Mitt Romney is a renowned flip-flopper. In picking Paul Ryan as his running mate, Romney went for diversity on the ticket: a hypocrite. For his big prime-time debut at the GOP convention on Wednesday, Ryan illustrated his ability to pay lip service to principles that he has repeated violated and to condemn Obama for inability to act that Ryan was in large part responsible for. Needless to say, the crowd at the convention loved it.
Ryan basically made two claims in his speech: Obama has failed to lead and Republicans have a plan. The problem is, most of the speech wasn’t true. By the reckoning of one conspicuously even-handed journalist, Ezra Klein at the Washington Post, Ryan said one thing that was true in his entire speech. In the talk-about-a-low-bar category, Klein notes that even Sarah Palin did better than that in her 2008 convention speech.
Among the charges Ryan made against Obama (and the reality that undercuts them):
- Obama has no plan to cut the deficit. In fact, Obama has a detailed plan to cut the deficit, which Republicans happen to hate. Moreover, when Obama tried to cut an epic deal with House Speaker John Boehner to lower the deficit,Ryan’s objections were a major reason the deal never materialized.
- Obama is a threat to Medicare, because he plans cuts to the program. The cuts are for insurance plans and providers, and they are cuts that Ryan himself had counted on in his budget proposal. Moreover, Ryan’s plan for Medicare would essentially end the program as it currently exists.
- Obama ruined the country’s credit rating. In fact, it was the refusal of House Republicans to budge on the debt ceiling that drove the markets to downgrade the country’s credit rating.
- Obama failed to save a GM plant in Wisconsin that he promised to save. In fact, the plant closed before Obama took office.
We could go on, but why bother. Ryan did say one thing that was true: the Obama administration hasn’t done a great job dealing with the worst housing crisis in American history. Too bad Romney’s alternative would be to let the market hit bottom without government intervention.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
The fact is (to use a phrase that feels out of place when talking about today’s GOP) the Romney-Ryan ticket has made a conscious decision to throw truth to the wind and simply make things up. It’s possible that the campaign staff thinks that the MSM will resort to the usual false equivalency–Democrats are untruthful too. And they are. But there’s a big difference between spinning facts to make yourself look good and saying things demonstrably untrue.
To its credit, the media seem to be catching up. Reviews of Ryan’s speech focus on the string of whoppers he presented. (Even the conservative media called him out.) This is another bad sign for the GOP’s presidential hopes. Convention week is the party before the hard work. It’s also the time when most Americans start to focus on the election and get a better understanding of the candidates. If the conventional wisdom that comes out of the Tampa is that the Republicans are untruthful, Romney and Ryan have made their job that much harder. Plus, they won’t have much time to overcome those bad early impressions. And that’s the truth.
BJ McFrisky
Yowza. It seems SOMEBODY (Queerty and other liberal sites) is running scared in the wake of the RNC convention, and is desperately trying to do damage control to keep the liberal base loyal. No worry—liberal sycophants never change. Never. (Well, maybe David Mamet).
hephaestion
They don’t call him LYIN’ RYAN for nothing!
chovexano
@BJ McFrisky: Why are you even on this website if that’s your opinion of it? Did you just come here to troll?
Miss Manners
I’m open minded but facts are facts.
Mr. Ryan’s speech seems like it was written for an episode of Newsroom.
BJ McFrisky
@chovexano: Believe it or not, not all gay people share a single-minded brain. I know that’s a concept that’s difficult for some to grasp, but believe it, baby.
Neo
@BJ McFrisky: Yes he did, he’s trolled loads of posts now, he seems to think that this line of trolling the “gay man who is a neo-conservative” is actually a thing that exists and he plays to it, but he does so incredibly poorly.
The trolls who used to post years ago on LGBT blogs and such had whole personalities and lives they’d made up, people like Friskey aren’t clever enough to do it properly though.
David Gervais
Frisky:
Name calling is the last line of a failed argument. You haven’t even made one argument refuting the statements in the story.
“It seems SOMEBODY … is running scared….”
Address the facts, otherwise you have no more credibility than Ryan.
Neo
@David Gervais: He won’t, he’s been using another account by the name of “Greg”, the layout of his posts and agenda are exactly the same, he’s also trotted out “I’m gay but” in a couple of his posts.
They’re just not as good as they used to be, I remember when we exposed the real names and addresses of these people paid by right wing groups, turned out a load of them were child rapists. What is it with conservatism and child rape?, they go hand in hand frighteningly often.
Neo
In other new, one of the lead advisors for these two morons is my own countryman, unfortunately.
