October 9, 2008

Paul Ryan takes heat for supporting $700 billion bailout

Rep. Paul Ryan is taking heat for supporting the $700 billion bailout of the U.S. banking industry. Ryan said the plan "sucks," but he voted for it to help the economy. That principled response is causing some grief for the Janesville/Kenosha/Racine/Milwaukee Republican.

The J-S carries the flag on this one in today's paper. The article is kindly headlined: "Ryan's vote for bailout went against his principles." That's a nice way of saying he's trying to have it both ways.
“This bill offends my principles,” the Janesville Republican said in an impassioned speech Sept. 29, before Congress’ first attempt to pass the measure. “But I am going to vote for this bill in order to preserve my principles, in order to preserve this free-enterprise system.”


Here's the local reaction from the J-S:
George Meyers, a member of the Racine Taxpayers Association: “It’s not going to help the people it’s purported to help,” he said, adding that he was disappointed by Ryan’s position. “It’s basically a bailout of some wealthy bankers who made some mistakes. . . . We’re going to get shorted on our money.”

County Executive Bill McReynolds: "I probably had the natural reaction the constituents in this area had from a layman’s sense," he said. Now, "I can understand why Congressman Ryan probably had to vote for it. This shows what type of courage he has."

Robin Vos, a Republican who represents Racine County in the state Assembly, also gave Ryan credit for trying to shape the rescue package, then taking a vote that could hurt his standing among some of his constituents.

"The easy answer would have been to say ‘That’s too hot a potato,’" he said.

BTW, anyone seen Marge Krupp lately? Rumor has it she's running for Congress ...

5 comments:

  1. So, Ryan voted against his principles in order to preserve his principles.

    Hogwash.

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  2. Yes, typical political double talk.

    How do you "preserve this free-enterprise system" by nationalizing the banking system?

    The US government is now the central bank, using our money. Free enterprise, free markets, capitalism? What a joke! Read your history. This is how nations fall to socialism. Might as well end the pretense anyway - let the rich at the top make the decisions for everyone else openly now.

    All those business bigwigs preaching free enterprise and capitalism, then crying wee-wee-wee all the way home to the taxpayers when they're expected to play by their own rules. Disgusting cowards. They should be arrested instead of rewarded with our money.

    This is the biggest fleecing of US taxpayers in history. We have to pay for the excesses of money-intoxicated pigs because, well, because our "representatives" say so.

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  3. First he would not stand with the GOP during the revolt over the American Energy Act, then voted for the bailout.
    He will NOT get my vote this year.
    Paul Ryan is a Rino!

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  4. Read what the executives are doing with our money:

    "Just days after the federal government committed $85 billion of taxpayers' money to a bailout of insurance giant AIG last month, senior execs from the troubled company headed to Southern California's ultra-swanky St. Regis Resort in Monarch Beach for a week of wining and dining top salespeople.

    "As it happens, congressional investigators released AIG documents earlier in the day showing that the company paid more than $440,000 for the event, including nearly $200,000 for rooms, $150,000 for meals, $23,000 in spa charges and almost $7,000 for golf outings."

    http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-lazarus8-2008oct08,1,810583.column

    Yes, thank you Congress for preserving this system, thank you, thank you.

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  5. sHAME ON YOU mR. rYAN. aLL THOSE SWEETNERS AND THE BIG GALA THE aig PEOPLE HAD. (Damn that cap lock) We (the people) did not want that junk. I didn't want it for the simple reason the 'biggies' were going to receive a LOT of $$. Again...shame on you. The general public is NOT dumb.

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