http://www.progressive.org/bybee0311.htmlWhen Republican leaders chose Representative Paul Ryan to give the response to President Obama’s State of the Union speech, they bestowed their blessing on this fast-rising star from Wisconsin’s First District.
His is the boyishly handsome face and cheery demeanor of free market fundamentalism—a philosophy that has devastated his own district with particularly acute suffering. And now, as the new chair of the House Budget Committee, Ryan promises more devastation for the rest of the nation.
“Paul Ryan is a phony and a disaster,” says John Dohner, president of Local 95 of the United Auto Workers in Janesville, Ryan’s hometown. “The people I know aren’t fooled by his smile or surprised by his votes. They see him as a slickster, not a friend.”
But a huge majority of voters in Ryan’s district seem to be fooled, or at least fail to see any credible alternative. They keep sending him back to Washington. Last fall, Ryan’s opponents were frustrated yet again as he skated to victory with 68 percent of the vote over barely funded—and thus barely visible—Democrat John Heckenlively. Ryan pulled this off even though on Election Day, cities in his district had jobless rates between 10.3 percent and 13.4 percent.
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