So says Ben Domenech regarding Paul Ryan after seeing the video embedded below:
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
DONATE
Comments
Yes, it is immoral. Yet, the deficit and debt continue to steamroll.
No sign of Congress reversing or correcting course.
Buy beans and band aids.
http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/15/zeroing-in-on-lead-in-hunters-bullets/
And ammo. Salt is a good idea, too.
usually alliteration of the three Bs: beans, bullets, bandaids
I cannot blame Ryan or anyone for not exposing themselves and their family to the process we have.
As much as I admire George Washington, I can’t imagine him doing it in this climate.
I don’t agree. The idea of character is not something measured and adjusted against a tolerance of social endurance and abuse — it is or it isn’t. If you 1. choose to be a public servant and 2. choose to engage these critical issues directly and with seemingly full understanding and acceptance of their significance, but cannot take your commitment to the logical end of its implication, you’re not really as serious as you’ve suggested.
That’s nuts, politely. Nobody has a moral obligation to expose themselves or their family to the kind of crap we see today. This is a matter of very personal conscience, and a decision involving your spouse and kids, too, if you have them.
And it isn’t a paucity of character to NOT run for an elective office. Good grief!
Finally, it is by no means a given that an elective office is the best place from which to fight our battles. I could argue the opposite is true.
I have to agree with raven on this one, going the easy route is not a characteristic of leadership.
Would you say then that Santorum has character?
I think Santorum has as much character as one can expect from a politician. I don’t get the connection. It was posited that Ryan is ‘blameless’ for not running due to the savaging he and his family would receive from the press as a result.
We (should) always vet our presidential candidates. The press is fine regarding skepticism of Republican candidates. Such skepticism is warranted for anyone who seeks office, who seeks so much power over our lives.
The press entirely (and criminally, imo) negligent as far as affording the Democrats and liberals the same level of skepticism. This is their singular fault.
If Ryan thinks he has the answers, in our time of dire need of leadership, it is a trait of character that he should step forward and make a stand, torpedoes be damned.
Perhaps we could draft him as our candidate in a brokered convention. 😀
I so admire Paul Ryan however damning him for not running is as off the mark as is ignoring the Republican Party Ruling Class which enables the immoral acts of the Democrat Party.
Does any really believe the Republican Party Ruling Class would allow Ryan any opportunity to reform their Status Quo?
Why do you think the Republican Party Ruling Class wants moderate candidates like Mitt Romney? It’s because moderates are mushy and easily mushed into conformity.
IMAGINE a Gingrich/Ryan ticket.
Newt has the big ideas, knows how Congress does business and can figure out how to dismantle the agencies and rules that are strangling the nation. Ryan knows how to cut the budget and restore fiscal sanity.
“Damn you”? Are you kidding, Domenech? Do you realize what a vile and evil thing it is to damn someone? Did you not listen to Jeremiah Wright damn America? Have you learned nothing in the many years you have already infected the planet?
Get a clue, Domenech. Pick your comments more appropriately. It is not your place to damn anyone.
What is a Ben Domenech. Seriously, why do I care what he tweets? Never heard of him. He is obscure – just as I am.
1. Domenech is a plagiarist. I am not suggesting that anyone take Wikipedia at face value; click through to their links to National Review and Washington Post.
2. The GOP had a candidate, a self-made businessman and two-term swing-state governor, who successfully took on his legislature and enforced fiscal discipline with the veto pen.
Republican voters ignored Gary Johnson. Ignored him completely, like he never existed.
Which was understandable, of course, given the Rushmore caliber of all the other candidates. /
(I didn’t expect Johnson to win, but I expected his record to get him taken seriously.)
3. I don’t blame Ryan in the least for staying out of the cesspool.
4. Read my lips, Republicans: cry me a river. Maybe you can draft Mark Sanford.
I would never go that far with vile comments. Paul Ryan would have been an excellent candidate, but we have to respect his wishes that he didn’t want to put his family through the process.