A conservative, and utter slimeball Liam Fox http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liam_Fox
Disgraced and all but kicked out the party a couple of years ago for taking bribes in exchange for arms deals, and running a load of companies out of business in a small time version of Bain capital, running companies into the ground and shipping jobs overseas.
jeff4justice
Someone in the 2party system lied? Of course.
jeff4justice
The Republicans like oppressing gays, lie-based wars, & glorifying persecution of poor people. Democrats like drone attack killing little kids, NDAA, allowing frankenfood corporations to ruin the human food supply, and attacking medical marijuana users.
One one side you have phony religious people doing the work of evil and on the other phony yuppy wannbe do-gooders doing the work of evil.
Way to go 2-party system voter, especially those of you who donate to pay for these 2party system scums to fuck you over.
As with homophobes, 2party system supporters will be the embarrassment of future generations.
Lefty
Well the new members only comments section seems to be going well
Watch them ditch that when the revenue inevitably plummets. 🙂
GreenmanTN
@BJ McFrisky:
Ah yes, the “liberal gays” are such sheep, while you brilliant gay Republicans are doing everything your can to elect a Wall Street fox President of the hen house, which is EXACTLY what got our economy in the state it’s in. On top of that you conveniently ignore that a substantial percentage of the Republican base would like to see you dead in a ditch, all in the hope that if you earn enough money you MIGHT get a tax break!
How very brave that stance is, if you can get past the utter stupidity of it, you quisling fool.
BJ McFrisky
@David Gervais: Davey, Davey, Davey . . . You said, “Name calling is the last line of a failed argument,” to which I respond: Who, exactly, did I call a name? Was it the use of the word “sycophant”? That’s not an insult, it’s an observation. When I said “somebody” I followed that with “(Queerty and other liberal sites)”, which pretty much spells it out to whom I was referring. Which other liberal sites, you ask? ALL of them—every one of them is trying to convince the world that Paul Ryan is evil and hates women and old people. Don’t believe me? Look it up.
ps – You want to see real, genuine, nasty name-calling? Check out any article on Queerty that brings up Republicans. The libs do nothing BUT name-call on this site. How do I know? I’ve been on the receiving end of it many a time. (for a quick example, see comment #2 of this article)
the other Greg
Oh, now it makes sense. Ryan stands there and tells a bunch of huge, mind-boggling lies. But if anyone in the media calls him on it, the Republicans cry and whine about the supposed “name-calling.” Republicans used to be the “grown-up party”; now they’re a bunch of whiny 8 year olds. (Perhaps that phony “We built it” line – itself built on a lie – refers to something made of Legos.)
Well if Ryan doesn’t want to be called “Lyin’ Ryan,” there’s an easy way he can stop it from happening. He can STOP LYING.
@BJ McFrisky: “The libs do nothing BUT name-call on this site. How do I know? I’ve been on the receiving end of it many a time.” Oh boo hoo hoo fucking hoo. You’ve only been here two weeks, if that, at least under your current name. (Did you forget that part?) So it’s a bit mawkish of you to be whining about “many a time.” Poor little BJ!
BJ McFrisky
@the other Greg: Two words, Greg: anger & management.
the other Greg
Poor little BJ! If you get mad at him he’ll CWY!!!
GreenmanTN
@BJ McFrisky:
I’m worried that I didn’t make myself clear enough. Eat shit and die, you fucking asshole.
There. Was that clear enough?
You are part of a regressive movement that ONLY moves money from the bottom up, doesn’t just benefit the “1%” (and I’m not a OWS supporter) but a FRACTION of 1%. If I were to place a curse on you it would be for you to see the Republican platform REALIZED.
THAT is what you deserve, you absolute piece of shit. Maybe THAT would finally teach you just what cause it is you are championing. So let me tell you this, you miserable dog-shit eating worm, I truly hope that every person you deal with from this day forward treats you to ALL the generosity the Republican party is known for. I hope you ALWAYS feel like a beggar at a banquet, because THAT is what the GOP is really all about.
And don’t you EVER dare to get married to a male partner, like so many “gay Republicans” have, because that would be taking advantage of what LIBERALS have achieved while you’ve been sucking at the conservative tit like a fucking parasite. You disgust me. So reap what you sow. Die alone and in misery, because after all, that’s the Republican platform.
GreenmanTN
@BJ McFrisky:
Oh, and before you get to it?
“anger & management”?
Fuck. You.
