Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
I'm about to head off to the Paul Ryan rally at Lakewood High School this morning. I don't know if I'm overreacting but we're leaving many, many hours early to ensure we get in. Maybe those big crowds last weekend were mostly because they were held on the weekend. I'll be sure to report back on how things go.
Over on the Member Feed, a member pointed out the Onion's brilliant (if not compliant with our Code of Conduct) satire about what Democrats are thinking about Paul Ryan.
And it does seem that some elements on the left and in the media are in a frenzied meltdown mode. Yesterday David Brock released a 300-page dossier against Ryan and the talking points are getting out there. Many of them are riddled with errors. The talking points come quickly. The corrections less so.
I'll be curious to see how well this Democratic attempt to define Ryan works. As Michael Gerson's column today began:
It is the recurring temptation of self-confident, insular elites to assume that the whole country loves what they love, hates what they hate and believes what they believe. “The American people are not going to elect a 70-year-old, right-wing, ex-movie actor to be president,” Jimmy Carter’s aide Hamilton Jordan said in 1980. This view was universally shared, except by voters in 44 states.
In early 2010, Paul Ryan’s “Roadmap for America’s Future” was seen as a boon to Democratic midterm prospects. Focus groups found elements of the plan unpopular. Republicans who endorsed it were subject to attack ads. Democratic campaign chairman Chris Van Hollen described the “Roadmap” as a political “gift” — before Republicans achieved the largest partisan shift in the House since 1948.
The media continues to push the same meme (using anonymous sources, to boot). I am so curious as to how it will all turn out this time.
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May '12
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
They should remember to start taking their Gingko Biloba.
Nov '11
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
Mollie, is it fair to ask if you are maybe just slightly excited about the VP pick after all?
You're right, of course, that the difference with Ryan is that he's been through it before, if not under the same spotlight.
Have fun at the rally.
Jun '12
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
Democrats thought ObamaCare would ensure their electoral success in 2010 and beyond.
Democrats thought Porkulus would create tons of jobs and give them permanent power in DC.
Democrats thought investing in Solyndra was a wise idea.
Democrats think a lot of things that just aren't true.
Apr '11
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
Liberals fervently believe that most of the electorate oppose free-markets and limited government. Their belief is false. But like zealots everywhere, falsification of their belief only makes them believe it even more.
Ryan is not an advocate for limited government, but he is an advocate for smaller government. That is enough for liberals to think he's unpopular.
Jun '11
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
ConservativeWanderer: Democrats thought ObamaCare would ensure their electoral success in 2010 and beyond.
Democrats thought Porkulus would create tons of jobs and give them permanent power in DC.
Democrats thought investing in Solyndra was a wise idea.
Democrats think a lot of things that just aren't true.
And . . .
Democrats embraced the Occupy movement. If that doesn't demonstrate their acute political instincts and sensibilities, I don't know what does.
Sep '10
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
Even if Ryan actually did want to push Grandma over a cliff in her wheelchair, he has the personality and charisma that would cause Grandma to cheer him through the entire exercise.
Seriously, look at the guy. Listen to him. Does he sound like the second coming of Hitler? On one side you have Debbie Wassername's shrillness reminding you of that awful date with the horrid girl in college, and the other side is Paul Ryan who reminds women and mothers of the guy they all hope their daughters marry.
Jun '11
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
Mollie, I would be interested to see if there are an differences in your impressions of the rally and what we see in the press.
Jun '10
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
I noticed yesterday while listening to local talk radio that the seminar callers from the DNC were out in force. The line of attack was as predictable as it was trite. I'm quoting them verbatim: "Old people will be dying in the streets!" You can bet that the Obama campaign had a pre-scripted attack ready for every likely VP choice. It's all right out of the same playbook from the last forty years. I don't really care what Democrats think because they're delusional. I have no doubt that Mr. Ryan will articulate his case well. What matters is that undecided voters are rational enough to see the truth.
Jun '10
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
I can only pray that Debbie Wasserman-Schultz and Joe Biden will be the primary attack dogs on Ryan: Debbie is utterly incomprehensible; Joe is a gas bag without a single clue as to how other's perceive him (he seems to believe that warming an office in DC for nearly forty years endows a person with moral authority--the opposite, in fact, is true.
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
The Dems are going to lose and lose big -- in the House and Senate races as well. The legacy media's losses may turn out to be bigger. Obama is the great unmasker, and he has allowed everyone to see what CBS, CNN, ABC, and NBC really are.
Mar '11
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
"Democrats thought Ryan was a Boon to their Prospects in 2010"
Obviously that did not turn out well for them in 2010.
The difference in 2012 is Paul Ryan. In 2010 Dems could run against and distort Ryan. In 2012 as a VP Candidate Ryan gets a platform to defend/explain his plan to the nation.
