How Dumb Do They Think We Are?

Today, Congressman Paul Ryan rolled out his hyper partisan budget for the third time, and it will be ignored like the others. He’s not being disingenuous because he actually thinks his proposals are what America needs and wants. Paul Ryan believes his own newspaper clippings because he is hailed by the right as being a being a brainy budget scholar. I have to admit; I was taken in by his appealingness until his work came into scrutiny because the math didn’t work out. The media treats him like a budget maestro with no equal. This morning Joe Scarborough said that Paul Ryan would present his budget, and the Senate will present theirs, and then the American people will decide. Andrea Mitchell quickly corrected Joe by saying that the voters made their choice in November. In GOP speak, it’s usually two out of three, or they keep going until they win. They never accept the results; remember Karl Rowe on election night and prior to that, all the polls were wrong.





Paul Ryan uses a simple Ayn Rand template to balance his budget. The idea is to cut everything except defense spending, and then the government won’t need as much money, and he’ll have the “the survival of the fittest” country he wants. He has the charm of a snake-oil salesman, and he tries to use that to say that he’s saving Medicare for his mom and others. He justifies leaving in the revenue from the fiscal cliff deal because he says he doesn’t want to fight old battles, but he wants to repeal Obamacare and replace Medicare with a voucher system. In reality, the savings from Obamacare and the tax increases helps him balance the budget in 10 years, and he admits that. You can tell where his heart is because he makes drastic cuts in food stamps and other social programs, block grants Medicaid to the states and wants to have only two tax brackets, a 10% one for us and a 25% rate for his wealthy friends. He can’t achieve his goal, unless he raises taxes on the poor or the middle class. We just went through that in the last presidential campaign. Chris Wallace said, “that’s not gonna happen” when Ryan acknowledged that repealing Obamacare was a major part of his budget. Ryan knows he doesn’t have enough votes to override a presidential veto, so he’s making a political statement, and his cohorts will follow him over that bridge once again.



I guess lying to your constituents is contagious because house GOPers are bragging about voting in favor of the recent  “Violence against Women Act” when in fact they voted for their own version which was defeated. Most republicans opposed the final version because it included expanded protections for LGBT, illegal immigrant, and Native American women, so Speaker Boehner had to rely once again on Nancy Pelosi and the democrats to carry the bill to the finish line.

Republicans will whine and cry foul because the lame stream media is being so unfair to them; yet they dominate the cable networks. Can you imagine what the headlines would be if Obama wanted to raise the rates on the wealthy again? The media keeps crying for the president to lead but don't ask the GOP to do anything because that’s like trying to herd cats. Republicans are fighting among themselves(except on spending cuts) and it’s just the quiet before the storm because Ann Coulter, Sarah Palin, Newt Gingrich,and Donald Trump are making their way into Washington for the annual CPAC Conference which starts Thursday.

Why I’m not a Republican

I'm sure the title of this blog is not surprising or disappointing for someone reading this blog. The title is merely a metaphor of what I learned this week about the distinct differences between the parties. Whether they want to admit it or not, political parties will change over time. For example, I'm convinced that the party of Lincoln from 1860 to 1870 was the best political party of all time. Today’s tea party version of the GOP is 180°and from that party.

It has always been my suspicion that the current GOP favors business over the interest of the middle class ant it was reaffirmed when I learned that the speakers mentioned business 87 times, Afghanistan once and our troops were never mentioned. I guess the theme was the failed economy, but all the speakers told stories out of their rise from poverty to success. They emphasized owning a small business. That's all well and good but what's wrong with praising the teacher, the nurse, the mechanic, and a plant worker who will buy the goods so that companies can hire more people. They marvel at American exceptionalism as if it's always an obtainable goal without the help of government. In his speech, the other night Chris Christie said, “our American seniors are not selfish, and they're willing to make a sacrifice." I'm not disputing that but their plan doesn't ask them to sacrifice because that would be political suicide. Their Medicare plan starts 10 years from now.

Another example is not really caring about the rising cost of health care because the insurance companies will do what’s right. Thursday night, Mitt Romney rolled out a third version of repealing Obamacare. He will now repeal and replace but didn't give any details on the replacement. I know in my inner being ,that Paul Ryan has not changed his stance on Medicare from a year ago. He doesn't like it. He doesn't think government should provide social services and in his first budget, which the Republican majority reluctantly voted for,  he intended to replace Medicare with a voucher. He then saw  it as a political mistake(polls) and changed it to a choice voucher or status quo program; knowing full well that his voucher system would drain funds from the government Medicare. He's a disciple of Ayn Rand, but he knows that's not a popular political ideology.

