The Press Is Calling Out Paul Ryan For Lies During Speech To GOP Convention

Here is a nice rundown–thus far–of the press calling out Paul Ryan for his lies to the nation when he took the stage at the GOP convention.

I posted my comments earlier today.

Others you might be interested in….

So I am impressed, in a bad way, that Ryan thought he could just brazen it through. But it is also impressive that, at least in the short run, parts of the press are responding as they must in an era when politicians don’t care. That is, they’re not simply quoting “critics” about things Ryan made up. They are outright saying that he is telling lies. For instance:

• The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler, with the headline, “Ryan misleads on GM plant closing in hometown.”
• A more omnibus fact-check item also by Kessler, with half a dozen similar exaggerations, distortions, etc.
• A very tough item by Jonathan Bernstein, on the WaPo’s Plum Line site, with the headline “Paul Ryan fails — the truth.”
• And even a WaPo editorial on the misleading nature of the speech.
• An excoriation by Jonathan Cohn, in the New Republic, under the headline, “The Most Dishonest Convention Speech … Ever?” As Cohn adds: “I’d like to talk… about what Ryan actually said–not because I find Ryan’s ideas objectionable, although I do, but because I thought he was so brazenly willing to twist the truth. ”   At least five times, Ryan misrepresented the facts. And while none of the statements were new, the context was. It’s one thing to hear them on a thirty-second television spot or even in a stump speech before a small crowd. It’s something else entirely to hear them in prime time address, as a vice presidential nominee is accepting his party’s nomination and speaking to the entire country.”
  I know that TNR is not “mainstream” in the sense that the NYT, WaPo, AP, etc are. Still this is a very powerful item. And it leads to:
• An AP item headlined, “FACT CHECK: Ryan takes factual shortcuts in speech.”
• An item from NPR with a mildly “he said, she said” headline (“Fact Checkers Say Some of  Ryan’s Claims Don’t Add Up”) but that gets the main points across.
• One just now from the NYT, with the headline “In Ryan Critique of Obama, Omissions Help Make the  Case.” It begins this way: “In his speech accepting the Republican  nomination for vice president at the Republican National Convention,  Representative Paul D. Ryan criticized President Obama for seeking  Medicare cuts that he once sought as well, and for failing to act on a  deficit-reduction plan that he too opposed.”
• Another excoriation by Michael Tomasky, in the Daily Beast, that is headlined “Paul Ryan’s Convention Speech and his Web of Lies” and which begins, “It just boggles the mind to imagine how Paul Ryan can stand up there and lash Barack Obama for abandoning Bowles-Simpson when he did exactly that himself.”
• An item on the Fox News site for which there must be an interesting backstory, in which contributor Sally Kohn says that “Ryan’s speech was an apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech.”
• On TPM, a catalogue with the headline “Top 5 Fibs in Paul Ryan’s Convention Speech.”
• Update An excellent item I had somehow missed before, by Jonathan Chait in NY Mag, about “Paul Ryan’s Large Lies and One Big Truth.” Worth reading in general, and to see what that “truth” is.

How Many Times Have Certain Words Been Used At Republican National Convention?

This is just fun.

A look at how often speakers at the Republican National Convention have used certain words and phrases so far, based on an analysis of transcripts from the Federal News Service.

Silly Season Of Sarah Palin Coming To An End

Four years ago John McCain made the biggest mistake of his political career.  He lifted Sarah Palin out of obscurity in Alaska and forced her on the rest of us as his running mate.

So with all those ‘warm’ memories flooding the nation as Paul Ryan, the latest Republican nominee for vice-president stood before the GOP convention, word came that finally the silly season of Sarah Palin may be nearing an end.

There are no words to express my desire that Sarah Palin, a most ill-advised, and uneducated buffoon exit the stage.  Therefore, for all the many reasons to poke fun at FAUX News, there is now at least one reason to nod at them with appreciation.

FAUX NEWS seems to have had enough of Stupid Sarah. 

One word of warning however.  Hold on to any flashy items as Palin exits.  Like a racoon she latches onto anything that shines.

Former GOP vice presidential candidate turned media star Sarah Palin
said that all of her scheduled interviews on Fox News had been canceled
for Wednesday evening, posting on her Facebook page that she was “disappointed” by the decision.

“Our plans changed based on the fact that the RNC condensed the schedule of speeches from four nights to three,” said Bill Shine, executive vice president of programming for Fox News. “We look forward to having Governor Palin back as soon as we can.”.

In her post, Ms. Palin didn’t say why her appearances had been canceled, nor did she say how many interviews she had been scheduled to do on Fox.

Mitt Romney “Looked As Though His Jelled Skull Might Burst Into Flames”

If there is only one newspaper columinst you read today make it Maureen Dowd.

Her column will make you howl!

