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    GeorgeGeoffersonLivesHamilton Nolan
    4/06/16 2:32pm

    Therefore he is widely considered the face of compassionate conservatism.

    I’m not sure how “widely” held a belief that is. He was clearly seen as being well to the right of Romney during their 2012 run, which is why he was picked to “balance” out the more ‘moderate’ Mitt Romney. That ticket was soundly rejected not despite Ryan, but because of him as much as Mitt Romney if not even more.

    Lest we forget, too, Joe Biden beat his ass in their one debate, and he was the author of the Ryan budget so draconian that even the Catholic church was like “nah, we’ll pass.”

    Yeah, he’s dangerous. He’s also not particularly skilled for a higher level of politics.

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      Not the Rapper DrakeGeorgeGeoffersonLives
      4/06/16 2:36pm
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      secretlifeGeorgeGeoffersonLives
      4/06/16 2:38pm

      Romney shouldn’t have run in 2012, a race he was always guaranteed to lose to Obama. Had he been running now, I think mainstream conservatives would have flocked to him.

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    Portlandnative1984Hamilton Nolan
    4/06/16 2:33pm

    Even with his spending cuts we don’t balance the budget. People need to start accepting that we all need to start paying more taxes. I wish Bernie would start openly saying this.

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      flamingolingoPortlandnative1984
      4/06/16 3:01pm

      He can’t because it’s political death to say taxes will go up on everyone, not just rich people.

      That’s one reason Republicans are eager to have him as the Dem nominee. They can just repeat, “that commie is gonna raise your taxes” over and over again and win easily.

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      Portlandnative1984flamingolingo
      4/06/16 3:04pm

      Well somebody needs to start the conversation. Who better than him? An open socialist.

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    Dashiell HammletHamilton Nolan
    4/06/16 2:30pm

    I fear the day the GOP figures out how to sneak one of their fuckers into the WH

    But I’ll tell you one thing. It ain’t going to be 2016

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      KyuzoDashiell Hammlet
      4/06/16 2:40pm

      The GOP is dead in national elections until they discover their JFK.

      Hint: It’s not Paul Ryan or Marco Rubio.

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      BobbySeriousDashiell Hammlet
      4/06/16 2:42pm

      I remember warning people in 08 that Republicans were going to take the house in 10, and they laughed. I remember telling people in 12 that Repubs were going to take the Senate, and they laughed.

      If it’s Ted Cruz or fucking Trump, Republicans will get trounced at historic levels. If it’s Paul Ryan, or even Scott Walker, they absolutely can win.

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    beatrixkiddoHamilton Nolan
    4/06/16 2:44pm

    Never, ever forget. Don’t even think about forgetting.

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      Masshole Jamesbeatrixkiddo
      4/06/16 2:47pm

      I so would. I’d make sure it was painful for him but I still would.

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      beatrixkiddoMasshole James
      4/06/16 2:49pm

      LOL! That is NOT what I was getting at- I mean what a goober. But now that you mention it, jezebel should do one of their Would U polls about him.

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    NaturesFistHamilton Nolan
    4/06/16 2:43pm

    Failing to agree with his point of view does not make him dangerous. I don’t agree with alot of Paul Ryan’s stances, but I’m also not a fucking demagogue who labels any view but my own dangerous. This kind of bullshit talk is why we sit in the mire of gridlock and divisiveness that we do right now.

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      flamingolingoNaturesFist
      4/06/16 3:08pm

      That was a lot of words but no substantive retort to HamNo’s points about Ryan.

      Just yelling, “don’t be mean!” is not an adequate response to the argument that Ryan is a wolf in sheep’s clothing—a point that many others besides Nolan have made.

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      Younger KennedyNaturesFist
      4/06/16 4:19pm

      How the fuck do you compromise with someone advocating abolishing 75% of the government? Do we abolish 50% of it? Are you nuts?

      Ryan is a “numbers guy” who can’t understand numbers without condemning millions of Americans to abject poverty and death. It turns out, civility is not a virtue unto itself. Not every viewpoint deserves a seat at the table. This guy wants to kill Social Security when he’s only in Washington because of it. I trust him ZERO.

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    flamingolingoHamilton Nolan
    4/06/16 2:49pm

    The national media judges Republicans by their temperament, not their policy goals.