I got the inspiration for this blog by watching Friday’s Bill Maher and some clips from the Jon Stewart show. Last night the Panel on Bill Maher, Soledad O'Brien, Jason Alexander and former adviser to Dick Cheney, Ron Christie discussed the lies of Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney. The discussion came to a stalemate because the one Republican Ron Christie, wouldn't admit that while the president was dancing at his inaugural ball, Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and 13 others were plotting to vote against all his proposals in order for him not to become a second-term president. The Republican representatives will always allude to President Obama's promise to restore civility back to the White House, but they will ever admit that it never stood a chance. Jon showed a clip of Bill O'Reilly telling his guest that Obama's policies were failing. There was one catch; it was only 42 days after he signed the piece of legislation. Mitt Romney said he was rooting for Obama to succeed, but Jon showed another clip of Mitt of not completely disavowing the remarks of Rush Limbaugh when Rush said he wanted" Obama to fail" just eight days after he was in office. Mitt said it was appropriate for not wanting failed policies of Obama to succeed.

The Republican Party will never fully embrace the safety net because of the belief that everyone can pull themselves up by their bootstraps. There is now totally in lockstep by doubting the science of climate change. They think that taxing the well-off amounts to punishing success and is class warfare because they  all have aspirations of being wealthy. The party is not fully committed to diversity, and it shows. The party likes to paint the Democrats as being a party of ingrates, minorities, the poor and single women. They like to portray themselves as a party of successful people who pulled themselves up by their own bootstraps, and you're only welcome if you're  not willing to do that. When will we see the Republican Party back a pro-choice president or vice president in the future? I think the chances of a pro life Democrat getting the nomination of their the party are a lot  better.

Mitt Romney tried to keep the GOP's reputation on national defense, but he was too vague and chose a country that we're not at war with (Russia) to act tough on. So, Mitt Romney became the first Republican since 1952 to accept his party’s nomination without mentioning war.

The Republicans are not my enemies per say; we probably share a lot of the same interests in sports teams, religion, movies, and in general beliefs but every four years  we will take that step to show that we're not totally compatible.

Tonight it’s Mitt’s Turn

Let me start by saying once again. Republicans are brilliant campaigners, but they can't govern. Representative Paul Ryan gave a brilliant “red meat" speech in a soft-spoken tone. Paul Ryan was speaking for the audience but also to the 6% who are undecided. The informed voters already know the facts, so Mr. Ryan knew he had ample opportunity to sway the unsure, who usually don't fact check. Paul Ryan put the Obama campaign on defense knowing that they now have paint Ryan as a pathological liar. Independents don't like dirty campaigns, and Ryan knows it. It's like that football player who retaliates with a punch of his own and then gets flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Democrats still think that having the facts on their side will matter, but they still haven't found an antidote for politicians who lie and when confronted will double down on that lie. For example, last night Ryan implied that Obama shut down a GM plant in his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin. He and the residents of Janesville know that the plant was closed down in December of 2008 before Obama took office. Oh he told a tearjerker that was based upon a campaign promise by Obama when he visited Janesville in 2008. The Bush administration closed down the working portion of the plant in December of 2008. President Obama inherited an economy that was losing 750,000 jobs a month; I guess Mr. Ryan could indict the president for several campaign promises. He placed the blame of our credit rating being downgraded without saying it was the house Republicans who refused to negotiate to pass the debt ceiling. The two biggest whoppers were facts of omission when he said the president walked away from Simpson -Bowles without saying that he did the identical thing. The other was implying once again that the president raided Medicare without mentioning his own budget where he takes the equivalent amount. All in all, Ryan did what he had to do, and he did a brilliant job by putting the Obama campaign on notice. He's the first-generation Xer in the Republican Party to run for the office of the vice president. He's the future leader of the Republican Party and last night, he proved it.

I have never forgiven Condoleezza Rice for the propaganda she put out in the lead-up to the Iraq war, but I have to admit she gave a great speech last night. She had the house eating out of her hands. I only wish she would have denounced voter suppression, but that may have put a damper on her speech that was tailored made for the crowd.

I saw an up-and-coming star in Republican Party in New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez, who knows how to use the words to excite the crowd. Her biggest line, I thought was when she told the story of her working for her parent's security firm. She said at 18, she guarded the door of the local Catholic bingo night ,sporting a .357. Magnum; naturally, that brought the house down.

Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC summed it pretty good by saying that the GOP helped their cause last night. He said the crowd went home happy and excited, and they won't pay any attention this morning, to that fact check portion of their daily newspapers. The independents are being cornered at the water cooler this morning, by Democrats and Republicans with their version of Ryan's speech.


 I was waiting for Mike Huckabee to stand up for Todd Akin remarks and the GOP piling on but evidently he knows where his  bread is buttered.

I respect John McCain for his service and how he conducted his 2008 campaign but is there a war this man doesn't support? If left up to him we would have troops in 5 Arab nations and not in his words "leading from behind." He needs a warm glass of milk and some cookies and just chill.


Tonight ,Mitt Romney will have to make the speech of his life and like many; I can't imagine him surpassing the excitement the crowd showed for Condoleezza Rice and Paul Ryan last night. I guess the excitement will come as the Republicans accept him as their leader in their fight to supplant President Barack Obama.

