tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5352395970681996095.post8108770284168080610..comments2024-01-27T00:20:30.239-08:00Comments on Casa Cognito: What It Takes to be Considered "Serious" in WashingtonSwellsmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05593178312657435749noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5352395970681996095.post-20154478842658789052011-05-29T03:58:19.388-07:002011-05-29T03:58:19.388-07:00Oh, hey, here is the URL to that Ezra Klein post I...Oh, hey, here is the URL to that Ezra Klein post I mentioned earlier:<br /><br />www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/post/responding-to-ryan/2011/05/19/AGZVStCH_blog.htmlSwellsmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05593178312657435749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5352395970681996095.post-6262691650132007692011-05-29T03:52:17.007-07:002011-05-29T03:52:17.007-07:00Hey, I never said he would win the Presidency, or ...Hey, I never said he would win the Presidency, or even the Repubican nomination, just that he would run.<br /><br />In a couple of recent interviews and other statements, Ryan appears to be doubling down on his pitch. He has accused Dems of being mean to him and of "mischaracterizing" his plan, and he has asserted that more American will rally behind it once it is explained to them more fully. Nothing seems to support this. (In his blog over at the Washtington Post, Ezra Klein did a masterful job last Friday of rebutting two of Ryan's main arguments in favor of killing off Medicare. I'd provide the link, but I'm typing this out via iPad and can't seem to cut 'n paste).<br /><br />It seems clear to me that Ryan really has drunk the Kool-Aid on this one, he really does believe the things he is saying. And certainly, until he had to start hearing from American voters and until he started getting serious pushback from Obama and the Democrats, why wouldn't he have. For reasons not entirely clear to me he is a Beltway media darling, and Beltway media is much more inclined to award him acclades than to check his math.<br /><br />In this he reminds me a little bit of Haley Barbour. Barbour, too, is a Beltway media favorite and Barbour, too, was widely considered by the Beltway medai to be credible candidate for the Presidency. And given that kind of feedback, I am sure that Barbour believed it too -- despite the fact you've got several generations of voting-age Americans who still remember The Dukes of Hazzard and only see Boss Hogg when they look at Haley Barbour.<br /><br />So Barbour planned to run for president, and went around to Iowa and - especially -- New Hampshire and discovered that his special inbred, good ol' boys backslapping bullshit didn't play well to all white folks. And Barbour dropped out. Why not? He is amazingly wealthy from his lobbying connections and still is something of a kingmaker in the GOP, so why go through the arduous and humiliating experience of running for president and failing spectacularly?<br /><br />I don't know if Paul Ryan will have a similar epiphany, and I think his situation differs from Barbour's. Ryan has not amassed the kind of fortune Barbour has, and Ryan doesn't appear to wield the same kind of power with the GOP either. Ryan is being advanced as the king himself, not as the eminence grise.<br /><br />Too, if the Republicans get significantly trounced in the 2012 election (and Paul Ryan has handed the Dems a weapon that can do just that, if they only have the fortitude to use it), I don't think you'll see much introspection or soul-searching among the Republicans. They will do what they did in 2008 and 2010, and what Ryan appears to be doing now: they will double down on the crazy.<br /><br />Which means continued backing of Paul Ryan by the GOP and the hardcore 27% of Americans that will support them no matter what, and continued fellating of Ryan by the Beltway Pundits. Sure, the Ryan Plan to Destroy Medicare has the vast potential to backfire and destory Republican electoral chances next year, but given the make up of the Republican party and the people who cover them I don't think that will significantly impact Ryan's decision to run.Swellsmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05593178312657435749noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5352395970681996095.post-23683094692911957262011-05-28T13:27:17.219-07:002011-05-28T13:27:17.219-07:00So this is the stepping stone to a run for the pre...So this is the stepping stone to a run for the presidency in 2016? The recent NY race that went to a Democrat who championed protecting Medicare suggests that, like Social Security, running against health care for seniors is, duh, not good for one's political health. A main reason why both Medicare and Social Security enjoy almost universal support, even among the young, is that working Americans who are struggling even now would be struggling still harder if they had sole responsibility for their parents' health care and finances. It is therefore wrong to think of these programs as only benefiting seniors. It is their children and grandchildren who are also being protected.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06411954902917229743noreply@blogger.com