“Our goal, our mission is to address the root causes of poverty instead of simply treating the symptoms of poverty. That’s very critical. You see, by going after the root causes of poverty and trying to break the cycle of poverty, you need economic growth, you need job creation, you need higher take-home pay.”
Back in my Black Nationalist days, a local Salvation Army store manager said almost the same word for word. That store manager, that middle-aged black woman, was the one that helped get me out of my “WHITEY IS EVIL” rants. She made me think critically about things instead of just unconditionally blaming folks. So who said the opening paragraph just recently:
Yep. Paul Ryan said those words today in New Hampshire while campaigning (story via MSNBC). Words that I’ve been saying for a long time and have heard inner city Detroit community activists say for a long time. More from Paul Ryan today:
The congressman continued: “We believe in a safety net. We believe in a safety net that is there for people who truly cannot help themselves so they can live a life of dignity but we also believe in a safety net that is there for people who are down on their luck so that they can get back on their feet. We don’t want a safety net that encourages more dependency because there is no economic growth behind it because what that ends up doing is it drains people of their will and their incentive to make the most of their lives, to tap their potential, to get on their path to prosperity. That is what unfortunately is what we are seeing in the Obama economy.
I would like to change his last sentence to “This is what unfortunately we have been seeing in the American economy for a long time” but this is campaign season and my change doesn’t do squat in the point scoring department. But his overall point is fine with me. I have to be honest, I listen to Paul Ryan. Sure I have some SERIOUS issues with his budget ideas but when it comes to campaigning and striking a chord, he does that. He makes this 3rd party protest voter listen to him. Does that make me want to vote for Romney/Ryan? No. Just like Obama’s eloquence isn’t enough to sway me. But Paul Ryan is the type of guy that if he was the Republican Presidential nominee, could hit President Obama much harder. Those two paragraphs are inclusive and make a strong case.
Yes I pinged Mitt Romney yesterday based on his 47% comments. I pinged him because he wants to be President of the United States of America. That means that if he wins, no matter how I voted, he’s my President. Plain and simple. If Obama is re-elected, no matter how I voted, he will be my President again. Because I’m a citizen of the United States of America. And our Presidents are the leaders of our great nation. I don’t need to hear how a percentage of Americans are irrelevant to someone in a campaign season or if they are elected. I need to hear more about how your plans and actions will include ALL AMERICANS even if some of those Americans don’t want to hear you (and even if I think they aren’t visionary enough – you too President Obama when it comes to not being visionary enough). You are stepping into THE LEADERSHIP ROLE. Ain’t no half steppin’ allowed.
Paul Ryan gets it.
By the way, this photo of Paul Ryan is STRAIGHT GANGSTA SMOOTH:
I have a suit just like it so I have to show some love!
I’m not complex. Don’t have time for all that. And all that complex stuff bad for the stomach. Just color me simple and plain with a twist.