Ryans Folly

Ryans Folly

For a long time we could try to believe that Mitt Romney was only catering to the tea party, but not actually going to govern that way if elected. After all, he flipped, before he flopped, on a wide range of issues…healthcare, welfare, women’ rights etc.

We were wrong. 

Now, true believer or not, we know that in Paul Ryan he has chosen a doctrinaire right-winger who is an “inside the beltway” politician who got his budget bill passed, by his fellow Republicans.  He orchestrated a budget that works on disbanding all the great accomplishments of the New Deal and Great Society. His budget does this while building on the robber-baron wealth inequality that the Occupy movement has so effectively brought to our attention.  He also manages to add no foreign policy credentials to Romney, who has no philosophy except that of a rigid adherence to an outmoded view of American exceptionalism.

The vice presidency used to be seen as no more worthy or powerful than the proverbial “bucket of spit.” However, recent VPs have become genuine partners in leadership, and in some cases (Mr. Cheney) were virtually acting as the president. A Vice-President Ryan, with his years of contacts and knowledge of the legislative process, will be the point person in pushing to get the Romney-Ryan-Tea party agenda to become the law of the land. 

This is the wildest fantasy of the tea party, whose freshman legislators of 2010 had power only to be obstructionist, to say no, and to embarrass America, and her credit rating, through their creation of a debt-ceiling crisis. Now, they could have an administration that may have power to more actively harm the interests and aspirations of all but the top earners of the country. They will have more power to reduce Medicare to a voucher program, emasculate Medicaid, undo health care reform, further tax inequality, and force their will on social issues. They have a VP candidate who is anti-women’s health, anti abortion, and is pushing for mandatory ultrasounds for those considering abortion.

We now have a choice: to go “Forward,” as stated in the Obama campaign slogan, or to march promptly back to the 1950’s.  As for me, I’ve seen the 50s and I want to stay in this new millennium.