Government Scorned While Ryan's Supporters Reap Benefits

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From the moment Paul Ryan walked into the Craig auditorium and received a loud round of applause was when I knew most in attendance were his hometown partisans. It caught me by surprise because a good half in attendance looked to be Social Security and Medicare recipients or only a few years away - the very people Ryan has been working against most of his career. Go figure.

Ryan spoke fast and loose during his well rehearsed power point presentation on HR3200 as well as throughout the meeting before taking questions from the audience. He offered no new information or willingness to collaborate with the majority party.

As far as attendance goes, I'm not good at counting heads but if I had to guess there were at least 600 people in attendance for Ryan's InsuroCorp meeting. Possibly more.

One person getting a chance with the microphone claimed to have a degree in accounting, described himself as neither a Democrat or a Republican, but admitted he voted for Ryan before taking verbal potshots at Pelosi and Reid. Who would'a known? Still, this guy was representative of the audience when he complained about the amount his social security was being "taxed" to pay for his current health care (Medicare, I suppose he expected it was free), at the same time insinuating we don't need no "socialized medicine." The crowd roared in agreement. This general theme was repeated throughout much of the event.

Ryan of course came pre-loaded with all the talking points and only used the word "insurance" when he really had to while overusing "government" at every chance available. Regarding his own plan, he described the $5,700 tax credit as a "subsidy" that would help families pay their premiums under their current plans. Never mind the fact that if you accept the subsidy, you are no longer a member of your employers' group plan. Apparently, Ryan's plans never add to the deficit because the money to fund "Patients Choice" comes from out of nowhere. And how does Ryan's "Patients Choice" work for employees of the government? It doesn't.

Neither does Ryan ever clarify the reality that the public option is merely government sponsored insurance, meaning the actual health care is still administered by private health care professionals.

A spokesperson from the League of Women Voters gently implied that Ryan’s rigid opposition to HR3200 is premature since many changes can happen before the bill is finalized. This was a sharp observation because Ryan has disengaged himself from the architectural planning of HR3200. Instead of working with Congress, he has chosen to present his own weakly written and unworkable insurance proposal.

Ironically, the one person from the audience who asked Ryan to take a stand against the astro-turf thugs disrupting health care town halls held by democrats was the only person who was heckled and almost shouted down astro-turf style by Ryan's cane-carrying brigade. But it was a mild outburst and the citizen was given the chance to finish her statement. Other than a few more rounds of loud applause mingled with a few grunts and boo's, the meeting went along without any real shout-downs or threats. None was expected after all since Ryan is a Republican.

It did seem like there were one or two applause starters near the center rear of the auditorium. Ryan could have passed gas and they would have clapped. But by far the most glaring irony of the event was the insanely illogical mindset and gullibility of the socialized pensioners in attendance supporting Ryan and his deceptive plans. As long as they got theirs (Social Security and Medicare, etc.), they are fully prepared to take a stand to make sure others don't.

SNL or Comedy Central can't touch it.

WKOW's report on the event