Pity Paul Ryan. Not only is he one of the least popular member of his party and Congress, but his Randian wet dream budget plan--declared the litmus test for all Republicans this election--isn't fooling most Americans. So much so that even Ryan is backing away from it.
And now politicians aspiring to join the Republicans on the national scene have to figure out a way to be for the Ryan plan to satisfy the party leadership and yet not be for a plan that most Americans hate. George "Macaca" Allen has repeatedly resisted answering whether he would support it although by his own words, politicians should answer how they will vote.
But perhaps the most telling episode came from Florida Republican Mike Haridopolos, who appeared on the conservative Ray Junior radio show in Orlando and gave such mealy-mouthed answers with the typical politician filibuster to issues he did want to talk about that even Junior got fed up and kicked him off his show.
Poor Mike tried to do the GOP duck and dodge, but the conservative radio host, “Ray Junior”, was having none of it.
Ray Junior pointed out that it was Mikey who brought up budget in the first place, and the voters needed to know how Mikey was going to vote. Mikey claimed that the Ryan budget was hypothetical, so he couldn’t answer, but in general, he’s “for” a balanced budget. But then Ray hooked him by pointing out that every candidate has to answer hypothetical questions.
Cue the confusion. Perhaps Mikey only got the Fox News training, but for whatever reason, he was woefully unprepared to answer real questions and seemed rather piqued at being asked for real solutions, as if this were an affront.
The Orlando based Ray Junior Show touts itself as “…the best in bold, conservative talk. America’s Loose Cannon, Ray Junior, has no fear of telling the truth, no matter which party it hurts or who it aggravates.”
Love it. And this should be the rallying cry of all Democrats as we near the election: demand that Republicans stand with destroying Medicare as we know it with the Ryan plan. The voters will know how to act.
