http://news.yahoo.com/presented-letters-ryan-admits-requesting-stimulus-cash-234025910--abc-news-politics.html
After repeated denials, Paul Ryan has admitted he requested stimulus cash even after sharply criticizing the program. As recently as Wednesday in Ohio, Mitt Romney's running mate told ABC's Cincinnati affiliate, WCPO, he did not. "I never asked for stimulus," Ryan said. "I don't recall... so I really can't comment on it. I opposed the stimulus because it doesn't work, it didn't work."
Two years ago, during an interview on WBZ's NewsRadio he was asked by a caller if he "accepted any money" into his district. Ryan said he did not. "I'm not one [of those] people who votes for something then writes to the government to ask them to send us money. I did not request any stimulus money," the congressman answered.
But as we've now learned, Ryan did write letters. He did request stimulus funds. "The Olympics may be over but Paul Ryan could have gotten a gold medal in hypocrisy," a senior administration official told ABC's Jake Tapper. "As someone who spends all day every day railing against government spending, but then secretly seeks millions in funds for pet projects, he is as Washington as it gets."
In 2009, Ryan wrote to Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis asking for stimulus money to cover costs on two energy conservation projects in his home state of Wisconsin. In the letter, Ryan said the funds would help create jobs and reduce "energy consumption" in the state. At least one of the companies received the requested cash.
The letters were first obtained by The Wall Street Journal through the Freedom of Information Act back in early 2010. The Boston Globe turned them up for the first time during this campaign season Wednesday. At that point, a Ryan aide referred ABC News back to what a Ryan spokesman said when the letters first went public.
"If Congressman Ryan is asked to help a Wisconsin entity applying for existing Federal grant funds, he does not believe flawed policy should get in the way of doing his job and providing a legitimate constituent service to his employers," the spokesman told the Milwaukee (Wisc.) Journal Sentinel.
Thursday, Ryan responded to the questions himself.
"After having these letters called to my attention I checked into them, and they were treated as constituent service requests in the same way matters involving Social Security or Veterans Affairs are handled," Ryan said in a statement. "This is why I didn't recall the letters earlier. But they should have been handled differently, and I take responsibility for that.
"Regardless, it's clear that the Obama stimulus did nothing to stimulate the economy, and now the President is asking to do it all over again."
Also Read
One issue he's a hypocrite on. Call me underwhelmed.
Quote from: Conan71 on August 17, 2012, 10:13:50 AM
One issue he's a hypocrite on. Call me underwhelmed.
Are you expecting more? Oh, wait...what?
Quote from: Hoss on August 17, 2012, 10:23:25 AM
Are you expecting more? Oh, wait...what?
Google it. There's a list.
It doesn't bother you to hear him say, "I'm not one [of those] people who votes for something then writes to the government to ask them to send us money. I did not request any stimulus money," then have him say, "After having these letters called to my attention I checked into them..."
Total lie. He has built an entire political career on the same stuff he got caught lying about.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on August 17, 2012, 11:53:09 AM
It doesn't bother you to hear him say, "I'm not one [of those] people who votes for something then writes to the government to ask them to send us money. I did not request any stimulus money," then have him say, "After having these letters called to my attention I checked into them..."
Total lie. He has built an entire political career on the same stuff he got caught lying about.
Just like Obama and Biden?
Quote from: Conan71 on August 17, 2012, 10:13:50 AM
One issue he's a hypocrite on. Call me underwhelmed.
It's much more than hypocrisy - it is flat out lying. And just this last week, he was weasling again on it saying how bad the stimulus idea was.
Don't forget Baby Bush, Daddy Bush, Raygun, and Nixon!
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on August 17, 2012, 01:31:44 PM
And just this last week, he was weasling again on it saying how bad the stimulus idea was.
Yeah, and lying about not ever voting for stimulus. Like the $715 billion alternative to the Obama stimulus that had more road spending and more aid to states, but slightly less tax cuts. He also voted for the initial Republican plan that failed. I believe that one was $300ish billion. He seems to not realize that he's no longer just one of the Representatives from Wisconsin.
For a guy that thinks stimulus doesn't work, he sure votes for a lot of them. Of course, that's probably a lie, too. Even Romney's economists won't say that stimulus doesn't work at all.
I am not a Ryan fan, but this is the least of my concerns.
Im sure his office hundreds of similar letters for his district which he may or may not even really sign. Entirely possiblw he had no awareness of them. If he did i would guess he would have given evasive answers instead of straight up lying.
What it shows is his office policy is not very clear. His staff, like him, are career government and they operate likeeveryone else in Washington (almost everyone else). Obviously there was not a policy to stay away from stimulus requests.
Quote from: cannon_fodder on August 17, 2012, 02:00:55 PM
Entirely possible he had no awareness of them.
