Will Paul Ryan Pull Down The Rest Of The Republican Party With Himself?

I've lost count of how many times we've run the Ayn Rand video of her denouncing the teachings of Jesus Christ-- like this one last week-- and we have both the Ayn Rand anti-Jesus videos up on the Blue America contribution page, StopPaulRyan. If you haven't seen them, you ought to watch them, since they go right to the heart and soul of the Republican agenda of greed and selfishness and show how GOP politicians, like Ryan, have clearly embraced Rand's teachings over Jesus' teachings. It's literally astounding. Even more astounding is that the congenitally conservative Catholic Bishops have started to notice-- and react.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is criticizing the House Republican budget authored by Rep. Paul Ryan for cutting food stamps and other assistance programs for the poor.

In a letter sent to the House Agriculture Committee on Monday, the bishops say the budget fails to meet certain “moral criteria” by disproportionately cutting programs that “serve poor and vulnerable people.”

A second letter sent Tuesday to the Ways and Means Committee criticizes a provision that makes it more difficult for illegal immigrants to claim child tax credits. The bishops called the credit “one of the most effective antipoverty programs in our nation.”

The letters follow Ryan’s (R-Wis.) comments last week that his Catholic faith shaped the budget he authored. He also argued the budget is consistent with Catholic teachings.

In response to the bishops’ criticism, Ryan argued that by accelerating the debt crisis, President Obama’s policies will be more damaging to the poor.

That's pure, unadulterated Randian claptrap-- straight from Satan via Paul Ryan. And Boehner struck back yesterday-- attacking the Bishops at a press conference and whining that Ryan's shocking anti-family budget proposal is hunky dory and that the Bishops are missing "the big picture." I was waiting to see if he would suggest they read The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged so they would better understand the intensely anti-Christian GOP version of the big picture.

Boehner, who is a Catholic, acknowledged the bishops' moral authority but suggested their focus was too narrow as they scolded Republicans over cutting assistance to those who are poor, hungry and homeless.

"I want them to take a bigger look," Boehner said. "And the bigger look is, if we don't make decisions, these programs won't exist, and then they'll really have something to worry about."

Boehner gave a detailed defense of the GOP plan, which to achieve most of its savings would cut billions from programs helping poor Americans.

"What's more of a concern to me is the fact that if we don't begin to make some decisions about getting our fiscal house in order, there won't be a safety net," Boehner said.

The progressive Democrat-- and Blue America endorsee-- who's taking on Paul Ryan (head on and without any help from the DCCC, who are too busy trying to elect conservative, anti-Choice/anti-LGBT Democrats and Blue Dogs to bother with him) is Rob Zerban and he went right after Ryan in an OpEd he penned yesterday.

We have a choice as a nation between two futures. I want to live in a future where everyone pays their fair share and we build a country where we invest in the potential of each American. Paul Ryan proposes large tax breaks to the wealthy and deep cuts to continue shrinking opportunity for the middle class.

Paul Ryan is not reforming welfare. He is advocating for only the wealthiest among us at the expense of everyone else.

I think the media has been rushing to promote Paul Ryan without presenting a balanced and factual analysis of the damage he is proposing.

Paul Ryan is proposing a new, additional $265,000 tax cut for each millionaire. This breathtaking handout is taking place on top of the failed Bush tax cuts, which Ryan wants to permanently extend.

These new tax giveaways open a large hole in the budget due to the lost revenue. We are talking about $10 Trillion dollars lost!

Let’s put it this way-- when you give away $10 Trillion, some people are going to take the hit.

Ryan’s tax schemes leave a hole that he wants to close by destroying Medicare as we know it, scrapping Pell Grants and financial aid, leaving our infrastructure to crumble, defunding women’s health, taking away services and care for our veterans. It is heartless and shameful. ...Ryan’s budget is not a serious or well-reasoned plan. It is a purely political, selfish, lopsided, and downright dangerously irresponsible proposal. I believe the best way to describe this budget is Robin Hood in reverse!

I am running for Congress to make sure Paul Ryan, and all the far-right dittoheads who follow his advice, know that the American people want to see a new direction in our Congress.

The Democracy Corp just completed a survey of the 56 most-competitive Republican held congressional districts and found Obama ahead. They site several reasons-- like "Democrats are winning the image battle, up and down the ticket. While half of the voters in these districts register cool feelings toward the Republican Party and Republican Congress, the Democratic Party has enjoyed an 8-point bump in favorability since September 2011, and Democrats in Congress have seen a 7-point rise." But the one I think is key relates to Paul Ryan and his Wall Street scheme to further impoverish the middle class.

"The Ryan budget is in trouble. Just 41% support it in these Republican districts with no description other than the fact that it cuts spending. When described, including using Ryan's own language, support collapses to 34%... Many of the proposals in this newest Ryan budget are deeply unpopular, leaving Republicans vulnerable to attack, particularly on taxes, Medicaid, Medicare, cuts to anti-poverty programs, and health care."

These voters want to raise taxes on the wealthy and they reject the Republican/Norquist no-tax pledge. And, of course, savvy Democrats across the country are using this stuff against local Republicans. Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesperson Graeme Zielinski had a perfect response: "It is one thing for people like Sean Duffy, Paul Ryan and Reid Ribble to give huge tax breaks to the ultra-rich at the same time breaking faith with seniors, the sick and the poorest among us. It is quite another thing for them to wrap themselves in religion when faith leaders have seen the unfairness of their radical budget. For many Catholics in particular, they do not oppose the Paul Ryan budget in spite of their faith. They oppose the Paul Ryan budget precisely because of it."