If Romney is the nominee (although I prefer it to be Newt) maybe Mr. Ryan will be part of Romney’s cabinet.
You don’t run for President from the House.
“Damn you” is kind of strong, but I sometimes think, “Darn it, why don’t you run for Congress, Professor?”
Maybe one day?
Lighten up, Francis.
I completely get the spirit in which the Tweet was offered: instead of Statesmanship and forthright ownership of the issue we have Mitt Romney. In comparison. . . well there is no comparison; Paul Ryan is a serious man with a heartfelt plea for sane fiscal policy. Instead, we get Mitt.
Paul Ryan is young and deft and unflappable. Instead, we get Mitt. Paul Ryan is a man who cares about his country and its future. Instead, we get Mitt, who thinks it’s his turn.
It’s not a slap at Ryan, it’s a huge, and mostly deserved backhanded blow to the current field of contenders, and the eventuality of someone less than the exemplary Mr. Ryan. Just. . . damn.
I have to strongly agree with Joan of Argghh. The tweet isn’t literally “damn you to eternal suffering in hell”…it’s an expression of frustration that someone as talented as Paul Ryan isn’t running. Lighten up, indeed.
I’ve been wondering if the party elders “encouraged” him not to run since it wasn’t “his turn” (and because they’re scared of him no doubt).
I would love to see Paul Ryan run. He’s one of the only politicians out there with the courage of his convictions. The “throw granmda off a cliff” ads run against his proposals were shameful, but it’s understandable that someone with self-respect wouldn’t want to put themselves through the process of being demonized. Hmm. Demonized…who do you really think is “damning” him? It’s certainly not this tweet.
Yah, geeez… This has all the seriousness of the “Damn your eyes…!” line in “The Young Frankenstein”.
It is, in fact, a compliment.
Francis? Who is Francis?
Listen up, Joan of Snarggghhh, English as a language has by far the largest vocabulary. Pick from lots of words to say precisely what you mean.
Damning someone even in feeble humor is vile.
I’ve got lots of English words. Spanish ones, too. I’ve saved one especially for you: Pedant.
I’ll leave you to discover the cultural context and intent with which I’ve offered it.
Pedants. They’ll ruin the Internet.
Okay, forget the baloney about the tweeter. Focus on the important thing here: the deficit.
Ryan’s right; this thing is going to implode.
The budget committee website looks informative and helpful. Go there to get ammunition and spread the info around.
http://www.budget.house.gov
Breitbart wouldn’t waste his time criticizing this tweeter, if he could use the info to prevent the disaster.
Wake up!
Ryan’s still a relatively young pup. He’s still not seasoned. However, at this point in his career, Newt was deeply involved in reforms with Jack Kemp, Ronald Reagan, etc.
Sadly, Obama has affected Ryan’s effectiveness.
Ryan and Laffer endorsed Cain’s 999 plan. http://nicedeb.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/paul-ryan-and-art-laffer-endorse-cains-9-9-9-plan/
Laffer then endorsed Newt and his economic platform.
Ryan is on a committee that precludes his endorsing a presidential candidate: ““Congressman Ryan’s role as Chairman of the Republican National Committee’s Presidential Trust prevents him from endorsing a candidate in the 2012 Republican Presidential Primary,” said Kevin Seifert, Paul Ryan’s press secretary.”
From here, with a long list of other Republicans who have not endorsed Mitt Romney:http://www.tnr.com/article/politics/101651/republican-primary-romney-endorsement-leadership
Ryan’s Path to Prosperity:
Part I- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwv5EbxXSmE
Part II – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DJIC7kEq6kw&feature=relmfu
Ryan may be utilizing the Laffer curve:
http://realdealecon.blogspot.com/2010/08/paul-ryan-and-laffer-curve.html
Wonder what Ryan thinks of Newt’s plan and vice versa?