This attack will not have the effect Obama is hoping for, even Wolf Blitzer is pushing back.
Jan '11
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
The almost comically-clueless confidence with which the pundit class drops assertions is a universal constant. For all their "expertise," they consistently know nothing.
When Jack Dunphy reminded us about Tom Wolfe last weekend, someone asked what were the best Tom Wolfe works to start off with. That got me thinking, and although I usually have a terrible memory about such things, I knew immediately what my first Tom Wolfe piece was: Radical Chic.
Radical Chic is liberal psychosis. The pundit class which now claims that Ryan is going to be a perfect target for democrat slime really have no idea of what they're talking about.
Jun '12
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
Jun '10
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
May Ryan's budget provide precisely the same benefit to the Democrats in 2012 that if provided in 2010.
In fact, let's compare the Ryan budget to President's budget (zero votes) and the budget adopted by the Senate (sorry, apparently there is isn't one and hasn't been one for several years).
In Montana, Florida, West Virginia, and Missouri, I hope the Repubican Senate candidates ask Senators Tester, Nelson, Manchin, and McCaskill why, as such effective representatives of their states, they couldn't persuade Harry Reid to see that the Senate passed a budget.
Edited on August 14, 2012 at 6:00pmOct '10
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
This is devoutly to be desired.
Meanwhile the GOP does their best to keep the legacy media afloat with the Presidential Debates, the talk shows in which they showcase their candidates and surrogates (horrible word), and 15,000 press passes for the convention. (Now, if that was 15,000 conservative bloggers, tweeters and YouTubers, hooray. But I suspect not.)
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
Leigh: Mollie, is it fair to ask if you are maybe just slightly excited about the VP pick after all?
You're right, of course, that the difference with Ryan is that he's been through it before, if not under the same spotlight.
Have fun at the rally. · 2 hours ago
Well, I like Paul Ryan so much that I actually am completely unable to sort through my feelings on this matter. One of my best friends -- and longtime housemate -- worked for him for years, along with various other friends and colleagues. I know a great deal about him -- his strengths and weaknesses, and he is probably my favorite politician out there right now. Admittedly this is an extremely low bar.
It's hard to cover him, to be quite honest.
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.
Well, I like Paul Ryan so much that I actually am completely unable to sort through my feelings on this matter. One of my best friends -- and longtime housemate -- worked for him for years, along with various other friends and colleagues. I know a great deal about him -- his strengths and weaknesses, and he is probably my favorite politician out there right now. Admittedly this is an extremely low bar.
It's hard to cover him, to be quite honest. · 0 minutes ago
I should clarify that after living in DC for 15 years, I've gotten to know a great many politicians. I'd say that 95-98% of the time (absolutely no exaggeration here), that greater knowledge has led to disgust or greater disgust. Even though I don't agree with Paul Ryan on everything, my increased knowledge of him has led to an opposite reaction.
Nov '11
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.
I should clarify that after living in DC for 15 years, I've gotten to know a great many politicians. I'd say that 95-98% of the time (absolutely no exaggeration here), that greater knowledge has led to disgust or greater disgust. Even though I don't agree with Paul Ryan on everything, my increased knowledge of him has led to an opposite reaction. · 33 minutes ago
There's a decency about the man -- he rings true. Jonah Goldberg said something of the same sort the other day, and then added a thoughtful comment: what does putting a decent man on this stage do to him?
There's a reason we're commanded to pray for our leaders -- they're under pressures and temptations most of us can't even imagine.
May '10
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
Ryan makes me wish I had daughters to find men like him to marry them off to. However, I am consoled by the fact that I'm producing my own versions of Ryan, 3 very handsome and one day solid, principled, conservative, hard-working, brilliant men. What? That's not expecting too much, is it?
May '10
Re: Democrats Thought Ryan Was A Boon To Their Prospects In 2010, Too
Leigh
Mollie Hemingway, Ed.
I should clarify that after living in DC for 15 years, I've gotten to know a great many politicians. I'd say that 95-98% of the time (absolutely no exaggeration here), that greater knowledge has led to disgust or greater disgust. Even though I don't agree with Paul Ryan on everything, my increased knowledge of him has led to an opposite reaction. · 33 minutes ago
There's a decency about the man -- he rings true. Jonah Goldberg said something of the same sort the other day, and then added a thoughtful comment: what does putting a decent man on this stage do tohim?
There's a reason we're commanded to pray for our leaders -- they're under pressures and temptations most of us can't even imagine.
I don't know about you, but I'm praying very fervently that the Ryan marriage and relationship with his children remains protected, firm and grows in depth. I'm not as fervent about the Romney marriage because Romney seems to have already passed through the wild temptations of youth to come out successful. But Ryan is a lot younger, and more vulnerable.