Did he also have no awareness of his previous record of voting in favor of stimulus as recently as 2008?
I agree that there are bigger issues with Ryan; his trouble with the truth is just another to add to the list. It goes along well with the Romney campaign's ongoing struggle with those issues. His VP pick lies, his economic advisers lie, his surrogates lie. It's pretty interesting to watch. I haven't seen Romney tell an out and out lie yet, but he's got terrible trouble when it comes to making up his mind.
Ain't it fun to watch Obama voters tell Romney supporters they shouldn't vote for him because he has done things that Obama has, and Republican's just can't have that.
Let's take the stimulus, which by the way about 9 of 10 in the house voted for. Obama voted to pass as well. This is a classic case for every Republican. If you vote for it, you are a hypocrite since you generally decry spending. If you vote against, you a knuckle dragging bi-partisan extreme who never wants to work together with the other side, even though if you do and pass something, you are criticized for that as well. So which is worse?
Besides, everyone needs to face up to this fact: Politicians Lie. It's like breathing to them.
Quote from: erfalf on August 17, 2012, 02:44:16 PM
Obama voted to pass as well. This is a classic case for every Republican. If you vote for it, you are a hypocrite since you generally decry spending. If you vote against, you a knuckle dragging bi-partisan extreme who never wants to work together with the other side, even though if you do and pass something, you are criticized for that as well. So which is worse?
No, it's perfectly fine to vote for stimulus, as long as you don't later falsely claim it doesn't/didn't work. It's perfectly fine to vote against it, too, if you don't then go around asking for these monies that you insist are actively harmful to those who receive it. When you manage to do all four in less than 6 months, that's when we start calling you a hypocrite and an idiot.
Quote
Besides, everyone needs to face up to this fact: Politicians Lie. It's like breathing to them.
"Everyone does it, so it must be OK!" No wonder our political system is in the shitter and only getting more corrupt by the day.
Quote from: nathanm on August 17, 2012, 03:01:06 PM
No, it's perfectly fine to vote for stimulus, as long as you don't later falsely claim it doesn't/didn't work. It's perfectly fine to vote against it, too, if you don't then go around asking for these monies that you insist are actively harmful to those who receive it. When you manage to do all four in less than 6 months, that's when we start calling you a hypocrite and an idiot.
So you are not allowed to criticize something you vote on...ever. Consider they vote on this not knowing exactly what will happen.
Quote from: erfalf on August 17, 2012, 03:02:36 PM
So you are not allowed to criticize something you vote on...ever. Consider they vote on this not knowing exactly what will happen.
If you read my post carefully, you would have noted that I take issue with
false claims and hypocritically asking for something you claim publicly is actively harmful.
Quote from: nathanm on August 17, 2012, 03:05:37 PM
If you read my post carefully, you would have noted that I take issue with false claims and hypocritically asking for something you claim publicly is actively harmful.
Some might say it is a matter of opinion on whether or not the stimulus worked, but hey, whatever.
Quote from: erfalf on August 17, 2012, 03:06:24 PM
Some might say it is a matter of opinion on whether or not the stimulus worked, but hey, whatever.
Just more good theater so the Dims can avoid the issue of the economy. Expect more hits on the Mormons, the wealthy, Venture Capital, the 1%, and baiting Republicans into social issues (war on women, war on blacks, war on Hispanics, war on the environment) any carnival side show to distract voters from real issues affecting real people still four years later.
President Obama currently "enjoys" a 38% approval rating on the economy:
http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/obama-job-approval-economy
Then there's this:
Who potential voters view more favorably on key issues:
QuoteISSUE
Economy
40% D
45% R
Health Care
41% D
44% R
Education
41% D
41% R
Energy Policy
43% D
41% R
Immigration
34% D
47% R
Social Security
40% D
43% R
Afghanistan
38% D
42% R
Government Ethics
35% D
40% R
National Security
37% D
47% R
Taxes
41% D
46% R
QuoteVoters now trust Republicans slightly more than Democrats on eight of 10 important issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports, including the most important one: the economy.
The latest national telephone survey finds that 45% of Likely U.S. Voters trust Republicans more to handle the economy, while 40% place their trust in Democrats. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
Two national surveys of 1,000 Likely Voters each were conducted on August 8-9 & 12-13, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/mood_of_america/trust_on_issues
Quote from: erfalf on August 17, 2012, 03:06:24 PM
Some might say it is a matter of opinion on whether or not the stimulus worked, but hey, whatever.
Yes, everything is a matter of opinion. There are no facts in this world.
(http://research.stlouisfed.org/fredgraph.png?g=9zP)
bucking miraculous how the job losses slowed down. After all, it's not like businesses were having any trouble meeting payroll at the time due to impossible conditions in the credit markets.
