WTF?
The incident would be ugly anywhere, but it is especially troubling for a party whose nominee attracted 0 percent of the black vote in a recent NBC poll.
In case you didn’t hear about this, this is perhaps the lowest point of the entire 2012 campaign.
If you’re trying to win a presidential campaign and put on a show, you shouldn’t poke a sharp stick in the eye of conservative activists. That’s what happened.Dudley Brown, Colorado GOP delegate • Speaking on a feud between Ron Paul supporters and the rules committee at the Republican National Convention. Basically, one of the key methods the Paul campaign used to try to stay relevant in the race was to try to elect more of their own supporters as delegates, after the conclusion of a state’s vote. If this seems strange, you might not be alone in thinking so – the allegiances of the delegates weren’t actually bound to the outcome of the vote. There’s two ways to look at this, which encapsulate the fight between Paul’s backers and the party writ large. The first is that voters likely do believe that their primary vote has an iron-clad impact on who their state votes to nominate, and that to do otherwise is less truly democratic. The other view, which Paul supporters are understandably motivated by, is that the newly approved rules (which would indeed bind delegates to the primary vote) will make it much harder for long-shot candidates like their own, in the midst of a two-party system that already leaves those odds in the near-impossible range. source (via • follow)
Here’s the final entry in our weekly summer post series, “The Pitch.” (We’ll bring this back at some point, we promise!) This post, written and research by Matthew Keys, examines what we’re calling the ten most-prominent political gaffes of the last decade or so. Follow Matthew on Twitter here.
From zero to infamy in 30 seconds: Before last week, Missouri Senate candidate and current Rep. Todd Akin didn’t have a national profile. He looked like he might take down Claire McCaskill thanks in part to changing demographics in the state. But thanks to a half-minute comment on the nature of abortion, Akin is down as much as ten points in a recent poll. He felt the wrath of the gaffe. And he’s not alone. Gaffes have taken on a life of their own in modern political coverage. So with that in mind, SFB contributor Matthew Keys (who you might know from his epic Twitter account) has thrown together a list of the worst gaffes of the past ten years. Which is the worst? Find out after the jump.
Look, the guy was dealt a difficult hand, no question about it. But he’s had three years, his policies have failed. Rather than blame others … maybe offer some fresh solutions to the problems that we face. But that’s not going to happen between now and election day.Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush • Expressing disappointment that President Obama continues to point the finger at his brother, former President George W. Bush Sunday. Bush, who made the comments during an interview on “Meet The Press” on Sunday, also discussed his decision not to enter the 2012 presidential race, a move that both shocked and confused many within the GOP, citing a lack of motivation as the top reason he chose not to run for the nation’s highest office. source (via • follow)
It’s worse to imagine a world with Obama getting a second term than it is to imagine a world without pizza. Because with Obama in a second term, there will be no pizza. For anyone.Herman Cain • Offering up a slice of knowledge with extra cheese during a recent interview in Time Magazine.
Gov. Chris Christie wasn’t willing to give up the New Jersey statehouse to be Mitt Romney’s running mate because he doubted they’d win, The Post has learned.
Romney’s top aides had demanded Christie step down as the state’s chief executive because if he didn’t, strict pay-to-play laws would have restricted the nation’s largest banks from donating to the campaign — since those banks do business with New Jersey.
But Christie adamantly refused to sacrifice his post, believing that being Romney’s running mate wasn’t worth the gamble.
“[Christie] felt, at one point, that [President] Obama could lose this. And, look, there still is that chance. But he knows, right now, you have to say it’s unlikely,” one source said.
Did Christie, who is making the keynote speech at this week’s Republican National Convention, make the right move?
It wouldn’t be my speech. That would undo everything I’ve done in the last 30 years. I don’t fully endorse him for president.Rep. Ron Paul • Explaining why, despite being given an opportunity to do so, he’s chosen to avoid speaking at the Republican National Convention. Paul would’ve been given the opportunity to speak as long as his words were a) vetted by Romney and b) in endorsement of the Republican nominee. No dice. Instead, Paul held an event of his own Sunday, bringing the true believers down to the University of South Florida to hear Paul’s final presidential campaign speech. This is likely Paul’s last big hurrah as an elected official — having just turned 77, he retires from Congress in January — but he leaves an army of supporters behind.
No final decision has been made but anxiety is running high as the storm churns northward.
Officials are currently planning to make the call one way or the other Sunday morning, according to a source on the ground in Tampa.
A delayed start could involve a full cancellation of Monday’s events and a rescheduling of speeches across the four planned days of the convention.
Tropical Storm Isaac is clearly a Democrat. Seriously though, this is probably a smart move.