Last night my wife had this to say when she heard the excitement of the convention crowd “OH MY GOSH." This is her first rodeo, I told her that we hadn't even come up to bat; a 3-0 lead in the first inning is nothing when you have the two best orators in Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, the world of politics has ever known and Joe Biden can hold his own.

 I've been critical of our newspaper's online forum lately but the recent blog by Pastor AT Coffee brought new life to the forum. Hopefully, this will be the trend for the future. The author refused to engage in the usual ad hominem attacks, so the opponents had to concentrate on the subject he wrote about.

Pay Attention Seniors

It’s hard being number two

I know that I said that no one should be paying attention to the 30 second political ads, but I didn't factor in the play they would get in the media. Play close attention to the Paul Ryan interview where he stumbles and seems like he's looking for the exit gate. I've got to give credit to Brit Hume for putting aside his partisan views and instead using his journalistic skills in pinning down Paul Ryan. The reason Paul Ryan had the “the deer in the headlights look" is twofold, the first being, he was trying to say the right words that would not get him in trouble with his boss because it's no longer his plan. The second reason is that he is accusing President Obama of taking $716 billion out of Medicare to fund Obamacare. Brit Hume did his homework; he knows that the Ryan budget calls for the same $716 billion Medicare cuts, but his plan would short-change the beneficiaries; where is the president's cuts would short circuit the providers. The Romney/Ryan will include a repeal of the current healthcare plan. The Ryan plan did not have a provision to close the doughnut hole. The Ryan plan does not guarantee Medicare nor could it have anything that was provided in the affordable Health Care Act because the Republicans want to repeal it.

The GOP can no longer use the word "Mediscare" in describing their opponents because they are using the same tactic on the president.

The president did take $716 billion out of Medicare in over 10 years; to cut down the rate of growth, eliminate subsidizing the Medical Advantage program and remove wasteful expenditures. The president's action did not take a dime out of the Medicare recipient's pockets, in fact, fact some of that money went to preventive care for seniors, closing the doughnut hole in prescription-drug purchases because seniors are not excluded from the Affordable Health Care Act. The Republican legislators cannot say that Obama does not want to talk about reforming Medicare and say he took $716 billion out of Medicare at the same time without sounding hypocritical. You can't have it both ways.

I've got to give it to the Republicans because they are great campaigners. Several Republican legislators are using their moms in their ads saying," Sonny boy wouldn't take away Medicare from his mother." Oh' if she only knew. Every since its inception, Republicans have been trying to wither down Medicare enough for its eventual demise. Newt Gingrich famously said, "he would like to see Medicare “wither on the vine” and has supported plans to privatize Medicare.

I don't know of a single republican, and you can't walk ten feet in Victoria without running into one, who wants to privatize or get rid of Medicare. They have seen their parents, and grandparents praise the program and now they, themselves understand the meaning of guaranteed health care when you most need it. I would bet my last dollar that seniors would make the sacrifice to keep the guarantee of Medicare even if it meant paying co pays or paying a little more, but we must keep in mind that most of these people are on a fixed income.

The Ryan plan gradually raises the Medicare eligibility age to 67. That doesn't seem like a big deal since we are living longer, and it would save a lot of money. I don't normally use personal stories, but I don't think my personal example is out of the norm. When I retired, my blood pressure, cholesterol, and stress factors came down considerably, and I knew that in eight years I would be eligible for Medicare. I became an insulin-dependent type 2 diabetic at age 62. I have it under control, but I shudder to think of what would have happened if I didn't have health insurance. I can't imagine retiring at age 67 before starting a wellness program that Medicare provides. I still have Aetna, but I haven't used it for the two years other than Medco for my drugs, since I've been on Medicare because I haven't met the $2000 deductible. To make a long story short, our legislators have a great health care plan, but they don't have any idea what affect their policies will make on the average Joe. It's not always about what the Congressional Budget Office calculates.

I hope that we get back to discussing the issues because I caught a glimpse this morning of why people hate politics. This morning the host of "Morning Joe" Joe Scarborough was having a fit over a Democratic Super PAC ad accusing Mitt Romney of being responsible for a worker's wife dying of cancer just because Bain Capital shut down the plant, leaving the workers without health care. It is a fictitious ad because the wife had her own insurance, and she died six years after the plant closing. He was also angry about the words Joe Biden used yesterday at a campaign stump when he said, “Look at what they [Republicans] value, and look at their budget. And look what they’re proposing. [Romney] said in the first 100 days, he’s going to let the big banks write their own rules — unchain Wall Street,” Biden said a rally in Danville, Va. “They’re going to put y’all back in chains.” Both could be seen as crossing the line but that line was blurred a long time ago.

It's going to be a long 85 days but I would bet my life savings that if injected with sodium pentothal(truth serum) most republicans wishes that Romney and Ryan would have left Medicare out of the discussion for now because repealing Obamacare without a plan to take it's place and messing with Medicare is a scary political platform.