Quote from: nathanm on August 17, 2012, 03:22:13 PM
Yes, everything is a matter of opinion. There are no facts in this world.
(http://research.stlouisfed.org/fredgraph.png?g=9zP)
How exactly does your graph prove success of stimulus spending?
Quote from: Conan71 on August 17, 2012, 03:25:50 PM
How exactly does your graph prove success of stimulus spending?
Ding, ding, ding.
Quote from: cannon_fodder on August 17, 2012, 02:00:55 PM
Im sure his office hundreds of similar letters for his district which he may or may not even really sign. Entirely possiblw he had no awareness of them.
He got over $20 million for a local energy efficiency company and over $5 million for local bus services.
This was free money for his constituents. Do you really think he didn't know anything about it? That his staff wouldn't have mentioned it to him that his letter brought in millions of dollars for two pet projects? Do you think the companies receiving the funds would have failed to say thank you to him?
Don't play stupid with us, Ryan. You knew but were so busy doing one thing and saying another that you have no excuse than to act forgetful and blame your staff.
He lied so people wouldn't think he was a hypocrite. But the truth came out.
Paul Ryan - hypocrite and liar.
You guys are just going to hurt yourselves.
(http://joemccoubrey.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/brick-wall.jpg)
Quote from: Gaspar on August 17, 2012, 03:40:29 PM
You guys are just going to hurt yourselves.
The truth disinfects. The pain is part of the healing.
Quote from: Conan71 on August 17, 2012, 03:25:50 PM
How exactly does your graph prove success of stimulus spending?
A believer in immaculate recovery that just happened to coincide with the spending of stimulus funds, I take it?
Quote from: nathanm on August 17, 2012, 03:56:35 PM
A believer in immaculate recovery that just happened to coincide with the spending of stimulus funds, I take it?
You are the same person who said for months, amongst dismal employment reports, that we didn't spend enough.
Just because
you say there's a causal relationship, it's supposed to be good enough for the rest of us?
Quote from: Conan71 on August 17, 2012, 04:00:48 PM
You are the same person who said for months, amongst dismal employment reports, that we didn't spend enough.
We didn't spend enough. Job creation has been dismal. The economists Romney's people constantly refer to when saying the stimulus failed claim that $2 trillion would have been a more appropriate number. That doesn't mean that the stimulus we did have had no effect at all. Perhaps it's just rank coincidence, but as stimulus spending ramped up, we went from losing 800,000 jobs a month to gaining between zero and 150,000ish.
Besides, arguing that the stimulus had no effect at all is also arguing that tax cuts have no effect at all. Is that really an argument you want to make?
Quote from: nathanm on August 17, 2012, 04:04:00 PM
We didn't spend enough. Job creation has been dismal. The economists Romney's people constantly refer to when saying the stimulus failed claim that $2 trillion would have been a more appropriate number. That doesn't mean that the stimulus we did have had no effect at all. Perhaps it's just rank coincidence, but as stimulus spending ramped up, we went from losing 800,000 jobs a month to gaining between zero and 150,000ish.
Besides, arguing that the stimulus had no effect at all is also arguing that tax cuts have no effect at all. Is that really an argument you want to make?
So if the CBO says that the stimulus had a net negative effect on the GDP, does it mean anything to you?
Quote from: erfalf on August 17, 2012, 04:06:56 PM
So if the CBO says that the stimulus had a net negative effect on the GDP, does it mean anything to you?
The CBO has released no report to date stating that, but if it had, it would be a strong data point. Not dispositive, but still an important data point.
Quote from: nathanm on August 17, 2012, 03:01:06 PM
No, it's perfectly fine to vote for stimulus, as long as you don't later falsely claim it doesn't/didn't work.
We all realize that you never make a mistake, except for that one time you thought you made a mistake, but the rest of us sometimes do something that we later realize didn't work as well as we thought it would.
Quote from: nathanm on August 17, 2012, 04:11:45 PM
The CBO has released no report to date stating that, but if it had, it would be a strong data point. Not dispositive, but still an important data point.
http://lonelyconservative.com/2011/11/cbo-report-stimulus-failed-to-stimulate/
Will it change your mind?
Quote from: erfalf on August 17, 2012, 05:01:00 PM
http://lonelyconservative.com/2011/11/cbo-report-stimulus-failed-to-stimulate/
Will it change your mind?
The lonely conservative?
Quote from: Townsend on August 17, 2012, 05:06:53 PM
The lonely conservative?
I googled it, the main text is from the Washington Times. First one up on google, they must be paid up.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/22/cbo-stimulus-hurts-economy-long-run/?page=all
Better?
