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17 Feb 2011 13:42

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Politics: A quick look at what some right-wing folks think of the WI protests

  • beck “You are about to see this president start embracing the uprisings … the teachers unions and all of the unions that are marching on the streets.”
  • paul ryan “[Gov. Walker] wants public workers to pay half of what our private sector counterparts and he’s getting riots. It’s like Cairo has moved to Madison these days.”
  • malkin “If this brave Republican governor can stand up to the immense amount of power and thuggery, essentially, by these unions, it bodes very well for other states.” source

26 Jan 2011 10:55

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Politics: Video proof: Paul Ryan wasn’t red-eyed during SOTU response

  • The video quality here is fairly crystal-clear, and one big difference we noticed between what we saw between what we watched last night and the clip we saw today is that Ryan didn’t really need Visine. It was all bad lighting, guys. But there were other issues with the speech, as Dave Weigel makes clear at the link over here: source

26 Jan 2011 10:35

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Politics: Obama giving Wisconsin tender love and care today

  • yesterday Obama took his dog-and-pony show into a joint session of Congress and made a State of the Union address. Wisconsin’s very own Paul Ryan responded.
  • today Obama’s headed to Wisconsin today. Now it’d be a better match if, say, he was heading to Janesville instead of Manitowoc, but coincidence? We think not. source

25 Jan 2011 11:21

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Politics: Tea Partiers: We’re NOT trying to usurp Paul Ryan’s SOTU response

  • I think you get a variety of opinions and all Republicans aren’t the same, but I don’t see it as trying to usurp somebody else’s prerogative. I think one main Republican message, but other voices as well.
  • Sen. Rand Paul • Defending Michele Bachmann’s decision to offer her own, secondary, Tea-Party-focused response to the State of the Union speech tonight. (We’ll be covering this as much as we can tonight, by the way.) Anyway, Paul is trying to make it clear that Bachmann’s speech isn’t meant to take the wind out of the sails of Paul Ryan’s speech, but just to offer a different perspective. To which we say, don’t do this, Michele. People already don’t take you seriously, and this only makes you look worse. It also greatly damages your party, which, based on the “R” next to your name, is not the Tea Party. source

21 Jan 2011 18:03

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Politics: State of the Union: There’s a response to Paul Ryan’s response

  • reasoned The GOP’s official response to Obama’s State of the Union will feature Paul Ryan’s uniquely reasonable principled fiscal conservatism on display.
  • crazy But wait, there’s another “official” response. Michele Bachmann will be on the Tea Party Express Web site after Ryan gets done to offer a second response. source

21 Jan 2011 13:54

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Politics: Paul Ryan’s Republican State of the Union response: The right guy?

  • Paul Ryan, here’s your potential moment. If the GOP wants to get any leverage on Obama’s upcoming State of the Union address, they’d be crazy not to go with someone like Ryan for the response. Already a political lifer at age 39 (almost 40), his thoughtful approach to the budget crisis, which still emphasizes extreme cuts, is at least put a little bit more nicely than anything Mitch McConnell has ever said. Obama even takes him seriously, and we’ve taken notice of him in the past, too. The thing is, if Ryan keeps at what he’s good at – his honest likability, his sincere belief in the issues and his nicer approach than some of his colleagues – he’ll do better than some of the other guys recently in this spot, like Bobby Jindal (though Bob McDonnell did well in 2010). source

02 Dec 2010 21:52

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Politics: Deficit committee may not have needed votes by tomorrow

  • Our debt crisis is a threat not just to our way of life but to our national survival. And the threat that we face is so real and so close that we do not have further time for gridlock or inaction. It’s necessary that we take strong, aggressive action now.
  • Idaho Sen. (and deficit committee member) Mike Crapo • Revealing that he, along with Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, would be voting in favor of the deficit committee’s proposal Friday. That means that, along with retiring Sen. Judd Gregg, three Republicans would be voting to send the proposal for a vote in Congress. Problem is, that brings the grand total up to around nine votes. Fourteen of the nineteen members need to vote yes. At least three other  Republicans (including our boy Paul Ryan) and one Democrat (Max Baucus) will vote against it. But that may not matter, according to committee co-chairman Alan Simpson. “Whether we get two votes or 18, this baby ain’t goin’ away,” he said. He’s right; the ideas will remain no matter what happens. source
 

07 Nov 2010 21:09

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Politics: Rep. Paul Ryan: We’re gunning for healthcare, wanna kill it by 2013

  • This bill is such a fiscal and economic train wreck for our country and for the health care system itself. We’re going to do everything we can to try and repeal and replace this thing. And ultimately, I think 2013 is when it will be done the right way.
  • Rep. Paul Ryan • Explaining the GOP’s plan for taking on health care after the midterms. First, choke the funding sources. Then, hopefully, after Obama has been kicked out of office, repeal the damn thing entirely. Look, we like Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan is a good member of Congress and has good, well-intentioned reasons for pushing what he’s pushing. Unlike someone like Mitch McConnell, we don’t think he plays politics for the sake of playing politics. Plus, he looks like he could’ve been the third Darren from “Bewitched.” But we simply think that the lead item on the GOP’s agenda should not be repealing health care. Figure out ways to work with the president and get people more jobs, then work on your beef with health care. source

15 Apr 2010 11:11

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Politics: Rep. Paul Ryan: Let’s talk intelligently about federal spending

  • Paul Ryan is an old-school Republican. He doesn’t seem like he hops on these shows to get into shouting matches with anyone, but instead discusses what he thinks are reasonable issues for cutting spending. He has opinions, but is willing to look at both sides of the aisle for criticism or praise. Plus, he looks like either Dick York or Dick Sergeant (we’re not sure which). Sure, he’s not flashy, but does he have a shot in 2012? source

27 Apr 2009 01:38

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Politics, U.S.: Meet Paul Ryan, one of the GOP’s rising superstars

Ryan, a Wisconsin congressman and policy wonk, could join Bobby Jindal in being a guiding light for the party’s future. source