Having Some Fun With Time and Their "Prophet"

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After I read the first page of Time Magazine's The Prophet, I had to scroll back up to make sure it was Time magazine and not some beta version of a Web based Mad magazine, in no disrespect to Mad magazine.

First thing I thought was, where in the world did they get their information from? The editorial staff of Ryan's hometown Janesville Gazette? The rest of the fluff and fill appears to be regurgitated generalizations from Ryan's public resume and GOP party talking points. God help us. There was no mention of Ryan's rubber stamping of $6 trillion in national deficits during the Bush era. No mention of spending billions on wars without paying for them. No mention of Ryan wanting tax cuts to lessen projected surpluses and no mention of wanting tax cuts to lessen projected deficits. And, the big kahuna of them all, no mention of Ryan's inspiration and reason to enter public office in the first place - Ayn Rand. I guess that's all too negative. His history that is.

Before reading Time's article, I left open the chance that there might be some redeeming quality about Paul Ryan. You know, that somehow they could articulate that possibility in their summary when choosing him among runner-ups in their highly pretentious "Person of the Year" gimmick. But after reading their summary, I now have to wonder whether they were paid a commission to rank him and write the profile because afterall, we are now in an era of corporate media and Ryan does have some big name billionaires in his contribution corner who will do anything to protect their interests.

So lets get this off the ground, it begins...

Time Excerpt:
Here's a curious fact: in a year of political gridlock, when Congress could get nothing done — not even pass a budget — the most influential American politician was House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan.

Let's revisit that curious fact. That during a time of political gridlock when Congress could get nothing done, Paul Ryan was the most influential politician. See any correlation there? You think by chance he had something to do with it all? By chance? Hey, no argument here but, why not give him the "gridlocker" of the year award instead?

Time then brings up when Newt Gingrich denounced Ryan's proposal as "right-wing social engineering."

But it was Ryan who watched with satisfaction as his fellow Republicans forced Gingrich to eat his words...

Is that how Ryan felt? A very strange statement indeed.

But this is a hot topic right now. We all know what happened after they made Gingrich eat his words. Soon afterwards, Gingrich's popularity began to steadily climb and looked almost unbeatable ...until they all caught on and ditched Ryan from the topics of the GOP presidential debates.

I might be the only political blogger (forgive me if I'm wrong) who linked Newt Gingrich's ascent to GOP presidential front-runner status when GOP skeletons like bluster-pus John Sununu (former New Hampshire Gov) came out of the crypt defending Ryan against Gingrich over the "Right-wing social engineering" comment. I surmised that if they continue to use Ryan's toxic proposals on the national stage to draw a contrast against Gingrich, Newtie would probably capture 50% of the GOP support base and become unstoppable in the GOP primary. I was right, but they also caught on.

Some bloggers on the Left and Right confidently insisted Romney didn’t make Gingrich’s "mistake." Instead, Romney wholeheartedly embraced Ryan’s plan ...only to find his polling numbers plummet. The fact is, Paul Ryan and his proposals are so politically toxic that they had to eventually ditch him to defend him. Ryan too saw the handwriting on the wall and found himself cravenly scrambling to "Newter" his Kill Medicare proposal to provide political cover for himself and his duped party members.

Soon after the republican party dropped Ryan and his Kill Medicare proposal from the national GOP debates, the obvious happened next. Establishment webloids like Politico giddily started writing Gingrich's obituary. Hey, it's the end of Newt-mentum! Other GOP presidential contenders caught on quickly about the negative effects of the Ryan factor and went through detox immediately. Suddenly, they all want to focus on their one common enemy - Barack Obama. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Just two days ago, this USA Today article described how GOP criticism of Gingrich continues to mount. However, it's also very telling that in their attacks against him, Ryan's name and his GOP cornerstone proposals are not mentioned even once.

