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The Spectacle Blog
As part of a series of Republican responses to Obama’s budget speech, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) showed Obama for what he is: our “campaigner in chief.” (A few thoughts of mine on Ryan’s comments after the text of his comments…)
Transcript of Ryan’s remarks:
I’m very disappointed in the president. I was excited when we got invited to attend his speech today. I thought the president’s invitation to Mr. Camp, Mr. Hensarling and myself was an olive branch. Instead, what we got was a speech that was excessively partisan, dramatically inaccurate, and hopelessly inadequate to addressing our countries pressing fiscal challenges.
What we heard today was not fiscal leadership from our commander-in-chief. What we heard today was a political broadside from our campaigner-in chief.
I guess it’s no coincidence that last week when the president launched his billion dollar re-election campaign was the week we launched our effort to try and get this debt and deficit under control and get our economy growing.
Last year, in the absence of a serious budget, the president created a fiscal commission. Then with his budget he disavowed his fiscal commission. He ignored all of its recommendations. Now he wants to delegate leadership yet again to a new commission. How are we to expect different results? And the measurements of results of this new commission are lower than the measurements of success of the last commission that ended a few months ago.
We need leadership. We don’t need a doubling down on the failed politics of the past.
This is very sad and very unfortunate. Rather than building bridges, he’s poisoning wells. By failing seriously to confront the most predictable economic crisis in our history, the president’s policies are committing us and our children to a diminished future.
We’re looking for bipartisan solutions not partisan rhetoric. When the president is ready to get serious about it, we’re going to be here working.
Exploiting people’s emotions of fear, envy, and anxiety is not hope; it’s not change. It’s partisanship. We don’t need partisanship. We don’t need demagoguery. We need solutions. And we don’t need to keep punting to other people to make tough decisions. If we don’t make those decisions today, our children will have to make much, much tougher decisions tomorrow.
So I am sincerely disappointed that the president had a moment when we were putting ideas on the table, trying to engage in a thoughtful dialog to fix this country’s economic and fiscal problems, decides to pour on the campaign rhetoric, launch his re-election, and pass partisan broadsides against us, making it that much harder for the two parties to come together with mutual respect of one another to get things done.
I enjoyed the “failed politics of the past” remark, a phrase straight out of the Obama playbook, thus reminding the nation of how far we are from “hope and change” (which Ryan then mentioned explicitly.)
(See Obama’s use of that phrase or substantially similar phrases here (his 2008 speech to the Democratic National Convention!), here (attacking John McCain), here (attacking Hillary Clinton), and here (attacking George W. Bush after the latter’s 2008 State of the Union speech.)
“Poisoning wells” was an effective metaphor, casting Barack Obama as both politically and economically toxic.
And Ryan’s repeated emphasis on Obama’s partisanship — and the poor manners of inviting senior Republican congressmen to a speech in which Obama all but called them baby-and-granny-killers — is the first step on a long road toward restoring in voters’ minds the view of the GOP as a party of ideas versus the Democrats as a party of tired, old, mindless redistribution.
Ryan’s response to Obama shows why in a decade or so, when Paul’s children are older, he would be a tremendous candidate for president of the United States.
Updated to correct author.
View all comments (27) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Ross Kaminsky
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/04/13/paul-ryan-still-has-obamas-num
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CarolO| 4.13.11 @ 6:04PM
The only ones opposed to Medicare are those who don't have it. It's a wonderful program. Insurance companies are noted to dump people and deem them uninsurable for almost any reason they can think of or simply raise the rates so high you can't afford it. Medicare does not dump you, jack up your rates, tell you they can not insure you and withhold treatment from you. Ryans plan can not say the same thing.
simon templar| 4.13.11 @ 7:10PM
Please tell me who is opposed to Medicare? Is Ryan proposing to destroy the medicare program? Do you even know what is being proposed or do you like most Americans just sit on your ass and listen to the liberal socialist propaganda of the MSM and take these lies as your own original ideas? We can no longer afford idiots like you. You enable the ruling elite to continue their facade and destroy this republic. Listen closely...No one is asking you to agree with us blindly as you do with the progressives brainwashing you. Get educated about these issues, read, and think for yourself..start questioning what you have been fed.
beebop| 4.13.11 @ 7:52PM
Is there a perfect system? I pay monthly into an insurance policy that I participate in as a retiree from a job that I held for more than 20 years. It is $107 per month. During the 8 years I have been "retired," I have never had a serious ilness (thank you God). But when I had to use the emergency room due to a nasty fall that required stitches, it turned out that my former employer had a "negotiated rate" with the hospital and I was responsible for any expenses above and beyond that. If my employer has negotiated rates, why do those rates not apply to me?
