First, the new VP candidate Ryan:
Big Journalism:
The biggest criticism of the Romney campaign has been its lackluster way of dealing with the media. No one understood the battle with the media better than the late Andrew Breitbart, who foresaw that our candidates would be running against headlines rather than Obama. The addition of Paul Ryan to the ticket has given us a sigh of relief, because if there's one thing we know about Paul Ryan: the man can handle the media.
Wrong, Dana, Ryan can't handle tough questions from non-Conservative/Corporate media sources and spins his way into lies.
Big Government:
Mitt Romney's selection of Paul Ryan as his vice presidential pick shows a deliberate move to re-energize the campaign, appeal to younger voters, and those who want to fix the economy regardless of party. It also signals a huge shift not yet seen from the Romney campaign: a long-anticipated move towards grassroots.
Paul Ryan is heavily favored by Wisconsin grassroots. He's rallied with them across the state as they fought off special interests to save their gubernatorial ticket and keep forward on the path of fiscal reform. He made himself accessible to citizen journalists for interviews and encouraged them to keep on target.
Ryan favored by the grassroots?! Hell no! He's about an 1%er insider as they come. I sure hope Rob Zerban wins the WI-01 General Election, so Ryan can have a double whammy.
Big Government:
Wisconsin's state motto is "Forward." It may be President Obama's campaign motto too, but it's the "cheeseheads" who have truly embodied it. Last June, Wisconsin took a big step forward when voters fought back and reelected Scott Walker, Rebecca Kleefisch, and a slate of state legislators over union and special interests. The election was a warning flag for November. Obama lost the public sector union battle in Wisconsin and now Wisconsin is bringing the fight to his doorstep in the form of a smiling, mild-mannered debate wunderkind named Paul Ryan.
The selection of someone like Ryan reflects a concerted effort to infuse a grassroots vibe into the campaign -- and possibly some Wisconsin schadenfreude, too.
Hey, Mrs. Mamalogues, Paul Ryan and his policy ideas are unfit for America, such as wanting to end Medicare and Medicaid (despite what Michelle Malkin-run Twitchy and the RWNJ noise machine say otherwise).
Secondly and lastly, her home state's (Missouri) extremist kook Todd Akin for US Senate against McCaskill:
Big Government:
Claire McCaskill's campaign wasted no time in attacking Todd Akin after his senate primary win. This evening McCaskill sent an email to supporters claiming that Akin is a "dangerous" tea party extremist.
This coming from McCaskill, a Senator so far removed from the will of her people that after she championed for Obamacare in Missouri, 76% of voters voted to repudiate it via Proposition C. Prop C, or the Health Care Freedom Act, was the first legislative challenge to Obamacare.
McCaskill again rubber-stamped the Obama agenda when she sided with him against Missouri jobs and coal by voting in favor of the MACT rule and effectively shutting the doors of numerous coal plants. McCaskill once claimed she hated coal, odd considering she represents a big coal state, the industry of which employs thousands. McCaskill has rubber-stamped the Obama agenda on most every policy that would adversely affect Missouri coal and jobs.
McCaskill cheerleads for an administration that has quadrupled the deficit, run women from the job pool, and devalued the dollar, while trying to persuade seniors that the government knows best how handle their social security.
Excuse me, Dana?! Last time I checked, it's TODD AKIN that's been a rubber stamp for the 1%ers, John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, Christian Conservative organizations, NRA, War On Women, and the Koch Brothers Agendas. McCaskill is nowhere close to an "Obama/Reid rubber stamp," despite what Loesch claims.
Here's the real facts about the radical far-right agenda of US Senate Candidate Akin:
Akin has had ties to Radical Right Christian groups and figures, such as the deceased Dr. D. James Kennedy.
Zach Beauchamp at Think Progress:
GOP Representative and Missouri Senate Candidate Todd Akin has a long history of extremism, particularly with respect to the role of religion in public life. As it turns out, that shouldn’t be much of a suprise: one of Akin’s principal political influences appears to be Reverend D. James Kennedy, a minister who spent his life organizing a movement dedicated to reorganizing the American government along radically conservative evangelical lines.
Though he died in 2007, Kennedy is respected throughout the GOP, and was particularly influential on Akin’s worldview. According to a Politico profile of Akin, “[t]wo sermons by Dr. D. James Kennedy have been very influential for Todd and he references them frequently in discussions of government.” Akin told Kennedy’s Truth in Action (formerly Coral Gables Ministries) organization that “Dr. Kennedy understood how to connect the principles of Scripture with the practical applications of what keeps a nation free, the principles that America was founded on.” Akin also co-sponsored a resolution last year that “honors Dr. Kennedy’s lifetime of service and sacrifice to his God, his country, [and] the ideals of the Christian faith.”
Alex Seitz-Wald at Salon on Akin's ties to militia groups:
Missouri Rep. Todd Akin, who won the Republican Senate nomination just this week, is already on the defensive about a recently resurfaced letter he wrote praising a militia group in 1995. News of the letter, which came via an old St. Louis Post-Dispatch story and highlighted by BuzzFeed Wednesday, plays directly into Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill’s attempt to portray her Republican opponent as a radical.
Indeed, Akin’s letter came about one month before militia sympathizer Timothy McVeigh blew up a truck outside a federal building in Oklahoma City. But the then-state lawmaker’s letter went a bit further than he lets on. “The local militia can bring a positive influence to our community … Your patriotism and concern for our state and nation is to be commended,” Akin wrote.
Akin's Extremism 101:
- Akin wants to ban all contraception and abortion, as part of the War On Women agenda.
- He has compared student loans to "stage III cancer of socialism".
- He has repeatedly advocated anti-marriage equality and anti-LGBTQ measures, including a bill to ban same-sex marriage in the military.
- He has advocated the elimination of the EPA, US Department of Education, and Department of Energy.
- He has supported the defunding of Planned Parenthood.
- He has declared that "Liberals hate God."
- He has advocated the abolishment of the 17th Amendment, which removes the people's rights to directly elect Senators.
- He was against the creation of a sex-offender registry.
- He was in possible violation of election laws by continuing to vote in a town where he no longer lived.
- He falsely claimed that the "Pilgrims escaped from 'European Socialism' to come to America."
- He has declared Medicare to be "unconstitutional".
- He is a full-throated endorser of the toxic Ryan budget that will privatize Social Security.
Editor's Note: This is the blog's 200th blogpost.