Neo
@GreenmanTN: He will die alone, and unfortunately Greenman, as right as you are [and you are absolutely right in wishing him dead] that McFriskey has got the replies he wanted by trolling the forum he’s dragged the topic off course and into just abusing him.
It is classic republican baiting, it has been the same for decades over the net where they [think] they have anonymity, notice the posting pattern of people like him, everything that exposes these morons as frauds he posts in claiming “this and that about liberals” and inviting attacks then getting defensive and removing the chance to discuss these fascist lies from the GOP.
BJ McFrisky
@GreenmanTN: My, but you ARE a typical angry, unhappy lib who’s been convinced all his problems are caused by THE MAN. And the name calling? I know it’s hard for you lefties not to resort to it, but Jesus Christ, show a little maturity. A little? Come on, I know that people like you who are up all night on the computer responding to phantom posts have a little bit of matur—uh, on second thought, nevermind.
@Neo: Hey buddy. I see you’re thinking about me and my future again. That’s sweet.
GreenmanTN
@Neo:
Right or wrong, Neo, in some ways I appreciate our trollish gay blog brethren. Without them many news stories about gays would pass without comment, only preach to the choir. At the very least trolls generate comments, involvement, and all their shit-headedness aside, being involved is a good thing. And besides, trolls teach you to refine your arguments, sharpen them.
Trolls never change their minds so fighting with them is useless, but sometimes (at least for me) fighting is its own reward.
GreenmanTN
@BJ McFrisky:
Hi, greasy skid-mark! Welcome back!
I actually appreciate the contributions of the troll contingent here and at other gay blogs. Without contrarian trolls like you these stories wouldn’t generate much interest, would pass without notice. But trolls like you just teach what the lowest-common-denominator arguments are, “show your hand,” help to hone arguments and make them more effective.
So thank you for that.
BJ McFrisky
@GreenmanTN: My man! My sentiments EXACTLY. I’m always in search of lesser intellects to enlighten. Which is why I read Queerty, HuffPost, and other sites where intelligence hides its bashful little face under ugly, ideological rocks.
BJ McFrisky
@GreenmanTN: Follow-up: I have a question: What constitutes a “troll” in your eyes? Is it someone who comes to this web site who “shouldn’t” be here? And who belongs in that category? Seems to me the word “troll” is just another tool you use to bash people with whom you disagree. I’m a gay nman who’s interested in gay issues, but if for some reason you think I don’t belong here, I’d like to hear why.
GreenmanTN
@BJ McFrisky:
No, to me a “troll” is someone who is deliberately contrarian, a devil’s advocate, who says (types) things not because they actually believe them but because they want to provoke a reaction. Attention, negative or positive- is all the same to them.
From my standpoint that describes you to a T.
BTW, I never once said you “don’t belong here.” In fact I said that trolls such as yourself awaken passionate responses, which is often sorely missing in sermons to the choir, so may be a good thing. You actually perform a service, though I doubt that was your intention.
If it wasn’t for the negative attention you get on the internet you’d be doing cartwheels in the middle of the town square screaming “Look at me! Look at me!”
BJ McFrisky
@GreenmanTN: Allow me to get this right. You think I don’t truly believe in the things I’ve written? That I’ve made such statements solely for the purpose of rabble-rousing? That I’m no more than a slightly mentally ill attention-seeker? This, coming from someone living in that bastion of intellect and astuteness that is Taynnessay?
Wow, it’s no wonder you’re a liberal. Like most libs, you’re just wrong. In fact, your assessment of me is downright deluded (which should give you pause and make you self-reflect on what other things you might be wrong about). But I doubt I would ever convince you of such a thing: like most libs, you’ll believe only what you want to.
If nothing else, I now know that I’m not one of your “trolls,” so there’s that.
Aidan8
@BJ McFrisky: You’re always in search of “lesser intellects to enlighten”…. Wow, we stand before a giant… We bow before your ego.
Freddie27
As I’ve said before BJ McFrisky would shoot Harvey Milk dead himself if the GOP would give him some more tax cuts. He craves money and he’ll stab you all in the back to get it.
Point 2: Queerty, get it right!
“he has repeatedLY violated” A verb is being described/modified, thus an adverb, not an adjective, is required
“to condemn Obama for AN inability to act” Nouns in English need an article like a/an or the before them
Finally, as much as I love Ezra Klein’s work on the Wonk Blog and his takedown of Paul Ryan, it is unfair to call him even handed. He is very clearly a liberal and left-wing in his orientation, as shown by his Wikipedia page, economic analysis and covering for Rachel Maddow on MSNBC.