Daily Kos: Ann Romney: “Throw out” the American public education system.

Ann Romney wants to “throw out” the public education system.

Ann Romney and First Lady Michelle Obama were interviewed for the November issue of Good Housekeeping magazine, just out. Our First Lady, of course was charming, positive and well-informed.Mrs. Romney? Well . . .Among her talking points, this:

I’ve been a First Lady of the State. I have seen what happens to people’s lives if they don’t get a proper education. And we know the answers to that. The charter schools have provided the answers. The teachers’ unions are preventing those things from happening, from bringing real change to our educational system. We need to throw out the system.

Mrs. Romney, of course, is not an educator and has no experience as a teacher. Other than as a candidate’s wife if then, she’s probably never even set a well-shod dainty foot inside a public school. She went to private school; so did her husband and children. And the “answers” the charter schools are providing? As mysterious as her tax returns. I guess we’ll just have to take her word for it.

And as is said at the end of every useless infomercial – but wait! There’s more. More…

via Daily Kos: Ann Romney: “Throw out” the American public education system..

Paul Ryan Staff Emails Show Sensitivity To Stimulus Hypocrisy

In late September 2011, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s office notified Rep. Paul Ryan’s office with some good news. The U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs had awarded a grant to a Wisconsin veteran’s home to help renovate its water distribution system. Walker’s office just needed Ryan’s people to sign off on the press release. But what started out as a routine matter quickly turned into a minor panic among aides to the two Republicans.

Wendy Riemann, Walker’s director of federal relations, sent an email to Ryan’s communications director, Kevin Seifert, asking for a quote from the congressman.

“Not sure if you’re doing your own release, etc.,” Riemann emailed on Sept. 26. “Let me know — we’ll wait to hear from you either way before putting it out.”

Seifert replied with a simple message: Stop the presses. He had one concern. Could the grant be tied to federal stimulus funds? More…

via Paul Ryan Staff Emails Show Sensitivity To Stimulus Hypocrisy.

Bob Cesca: Republicans Filibuster Everything, Romney Blames Obama for Not Working With Congress

The Romney campaign released a shockingly Orwellian commercial over the weekend, which perpetuates something Romney himself has been saying for months now. Honestly, there’s a book-length analysis to be written here, but I’ll keep it as brief as possible given the depth and breadth of what the Republicans have been able to accomplish on this front.

The new ad blames President Obama for not reaching out and working with congressional Republicans to get things done. Yes, really. It also ballyhoos Mitt Romney’s claim that he was able to work with a Massachusetts legislature that was 85 percent Democratic.

I don’t know whether to be brutally outraged about this or to congratulate the Republicans on an outstanding execution of political obstruction and subsequent projection. For now, let’s go with brutally outraged. More…

via Bob Cesca: Republicans Filibuster Everything, Romney Blames Obama for Not Working With Congress.

Some Are More Unequal Than Others – NYTimes.com

This election has rightly been characterized as one that will deeply affect the future direction of the country: Americans are being given a choice with potentially large consequences. One arena in which there are profound differences that has not been adequately debated is the future course of inequality.

Mitt Romney has been explicit: inequality should be talked about only in quiet voices behind closed doors. But with the normally conservative magazine The Economist publishing a special series showing the extremes to which American inequality has grown — joining a growing chorus of which my book “The Price of Inequality” is an example arguing that the extremes of American inequality, its nature and origins, are adversely affecting our economy — it is an issue that not even the Republicans can ignore. It is no longer just a moral issue, a question of social justice. More…

via Some Are More Unequal Than Others – NYTimes.com.

Don’t Be Fooled – Constitutional Amendment 49

Matt Miller: The talented Mr. Ryan – The Washington Post

The striking thing about Paul Ryan’s ascent is the gulf between his proposals and the way the media have characterized them. Since Mitt Romney named Ryan to the ticket on Saturday, the news has been filled with talk of the “ fiscal conservative ” (NPR) “ intent on erasing deficits ” (New York Times) who has become “ the intellectual heart of the Republican Party’s movement to slash deficits” ( The Post). All of this is demonstrably false. Ryan’s con has succeeded largely because Democrats haven’t sensed the political salience of assailing his plans from the right ; instead, they’ve chosen to slam only Ryan’s regressive priorities and Medicare scheme. Continued…

via Matt Miller: The talented Mr. Ryan – The Washington Post.

Paul Ryan’s voting record: Big-spending conservatism – POLITICO.com Print View

Paul Ryan rose to the top of the political ranks on his reputation as a conservative budget hawk. But his voting record shows him to be far from a pure fiscal conservative.

Ryan voted for the $700 billion bank bailout, the biggest Medicare expansion in U.S. history, a massive highway bill that included the “Bridge to Nowhere” and other big-ticket priorities when George W. Bush was president — going to bat for a high-spending GOP agenda that the tea party base now looks on with regret. Continued…

via Paul Ryan’s voting record: Big-spending conservatism – POLITICO.com Print View.

The Republican ticket’s big Medicare myth | Wonkblog

I’ve got a modest proposal: You’re not allowed to demand a “serious conversation” over Medicare unless you can answer these three questions:

1) Mitt Romney says that “unlike the current president who has cut Medicare funding by $700 billion. We will preserve and protect Medicare.” What happens to those cuts in the Ryan budget?

2) What is the growth rate of Medicare under the Ryan budget?

3) What is the growth rate of Medicare under the Obama budget?

The answers to these questions are, in order, “it keeps them,” “GDP+0.5%,” and “GDP+0.5%.”

Let’s be very clear on what that means: Ryan’s budget — which Romney has endorsed — keeps Obama’s cuts to Medicare, and both Ryan and Obama envision the same long-term spending path for Medicare. The difference between the two campaigns is not in how much they cut Medicare, but in how they cut Medicare. Continued…

via The Republican ticket’s big Medicare myth | Wonkblog.

Romney and Ryan’s disdain for the working class – The Washington Post

Mitt Romney’s selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate underscores the central question posed by this campaign: Should cold selfishness become the template for our society, or do we still believe in community?

Romney wanted the election to be seen as a referendum on the success or failure of President Obama’s economic policies. Instead, he has revealed that the campaign is really a choice between two starkly different philosophies. One could be summed up as: “We’re all in this together.” The other: “I’ve got mine.”

This is not about free enterprise, and it’s not about personal liberty; those fundamental principles are unquestioned. But for at least the past 100 years, we have understood capitalism and freedom to exist within a larger context — a complicated, real-world, human context. Some people begin life at a disadvantage, and it’s in the national interest to open doors of opportunity for them. Some people make mistakes, and it’s in the national interest to create second chances. Some people are too young, too old or too infirm to care for themselves, and it’s in the national interest to secure their welfare.

This sense of the balance between individualism and community fueled the American Century. Romney and Ryan apparently don’t believe in it. Continued…

via Romney and Ryan’s disdain for the working class – The Washington Post.

Educators react to Tuesday’s presidential debate | Education Votes

After this week’s presidential debate, Education Votes spoke with educators from across the country to get their reactions to the candidates and their respective views on education.

“Governor Romney did not tell the truth about education in the debate. His plans indicate he would decrease the amount of Pell Grants available and raise student loan interest rates. I believe he is trying to appear as if he cares about the American middle class, but is in fact an elitist snob who believes children get the education they can afford,” said Ohio educator Stacy Recker.

The inconsistencies between Romney’s extreme makeover at the debates and his “severely conservative” platform on the campaign trail have left some voters wanting. More…

via Educators react to Tuesday’s presidential debate | Education Votes.