Ayn Rand devotee Paul Ryan is often praised as being a mainstream and serious leader.
But the centerpiece of Ryan’s ideology — his budget plan that hands over seniors’ health care to insurance companies that we’ve dubbed “Medicare for None” — is anything but moderate.
A July 2011 CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found that just 35 percent of American adults supported Ryan’s plan (even 54 percent of self-described conservative voters disapproved).
Let’s put that into perspective by looking at some progressive policies that have much more support. Take, for example, marijuana legalization. Although the issue is often portrayed as fringe in the mainstream media, an October 2011 poll found that half of Americans support legalizing the use of marijuana. You’d have to go back to 2003 to find the cause to be as unpopular as Ryan’s budget plan is today.
Here are a few other progressive policies that are much more popular than Ryan’s proposal:
- Ai??Medicare for All:Ai??Ryan wants to end Medicare as we know it by eliminating itsAi??guaranteedAi??benefit and handing it over to the insurance companies. But Americans actually really like this single-payer health care system for theAi??elderly and want to expand it to everyone. In 2007, the Associated Press and Yahoo asked Americans if we should “adopt a universal health insurance program in which everyone is covered under a program like Medicare that is run by the government and financed by taxpayers.” 65 percent of Americans agreed that we should. Majorities of Americans have continued to support the idea since then.
- Marriage Equality:Ai??Romney and Ryan oppose marriage equality, but Americans back it. A June 2012 CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found that 54 percent of Americans want the government to recognize gay and lesbian marriages as valid.
- Public Financing of Campaigns:Ai??The Romney-Ryan ticket loves money in politics, with the formerAi??MassachusettsAi??governor vocally supporting the Citizens United decision. But Americans have had enough. Bipartisan polling conducted in 2009 found that two-third of voters support some form of public financing that would let candidates for office bypass the need of fundraising with Big Money interests — including 64 percent of Republicans.
In the coming days, Romney and Ryan will continue to portray their “Medicare for None” budget plan as mainstream and moderate, but the numbers don’t lie. Their plan exists on the far-right of the American political spectrum.
The broad support for progressive priorities like marriage equality and Medicare for All is telling. America is a progressive nation, and Americans don’t want to see a shredding of social insurance and the safety net that the Romney-Ryan ticket is proposing. Whether America gets what it wants is up to the smart and persistent organizing of bold progressives all over the country.
The other important point is that marijuana legalization — especially medical marijuana — is much, much more popular than President Obama. Perhaps he’d do well to stop breaking prior campaign pledges (and pissing off young voters in swing state Colorado, for example) by finally telling his administration to stop attacking state-legal medical marijuana providers.
Tom got it right about Obama; instead of change we got spare change and broken promises
Too bad stoners don’t vote
They do vote. They just don’t vote for jerks who lie to them about denying sick people access to medicine. Paging Mr. Axelrod…
I read about Ryan’s voucher substitute for Medicare with the added burden of 65 year old people going to private, for profit insurance companies to supplement. What I haven’t seen in the media is that they are also promising to repeal Obamacare on day 1. Without the protection Obamacare affords us for pre-existing conditions, who would be able to get insurance at age 65 with 2 or 3 pre-existing conditions? And how much do people think it would cost . . .if they could get it?
After decades of failed policies to curb drug use, at the loss of many basic liberties, it amazes me that only 42% of the population supports legalization of marijuana. And the Obama administration has been more aggressive going after medical marijuana here in California than the Bush administration.
I see so many one-sided comments about Obama not keeping promises, backtracking, whatever. But I also see recalcitrant opposition willing to lie, cheat, exaggerate to make sure there are pitfalls, dead traps, tar pits to get caught in, anything. Just so long as anything proposed by Dems are stopped no matter who gets hurt so long as their own pockets are lined and their constituents are protected.
As a registered nurse, I believe The Affordable Care Act is a good start, but we will not have true health care reform until caps are place on the amount that can be charged by health services providers–including Big Pharma, durable medical equipment firms, and health insurance companies. The Ryan-Romney team is friends with all of these entities, so you know they will never rein them in.
President Obama knew that he would not be able to pass a new health care reform legislation and regulate the industry at the same time, given the stance of the Republican Congress, so he created a bill that would pass in that political climate. During his Administration, he also accomplished several other tasks:
1) President Obama took office in the middle of a financial crisis and took action to get the economy moving again. If Congressional Republicans had passed President Obama’s bills dealing with jobs, we would now be in much better economic shape.
2) He pushed through new fuel efficiency standards that will nearly double vehicles’ fuel economy by 2025.
3) By doubling funding for Pell Grants and eliminating billions of dollars in federal subsidies to banks acting as middlemen, President Obama has made a college education more accessible and affordable for millions of students.
4) The President responsibly ended the war in Iraq and is committed to bringing the war in Afghanistan to a responsible end.
5) Under the Obama administration, people who have gone into public service and work in fields like teaching, nursing, and the armed forces will have their federal student loans forgiven after 10 years if they make their payments on time.
6) President Obama repealed “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” LGBT men and women can now serve our country without hiding who they are.
7) Under President Obama’s watch, the Environmental Protection Agency has enacted the first national standards for mercury emissions and other dangerous air toxins from coal and oil-fired power plants.
8) President Obama signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act into law, which helps workers file claims against age and gender wage discrimination.
9) President Obama signed the Credit CARD Act into law, which protects young people from credit card company abuse.
As an RN, I’m concerned about federal prosecution of legitimate medical marijuana operations. I think it behooves all of us who believe in the efficacy of marijuana and initiatives for legalization to work diligently in our own communities toward a more effective dialogue with our legislators toward legalization.
Progressives who are truly progressive must get the point and stay on it. Those who don’t are detractors or worse, ignorant. The ignorant are easily detracted. The subject here is public support for issues or policies, specifically those of would be vice president Ryan. I find this irony of public servant bucking public will to be indicative of current government policy but even more so of the republican candidates and party. It appears clear to me that there are other motives besides public will, that drive policy. Most of the time these other motives are well hidden and not debated. Is it because of financially motivated concerns that benefit our so called public servants? You bet it is! Two words that have become synonymous are crime and politics and it’s about time the veil of secrecy is lifted so all can see the evil within.