Thursday, October 25, 2012

Paul's Hometown

Paul Ryan (R- Wall St.) likes to tell everyone he is an Irish Catholic from Janesville, WI!

So let's take a quick look at Paul Ryan's ancestry!


1.  Paul Ryan's Ancestral hometown is rooting for  - President Obama of course:


 Despite his name, Roman Catholic faith and immigrant-made-good family history, the Irish half of the Republican ticket is failing to win the allegiance of the old country from Barack Obama, a skilled hand at playing the Irish card.

Obama struck public relations gold last year by sharing a Guinness with a distant cousin in the village of Moneygall after an amateur genealogist traced his ancestors there. Pictures of cheering Irish crowds were beamed across the United States.

But 100 kilometers (60 miles) down the road, Ryan's ancestral hometown is feeling the cold shoulder and like Ireland as a whole, most of the locals are rooting for his Democratic presidential rivals.

"He doesn't have the charisma, he hasn't connected with the people," said Pat Nolan as he strolled passed the 13th century stone church in the village of Graiguenamanagh where Ryan's great-great grandparents were married.

"It doesn't matter what his name is, it's Obama that has made the effort," said Nolan, 62, a retired physiotherapist.

In a recession-hit town where almost a third of the shops on main street are vacant, Obama's promise to secure more visas for Irish immigrants and help attract U.S. investment has struck a chord.

Ryan's pitch to slash public spending does not go down so well in a country reeling from years of austerity imposed after crippling bank debt forced the government to take a bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund in 2010.

Despite the Ryan connection, few locals are hoping for a Republican victory across the ocean.

"It would give a boost to a nice small town like this, but I would forgo it. I wouldn't want to inflict him on the American people," said Margaret, a 64-year-old cashier, upset by Ryan's plans to cut welfare and Medicare health cover for the elderly. She withheld her family name to avoid angering her employer.

2.  Not much more popular in Janesville, WI either! 

Whether it's their "slash & burn" budget proposals, unwillingness to provide more than 2 years disclosure of their personal income taxes, or their public distain and dishonesty for and about the middle class, the pretense that Romney/Ryan will be a President/Vice-president for all Americans not only ceases, but seizes.
I hope middle class folks and their supporters understand the distinction between these two different paths. In recent polls in my native Wisconsin -- Paul Ryan's native Wisconsin -- only 10 percent of voters said that Romney's policies would favor the middle class. The poll had President Obama leading Mr. Romney by some 17 points.

Arguably the greatest champion of America's middle class during the 20th century was President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was FDR who, in the depths of the Great Depression, created the minimum wage, unemployment insurance, aid to dependent children, Social Security, and banking and stock market regulation to name but a few of the New Deal programs that still exist today.

In sharp contrast to Romney & Ryan's perception of "moochers" was FDR's vision to foster and protect the middle class. President Roosevelt said in his 137th press conference on August 24, 1937, "For people who want to keep themselves free from starvation, keep a roof over their heads, lead decent lives, have proper educational standards, those are the concerns of government... and another thing... is the protection of the life and the liberty of the individual against elements in the community that seek to enrich and advance themselves at the expense of their fellow citizens."
I believe in FDR's vision. I suspect the many folks in Janesville believe in it, too. They deserve better than what Romney/Ryan offer. Certainly, their fellow Americans deserve better.



2 comments:

  1. Is the District 1 electoral administration in the hands of Democratic or Republican officials?

    For Republicans nationwide, "Saving Representative Ryan" would be an obvious key effort for Republican ballot tabulation fraud.

    Should Ryan lose both his House and VP race, which Republican unthink tank will he go to?

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  2. I dont know the answer to the first question, but as for the second question. Heritage Foundation for sure. they are always the first ones to jump in and defend ryan everytime krugman and other economists attack him.

    ReplyDelete