How Can We Plan Now To End The Career Of Obama's Favorite Republican-- Fellow Servant Of Wall Street Paul Ryan?

Wisconsin's Paul Ryan, an intellectual fraud and the incoming House Budget Committee Chair, has gotten more money out of the Finance Sector than any other politician in Wisconsin history. He was still wearing a frilly pink sun bonnet and confined to his crib when outgoing Appropriations Chairman Dave Obey (D-WI) was first elected to Congress but just since 1998 Ryan has gobbled up $2,115,065 ($564,470 of it this cycle) in thinly disguised bribes from the Finance Sector. Obey, elected in 1969, and one of the most influential Democrats in Congress on all matters financial, was given $691,893 in over 4 decades. Wall Street noticed Ryan when he was young-- and realized he was the perfect vehicle for their interests-- and they nurtured his career generously, the same way they did Rahm Emanuel's, Eric Cantor's, Harold Ford's, Joe Lieberman's, Spencer Bachus', Mark Kirk's, John Thune's, Roy Blunt's, John Boehner's and, of course, Barack Obama's. These guys are all drinking from the same trough.

I bet your average teabagger monkey doesn't know, doesn't want to know and wouldn't even believe, that Ryan helped John Boehner twist enough arms to pass Bush's no-strings-attached Wall Street TARP bailout after it was voted down September 29, 2008. Note that Ryan was one of 65 Republicans to back the bailout on that day. The following week, with Bush's economic team demanding a re-vote, the lazy, distracted and drunk Boehner tasked Ryan with rounding up enough Republicans to pass the unpopular legislation. Ryan did well for his Wall Street paymasters, helping deliver another two dozen reluctant GOP votes to pass an even worse version of the bill on October 3! And earning his spurs and his undisputed right to take over the Budget Committee. I haven't heard one teabagger ever even allude to this episode and to Ryan's grotesque hypocrisy on that matter.

Ryan, who served as one of the Republican Members of the Cat Food Commission, and who voted against the final report because it wasn't harsh enough against working families, has been something of an Obama pet. Obama has sent him public valentines during otherwise serious speeches. Wall Street loves it when its boys boost each other. And the DCCC has never-- not once-- challenged Ryan electorally, even though his southeast Wisconsin district is filled with high profile Democratic office holders and even though Obama beat McCain there 51-48%. Recently I got an e-mail from one of Ryan's opponents from a few years ago. He spent $21,000 on a race that Ryan spend $850,000 (this year Ryan raised $3,479,245 and the pathetic Democratic the DCCC made sure would be the nominee, John Heckenlively, raised $11,570.) He hasn't given me permission to use his name but he wrote that "a Democratic crony told me that Obey was enamored with Ryan. Now that Obey is retiring, maybe there can be a serious recruitment for a candidate next cycle." Odd! I don't know who-- aside from the local media and the DCCC protects Ryan. But someone has been doing a good job of it. He's never faced a serious re-election race, not once.

That has to stop. I've fought with the DCCC about this for years and they have steadfastly refused to get involved-- other than to make sure there would never be a viable, funded progressive running as a Democratic nominee, most recently having sabotaged Paulette Garin to install the unelectable, laughable Heckenlively. Blue America has a special STOP PAUL RYAN page and every cent collected there will be used for exactly that purpose. If Wisconsin Democrats follow through on their promise to go after him in a serious way in 2012, we'll be raising money for his opponent on that page as well. And yesterday the Wisconsin Democrats released a statement that gave me some hope that they might actually follow through. It's titled Paul Ryan's Priorities? Tax Breaks For Millionaires; Hikes For Middle Class, Small Business

At a time when many of his constituents in Racine and Janesville are struggling to keep their homes, put food on their tables, and put gas in their cars, Paul Ryan voted to add one more burden in the form of a tax hike for 98 percent of working families and small businesses.

Representative Paul Ryan and fellow House Republicans’ vote against middle class tax relief comes weeks after Republican Leader John Boehner said he would support extending tax relief only to the middle class. Instead of providing tax relief that would help struggling families and small businesses make ends meet, Paul Ryan is holding these tax cuts hostage to extend tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires.

