Paul Ryan-- A 70 Year Old Crooked Republican Trapped In The Body Of An Adloescent Gym Bunny Who Reads Childish Ayn Rand Novels

The architect and the acolyte

Are we all getting sick of hearing about what a monster Paul Ryan is yet? On the other side, all they hear is how wonderful he is. The gay Republicans are kvelling over the idea of a vice president with a six-pack (and never you mind that he has a ZERO voting record on LGBT issues and has voted against every single bill that would advance equality for gays and lesbians). Even the media is getting all homoerotic over Ryan's "youthful vigor," pointing out how much time he's always spent at the gym and how "energetic" he is, a lame effort to appeal to young voters (and never mind that jihad against Pell Grants and the attempts to kick 18-26 year olds off their parents' health insurance policies). Yesterday, Karl Frisch tore the Ryan happy talk apart in a column worth reading, Paul Ryan's Youth Won't Slow GOP's Demo Death March.

In the hours following his announcement, Ryan was also heralded as a “gym rat” and “fitness nut” who was “almost a pro-skier.”

The political spin could not have been more blatant. For a party brimming with octogenarians but lacking in youthful appeal, the Wisconsin native is fresh, young, and even hip-- heck, he listens to Nirvana on his iPod!

...While young voters may have trouble casting ballots this fall because of obstacles put in place by Republicans, when they do head to the polls they will not be swayed by Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan. At only 42 years of age, the Republican Congressman is certainly young, but the only thing that makes him “youthful” is the year in which he was born.

If Ryan had his way, student loan interest rates would double and far fewer would be eligible for Federal Pell Grants to help pay for college. For those who do manage to qualify, such grants would be less helpful since Ryan, unlike Obama, would not allow the awards to increase with inflation.

And if young voters and independents have been put off by the Republican Party’s hostility toward lesbian and gay legal equality, they are not likely to be inspired by Ryan-- a man who voted in favor of a constitutional amendment to ban marriage equality, supports banning adoption by same-sex couples, voted against the hate crimes law President Obama signed, and after first supporting the Employment Non-Discrimination Act which would forbid employers from firing someone simply because they happen to be LGBT, he joined Republicans in trying to kill it. Today, employment discrimination against LGBT Americans remains legal in more than 30 states.

Far from mirroring the young and those of his own generation, Ryan’s views are simply a mimeograph-- to borrow a term familiar to the average conservative-- of the stodgy, largely white, and old folks running, funding, and supporting today’s Republican Party.

Paul Ryan is a 70 year old man trapped in the body of young man. He’s the Benjamin Button of American politics and just as Brad Pitt’s portrayal of the character came up short after clinching an Oscar nomination, Ryan’s nomination for Vice President will suffer the same fate.

And as for the "crook" part of the equation, it certainly goes beyond his shady relationship to Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff and his unprosectured bribery case involving Dennis Troha. His entire relationship with Wall Street-- taking millions from the sector while pushing their anti-family agenda-- should have ended his repulsive career in politics long ago. But over the weekend the Richmonder reported on how Ryan managed to use inside information to avoid the consequences of the 2008 financial crash his policies caused. Isn't that illegal?

It should probably come as no surprise to anyone that someone like Paul Ryan would trade on inside information gained through his position as a congressman to line his pockets, but this particular instance is especially egregious. Ryan attended a closed meeting with congressional leaders, Bush's Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on September 18, 2008. The purpose of the meeting was to disclose the coming economic meltdown and beg Congress to pass legislation to help collapsing banks.

 Instead of doing anything to help, Ryan left the meeting and on that very same day Paul Ryan sold shares of stock he owned in several troubled banks and reinvested the proceeds in Goldman Sachs, a bank that the meeting had disclosed was not in trouble. This is the guy Republicans want one heartbeat away from the presidency? He seems more than a little shady to me.

If you want to read through Ryan's 2008 financial disclosures that show the specific insider trades, here's the link. Keep in mind, Romney's VP vetting team saw all this and decided he was just fine for the ticket. Supposedly Romney just told him he had a lot more deductions he could have used and showed him how he could have saved another couple million dollars. And next time someone who spends too much time uncritically listening to the media, tells you Ryan is just a wonk reveling in minutiae, remind him that Ryan's first budget had no numbers nor any details at all. And if they claim he'll appeal to the Midwest, remind them that his three signature policies, killing Medicare, big Wall Street bailouts and shipping U.S. jobs overseas, are particularly unpopular in that part of the country. And when they say he's not driven by social policy, stop laughing, pick yourself up off the ground and ask him if he's ever heard of Sam Brownback, who gave Ryan his start in DC politics.