If they were honest with voters, their bumper sticker
would read: "Ryan-Romney 2012."
Poor Paul Ryan —
he successfully rammed a budget bill through the U.S. House of Representatives
that gutted Medicare, thus earning him the undying adulation of the far-right
Republican fringe, whose unrestrained enthusiasm for him compelled Mitt Romney
to name the Wisconsin Republican as his vice presidential nominee.
So far, so good — but, wham! — the Romney-Ryan ticket had barely debuted before Mitt started dumping on his newly anointed running mate's budget. Curiously, that's the exact same budget that Romney had gushed about during the Republican primary this spring, calling it a "bold and exciting effort" that is "very much needed."
But that was when
Mitt was trolling for votes in the shallow waters of the fringe. Now, however,
Ryan's budget, the very bauble that got him to the GOP's No. 2 political slot,
turns out to be so widely and wildly unpopular with voters in the deeper waters
of the general election that it's already been trashed by the GOP's No. 1.
"I have my own budget plan," Romney backpedaled the day after he
knighted Sir Ryan, "and that's the budget plan we're going to run
on."
It's kind of
strange (and a bit unsettling) to see a candidate for president of the U.S. of
A. straining to explain that he's the one in charge, not the young ideologue.
Romney even went on national TV to tell us that, while Ryan would certainly be
consulted, "I have to make the final call in important decisions."
Sure, Mitt — you da man! But was he trying to convince us…or himself? Or Ryan?
Indeed, at the
staged event where Romney introduced his choice for veep, he bungled
his line, presenting Ryan as "the next President of the United
States." Was that just another Romney gaffe? A Freudian slip? Or an eerie
moment of candor?
If they were
honest with voters, their bumper sticker would read: "Ryan-Romney
2012."
Jim Hightower is
a radio commentator, writer, and public speaker. He's also editor of the
populist newsletter,The Hightower
Lowdown.
Distributed via OtherWords (OtherWords.org)
Distributed via OtherWords (OtherWords.org)