In case you haven’t been paying much attention, and I don’t really blame you if you have kept your eyes closed, Rep. Paul Ryan may singlehandedly be responsible for the impending self-implosion of the Republican Party.  Less than six months after Republicans had their sweeping midterm election win, the tables have turned yet again. Republicans have steadily been losing ground with the majority of voters.  After promising to create jobs, they have instead focused on cutting programs in an attempt to “balance the budget.” They have teleported us back to the mid 90’s and focused on legislating morality.  You know abortion, gays, prayers, that kind of useful stuff.  Then Ryan’s Medicare plan.  It is just politics 101, you don’t piss off seniors.  Senior citizens vote in droves and they like Medicare.  Really.  They enjoy having a low cost government run insurance.  Sounds unbelievable right?  No person in their right mind wants to shop around private insurance companies, with a little coupon, to find the best deal.  Especially a senior citizen.  This is my version of hell.  And the costs will be astronomical.

Many pundits point out that the Medicare problem needs to be “fixed.” And how do these same pundits propose we “fix” the problem?  As usual on the backs of elderly and the poor.  Cut programs.  It is always a spending problem and never a revenue problem.  Guess what?  If we didn’t extend the ridiculous tax cuts to really really rich people, we would not have a freaking Medicare problem.  Common sense.  But, no…we have far too little of that.  Instead the Republicans are jumping on the doomed ship that is Ryan’s Medicare privatization plan.  And the sink is already sinking.  It is plummeting fast to the bottom of the ocean since the shocking victory in upstate New York on Tuesday night.

Despite Paul’s significant contribution to the demise of the GOP, Republican insiders are now trying to draft him to step into the ring for the presidential race in 2012. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is the latest leader in the GOP party to endorse Ryan.

“Paul Ryan is about real leadership,” he told reporters at a weekly press briefing. “I think what this public so desperately wants to do right now . . . [is] see a Washington that will lead. They don’t want to see individuals that dismiss the current problems as something that we can just sweep under the rug.”

Ryan, however, has stated he has no interest in running.. “I’ve been very clear about this, I’m not running for president,” he said on NBC’s Meet the Press last week. “If you’re running for president, you’ve got to do a lot of things to line up a candidacy. I have not done any of those things.”

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About the author

Erin Chavez
Erin Whitney-Chavez has been writing professionally since 2009. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from St. Bonaventure University and received a Master of Arts in mental-health counseling from Argosy University. Erin Whitney-Chavez is a licensed mental health counselor and has worked in the mental-health field for more than 10 years.

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