There’s nothing compassionate about Paul Ryan’s conservatism

[DonViejo]

Don't be fooled by the congressman's latest efforts to rebrand himself. His policies are disastrous for the poor

JOE CONASON, ALTERNET

Nobody in Washington talks much about the poor in America these days, even though they are more and more with us in the economic aftermath of the Great Recession. Perhaps that is why the Washington Post welcomed Paul Ryan’s recent declaration that he wants to fight poverty “with kinder, gentler policies to encourage work and upward mobility.”

The Wisconsin Republican confided to a Post reporter that he has been “quietly visiting inner-city neighborhoods” — too quietly to gain any favorable publicity, until now — and consulting with all the usual suspects in the capital’s right-wing think tanks. He wants everyone to understand that he is seeking to figure out the problems faced by poor folks and how he can help.

As a 2016 presidential hopeful, Ryan evidently intends to rebrand himself as a “compassionate conservative” — the same propaganda meme deployed by former President George W. Bush and Karl Rove during the prelude to the 2000 campaign for president — at a moment when the Republican Party badly needs appealing new images and ideas. The Bush gang dropped that gimmick well before they entered the White House, and it was never glimpsed again. But whenever a Republican spouts kinder, gentler, compassionate-conservative babble, the vaunted cynicism of the capital press corps gets washed away in a warm bath of credulity.

But just to be clear, there is nothing new in Ryan’s perspective on poverty, which is impoverished indeed when set next to the outlook of his late mentor Jack Kemp, who became a conservative icon in Congress before he joined the cabinet as secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Although Kemp belatedly recognized the role of government in alleviating poverty, Ryan and the current crop of Republicans in Washington talk about volunteerism, charity and spirituality as the only legitimate ways to address social problems — while all government support for the poor must be slashed or eliminated, as prescribed by their budget.

full article
http://www.salon.com/2013/11/23/theres_nothing_compassionate_about_paul_ryans_conservatism_partner/

[giftedgirl77]

1. Yeah right Ryan visits the inner city about

as much as his ass washes dishes. That crooked asshat just oozes evil from every pore. He would make people sell their organs & bodily fluid for food rations if he could get away with it.

[Blue Owl]

2. As quietly as he completed his 3-hour marathon

n/t