Ryan Tells Constituents One Thing - Votes Opposite

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With gasoline surpassing four bucks a gallon during Rep. Paul Ryan's recent townhalls, many of his district constituents questioned his votes giving oil companies billions in tax break subsidies. I recall Ryan saying, "sometimes we have to take votes that we don't completely agree with" or something like that. In an interview with Christiane Amanpour, Ryan was again pressed about tax credits and subsidies to Big oil.

ABC News Excerpt:
"Would you back ending subsidies to oil companies?" Amanpour asked.

"Oh yes," said Rep. Ryan. "I think we should clean up all those loopholes. And don't forget, there's a lot of corporate welfare spending that is in our budget put in there by both political parties because of powerful interests. We want to get rid of all that."

Sure, but not right now. After spending months hitting all of his media enablers to spread his message of an impending national debt apocalypse, Ryan yet again continues to say one thing and do another. The congressman voted to block The Big Oil Welfare Repeal Act of 2011, a resolution that would end at least $30 billion in tax subsidies to major integrated oil companies and use the savings to cut tax rates for all companies in order to spur job creation. The problem is Republicans tend to view ending corporate welfare subsidies as a tax increase on the wealthy. In their world, the top 2% don't qualify for "means testing" for government welfare - that's only for the little people. Less than two weeks after re-iterating that he would end these subsidies, Ryan thumbed his nose and voted to continue them for profit-rich Big Oil.

Down With Tyranny Excerpt:
Given the opportunity to do just that by the Democrats in the House, they all danced away from their promises and voted for tens of billions in tax dollar subsidies to go to the most profitable corporations in history. Why? Simple, Big Oil cuts them in on the plunder. They pay "protection money" (billions) to Republican and Blue Dog politicians in return for our tax dollars flowing their way; it's the scam of the century.

Is Ryan just a bold-faced liar when he told Amanpour and his constituents, "Oh yes ...I want to end subsidies to Big oil" or does he cast bad votes for purely political purposes? I think he's both.

Either way, I'm getting the sense now that republicans are building a new extortion cache of tax subsidies and welfare for the wealthy they'll be willing to exchange with Obama and congressional democrats in a hostage deal to raise the debt ceiling or cut Medicare and Medicaid. Similar to what they offered to Obama to extend the deficit ballooning Bush tax cuts. They don't give nothing for nothing. Democrats must not blink this time.

Senate Dems Call for End of Tax Breaks for Big Oil and Pledge Savings To Reduce Deficit.