Rep. Ryan: Obama is "dividing," "distracting" the country

(CBS News) Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., said President Obama's attacks on Mitt Romney's tenure at Bain Capital is not important to voters, and that the president is ignoring issues Americans really care about.

"I'm sitting here in Janesville, Wisconsin; people are not worried about the details as to when Mitt Romney left Bain Capital to save the Olympics or the details about his assets, which are managed by a blind trust for Pete's sake," Ryan told Bob Schieffer. "They're worried about their jobs and their family's future.

"Barack Obama, he doesn't want to talk about that," the top Republican on the House Budget committee added. "He has a terrible jobs result, he has a terrible record to run on, so since he cannot run on his record he has now gone to dividing the country in order to distract the country and try to win this election."

Ryan said the president's campaign is a sharp contrast to his 2008 campaign. "This is not the candidate of hope and change. This is a candidate who is hoping to change the subject by attacking his opponent with attacks that have already been labeled by independent fact checkers as deceitful and untrue," he said.

After a question by Schieffer about some Republicans (including fellow Wisconsinite, Governor Scott Walker) who said repeatedly that Romney has to be more bold about his plans and to "never fight a battle on your heels," Ryan took a different tact on Sunday. He defended Romney, saying he is being specific about his policy proposals, and that the narrative is "false."

"This is why I endorsed Mitt Romney in the primary here in Wisconsin, because he was more specific than anybody running for president about specifically what he would do to prevent a debt crisis, to create jobs, to reform the tax code, to reform these entitlement programs from bankruptcy," the Congressman said. "Do you want the path the president has put us on - a path of debt, doubt and decline, a welfare state with a debt crisis? Or the Mitt Romney path, which has been very clear about prosperity, the American idea, turning the economy around and getting us back to growth again?"

Ryan was also asked about the vice-presidential race. He gave no indication if he is a prospective candidate, but said former Secretary of State under the George W. Bush administration, Condoleezza Rice, is "absolutely worth of consideration."

The Drudge Report said on Thursday that Rice was the leading contender.

"I love Condi. I think she's fantastic," Ryan said.

[Maria0420]

People like Rep. Ryan used to be rare in American politics. He belongs to a new breed of amoral, opportunistic demagogues indoctrinated by Karl Rove. They throw around empty, absurd accusations that the know to be false, but think that are effective to acheive their twisted political goals. Ryan throws around accusations, lies shamelessly and works against the best interest of the people. To make it more repulsive, he expects to be thanked for these "services".

[hypnotoad72]

Even better:

http://www.alan.com/2011/04/21/house-republican-budget-plan-adds-6-trillion-to-debt/

But he fits right in:

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2011/04/14/158424/republican-leaders-debt-limit-hypocrisy/

[venusvegasvada]

Pathetic. That's why our country is in a jam. You have the Rich/GOP guys over in the corner not wanting to participate unless they get everything their way. Exactly like the spoiled rotten people they have become. They won't even answer basic questions anymore.

I don't know why the GOP doesn't just give away free Parrots that squawk; "Obama! Awwk! "Bad Economy! Bad Economy!" No matter what question you ask it.

Let's see how that would work if I had one here with me now:

Me: So just who was in charge at Bain then?
GOP Parrot: "Obama! Awwk! "Bad Economy! Bad Economy!"

Me: Why is it the GOP wants to re-run the same failed economic experiments that got our economy into the biggest mess since the Depression while pretending that it was something that worked?
GOP Parrot: "Obama! Awwk! "Bad Economy! Bad Economy!"

Me: Why does the GOP think that every problem the nation has can simply be solved by giving all the money to the Rich? What, exactly, does the GOP plan to do in making the Rich pay their fair share of our society's burdens?
GOP Parrot: "Obama! Awwk! "Bad Economy! Bad Economy!"

Me: Hey, in the interest of simple honesty and transparency, can we see Romney's tax returns for the last 10 years?
GOP Parrot: "Obama! Awwk! "Bad Economy! Bad Economy!"

Me: What's the difference between RomneyCare and ObamaCare?
GOP Parrot: "Obama! Awwk! "Bad Economy! Bad Economy!"

Me: Seeing how Wall Street's track record of handling people's money since 1999 isn't much better than a loan shark's, how can the GOP advocate eliminating our Social Security system and simply giving the money to Wall Street as a national 401k plan? Just where is the "Security" for our elderly in that?
GOP Parrot: "Obama! Awwk! "Bad Economy! Bad Economy!"

