The Other McCain

"One should either write ruthlessly what one believes to be the truth, or else shut up." — Arthur Koestler

Go, Paul Ryan!

Posted on | March 21, 2012 | 25 Comments

by Smitty

Via Breitbart, Paul Ryan is a true statesman:

He is making the least passionate, most rational case possible:

It is rare in American politics to arrive at a moment in which the debate revolves around the fundamental nature of American democracy and the social contract. But that is where we are. And no two documents illustrate this choice of two futures better than the president’s budget and the one put forward by House Republicans.
The president’s budget gives more power to unelected bureaucrats, takes more from hard-working taxpayers to fuel the expansion of government, and commits our nation to a future of debt and decline.
The contrast with our budget couldn’t be clearer: We put our trust in citizens, not government. Our budget returns power to individuals, families and communities. It draws inspiration from the Founders’ belief that all people are born with an unalienable right to the pursuit of happiness. Protecting this right means trusting citizens, not nameless government officials, to decide what is in their best interests and make the right choice about our nation’s future.

The contrast with the hysteria (in the classical sense) of Matthew Yglesias is astounding:

Representative Paul Ryan of Wisconsin chairs the House Budget Committee and is also a follower of the philosophy of Ayn Rand.

and:

But one of Ryan’s oddest ticks is that along with a passion for reducing spending on programs that benefit poor people and a passion for programs that benefit Ayn Rand, he loves to talk about his devotion to the safety net!

For crying out loud in the dark, Yglesias: you sound like my eight-month old with a diaper load. I will keep this brief:

  • The Lefty lack of concern for deficits, budgeting, and the debt is the largest existential threat to the ‘safety net’. YOUR ILK are the ones who don’t care about the needy, with all this crack-addict-on-a-bender spending.
  • Ryan is no Randian, or he’d be after that net with an axe. Rand would argue that the safety net is really a spider web to entrap and weaken people.

For my money, liberty is more important than federal safety nets. Safety nets, if desired and funded by states, are welcome. If you argue that states cant afford safety nets, you’re moving in the direction of a rational understanding of the situation.

Short of that, Yglesias, you’re indistinguishable from a worm.

Category: Republicans

Comments

25 Responses to “Go, Paul Ryan!”

  1. Bob Belvedere
    March 21st, 2012 @ 8:23 am

    –…Yglesias: you sound like my eight-month old with a diaper load.

    There’s no need to insult Itty Bitty Smitty, Daddy-O, by comparing him to Wormtongue.

    -On Mr. Ryan’s budget: It’s a start.  But don’t underestimated the timidity of Boehner and Company.

  2. Paul Ryan’s Budget: It’s A Baby Step « The Camp Of The Saints
    March 21st, 2012 @ 8:58 am

    […] Please do take the time to click here and read the rest. […]

  3. Video: Paul Ryan on Saving Medicare | The Lonely Conservative
    March 21st, 2012 @ 9:16 am

    […] What kind of plan is that?Right on cue, the lefties have become hysterical over Ryan’s plan. One even accused him of helping Ayn Rand, who is dead.Via NRO The Cornergoogle_ad_client = "ca-pub-1395656889568144"; /* 300×250, created […]

  4. SDN
    March 21st, 2012 @ 9:35 am

    Amen. We could have gotten this budget last year if Boehner had the stones to say “You can be authorized to spend some money, or authorized to spend no money. Pick one.”

  5. Bob Belvedere
    March 21st, 2012 @ 10:13 am

    I think all the tears he’s shed have eroded whatever stones he may have once had.

  6. “The Path to Prosperity”: Democrats Hate Paul Ryan’s Bold Plan to Save Medicare, Of Course (video) « Frugal Café Blog Zone
    March 21st, 2012 @ 10:37 am

    […] Smitty at The Other McCain: The contrast with the hysteria (in the classical sense) of Matthew Yglesias is […]

  7. scarymatt
    March 21st, 2012 @ 10:48 am

    First, I can’t imagine how anything going on today benefits Ayn Rand.