Thom| 4.13.11 @ 7:59PM
CarolO, you remind me of my mother in many ways.... She had an "eight grade" West Virginia education and was proud of it her entire life. She never really worked a full time job in her life and stopped working part time in her early fifties. She lived off of someone else’s dime her entire life and the last 18 years on Social Security and Medicare where she realized a net gain in income over what had been her entire life’s income. She refused to remarry after my father who worked two or three jobs supporting her and I died at age 57. Her reasoning was exactly your mindset, it would reduce her “welfare” payments and it would have in fact. Your dependent on “someone else’s” money for your lifestyle with almost certainty now and as you’ve made it to the great retirement gravy train in the sky you still want someone else to pay your way. I can’t pity you but I do feel sorry for all those that have had to put up with your attitude for your entire life….
Occam's Tool| 4.13.11 @ 6:21PM
Yup, Carol---that's why more and more MDs are refusing to accept Medicare, because it is so wonderful. Incidentally, Medicare DOES deny care.
Occam's Tool| 4.13.11 @ 6:22PM
And if you think a Government paid for voucher plan would allow mass dumping of Seniors, Carol, you have no clue as to the nature of American Politics.
beebop| 4.13.11 @ 6:24PM
CarolO .... maybe the newly assigned TAS troll?
Michael L. Hauschild| 4.13.11 @ 7:04PM
My mother fell and broke her wrist. She has Medicare and a suplimental policy. Her MD informed us not to refer any more patients to him due to the fact that office would no longer accept any medicare patients. The recovery was quite lengthy so I had numerous chances to speak with him of this. He stated that the cost of his operating rooms, insurance and treatment facilities far exceeded his reembursment. He was losing money.
He was a really good doctor by the way.
Greta| 4.13.11 @ 10:36PM
major problem in healthcare is the mess created by the government programs of medicare and medicaid. They have added massive amounts of cost and regulations into the system. The same idiots who have created much of the problem in healthcare, the government, now is going to fix it?? Who in their right mind would think that makes sense? The most dangerous words in the english language are "I'm from the government and I'm here to help." as per Reagan.
Thom| 4.13.11 @ 7:26PM
"Ryan's response to Obama shows why in a decade or so, when Paul's children are older, he would be a tremendous candidate for president of the United States."
We don't have a decade or so.... lack of accountability in such matters is an enduring weakness of Dumbmocracies. JFK, while a “Kennedy” spoke to the dangers to Democracies presented by an ignorant electorate. The four decade career of his own brother “Teddy” speaks to both the lack of accountability and mass ignorance. The unwillingness of “good men” to take a public stand against this arrogant condescending lying prick is testament to how far we’ve fallen from being a Republic… into just MOB rule.
PT Barnum| 4.13.11 @ 7:28PM
Paul Ryan is another Neocon puppet like Bush was. Because of pre-1965 immigration demographics any cut in medicare is simply a transfer of wealth from whites to non-whites. Neo-cons love that idea. Paul Ryan has been on the government dole his whole career and has never been an at-will employee in the real world (I don't mean working as the fry guy at McDonald's when you're 16). He's an H-1B loving, Ayn Rand fan who is pro-usury. The Founding Fathers would be disgusted that this is the guy people think personfies Conservativsm. Just another Spoiled Brat Anti-Western Culture politician a la Ted Kennedy. Only the Party is different. What a joke this idiot is. Get a real job Paul! Stop sucking from us taxpayers working on a government payroll your whole career!
beebop| 4.13.11 @ 7:59PM
After graduation from Miami University, Paul Ryan worked as a marketing consultant and economic analyst. Look it up on that website they love at huffpuffpost.
So. So much for your version of reality. Go away.
PT Barnum| 4.13.11 @ 8:19PM
Awwww....that must have been tough. Working for the family business for a year or two out of college and then becoming another leech on the government payroll. He's just a puppet of the Neocons - another spoiled brat who never had to make his way in this world.
Quartermaster| 4.13.11 @ 8:37PM
Yep, he helped create most of the problems he's now saying he wants to solve. Heaven save us from his type.
Greta| 4.13.11 @ 10:29PM
So you are saying that those who work for the government are leeches? this is not going to go over well with the union thugs who are incestously related to the democratic party.
