11 August 2012

A declaration of war on the 99%

With his choice of Paul Ryan as running mate, Romney has signaled that the theme of his campaign will be class warfare, not theocracy.  The oddly-cadaverous Wisconsin Congressman does have a "perfect" anti-abortion and anti-stem-cell-research voting record, but of course he's best known for his budget plan which would cut already-low taxes for the super-rich even further, raise them for the rest of us, effectively abolish Medicare and Social Security, increase the deficit, and in general complete the transformation of the United States into a Third World society presided over by a tiny elite guarding its wealth from the impoverished masses, while the fumbled baton of human progress is picked up by Germany and Japan and Russia and Britain (unless we nuke them for engaging in stem-cell research).  Let's at least give Romney credit for making a stark choice in November even starker.

This may be the first Republican ticket ever in which neither candidate is a Protestant.  I suppose there's some hope that this might put off the fundies, but the effect will likely be minor -- those who have reconciled themselves to voting for a Mormon probably won't be put off too much by a Catholic.

Bolstering Romney's image as a badly-programmed robot, the announcement featured a strange gaffe. Crooks & Liars is calling this "the Herman & Eddie Munster ticket" -- I so wish I'd thought of that one, except that the Munsters, though odd, were actually quite benign people.  Ezra Klein thinks it's a sign of desperation (see point 9, though).  Politicus USA sees it as a blunder to rank with McCain's choice of Palin.  Charles Pierce points out that Ryan, "an authentically dangerous zealot", has personally made out very well from the very government he wants to slash, while Sarah Posner hopes the cruelty he embodies will force Catholics to decide what their religious values really mean.  Think Progress has 12 things you should know about Ryan (do read it!).  The Paultards, as usual, are moaning that Romney's choice isn't extreme enough.

Among my regular blog reads, Smartypants reminds us of some wise words from Obama, Dusty finds Ryan "the most radical of the rightwing nutters",  P M Carpenter predicts he'll be meat on the table for the Democrats, Squatlo can't wait to go head-to-head with the granny-killer, and BooMan sees nothing but a sad, squalid fumble.  No doubt others will weigh in soon.

My take on it?  Aside from modestly improving Romney's chances of carrying Wisconsin, the Ryan pick will probably have little impact on the outcome of the election -- running mates seldom do, despite the hype.  What the pick does do is raise the stakes even higher than they already were.  Our country couldn't afford President Romney before.  Now that he's yoked himself to this man, it can afford him even less.

6 Comments:

Blogger B.R. said...

Here's my two cents; this November, vote for Cthulhu.

Hey, why vote for the lesser evil?

11 August, 2012 11:06  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

BR: Yeah, but we don't know who Cthulhu's running mate will be, and he hasn't endorsed the Ryan budget because it's too evil even for him. At least there's the chance of currency reform.

11 August, 2012 18:33  
Blogger Ema Nymton said...

.

Lipstick on the pig. Lipstick on the pig. Lipstick on the pig. Lipstick on the pig.

Is that all you got?

How many tax returns did Paul Ryan submit to OMitt before PR was selected as VP? How many tax returns will PR release to the people of USA?

Lipstick on the pig. Leave the poor pig alone.

Thank you OMitt Rmoney for picking Paul Ryan.

Ema Nymton
~@:o?
.

12 August, 2012 04:22  
Blogger Philo Vaihinger said...

Whether or not this affects the election of 2012 it represents a further radicalization of the Republican Party by the conservative movement.

His dreams to destroy American social democracy are those of Reagan and Goldwater, but Ryan will actually work to make them real.

12 August, 2012 06:47  
Blogger Ranch Chimp said...

ABSOLUTELY Infidel as far as "class warfare" ... it is VERY CLEAR where he stand's on what, and also his previous work during the Bush/ Cheney Administration what his economic solution's are ... you can bet, even though I havent done any posting's on "sugar brithes" (sacred knicker's) Romney, I sure as Hell will have plenty to say about Ryan!

Thanx for the post Infidel ....

12 August, 2012 07:45  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

EN: ???? Not sure I get the thrust of the pig thing.

PV: Even Reagan and Goldwater would be too sane for today's Republicans.

RC: I hope so. They only call it "class warfare" when we fight back, but the fact is, they've been waging it since the industrial revolution.

12 August, 2012 08:13  

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