Oh how I wish for an edit button so I could go back and correct typos, clarify, make my point, etc.
My point is: “Is Ryan the latest RINO/RNC establishment-approved candidate since the ‘people’ have not been enthusiastic about Romney or Mitch Daniels?
I like Ryan, but that’s why I had reservations about him; the establishment was encouraging him to run.
Paul Ryan is not all that many conservatives make him out to be.
The video itself bothers me when Ryan accepts the premise there was some financial catastrophe looming in 2008 and only $800 billion of TARP money would (and did) save us. Bogus.
I’m not saying that McCain was perfect, but that vote there may have cost us the 2008 presidential election and given us Obama.
This premise also includes the untruth that our financial troubles ended after TARP was enacted and we “recovered”. orly?
In 2008, Paul Ryan also supported the nationalization of GM and Chrysler. This is not a financially conservative move in my book.
His 2011 vote for the new Afghanistan Rules of Engagement needlessly endangers our troops, requiring them to be fired upon before they can return fire. I would never ask our troops to submit to such silly ROEs, it’s better if we just brought them home at that point.
Also in 2011, he went along with both CRs and the debt-cap increase in August, expressly against why we sent him and the other conservatives to Washington. The August debt-cap raising, aka “The Great Betrayal” was especially duplicitous, as he bought into the media narrative that unless we raised our debt limit (to an absurd $15.5 trillion) that we were inviting economic collapse.
Those of us with a little more economic sense understand that it’s the $15.5 trillion that has a much better chance of killing us financially, and not the enforcement of the debt cap. It’s worse though, when polls were telling us that the American public were fully behind Republicans opposing the debt-limit increase (by like 60%). Total capitulation by the Republican leadership, and as another slap in the face to conservatives, they set up this useless unconstitutional, stacked-with-liberals debt commission.
Paul Ryan and the rest of the house leadership are failing in their task that we sent them there for.
http://conservativesonfire.wordpress.com/2011/08/25/ron-paul-votes-against-the-safety-of-our-troops/
http://www.issues2000.org/House/Paul_Ryan.htm
A follow up tweet three minutes later from Ben Domenech
Ben Domenech @bdomenech
Of course, right after Ryan’s first line, he could easily add “…remember, that’s when I voted for TARP and the auto bailouts.”
5:44 PM – 15 Mar 12
Wish he ran.
Not to criticize too much, but it would be interesting to see if those clamoring for X conservative (Rubio, Ryan, Daniels, etc.) would be standing by him after the liberal media is done searching every cm of his rear end. Reference the temerity conservatives demonstrate towards Sarah Palin and Newt. Ryan is a good man, but he’s also a good party man.
“Damn You **insert name *** is extreme language that has not escaped it’s biblical origins-
“To condemn to hell ” /’eternal damnation’
As I recall Ryan is Catholic & this would be very offensive & hurtful.
How is this praise?
Even in civil terms it is very ruinous & has been in our society for over 450 years.
Not surprised Ryan did not run with admirers like that .
Look, I love Ryan, he is great. But being sharp on policy isn’t the first qualification to be President. Like Santorum, with his resume he wouldn’t even get an interview for the CEO job at a mid-cap company. No executive experience. Ryan needs to do his job – we need people like him doing it – and build his resume, perhaps run for Governor of WI after Walker, and then with some administrative experience under his belt, he will make a great President one day. Same goes for Rubio.
The United States federal government is the largest operation in the world, with a budget greater than the entire economy of every country in the world except for Japan and China. This isn’t some game. People who have no executive experience do not do well; those with some tend to do better. There’s a reason we often elect Governors and Generals and only rarely Senators or Representatives.
It makes no sense to push good people into jobs far over their pay grade and experience. Usually you just ruin them and have lousy results.
All members of Congress secretly see themselves as Presidential material. As long as they keep it to themselves, they don’t hurt anybody.
[…] Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion: “Damn you for not running” […]