Greta| 4.13.11 @ 10:33PM
Wow, those on government payroll are leeches. And here I thought the democrats loved ever more people on the government payroll. The union thugs that fund and control the democratic party will not like this language PT. I do agree that the infestations of leeches in government is a problem with a national growth over 250% over the last 40 years now higher in numbers than about 8 of the private industry sectors combined. Hope we can count on your support to rid ourselves of about half these leeches.
PT Barnum| 4.13.11 @ 11:00PM
I'm a Paleo-Conservative so forgive me for not being a big Paul Ryan fan. I wasn't a big fan of George Bush or Karl Rove either. Reagan was pro-usury (un-Christian) and signed an Immigration Amnesty in 1986 (un-American) so I'm not a fan of his either. Now Ike Eisenhower was a great President! But, any way we save money by slashing funding to programs that help seniors will disproportionately negatively impact white Christians. That's because the flood of non-white people from third world countries didn't start coming here until after the 1965 immigration act was passed and implemented in 1967. So, Obama will support all of the cuts in funding that Paul Ryan wants because he knows it's just a wealth transfer to non-whites since over 50% of the births in the U.S. are now non-white.
Tenn Slim| 4.14.11 @ 9:21AM
Your tone says it all.
You and your past employments never amounted to much, so all the rest of us must be miserable also.
A troll for sure.
end
blanckaert| 4.13.11 @ 8:33PM
Ryan is an idiot, and you know it.
Greta| 4.13.11 @ 10:28PM
If you think Ryan is an idiot, then that shoud make Obama who is not only an idiot, but also a liar and fraud, the worse president in the history of our country.
tonypal| 4.14.11 @ 10:07AM
Wow, what an incisive comment. We look forward to more brilliance.
Andrew Keirns| 4.13.11 @ 8:35PM
Paul Ryan has cast some votes I don't like; and his plan is not exactly the way I'd like to see it laid out for me, my kids, CarolO, the USA. But Ryan is not the main problem. The main problem is conservatives don't have a courageous executive at the moment. I say someone call Steve Forbes -- we need him to face Obama head on and lay to waste Obama's policies. Soon if not right now.
PT Barnum| 4.13.11 @ 11:02PM
I think Steve Sailer would be better than Forbes.
Greta| 4.13.11 @ 10:27PM
Only fools would ever listen to Obama the empty suit ever again. All he knows how to do is run for office and blame everyone else for any problems that appear. He cannot spell leadership. We are broke and the only thing he and his party propose is cutting defense spending and raising taxes.
He made a deal to extend the tax cuts in December, only a few months ago. Last time I looked, once small business owners knew they had these to count on, they started hiring. Last time I looked, we had less unemployment in the first quarter for the first time in a long time. But now, typical of Obama, his word worth nothing, he wants to put tax increases back on the table and I would expect it will again kill jobs. Meanwhile, his troops behind the scene in EPA and elsewhere are pumping out new regulations which will also cripple jobs. If the government wants more revenue, it needs to get the unemployment rate cut in half in the next few months. Our problem is spending too much and has been for a long time.
Tenn Slim| 4.14.11 @ 9:25AM
Recall the Saul Alynski, Crowder-Piven, Podesta, Progressive dem goal: The end game is the demise of the Capitalistic SYSTEM.
Budget manipulations, delays, increased debts, while the structure of Rules and Regs AKA EPA is being built.
Once the structure is in place, the money spent, then the Final Implementation comes.
A dollar worth nada, production down, food prices up, energy sources in USA shut down, energy prices sky high, then the Left says, OK fools, you bought and paid for this.
End
WL| 4.13.11 @ 10:42PM
In a decade or so??????????????????????????
Folks you better think past this author....
If Ryan is the man...he's the man RIGHT NOW.
Let's not wait....Let him be a young ALEXANDER if need be....
We need a real leader...and he really might be it.
Get past the "correct" thinking....
AND FOLLOW THE MAN OUT FRONT.
Right now it is TRUMP and RYAN.
I SUPPORT EITHER ONE OF THEM...and THAT PAIR HAS A REAL RING TO IT...
TRUMP/RYAN 2012
RYAN/TRUMP 2012
NO MATTER...
GET EM BOYS
tonypal| 4.14.11 @ 10:09AM
Let's get this straight: Donald Trump is no conservative and will never be the republican nominee. I don't understand this obsession with fad candidates. Of course he has some great ideas, but there's a bit more to it than that. He is not a serious politician.