UPDATE: The first day of the convention has been cancelled.
![The legend of Paul Ryan: Kinda like Paul Bunyan, except with more budget-cutting strategies
¡Hola! Here’s the latest entry in our weekly post series, “The Pitch.” This post, written by SFB’s very own Seth Millstein, analyzes the man, the myth, and the legend: Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. Follow Seth on Twitter over here.
So just who is Paul Ryan, anyway? Mitt Romney took a political risk, defied most pundits’ predictions, and delighted the conservative intelligensia last week by selecting Paul Ryan, a 42-year-old Congressman from Wisconsin, as his running mate. Ryan, who chairs the House Budget Committee, is a deeply polarizing figure. Some view him as an intelligent, non-combative policy wonk, a politician earnestly concerned with reducing the country’s deficit and unafraid to propose tough measures in order to do so. Others see Ryan a plutocratic snake-oil salesman, a GOP hardliner concerned primarily with gutting social programs and cutting taxes for the rich. So, what’s Ryan all about, and will he help or hinder Romney in November? ShortFormBlog’s Seth Millstein investigates after the jump.
(photo by monkeyz_uncle)
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Paul Ryan’s backstory
Wisconsin, born and raised: Unlike Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan wasn’t born into a political family — though he’s found his calling there, Ryan is as Wisconsin as they come, something that shows in his love of the outdoors. More about Ryan:
early Ryan was raised in Janesville, Wisconsin. In high school, he was elected class president during his junior year. He lost his father, who died of a heart attack when he was just 16.
middle At age 21, he became an intern in the U.S Senate in 1991, and after writing speeches for former vice presidential candidate and ardent supply-sider Jack Kemp, won a House seat in 1997.
current Ryan, who has served in the House for seven terms, gaining a rep as a budget wonk, married the former Janna Little in 2000. They have three children. His net worth is around $4.5 million.
Early philosophical inspirations
The reason I got involved in public service, by and large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it would be Ayn Rand.
Paul Ryan • Speaking about the early inspirations on his own political philosophy. Among some of the other thinkers he learned about at the University of Miami (Ohio), he grew a liking to Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, and Ludwig von Mises. But it was Rand who drew the strongest influence — after reading Atlas Shrugged, he was inspired to jump into politics. “I said, ‘Wow, I’ve got to check out this economics thing,’” he told The New Yorker’s Ryan Lizza. “What I liked about her novels was their devastating indictment of the fatal conceit of socialism, of too much government.”
Ryan’s record as a public official
Ayn Rand is a major influence, but that doesn’t show up in his work: Ryan has gained a reputation as a bit of an economic hawk with libertarian leanings, but does that really hold up? Some critics disagree with that sentiment — particularly libertarian voices who were upset that he was pigeonholed with their political philosophy. So, let’s break it down. Where does he stand?
Economic Issues Put bluntly, the characterization of Ryan as a budget hawk doesn’t show in his voting record: He’s supported many policies that drastically increased, or would have increased, the deficit. Examples include the Bush tax cuts, Medicare Part D, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and a 2004 proposal to privatize Social Security. Ryan also voted for TARP, supported the war in Iraq, and opposed the PayGo requirement that tax cuts be offset with spending cuts, so it’s difficult to conclude that Ryan’s ideology is guided by an anti-big-government sentiment.
Social Issues Generally speaking, Ryan is socially conservative. He’s received a 100% rating from the National Right to Life Committee, an “A” from the NRA, and a 0% from Americans United for Separation of Church and State. He opposes the DREAM Act, supports anti-flag-burning legislation, and opposes gay marriage — yet he’s in favor extending anti-discrimination laws to cover sexual orientation. According to DW-Nominate, a statistical ranking system that attempts to quantify legislators’ ideology, Ryan is about as conservative as Michele Bachmann. source
The Ryan Plan: How Paul got his wings
How Paul Ryan became a national figure: Ryan came to prominence around 2010 when, after debating President Obama face-to-face on health care reform, he unveiled a dramatic budget proposal dubbed “The Path to Prosperity,” which he pitched in the video above. He’s put out similar budgets every year, and the most recent incarnation has found its way into the spotlight following Romney’s VP announcement. It has several staples:
Medicare vouchers Rather than insuring seniors directly, Ryan’s proposal would provide Medicare recipients with “vouchers” worth a certain dollar amount that they could then use to purchase private health insurance. In addition, the plan would increase the age of Medicare elligibility, from 65 to 67, by 2034.
Tax structure The Ryan plan replaces the current income tax structure with two rates —10% and 25% (this would be a 10% cut for the highest earners), and lowering the corporate tax rate to 25%. It also proposes simplifying the tax code and eliminating unecessary tax expenditures, but doesn’t specify just how.
