Paul Ryan
Among his policy initiatives has been a shadow budget created as an alternative to the majority Democrats' budget proposal. This "Roadmap for America's Future" was widely criticized,[5] although his increasing visibility as a "man of ideas"[6] in a party that has acquired a "Party of No" label has made him very prominent. He has also been an outspoken opponent of the the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, suggesting that, "this thing is a fiscal Frankenstein, it's a train wreck."[7] Following the 2010 elections, he rose to the position of chairman of the House Budget Committee, making his fiscal fantasies the official budget proposal of the majority party.
On August 11th, 2012 it was announced that Ryan would run as Mitt Romney's Vice President. He finished second to Joe Biden. Congratulations.
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[edit] Andrew Ryan?
“”The reason this debt-limit fight is different is we don’t have an election around the corner where we feel we are going to win and fix it ourselves.
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| —Ryan, agreeing to default on the American debt because he doesn't want anything resembling cheap, effective health care[8] |
Ryan is an advocate of "sound money." A Randroid, he required his staffers to read Atlas Shrugged.[9] He once told a meeting of the Atlas Society, "I grew up reading Ayn Rand and it taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are and what my beliefs are. It's inspired me so much that it's required reading in my office for all my interns and my staff."[10] A few years later Ryan, a practicing Catholic, was served a stinging letter signed by numerous theologians and Jesuit priests, who took him to task for his "misuse of Catholic teaching to defend [his] budget plan," stating:
“”In short, your budget appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her call to selfishness and her antagonism toward religion are antithetical to the Gospel values of compassion and love.[11]
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In the wake of this incident, he has since "rejected" the philosophy, stating it to be "an atheist philosophy,"[12] preferring the worldview of Thomas Aquinas.[13] His rejection of Rand, however, has not stopped him from pushing a Congressional budget that favors the obscenely rich and powerful.
[edit] Ryan and climate change
Ryan has stated that "there is growing disagreement among scientists about climate change and its causes,"[14] and has also promoted a conspiracy theory about climate scientists.[15]
[edit] See also
- Very Serious People -- Ryan is the darling of the inside the Beltway crowd.
[edit] External links
- Paul Ryan Declares War Against Math, New York Magazine
[edit] Footnotes
- ↑ Paul Ryan Insists He Didn’t Take Stimulus Money, Then Realizes He Totally Did, New York Magazine
- ↑ "Ryan's father died when Paul was only 16. Using the Social Security survivors benefits he received until his 18th birthday, he paid for his education at Miami University in Ohio, where he completed a bachelor's degree in economics and political science in 1992."
- ↑ Seriously, look at him
- ↑ GOP picks Paul Ryan - yes, that Paul Ryan - for debt commission, TPM
- ↑ Rep. Ryan’s Tax Roadmap Falls Short of His Revenue Goal, Tax Policy Center
- ↑ Hey, crank ideas count, too.
- ↑ Politico's Interview: Rep. Paul Ryan
- ↑ Cruz, Ryan: Post-Democracy, Slate
- ↑ Paul Ryan and Ayn Rand, The New Republic
- ↑ Is Paul Ryan for or against Ayn Rand? CNN
- ↑ Georgetown Letter to Rep. Paul Ryan
- ↑ After Previously Praising Her, Paul Ryan Now Disses Ayn Rand: ‘I Reject Her Philosophy’, Think Progress
- ↑ Not much better, don't ya think?
- ↑ Exceptional "freedom"
- ↑ Meet Paul Ryan, climate denier, Think Progress