Thoughts on the Republican Convention

Tonight's speakers at the RNC--thank you DonkeyHotey on Flickr

It's day three of the Republican National Convention in Tampa.  I'm watching it on TV and channel surfing. I'm having trouble staying awake.  Except for a moment when the Ron Paul supporters woke up early on, all the delegates seem to be having the same problem.

The whole thing feels like " The Stepford Wives do Disneyland"  It is heavily scripted and the plotline is very simplistic.  It consists of Obama bashing and the obsessive repetition of  spun " facts" over and over again.  It's the old Karl Rove routine of " if you tell a lie long enough and often enough, people will accept it as truth"

 The leitmotif of the evening seems to be high dudgeon at President Obama for declaring that Americans did not build their own businesses.  Of course that is NOT what Obama said, but truth seems to be the first casualty of political conventions as well as of war. Obama observed that small business owners did not build the roads and bridges or light the streets or provide water.  He was referring to the necessary role of government in building and repairing infrastructure.

The major event of the evening will be Paul Ryan's acceptance speech which should at least wake up the crowd.  I won't last that long.  I am already totally numbed by the  platitudes of an Ohio businessman and an Iraq war vet. I've had it.  I'm going to bed.

Romney Moves to the Dark Side. Picks Paul Ryan As Running Mate

cartoon source

There were whispers and rumors about this all week long and now Mittens has officially left his moderate Republican roots behind in Massachusetts by choosing Paul Ryan as his Vice Presidential running mate. He's really gone over to the dark side of  "Trickle Down"  fairy dust budgets and the Tea Party Paranoia.

 Just in case you don't realize how big a leap this is for formerly moderate Mitt, let me refresh your recollection.  Romney is the guy who set up a single payer, government funded health care system in Massachusetts when he was governor there. He was pro-choice back then, and  took many moderate,centrist political positions.  Now, he's climbing into bed with one of the most conservative, right wing, members of Congress as a running mate.  Guess what you can expect if Mitt gets elected?  Does the name George W. Bush ring a bell?

Congressman Paul Ryan has represented the State of Wisconsin since 1999.  He is currently head of the House Budget Committee and one of Washington's most powerful, conservative policy makers.  You've perhaps heard of the " Ryan Budget"  of which he is the author?

  The Ryan Budget would turn Medicare from a public entitlement to a voucher system ( remember when Bush wanted to privatize social security and turn it over to Wall Street just before the bubble burst?) But I digress-- let's get back to the Ryan Budget.  It would shrink food stamps, gut Medicaid and turn it completely into state block grants, and basically eliminate most Federal spending on what is left of the safety net for ordinary folks At the same time, in order to " create jobs" the budget calls for lowering taxes on corporations and wealthy individuals-- the 1% to you and me.

Job Creation Vs. Taxes

 Trickle down theory says that the top 1% create jobs for the bottom 90%.  Real life evidence suggests the opposite is true-- the bottom 90% buy goods and services when they have money in their pockets.

By choosing Ryan, Mitt Romney has drawn a line in the sand.   The choice of Paul Ryan clearly states what a Romney Administration would be like for the 1% and for the rest of us.  Personally, I'm not up for seeing old folks eating out of garbage cans and children going to bed hungry.

That's not my America and I hope it's not yours. I'm voting for Obama