I admit, I'm a huge fan of The Rachel Maddow Show. They present the sources for their reporting, so I trust their facts more. And because they give me the sources, I can go do some of my own online fact-checking. If even half of America checked the news stories they hear for accuracy, what a great informed electorate we'd have.
But today I'm going to take exception to one of Ms. Maddow's reports on Monday night. She was showing a video of Paul Ryan speaking at the Iowa State Fair. There he was, being heckled by a few women who were yelling things such as "Are you going to cut Medicare?" Ms. Maddow stated that Ryan wasn't using to heckling, that he was taken aback and stumbled to recover from the incident.
I disagree. If you listen to his reaction, he said that Iowans and Wisconsinites like himself were similar in that they were polite and respectful. Therefore, he concluded, there women couldn't be from Iowa or Wisconsin.
Translation: "Paul Ryan is one of you. These women are outsiders."
I can't believe that was an off-the-cuff response. I think he planned ahead of time to play this us-against-them card should anyone heckle. Paul Ryan isn't a stupid newbie. He got into Congress, even made a name for himself (albeit a notorious name). I wouldn't be surprised if he'd employed this stump strategy in the past.
Even if he hadn't, he was likely coached by the GOP's master spin doctors before being let loose on the campaign trail. "Divide and Conquer" is, after all, their main battle cry.
Yet none of the Iowans or Wisconsinites I've known would fall for this ploy. If nothing else, they're stubbornly independent. They don't want people telling them what to believe, and sure don't like some stranger saying, "I'm like you. Let me tell you what side we're on."
So, nice try, Mr. Ryan, but you're not like me. I have more in common with those women. I want answers to questions: Are you going to cut Medicare and Social Security? As you going to force your national contraceptive ban down our throats? Are you going to deregulate the fossil fuel industry so they can poison our land?
Oh, and one more question: When do we get to see the last seven years of Romney's tax returns? And, while we at it, yours?
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