    Reagan and Dubya were genial and smiley, so they were good uncles who would lead America to a brighter tomorrow. Even though exactly the opposite happened, they’re still viewed that way by certain people.

    Kasich and Walker are low-key and even-tempered, so they’re responsible, moderate governors despite signing into law some of the most draconian anti-labor and anti-women policies in the nation.

    Paul Ryan constantly releases (unrealistic) budget plans, so he’s a wonk. Nevermind that Joe Biden mopped the floor with him in terms of mastery of policy details when they debated.

    If you ignore their actual words and actions, then sure, Republicans can seem like a fine, upstanding bunch that should rightfully get the reigns of power every other election cycle.

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      GeorgeGeoffersonLivesflamingolingo
      4/06/16 2:58pm

      And, that’s the problem they find out when they actually take their shit to the voters. Sure, it’s easy to win a gerrymandered-to-hell house - and maybe luck of the roll got them the Senate. But, it’s been proven when they take this shit to the highest level that people simply aren’t buying it, anymore, no matter how “moderate” the media says they are.

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      D-Fusflamingolingo
      4/06/16 3:01pm

      Yes, this.

      Like Jeb!, he has read a book before. Therefore, he is the smart one. Bonus points if the one book is Atlas Shrugged.

      If they shut down the Dept of Education, then it would be easier to continue Jeb!’s re-segregation/re-poverty efforts.

      http://www.tampabay.com/news/education…

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    IAMBlastedBiggsLostBurnerHamilton Nolan
    4/06/16 2:56pm

    I’m thinking these GOP All Stars are spawned on some isolated, secret compound, cut off from the outside world, and fed nothing but Limbaughian, Thurmondish, Nazi propaganda until they’re released into the world to satisfy the quasi-sexual fascist fetishes of Today’s GOP. Kind of like an American version of North Korea, except much worse.

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      Hastings ChromeIAMBlastedBiggsLostBurner
      4/06/16 3:43pm

      Check out Ted Cruz’s life story... that’s exactly how Rafael raised him.

      In regards to Ryan, Wisconsin basically is cut off from the outside world.

      The whole Wisconsin cultural raison d’être is reactionary. They want to prove they can function without being smug nordic-socialist pricks like the Minnesotans or asshole Democratic Machine FIBs from Chicago.

      Unfortunately, this chip on Wisconsin’s shoulder combined with their binge drinking leaves Wisconsin voters easily manipulated by local boys spewing Koch propaganda who basically tell them what they want to hear.

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      IAMBlastedBiggsLostBurnerHastings Chrome
      4/06/16 3:53pm

      Ugh. And here I was thinking that the closed-minded, reactionary, paranoid bullshit was anchored firmly here in the deep south.

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    alpacalipsnowHamilton Nolan
    4/06/16 2:33pm

    Yes, yes, yes. About 2 weeks ago, that video of him “rescinding” his earlier remarks about “makers and takers” started circulating and I was terrified. Liberal, progressive people who I know to be intelligent critical thinkers were sharing it and expressing their admiration about his change of heart. If they can't see through the Compassionate Conservatism charade, how is the average voter going to do so?

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      norbiznessalpacalipsnow
      4/06/16 2:44pm

      It’s especially funny, because like his ideological predecessor Phil “Everybody Gets Cuts Except Me” Gramm, Paul Ryan has spent a majority/all of his adult life pulling a government paycheck and producing little if any value in return.

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    Ed SpockHamilton Nolan
    4/06/16 2:31pm

    Ryan may be dangerous. But, he’s not “The World’s Most Dangerous Man.”

    Sincerely,

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      Ed SpockEd Spock
      4/06/16 2:43pm

      Ken Shamrock

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      XrdsAlumEd Spock
      4/06/16 2:57pm

      I was expecting Jimmy James.

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    HypnoCatHamilton Nolan
    4/06/16 2:58pm

    In fact he is a wacko, extremist class warrior. And not the good kind.

    What’s the good kind?

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      flamingolingoHypnoCat
      4/06/16 3:05pm

      The kind that says banking execs should be jailed without knowing which laws they’ve broken.

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      mattflamingolingo
      4/06/16 5:09pm

      that’s just as bad

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