 

Partisan Rhetoric Vs. Lies: Paul Ryan’s Nose Is Growing

Readers to my blog know I love political conventions.  Give me a good partisan speech, even when coming from the other side of the aisle,  and I will get a cup of tea and have a grand time.  But there is one thing I really do not want to hear in such a speech, and that is a bold out-right lie.

Bark away on philosophy and missing campaign promises, and I will listen and watch.  But just do not lie to me.

I have much enjoyed the Wisconsin flavor that has come from the GOP convention over the past days.  Media attention to our state and politicians has been interesting to follow.

Then came Paul Ryan’s address to the convention Wednesday night.  There were many issues that struck me as plain political over-reach in his speech, such as when he spoke about the president walking away from the Simpson-Bowles commission, the much talked about deficit-cutting recommendations (which I supported).

I had to smile since Ryan, who served on the commission, voted against the recommendations but still chided the president.  That is the type of partisan spin I expect from a convention speech, and frankly can accept as part of the game of politics.

But what I can not abide is a bold-faced lie.

In his address Ryan told the nation that President Obama failed to keep the Janesville GM plant open.  The truth is the plant was closed in 2008 when President Bush was in office.  There was never any promise from candidate Obama in 2008 to keep the Janesville plant open. Rather Obama spoke often about the need to have plants such as the one in Janesville be viable along with the need for a clean energy economy.

To pretend, as Ryan does over and over, that somehow President Obama failed the people of Janesville on this matter is just a most indecent way to conduct a campaign.

I fully understand that this election is a tough one as the candidates struggle for every vote in what promises to be an extremely close outcome.  But if there is to be any credibility once governing begins in January, should it not start in the fashion the campaign is conducted in August?

Wisconsin Scott Walker Had Tears Running Down Face As Paul Ryan Spoke At GOP Convention

C-SPAN and MSNBC both showed the tears.

With Paul Ryan rising politically, and Scott Walker seeing his route to national fame being reduced one has to wonder what the tears may have been about.

Paul Ryan may become vice-president, but all that Walker can look forward to is a John Doe probe that most likely has his name all over it.

What The Republican Party Did Not Tell You About Foreign Policy Wednesday Night

Here is my nice comment about the Republican National Convention.

I really am enjoying the speeches tonight dealing with foreign policy at the convention.  Senator McCain gave a meaty speech, and there is no way not to sit and appreciate the intellect of Condoleezza Rice.  Agree or disagree with the words they delivered, no one can argue it was not thought-provoking.

The thought-provoking part of the evening, on my part, is where my nice comments for the conventions ends.

I am rather surprised that so little attention is being paid to the foreign policy issues in this election. Considering the radical shift that a Paul Ryan type approach to foreign policy spending would take,  makes these issues vital ones for the nation.  While jobs and the economy are the main issues on the minds of the voters, short-changing foreign policy is a risky and dangerous road to take.

Paul Ryan has proposed strange budget numbers for international affairs.  If he had his budget implemented there would be a 30% cut to programs and efforts to support international relations.  The State Department would need to fire many employees, and sadly close embassies.  That does not serve the nation’s best interests.

In April 2011 members of the military along with members of the business community wrote a letter to help Ryan see his massive mistake.

The U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) expressed great concern with the dangerous and disproportionate cuts to the International Affairs Budget in the House Budget Committee’s Fiscal Year 2012 budget resolution released today. Chairman Ryan’s $41 billion proposal for the International Affairs Budget represents close to a 30% cut from FY 2010 enacted levels. While representing less than one-tenth of one percent (0.1%) of America’s GDP, this cut will not effectively reduce our deficit, but it will clearly diminish U.S. global engagement and competitiveness.

Respected members of the military weighed into the matter, and expressed words of support for continuing full funding of international affairs programs.

…70 retired 3 and 4-star Admirals and Generals asked Congress to support a strong and effective International Affairs Budget, saying, “Development and diplomacy keep us safer by addressing threats in the most dangerous corners of the world and by preventing conflicts before they occur.”

Partisan conventions are not the best place to have serious discussions about foreign policy.

But at some point the nation must.

Hatred Of President Obama Drives The Republican National Convention

But do not worry all the delegates will tell you they plan to attend church on Sunday.

When you go to these side events, the tent shows on the margins of the  convention hall, you feel the true source of the Party’s energy this year. It  isn’t about Paul Ryan, though he’s a favorite. Sarah Palin doesn’t get a  mention. Rick Santorum got a big cheer before giving the most sanctimonious  speech in convention history, but he’s already a has-been. Ron Paul has his hard  core, and they are here, causing a bit of trouble, but he’s already gone off  into the sunset. God knows it isn’t about Mitt Romney—no one’s name elicits a  less hearty cheer on the floor of the hall.

The energy is hatred—hatred of Barack Obama, and hatred of what the people  here believe he’s done to their country, their principles, and their  children.