Paul Ryan appeared on Face the Nation this morning and among other things said that even though he disagreed with the GOP strategy he said nothing for the sake of party unity. Here is his justification.[icopyright one button toolbar]
“I don’t think it was constructive for conservatives to be carping at each other. At the same time, the purpose of that passage is to try and unify our party. I don’t think we can succeed if all we do is criticize and define what we are against,” he said.
He also made this wonderful claim for the purpose of his new book.
“The purpose of this book is to show the country that we have better ideas,” he said. “We need to define ourselves as what we are in favor of just as much as what we are opposed to.”
Well, my response to that claim is perhaps a bit simple, but…
Acting as though the 21st century can work like the 20th, the 19th and the 18th centuries is not a better idea.
Ignoring the existence of racism while claiming that it’s just because you don’t believe it should exist is not a better idea.
Ignoring the existence and the consequences of extreme economic inequality is not a better idea.Neither is admitting that it exists but still claiming that it’s really OK and not bad for the country. Neither is blaming the poor for their situation while completely ignoring other factors.
Trickle down economics is not a better idea.
Believing that the Laffer Curve is not only a truism but that it applies no matter what the current tax rate is, is not a better idea.
And that’s the short list of things the current GOP gets wrong.