Quote from: erfalf on August 17, 2012, 05:08:32 PM
I googled it, the main text is from the Washington Times. First one up on google, they must be paid up.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/22/cbo-stimulus-hurts-economy-long-run/?page=all
Better?
The Times isn't exactly a middle of the road publication.
Quote from: Conan71 on August 17, 2012, 04:00:48 PM
Just because you say there's a causal relationship, it's supposed to be good enough for the rest of us?
I thought you knew that by now.
Quote from: Townsend on August 17, 2012, 05:06:53 PM
The lonely conservative?
5 minutes and 53 seconds to challenge the source. You are slipping.
Quote from: Red Arrow on August 17, 2012, 05:40:50 PM
5 minutes and 53 seconds to challenge the source. You are slipping.
I had a thing.
Quote from: erfalf on August 17, 2012, 05:01:00 PM
Will it change your mind?
No, because what the report says is not what you stated. It
projects that the stimulus will have a net negative effect of 0.3 percent of GDP beginning in
2016. I could quibble with the reasoning, but there's no need, we'll see what actually happens soon enough.
Next time do try to sort out the past from the future.
Also, don't post things that directly contradict your statement that stimulus has no effect:
Quote
For this current quarter CBO said the stimulus is sustaining between 600,000 and 1.8 million jobs, which has improved the unemployment rate by as much as 1 percent versus what it otherwise would have been.
No effect, you said.
Quote from: Townsend on August 17, 2012, 05:43:18 PM
I had a thing.
Trip to the restroom? We will forgive you, but just this one time.
Why the heck are we even debating the effectiveness of stimulus? Ryan's letters requesting funds specifically touted how they would create jobs in his district. If you don't think stimulus has an effect, I guess you should take it up with Paul Ryan.
Quote from: nathanm on August 17, 2012, 06:13:37 PM
Why the heck are we even debating the effectiveness of stimulus? Ryan's letters requesting funds specifically touted how they would create jobs in his district. If you don't think stimulus has an effect, I guess you should take it up with Paul Ryan.
Ditto.
If it has no effect, that is just one more lie he has told.
Paul Ryan has mentioned that in college he had a job driving the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.
Now him and Mitt Romney have something in common. They both have experience driving a car with a dog on the roof.
Quote from: RecycleMichael on August 22, 2012, 05:33:30 PM
Paul Ryan has mentioned that in college he had a job driving the Oscar Mayer Weinermobile.
Now him and Mitt Romney have something in common. They both have experience driving a car with a dog on the roof.
I remember seeing the Weinermobile when I was a kid. I didn't like hot dogs though, still don't. About the only way I could get them past my taste buds was if they were split in half lengthwise and cooked on the iron skillet.
Quote from: Red Arrow on August 22, 2012, 07:55:48 PM
I remember seeing the Weinermobile when I was a kid. I didn't like hot dogs though, still don't. About the only way I could get them past my taste buds was if they were split in half lengthwise and cooked on the iron skillet.
I saw one week before last in Milwaukee, a block down the street from the place I was going. Didn't have time or I would have gone to visit and see if they had any of those little Wienermobile whistles they used to give away.
Ever tried rippers? Everything's better fried!!
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on August 22, 2012, 09:12:51 PM
Ever tried rippers? Everything's better fried!!
Not that I remember. We didn't do much deep frying. I hadn't actually heard of rippers so I looked it up and found on Wikipedia that it is common in New Jersey. We lived in PA. True, it was barely across the Delaware River but I guess it was far enough. Those guys in Jersey will do anything.
Quote from: Red Arrow on August 22, 2012, 09:18:00 PM
Not that I remember. We didn't do much deep frying. I hadn't actually heard of rippers so I looked it up and found on Wikipedia that it is common in New Jersey. We lived in PA. True, it was barely across the Delaware River but I guess it was far enough. Those guys in Jersey will do anything.
I believe that - Jersey is a whole other country!
I can't remember where I had them before - I thought it was Atlantic City but can only guess....
Now that I mention it, I think I need to fire up the fryer this weekend!
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on August 22, 2012, 09:30:35 PM
I believe that - Jersey is a whole other country!
My mom claims that when she and dad got married that she rescued him from New Jersey. Dad had been living near Camden (Merchantville) with his parents before he and mom got married. Mom and dad moved to Upper Darby, PA just outside of Philadelphia.
Quote from: heironymouspasparagus on August 22, 2012, 09:12:51 PM
I saw one week before last in Milwaukee, a block down the street from the place I was going. Didn't have time or I would have gone to visit and see if they had any of those little Wienermobile whistles they used to give away.
Ever tried rippers? Everything's better fried!!
There is nothing better in the whole world!
(http://www.roadfood.com/photos/3450.JPG)
Yumm!!
They look like he$$, taste like heaven!