say “problematic” parts of Ryan’s speech, listing her own version of the facts next to what Mr. Ryan said. Of course, Kohn’s facts are merely corroborated by WaPo and NYTimes (and just about every other major news outlets’ columnists and fact checkers,) Ryan’s voting record, previous statements from Ryan, and what little info Team R&R has offered about their budget proposals thus far. Who could possibly know what the actual truth is. How would one ever verify said truth? If R&R have taught us anything to this point, it’s that their significant stances are subject to changing with the political environment, the whims of their party, and the audience at the moment, but back to the topic at hand: Here’s the list of less than accurate items Fox News’s Ms. Kohn noted:
Ryan said: the downgrade of the US’s credit rating was all Obama
Kohn said: the threat by Republicans in Congress to refuse to increase the debt ceiling was the direct cause of the downgrade
Now, to be fair, that wasn’t exactly Ryan’s fault. He’s only one man in congress. If we were to lay blame, we’d have to start with the Congressional Budget Committee members like Michelle Bachmann or perhaps the Chairman of said committee. Who was that again? Oh, yeah, It was Paul F-ing Ryan!.
Nevermind that raising the debt ceiling has been a matter of course for years, or that Ryan did it routinely during the W administration resulting in ballooning deficit spending that turned the only budget surplus in our lifetime into the largest deficit ever up to that point.
Here’s another
Ryan said: Obama policy led to the shut down of the Janesville, WI, GM plant.
Kohn (and most calendars) said: the plant was shut down before Obama took office (when will these Fox people stop blaming W for everything?!)
Oddly, Ryan failed to mention his conflict with his new boss over supporting the auto bailout. Yep, Romney hated it, Ryan supported it. Romney claims it is corporate welfare from an entitlement-based, big government administration.(initiated by W… when will Romney stop blaming W for everything?) Ryan says it saved as many as a million jobs. Obama tried to add some administrative control over it (vs. just handing out billions of dollars to private corporations). So it seems as though in this instance, Ryan has more in common with Obama than with Romney. Perhaps that’s why Ryan wants to have it both ways on this one. In his confusion, he seems to have forgotten the dates of the events in question. (but hey, that’s a lot of dates to keep track of)
Next:
Ryan said: Obama says all private sector success is because of government
Kohn says: That’s not what Obama said, “period” (right… even this Fox reporter understood what the Kenyan refugee was trying to say, but the guys running for Pres and VP didn't get it?? Really?? And THIS is what they're gonna hang their campaign on... a mild mix up in word order? Thank goodness they don't have a chance.)
Without getting into the notion that governmnet has, in fact, directly subsidized every major industry in this country at some point, to some degree, starting with the railroad that linked the coasts, and from which every modern industry grew, and which would NEVER have happened if left to private financing, Obama merely pointed out that this country offers roads, power grids, safe water and sewer systems, the protection of a strong military, police, and firefighters, and without them, it would be very difficult for any new business to thrive… that we ALL contribute to this as THE PEOPLE, and, furthermore that Government IS the PEOPLE… hence blaming government is blaming ourselves, not just the Repubs or just the Dems, but all of us… yeah, so without getting into all of that, only a politically motivated fool seeking to grab a sound bite rather than standing on one’s own substance would continue to use that sound bite as proof of anything other than a hatred for this country, it's political process, and what it stands for. Mr. Ryan, Mr. Romney, why do you two hate America?
Ryan said: Obama would cut $716 billion from Medicare
Kohn says: a) that’s an almost identical amount that would be cut in Ryan’s proposal, only Ryan’s is funded by increased taxes on the middle class, b) Obama’s proposal lists that figure as savings in reimbursment rates, which actually LOWER the out of pocket expenses of Medicare users as well(and while pesky old facts may cause a different interpretation about these savings, they are not in dispute for our purposes, cuz Ryan brags about them in his own budget proposal.) In addition, Obamacare further reduces the burden of Medicare users by covering many of the expenses dropped by Medicare to obtain those savings.
One would presume a man who embraces the “wonk/intellectual” moniker as Ryan does, would know the facts of his own proposal. If he does, this is more than simple deception, it’s an outright lie for political gain.
Ryan said: “you are entitled to the clearest choice possible… we will not duck the tough issues.”
Kohn said: Ryan blew the opportunity to address the tough issues… the very issues on which R&R base their platform.
Where was the R&R budget proposal? Have the two not sorted out their broad differences enough to offer up any details yet?
Where was the logic (other than Biblical, because, of course, we shall pass no law...) behind their otherwise indefensible abortion position? Though neither Romney nor Ryan would ever be in the position to have an abortion (neither has a uterus), they have at least agreed on their stance about it – a stance that conflicts with a consistent 75% of Americans in EVERY poll taken when it comes to rape. A stance that says these two men know what's best for women.
Ryan’s implied concern for America’s senior citizens seems a little inconsistent with his past voting record in which he has clearly supported handing over Social Security to Wall Street – a group he still believes can best govern itself, much as they did leading to the crash of 2010, I guess.
Ryan the small government, fiscal conservative tax cutter didn’t mention the spending he consistently approved in W administration budgets. Or how his own budget proposals not only raise taxes on 95% of Americans in order to fund cuts for the wealthiest, but also INCREASE the deficit, which, by the way, could possibly require additional raising of the debt ceiling – the one thing we know Ryan opposes, except when he doesn’t. For a guy who has jumped on a "we can better manage the economy" ticket, he hasn't really offered much to go on. Not only do we have to guess what he means - stop spending (like he says) or support spending (like he actually did), but we have to guess based on his past actions, not his promises for the future, right? And the R&R ticket seems to be behind the economic model we tried from 2000-2008, a period, if you'll recall, that began with a surplus and ended with a record deficit and recession.
As Kohn goes on to point out, this speech was Ryan’s chance to explain why his seeming inconsistencies are what’s best for the nation. He had an audience who would have bought even the dodgiest explanation. Instead, he promised to do just that, but then only attacked his opponent - on some pretty shaky grounds.
But hey, as Ms. Kohn said, at least they’re creating dozens of new jobs among "the legions of additional fact checkers that media outlets are rushing to hire to sift through the mountain of cow dung that flowed from Ryan’s mouth”
Her words, not mine!
Luth
Out
