Malarkey
By Sherry Pasquarello,WWH/CJE – The VP debate just ended. I love Joe. Yes, he does at times stick his foot in his mouth but he’s bright and he’s experienced and he calls it like he sees it. He answered the questions with facts. Ryan answered with stump speech quotes and fantastical figures.
I liked that Biden made the point that the Afghan troops were going to have to “step up” and defend their own country. Ryan wanted the option of leaving our troops there. THIS from the personal responsibility party?
I liked Biden on the Medicare question. He had his say on that spot on. Ryan looked like he was going to faint. I swear he must have swallowed 8 or more glasses of water during the debate.
The most telling part for me though was the question of Biden and Ryan’s Catholic faith. This is where I have to say, JOE, you are on the side of women. Yes, you believe that life begins at conception because that is what your church teaches you, just as Ryan does. But, you will not impose your faith on others. You think women and their doctors should decide. RYAN, on the other hand, personally opposes abortion for ANY reason but because he is running as VP and Romney has said that he would allow exceptions for rape, incest or the life of the mother, then he says stands behind that. He also said that the question of abortion shouldn’t have been left up to “unelected” judges but should be up to the congress. I have a world of trouble with that but I will say that they seem very happy when “unelected” judges rule their way. Plus the fact that Romney and Ryan know full well that one more SCOTUS appointment in their favor and Roe V Wade will be overturned. Then I suppose they will be very happy with judges being judges and ruling on the things the judicial branch was created for. Congress passes laws. They do not judge laws.
One other note about the Catholic church. Yes they believe in no abortion and no birth control other than “natural family planning” which only has a chance at working if the woman’s cycle is as regular as a Swiss watch, BUT, Ryan has come under fire from the bishops for not practicing his faith when it comes to the poor and the sick. The, least of these that Jesus spoke of. Frankly, if Ryan wants to forgo birth control and his wife never chooses an abortion, that’s great. He’s free to practice his faith. He cannot and should not force that faith on others.
All in all, I think Biden knew what he was doing and gave straight answers. Ryan, just kept repeating lines from speeches. It didn’t work except with the very rabid of the far right. I had the debate on Current TV just as I did for the first presidential debate because they were running the twitter feed scroll real time on the bottom of the screen. The tweets from the Ryan supporters were just pitiful. Things like Biden looks at his papers-Ryan looks into the camera and is sincere. Ryan looks youthful- Joe is old. Well, Joe IS OLD. Joe IS old and he has been around long enough that he sat in on talks with Reagan and Tip. He knows what was said during those times that Ryan was referencing and trying to use as a talking point for reaching across the aisle. The rest of the Ryan tweets were just Limbaughesque.
Biden schooled Ryan tonight. It won’t do Ryan any good. But I hope it does undecided voters and the rest of us good.
Peace