Low-income programs Ryan’s budget would cut $2.17 trillion from Medicaid and related programs, as well as $750 billion from money from programs that serve to benefit the poor (like food stamps and Pell Grants). All in all, 62% of the cuts identified in Ryan’s budget come from programs aiming to benefit low-income Americans. source
» A credible proposal? A frequent criticism of Ryan’s budget is that while it purports to reduce the deficit, this claim relies on policy details that the plan itself does not specify. The primary issue is the plan’s claim to be “revenue-neutral.” This means that although, under Ryan’s budget, tax rates would be reduced, the federal government would still collect just as much money, because the plan eliminates tax breaks and expenditures that otherwise decrease tax intake. However, Ryan doesn’t name any of the breaks or expenditures that he’d reform, and doesn’t explain how they would be modified.
Skepticism about Ryan’s plans
I’m not comfortable dismissing what Ryan says he’ll do. But I’m not comfortable assuming that he’s going to do something he’s never done before, that the Republican Party is ideologically uninterested in doing, and that would be nearly impossible to get done.
The Washington Post’s Ezra Klein • Who’s unsure of how to deal with the lack of specificity in Ryan’s budget proposal. The “something” to which he refers? Offsetting the tax cuts in his budget proposal. The plan doesn’t, in fact, name a single tax offset; it simply asserts as a premise that the new tax policy will be “revenue-neutral.” According to the the Bipartisan Policy Center, Ryan would have to eliminate every tax expenditure on the books to obtain revenue neutrality.
What about November?
Will having Ryan on the ticket help or hurt Romney? Who knows: So much of Ryan’s effect on the race will depend on things that either can’t be measured yet (his effectiveness as a fundraiser, how his candidacy gets framed, his oratorical skills) or can’t be measured at all (how many minds in Florida are changed due to his Medicare proposals, how many Democrats turn out to vote in Wisconsin who otherwise wouldn’t have, etc). It’s worth keeping in mind that even the most polarizing VP picks don’t necessarily sway the election (many people forget that John McCain was projected to lose long before he tapped Sarah Palin for VP), so any speculation with regard to his effect on the race is dubious at best. (photo by James B. Currie)
A risk or a brave choice?
When a prudent candidate like Mitt Romney picks someone like Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate, it suggests that he felt he held a losing position against President Obama.
FiveThirtyEight’s Nate Silver • Regarding his view on Romney’s choice. He sees Ryan as a risky pick, because now, “Mr. Obama will no longer have to stretch to evoke the specter of Congress and its 15 percent approval rating,” because “with Mr. Ryan on the opposing ticket, he will be running against a flesh-and-blood embodiment of it.” Do you think that Ryan is the change the country needs? Did Mitt make the right choice?
Seth Millstein is a writer and Journalist who has penned articles for the likes of ShortFormBlog and The Daily. Reach him at @SethMillstein.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m935indcGv1qas8z9o1_500.jpg)
¡Hola! Here’s the latest entry in our weekly post series, “The Pitch.” This post, written by SFB’s very own Seth Millstein, analyzes the man, the myth, and the legend: Vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan. Follow Seth on Twitter over here.
So just who is Paul Ryan, anyway? Mitt Romney took a political risk, defied most pundits’ predictions, and delighted the conservative intelligensia last week by selecting Paul Ryan, a 42-year-old Congressman from Wisconsin, as his running mate. Ryan, who chairs the House Budget Committee, is a deeply polarizing figure. Some view him as an intelligent, non-combative policy wonk, a politician earnestly concerned with reducing the country’s deficit and unafraid to propose tough measures in order to do so. Others see Ryan a plutocratic snake-oil salesman, a GOP hardliner concerned primarily with gutting social programs and cutting taxes for the rich. So, what’s Ryan all about, and will he help or hinder Romney in November? ShortFormBlog’s Seth Millstein investigates after the jump.
(photo by monkeyz_uncle)
» What “bounce”? And, as it turns out, Romney’s pick of Ryan didn’t exactly give him a desired jump in the polls. Nate Silver of FiveThirtyEight puts it like so: “This is a below-average ‘bounce’ for the selection of a vice presidential candidate. In past elections, the bounce has averaged in the neighborhood of 4 percentage points instead.” Silver has Romney well behind Obama in the electoral vote count.
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Paul Ryan is the embodiment of the machine our music rages against.Tom Morello, Rage Against the Machine’s guitarist blasts Romney’s VP pick and unlikely Rage fan - Rolling Stone (via brooklynmutt)
Looking to see Romney and his new vice-presidential candidate with a ticking stopwatch? “60 Minutes” has you covered tonight.
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