Elon James at the Washington Monthly writes
Understanding Paul Ryan:
Now, I have not spent as much time observing Paul Ryan in his native habitat, but I’m quite sure another thing that makes him tick, as I alluded to earlier, is a longtime opposition to gay rights. This isn’t something Ryan puts at the top of his resume, of course — it would cut against his image as an intellectual and a wonk — but the evidence is stark.
Via the National Organization for Marriage, here’s a taste of how Paul Ryan feels about gays:
“Voted for a resolution proposing a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as the union between one man and one woman.”
Voted against repealing Don’t Ask Don’t Tell in 2011.
Voted YES on Constitutionally defining marriage as one-man-one-woman.
Voted YES on Constitutional Amendment banning same-sex marriage.
Supported the marriage amendment in Wisconsin in 2006.
In a crucial way these positions are of a piece with Ryan’s desire to, as Matthew Yglesias put it so well, “ax programs aimed at benefiting poor people.” They reveal a guy who does not hesitate — and is in fact eager — to put a boot on the neck of a large swath of Americans. Isn’t this a “key” to understanding the man?
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2006:
Just twelve weeks away from Election Day, frigid poll numbers for the President and his legion of "W brand" candidates throughout the country have Republicans scrambling for Karl Rove's dog-eared playbook in the hopes of stopping (or at least slowing down) the unprecedented Democratic momentum going into the midterm elections.
Fear-mongering, of course, is Chapter 1 in that book.
This week, we witnessed a vitriolic and coordinated attack on Democrats. Cal Thomas evidenced his need for a straightjacket as he lamented what he calls the "Taliban" wing of the Democratic Party. Bill O'Reilly libeled an entire voting bloc of American citizens when he said that Connecticut voters prove that Americans have "no will to restrain Iran's jihad." Likewise,Tony Snow insulted Connecticut voters by claiming they chose to "walk away" from fighting terrorists. Dick Cheney implied that Connecticut voters were weak and that Al Qaeda "broke" their will. Meanwhile, Tom DeLay distracted himself from the prospect of prison time this week with fairytales of Democrats who think that terrorists are "wonderful people." Over at the RNC, Republicans sent out a "your money or your life" fundraising email that would have made Tony Soprano proud. And, of course, no propaganda blitz would be complete without the stenographers in the media, like Chuck Roberts of CNN, who mused aloud whether Lamont is an "Al Qaeda Candidate."
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