But now, Paul "progressives are a cancer" Ryan has enlisted Democratic Senator Ron Wyden among his victims in an effort to stop the free fall. Think. If Ryan's original budget plan is so good and the cornerstone of Republican policy, why would he suddenly want to change it? Why hide all that award winning success? It's the Holy Grail, right? But why wasn't Romney the front-runner soon after embracing it? My other point here is these establishment politicos and MSM outlets (phony non-partisans) seriously believe Ryan's ideological class war budget proposal will be the political conversation of the 2012 presidential debates. It's still possible, but NOT if Paul Ryan can help it.

Ryan's strange pariah-like popularity is now in free fall, and with a serious democratic contender challenging him on the district home front, he is running in fear and twisting in the winds to remain on the government dole. Don't forget that he's got billionaires seeking their salvation behind him, so the only thing left for him to do is draw in sympathetic democratic dupes to help form a bi-partisan support group for the GOP's cornerstone legislation, proposals that even top GOP presidential candidates had to ditch in order to save. Sen. Ron Wyden should be ashamed of himself for participating in Ryan's senior baiting Medicare killing phony make-over.

Time Excerpt:
What Ryan had this year was the courage to look the future in the eye. It is a seer's work to glimpse around the corner and sound an alarm. And in a democratic republic, it is the job of voters to choose a path away from danger. Ryan would say that all he has done is sound the alarm.

Did Ryan sound the alarm? Let's turn to 2008 when he first introduced his right-wing engineered class war proposal "Roadmap for America's Future." In August of that year, Ryan took questions at an African American Community forum held in Racine, Wisconsin, and in the middle of the forum, he was asked about Racine’s economy. The congressman said he thought the economy will remain in trouble, but that the answer goes back to fuel. He suggested lowering gas prices and reducing inflation as ways to fix the country’s apparent recession. Again, this forecast from The Prophet Paul came just one month before the housing market crashed and Wall Street imploded. He was clueless, partisan and pandering, just like he is today.

Time Excerpt:
He brought an ugly issue out of the foggy realm of think tanks and blue-ribbon panels and dropped it into the middle of the national debate in time to define the next presidential election.

Great. So it was Ryan who courageously brought it out, ...to define the next presidential election. Are you sure?

"I don't think there's anything courageous," Obama charged, "about asking for sacrifice from those who can least afford it." It was at about that moment, Ryan realized, that he and his plan had become a central issue in the 2012 elections. "That's when the lightbulb went off," Ryan explains. "They were constructing a political plan."

Of course! When Obama speaks the truth in one quick and easy to understand sentence, Ryan builds a conspiracy, "they were constructing a political plan" to make his plan a central issue in the 2012 elections. But we thought Ryan already made his plan the central theme for 2012...courageously I should add.

But I'm confused now. If a Democrat brings an ugly issue out from the foggy realm of our political landscape and drops it into the middle of the national debate, it's a political plot - a conspiracy. But when Ryan does it, it's courage? So, tell me. Was making Ryan's budget proposal a central issue in the 2012 elections Ryan's idea or Obama's? Is it an act of demagoguery and a conspiracy, or an act of courage? Does any of this matter? You bet it does ...for one, Ryan's recent announcement with Wyden gutted the establishment media who have been fawning over Ryan's "courage." They are now left with egg on their faces.

Time Excerpt:
And in a democratic republic, it is the job of voters to choose a path away from danger. Ryan would say that all he has done is sound the alarm.

No doubt, that is what the humble prophet would say. Of course he wouldn't want you to know that he was also the arsonist before he sounded the alarm. That's frivolous non-relevant information and we certainly don't want to confuse the voters when they try to pick the arsonist out from a group of suspects dripping in petrol and sulfur. But that Paul Ryan, "he's the guy," is how Adrian Monk would put it.

The Prophet Paul Ryan. Youze guys are a real hoot. But what could possibly be the sequel to that? The Catholic Church issuing him a "Compassion in Christ" award for his social legislation defending the poor and the weak? That would not surprise me all now.