Many campaign stops have an air of unreality about them, but Paul Ryan apparently has added a new wrinkle to the theater of politics, crashing a soup kitchen and food pantry in Youngstown, Ohio run by the St. Vincent De Paul Society. He pulled staffers, his wife and kids into the kitchen after all the cooking and clean had almost all been done, grabbed an apron and proceeded to rewash pots and pans, while talking about how he once "spent a Summer washing dishes". Given "Lyin' Ryan's" record I wouldn't be surprised if he's fudging that a bit. And anyway, a lot people I know, myself included, worked a few humble and dirty blue-collar type jobs in high school and college. But Ryan has spent the vast amount of his working life as a speechwriter and policy think-tank pet and then Congressman. This was "slumming" pure and simple, going into a predominately immigrant andAfricanAmerican area with a 24 percent poverty rateandthenpretending to clean and help out. It's as fake as Ronald Reagan's famed 1980 trip to the South Bronx of New York, a quick trip into a depressed economic area for a photo op, no more and no less.
(Below) from the "Politics Now" Los Angeles Times site:
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10/16/2012-- Republican vice presidential candidate Paul D Ryan is stirring up controversy with a photo-op at a Youngstown, Ohio, soup kitchen.Ryan, who spoke at a campaign event at nearby Youngstown State University Saturday, stopped by a local soup kitchen without permission, according to the charity’s president, and “did nothing” during his 15-minute stay.“They showed up there and they did not have permission,” Brian J. Antal, president of the Mahoning County St. Vincent De Paul Society, told CBS News. “They got one of the volunteers to open up the doors.”“The photo-op they did wasn’t even accurate. He did nothing. He just came in here to get his picture taken at the dining hall,” Antal, who was not present during Ryan's visit, said.Antal has since elaborated on his remarks, telling NBC News Tuesday that his accusation that Ryan contributed nothing was incomparisontothekitchen'sother volunteers."
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Mr Antel no doubt felt compelled to "elaborate" on his remarks since he cannot afford as a charity organizer to upset anyone who might give money to St. Vincent De Paul. That's why Team Ryan knew they were safe to blast on in uninvited and go slumming for the network cameras. After the staged cleaning in the kitchen Ryan and his damily did an awkward "meet and greet" with some Youngstown residents on his way out of the place. He even has the gall to compare their blighted lives to his happier one, coming as he does from a prominent Wisconsin furniture family in Janesville, one that was up and running a century before he was even born. Yeah, your family background has a lot in common with unemployed people at a soup kitchen. Way to scrub up, Soapy!
Now Doug, with all due respect we both know that all politicians seek out photo-ops and they all embellish the stories they have to tell about themselves and their past experience. It's all part of the game. :-) And if you were a Republican, you would just as easily find fault with something Joe Biden has done in order to gain publicity. Hmmm, you don't need to be a Republican to do that !
ReplyDeleteYou make some good points, Storm. I think this one was really cringe-worthy though. I think Ryan went too far here, especially showing up uninvited and crashing a non-political charity for the poor.
ReplyDeleteI don't pretend not to have a political bias, of course. ;-)
And yes anybody can find Joe Biden quite gaffe-prone!