The wild ride has officially begun. The wonks are babbling and the candidates are screeching. Everyone wants to know more about Paul Ryan's wife, seemingly even more than they want to know about his plan to screw everyone under the age of 55 when it comes to medicare.
Ryan's wife is from Madill, Oklahoma. It is a crusty dump of a place down near the Red River and once home of the world famous Lake Texoma Sand Bass Festival. A big deal is being made about her coming from a "democratic family." Well, sort of. Her cousin is Dan Boren who is retiring from congress this year after voting far more times with the republican majority than his own party. For a time her uncle by marriage was David Boren, the former governor and senator and current University of Oklahoma president. David Boren, a brother skull and bones man with both Bush the senior and the younger was generally considered a wholly owned subsidiary of the Oklahoma Publishing Company when he held office. Mrs. Ryan's grandfather Reuel Little ran for governor on The American Party ticket. The American Party was founded so that segregationist Alabama governor George Wallace could run for president. Down here in Oklahoma we have a name for such people. We call them Dinos. Democrats in name only.
But enough of that. She seems like a very nice woman and she isn't the one who will be the proverbial heartbeat away from the presidency. Her husband Paul, who put together a budget four years ago that was so universally detested it never got out of committee, is that person. He once claimed he got into public service because he was inspired by the works of Ayn Rand. Later however, after officials of the Catholic church pointed out that Rand, among other things, was a stark raving atheist, he backed off from that sentiment.
Of course there is a lot of that going around lately. Mitt Romney has been desperately running from the health care plan that he instituted in Massachusetts when he was governor for ages now. Currently he is also howling that Barak Obama is running a "campaign of smear, dirt, and deception.
He failed to mention that his ad claiming Obama is trying to let welfare recipients sit around without working while they collect their checks has been called, "a drastic distortion" by Independent Fact Checker. He also insists that Obama has cut medicare spending by $700 billion, letting people think that the president is the one gutting the program. First Read has said that what Obama did was reduce the rate of growth in non essential services and increased the premiums for higher income recipients. Benefits that current and future seniors will receive will not be affected, unlike Brother Ryan's fixed cap voucher plan. In that scenario there is a limit to what can be spent that doesn't take into account rising medical costs, or radical treatments. Say good bye to the pancreas and don't even think about that lung transplant unless you own a large chunk of Haliburton.
Yes, the attacks have begun and waiting in the wings to make a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention is Billy Jeff Clinton. The former president has a 66% approval rating and can move the troops to action like no other. Every time I think of him addressing the Romney-Ryan candidacy the word "evisceration" comes to mind.
We are beginning the final leg of this crude and expensive relay. We are only a month and a half away from October surprises and Internet rumors that Obama himself is a cross dresser. Every week will bring more poll numbers and accusations. Watch for local republican officials to challenge every voter who isn't a lighter shade of pale.
Ugly won't even begin to describe it.
It can't get over with quick enough.
8-13-12
Interesting...especially about Reuel Little. I am currently researching and writing about the 1900s Oklahoma Land Grab from an American Indian perspective. Perhaps, we share interest in such a topic?
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