    But more importantly, while there are some benefits to poor people from some of those programs, there’s a major difference between the appearance of being a net benefit and actually being a net benefit.

    Once again, the immediate, obvious benefit is the only thing that a leftist can perceive.  The long term costs (both to the recipients and to the funders at large) are wished away.

  8. scarymatt
    March 21st, 2012 @ 10:50 am

    I’m not a fan of the Wormtongue analogy here.  When was Yglesias’ counsel not corrupted by false beliefs or ultimately evil intentions?

  9. Bob Belvedere
    March 21st, 2012 @ 10:53 am

    Agreed, but I was going more for the effect of a play on Smitty’s words.

  10. Quartermaster
    March 21st, 2012 @ 1:02 pm

    And those costs to both groups is horrific. We are about to start seeing the results. By about this time next year, I think.

    I doubt it will make much of a difference who gets elected either, although Ricky or Mittens won’t make a difference. Ricky might send RSM to Vanuatu so he can starve on the beach, however. At least he’ll be warm as it happens.

  11. Pathfinder's wife
    March 21st, 2012 @ 1:34 pm

    While I’m glad Ryan is staying in the House (where he is most useful); it would have been nice to have gotten someone like him as a presidential nominee (although I am very relieved to hear that he is not a diehard Randian — that would be a no sale).

    I don’t have a problem with the safety net persay though — there are compassionate as well as pragmatic reasons for some form of looking out for society’s weakest in a civilized society.  I’d love to see a more proactive, intimate form of it that encourages self-reliance and community building (which would help to solve many of the problems with it now), but that will never happen as long as  *progressives* (jack booted totalitarian thugs, cough) are running the show (they most definitely don’t want to see any of that).

  12. Wednesday Roundup 3/21/12 Would Romney Have the Guts To Take Allen West? Edition
    March 21st, 2012 @ 2:52 pm

    […] Go, Paul Ryan! Be Sociable, Share! Tweet(function() {var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0];s.type = 'text/javascript';s.async = true;s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js';s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1);})(); Tags: abortion clinic escort, alan grayson, budget chart, hamid karzai, jimmy carter, kirk cameron, michele bachmann, mitt romney, newt gingrich, paln power, piers morgan, rick santorum, Ted Cruz Posted in Abortion, Economy, Elections, Healthcare, Immigration, Media, Mitt Romney, News, Newt Gingrich, Religion, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, Social, The Corral […]

  13. Adjoran
    March 21st, 2012 @ 3:24 pm

     Believe that if you want to.  Obama would have allowed the shut down and stopped sending out Social Security checks before he would capitulate.  He’s a radical, they don’t retreat.

    Not that Reid would ever have scheduled a vote on the Ryan budget which the House did pass.

    You live in a fantasy world.

  14. Adjoran
    March 21st, 2012 @ 3:33 pm

    One reason Democrats love to expand the safety net is that the bigger it gets, the more people will jump in – and presumably vote Democratic to preserve their subsidies.

    Yglesias has always been a lying far-left hack – including the old days when the Short Pants Brigade at NRO embraced him as “an honest liberal with whom we can have a real and open debate.”

    Geithner declined to speculate on how much more debt Obama would accumulate, basically indicating (paraphrased) that “You do NOT want to know” and “Whole lotta mo’, fo’ sho’.”

    The fact is we are out of money and if we don’t enact steep cuts – Ryan’s plan is a good down payment, but far short of enough by itself – we are facing future downgrades and eventually the inability to sell bonds at low interest returns, at which point the house of cards collapses.

    We need and House AND Senate which will pass the necessary cuts and a President who will sign them into law.  Leaving Democrats in charge of any of these institutions spells absolute fiscal disaster.

  15. Pathfinder's wife
    March 21st, 2012 @ 10:52 pm

    The problem is that it has taken us a few generations to get to this point, and there is no way we can take a hacksaw to welfare without causing a lot of unrest.  
    We’re going to have to back out of this by not flooring it — which is of course the first instinct, but always a wrong one.  Yeah, the time is late and short, but there is the bitter truth.