I could continue, but you get the idea.

(This was originally posted July 15, 2012 11:14 PM EDT, but for some reason, disappeared July 16, so I thought I'd re-post it. Awwk!)

[07281974]

If Connie Rice is on the short list for V.P. I think America will be in for another conflict somewhere!

She just doesn't have it.

She is mostly theory and I doubt it if Romney will put her on his short list, maybe his long list!!!

He will lose for sure if this over rated political theorist is his running mate!

The V.P. running mate can make a difference as in the case of Gore and Lieberman. i think Gore could have won if he had not picked Lieberman.

Comments by Anthony Joseph Lucchese
(a 30 year self taught student of political science)

[bbglow]

I'll go anywhere to support and applaud "venture" capitalism, however, I'll also go anywhere to denounce and boo "vulture" capitalism.

[TimeToEvolve]

You know how you can tell that this is exactly what Ryan and his failed party is doing? Because he is a Republi CON and he is accusing the other side. That is how they Rove (I mean roll).

[bbglow]

First axiom of politics: Attribute you greatest weakness to your opponent.

[bbglow]

... ooops, "your".

[bbglow]

... ooops, first axiom of desperation politics ...

[endrepubs]

Ryan is a complete idiot. Anyone with half a brain cell left knows the Republican Party has divided the country into those with privilege, money and access creating the worst case of class warfare ever directed at the middle class. And who is winning the class warfare going on for the last 30 years?

[bbglow]

Who walked away with a lot of free stuff ... how do you spell Bain Tactics?

[bbglow]

I know, I know ... the Bain type of free is legal under capitalism ...

[bbglow]

... ooops, Bain type of "FREE".

[nohater]

obama has been divisive since taking office. he has orchestrated the blame game to new heights. but all potus are divisive once they take office as are common people on any mainstreet in the USA. there are democrats and there are republicans, divisive right from the start. it's the same for almost anything, there are christians and there are non-christians so alread divisive. then there are racial groups that are divisive unless they form an alliance against another racial group such as today's blacks and whites dislike of hispanics. the list goes on and on. heck there is even division among those in a nuclear family from minutia to major concerns.

[KPeters_from_UK]

by DJ_34_14 July 15, 2012 7:57 PM EDT
So what is the Democratic Plan? We'll wait
-----------------------------------

Where have you've been? For nearly four years the Democrats were the only party offering ideas, plans, suggestions, whatever you want to call them for job creations, healthcare, social services, unemployment benefits, student loans, housing issues, women's health ..........and the GOP.....nothing, NOTHING. Instead they obstruct with filibusters, throw insults, refuse to compromise, and vote to repeal and offer no alternatives. THE GOP PARTY IS KNOWN AS THE PARTY OF NO for a reason.

[KPeters_from_UK]

Obama is the one that is dividing the country? Whoa!!! Ryan must have a very short memory indeed or he is confused. From the very start of Obama's administration IT WAS THE REPUBLICANS who decided to obstruct, moan, infuriate, frustrate, insult and threaten everything Obama suggested or implemented.


Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell explained that "the single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president." In other words perpetual partisan obstruction of Obama is the only true goal. Also, Newt Gringrich said that his goal was to UNDERMINE public confidence in government so as to radically reshape it in order to create frustration with voters. Finally, Rush Lambuagh...remember him three days into Obama's term, remember Rush bouncing up and down at the podium? He gleefully declared that all GOP should follow his example and ensure that Obama fails. Fails!!!! He continued to say that he didn't care who got hurt AS LONG AS OBAMA FAILS.




What more? Read Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives by Robert Draper. Draper describes how the small group of elected Tea Party members are willingly pulling apart our Congress making it harder to compromise, accomplish, even harder to propose ideas.

'In the midterm election year 2010, recession-battered Americans expressed their discontent with a simultaneously overreaching and underperforming government by turning the formerly Democratically controlled House over to the Republicans. Among the new GOP majority were eighty-seven freshmen, many of them political novices with Tea Party backing who pledged a more open, responsive, and fiscally thrifty House. What the 112th Congress instead achieved was a public standing so low;a ghastly 9 percent approval rating; that, as its longest-serving member, John Dingell, would dryly remark, "I think pedophiles would do better." '