“In keeping with the Republican tradition of financing tax breaks for the wealthy on the backs of working families and small businesses, Paul Ryan shows where his true priorities lie,” Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate said Friday. “Instead of brainstorming new ways to help the rich to get richer, and blocking the Democrats’ efforts to extend emergency unemployment compensation and tax cuts for 98 percent of middle class families and small businesses, Paul Ryan and his fellow Republicans need to focus on passing legislation that will actually help American families.”

Good they're focusing on Ryan this early. They need to never let up. But even the DCCC singled him out for some attention after the role he played in keeping all the Republicans (with 3 exceptions) in line to vote against extending the Bush era tax breaks for the middle class and small business, as a way of holding them hostage to get unfeasible tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. (Alan Grayson explained how why that's the GOP bottomline.) The DCCC sent out a press release similar to the one sent by the Wisconsin Democratic Party-- nothing like Alan Grayson's analysis of course-- but a start (even if it reads like it was done by rote by a Poli Sci freshman praying he would pass 101:

Even as millions of hardworking Americans struggle to afford gas, groceries, and housing, today Representative Paul Ryan and fellow House Republicans voted to give 98 percent of middle class families the one thing they need the least right now-- a hike in their taxes.
 
Representative Paul Ryan and fellow House Republicans’ vote against middle class tax relief comes weeks after Republican Leader John Boehner said he would support extending tax relief only to the middle class. Yet, rather than provide tax relief that will help struggling families make ends meet and small businesses to hire more workers, Representative Paul Ryan is holding these tax cuts hostage to provide tax breaks to millionaires.
 
“Instead of giving immediate tax relief to 98 percent of middle class families and small businesses who need it the most, Representative Paul Ryan and fellow House Republicans are fighting to give tax breaks to those who need them the least,” said Ryan Rudominer of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “It’s outrageous that Representative Paul Ryan would vote to raise taxes on 98 percent of Americans during these tough times instead of doing everything possible to help families make ends meet and businesses to create more jobs.”

Meanwhile, one of my favorite Wisconsin blogs, Blogging Blue, looked at the Paul Ryan Love Train this week. They're putting a lot of blame-- and deservedly so-- on the media and point to ridiculous propaganda pieces in USAToday and the Wisconsin State Journal to make their case. Blogger Proud Progressive then make mincemeat of that case:

Of course his votes for TARP, Medicare Part D, the Auto Bailout, the Wall Street Bailout, and two wars off the books with no oversight notwithstanding. He also has a roadmap that will lead to an increase in the deficit. Maybe one day Mr. Milfred will explain what he has actually done (and maybe while he is at it why he hates American workers, but that's yet another post).

Thank goodness for a voice of Ryan reason in Capital Times editorial pointing out what Ryan truly feels about his constituency when he voted against extending unemployment benefits, all while fighting hard to cut taxes on corporations and Billionaires.

Ryan likes the limelight, and he devotes plenty of time to chasing it.

Far more time, it appears, than he does to worrying about the communities he represents in southeast Wisconsin, a region where major auto plants and auto-parts facilities have been closing on a regular basis in recent years.

Racine and Janesville-- Ryan’s hometown-- have some of the highest unemployment rates in the state. And, with few jobs in the offing, southeastern Wisconsinites whose names are on the unemployment rolls are particularly vulnerable.

Many of them are among the 800,000 Americans whose unemployment benefits were set to expire at the end of November unless Congress acted to extend those benefits. That number would grow to 2 million by the end of the year.

Concern for the unemployed led 258 members of the House-- 237 Democrats and 21 Republicans-- to vote in late November for an emergency measure to extend unemployment benefits. Unfortunately, while that was a strong majority of House members, a two-thirds majority was needed to secure the extension.

Remarkably, Ryan was not among the 21 Republicans who voted to extend the benefits.

He couldn’t be bothered to worry about out-of-work Wisconsinites.

Television “stars” don’t have time for working families in towns like Racine and Janesville.

Ryan won't be stopped from dismantling Social Security, the job Wall Street has assigned him, by us wishing upon a star. There are lots of ways to help and, I promise you, that DWT will be discussing them all year and all next year. Meanwhile, if you want to help, you can do it here-- now.