    Ryan’s plan at least acknowledges this.  And, if we can get people thinking more along the lines of local participation/personal charity, then we can hopefully gain momentum.  Otherwise, I’m afraid we’ll set ourselves up for a real cluster.

  16. Bob Belvedere
    March 22nd, 2012 @ 8:16 am

    If you are going to have a safety net, it is best to have it be organized on the city/town or, in very rural areas, county level where it can be more efficiently monitored and where the shame of being on it can be felt.

    Also, there is nothing in The Constitution that allows for the national government to provide it.

  17. Bob Belvedere
    March 22nd, 2012 @ 8:20 am

    If there is violent unrest over the necessary abolition of entitlements then it must be put down swiftly.  It’s about time America grew a a pair again.  Sorry, but we are on the edge of collapse.

  18. Bob Belvedere
    March 22nd, 2012 @ 8:23 am

    …an honest liberal with whom we can have a real and open debate.

    Many over at NR, sadly, still believe in this fantasy.  They’re always on the look-out for the ‘honest liberal’ or the ‘honest moderate’.

    There are none.

    The Left is committed – all of it’s adherents – to overthrowing The Constitution.  There’s no point in dealing with them across a table because they are never going to be honest, they are not guided by any Morality because they have embraced Relativism.

  19. Quartermaster
    March 22nd, 2012 @ 3:28 pm

    I don’t think he’s living in a dream world. There does come a time when you have to stare them down. Boehner doesn’t have the stones to do it. If Boehner had any stones he would have told the Obamunist to pound sand and point at the Senate and say nothing will be done until they deal with the budget, and do it in front of cameras. Put the monkey on their back.

    If Obama refuses to send out SS checks then, fine. Just tell the world the problem is in the Senate and WH and sit back and laugh.

    But, as I said, that takes stones, and Cryin’ Johnnie ain’t got any. Same with teh rest of the GOP “leadership.”

  20. Quartermaster
    March 22nd, 2012 @ 3:30 pm

    There is no “national government.” FedGov is not national as it very limited domestic duties, and that was intentional. Even things many take for granted like National Parks and Forests are unconstitutional. EPA could fall under interstate commerce, as would FAA, but most of teh rest of what FedGov is doing is not within their powers.

  21. Quartermaster
    March 22nd, 2012 @ 3:33 pm

    I’m afraid it’s come to that, alas. A whiff of grape, as Napoleon put it, will end a lot of rioting. Give ’em a chance to go home, then let the festivities start.

    I would really hate to see it, though. It would really enrage me for them to make it necessary.

  22. Quartermaster
    March 22nd, 2012 @ 3:36 pm

    Jonah Goldberg being placed in charge of the NRO website was a bad sign. Buckley really lost it towards the end and turned over the keys to a buncg of callow idiots. Jonah was the worst of the lot. It hurt to watch the paleos take him apart like a cat batting a mouse about. He way in over his head. He’s not improved much since.

  23. Slim Thug
    March 22nd, 2012 @ 7:24 pm

    Go, Ryan, go!

  24. Volcano
    March 24th, 2012 @ 11:16 pm

    Your post is so fail it actually makes other people dumber for having actually read it.

    Do yourself and everyone around you a favor and actually read the U.S. Constitution, brainiac. You know, with your EYES.

    After you READ the preamble, wherein the phrase “…provide for the COMMON defense, promote the GENERAL welfare…” is located, Article I, Section 8 is a great place to start your education regarding “There is no ‘national government'”, genius.

    Next, try Article VI.

    Until then, put down the cheap beer and STFU about Constitutional Law.

  25. Volcano
    March 24th, 2012 @ 11:30 pm

     Another concern-troll post.

    RSM, this guy is a lib-tard smearing up your comment threads with pure examples of wishfully stereotypical right-wing radical tripe.

    I see what you are doing, asshat……………