Submitted by Elaine Magliaro, Guest Blogger
In an article for Huffington Post, Miles Mogulescu wrote the following about Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan:
He comes off like a Midwest choir boy who grew up busing tables and just wants to help unemployed 20-year-olds get jobs and move out of their parents’ house. This ‘aw shucks’ act may play well among heartland voters who could swing the election.
But Ryan lies like a hooker telling her john that she loves him. And given a media that tends to cover the horse race rather than the substance, there’s a good chance he could lie his way all the way to the vice presidency.
Mogulescu—among others—has written and spoken about the number of inaccuracies and untruths included in the speech that Paul Ryan gave at the Republican National Convention last week.
Sally Kohn of Fox News wrote:
…to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to facts, Ryan’s speech was an apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech. On this measure, while it was Romney who ran the Olympics, Ryan earned the gold.
The good news is that the Romney-Ryan campaign has likely created dozens of new jobs among the legions of additional fact checkers that media outlets are rushing to hire to sift through the mountain of cow dung that flowed from Ryan’s mouth. Said fact checkers have already condemned certain arguments that Ryan still irresponsibly repeated.
In Paul Ryan’s breathtakingly dishonest speech, James Downie wrote:
Yesterday, at an ABC News panel, Mitt Romney pollster Neil Newhouse said, “We’re not going to let our campaign be dictated by fact-checkers.” Wednesday’s speech from Paul Ryan certainly took that disdain for truth to heart, as his address was filled with falsehoods from start to finish.
Pat Garofalo of ThinkProgress wrote that Ryan’s speech “was riddled with lies.”
Matthew Dowd, a former chief political strategist for George W. Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004, also criticized Ryan for the falsehoods included in his speech on ABC’s This Week. He said that “at some point, the truth should matter”:
DOWD: Paul Ryan, what he did in his speech, I think so stretched the truth. And I like Paul Ryan, have a lot of great respect for Paul Ryan, but the elements that he said about closing the GM plant which closed before Barack Obama took President [sic], about the Simpson-Bowles bill which he opposed and then all of a sudden he faults Barack Obama for. At some point, the truth should matter…He was trying to convey that Barack Obama was responsible for the closing of that GM plant and that isn’t true.
Aviva Shen provided us with this list of what she thinks are “Ryan’s most glaring lies from his speech”:
1. “A downgraded America.” Ryan blamed the president for the nation’s credit downgrade in August 2011 after Republicans threatened to allow the government to default on its debt for the first time in history. But the ratings agency explicitly blamed “Republicans saying that they refuse to accept any tax increases as part of a larger deal.”
2. “More debt than any other president before him, and more than all the troubled governments of Europe combined.” Romney has made the almost identical claim, that Obama has amassed more debt “as almost all of the other presidents combined.” But their math doesn’t add up: when Obama took office, the national debt was $10.626 trillion. It has increased to slightly above $15 trillion.
3. Shuttered General Motors plant is “one more broken promise.” Ryan described a GM plant that closed down in his hometown, Janesville, Wisconsin, and blamed Obama for breaking his promise to keep the plant open when he visited during his campaign. But Obama never made that promise, and the plant shut down in December 2008, before Obama even took office.
4. Obama “did exactly nothing” on Bowles-Simpson. Ryan said, “He created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing.” In fact, Ryan was instrumental in sabotaging the commission, leading the other House Republicans in voting against the plan.
5. “$716 billion, funneled out of Medicare by President Obama.” Ryan’s favorite lie is a deliberate distortion of Obamacare’s savings from eliminating inefficiencies. Furthermore, Ryan’s own plan for Medicare includes these savings. Romney has vowed to restore these cuts, which would render the trust fund insolvent 8 years ahead of schedule.
6. “The greatest of all responsibilities is that of the strong to protect the weak.” Ryan closed the speech with an invocation of social responsibility, saying, “The truest measure of any society is how it treats those who cannot defend or care for themselves.” However, numerous clergy members have condemned Ryan’s budget plan as “cruel,” and “an immoral disaster” because of its devastating cuts in social programs the poor and sick rely on. Meanwhile, Ryan would give ultra-rich individuals and corporations $3 trillion in tax breaks.
Paul Krugman feels that Ryan’s “big lie” is his claim that “a Romney-Ryan administration will protect and strengthen Medicare.” Krugman claims that it would actually “kill the program.”
I understand that politicians often fudge the truth, leave out details, take their opponents’ comments out of context, etc., in order to win votes. But one “untruth” that Ryan told recently in an interview with Hugh Hewitt confounded me. Ryan claimed that he had once run a marathon in under three hours.
Excerpt from Ryan’s interview with Hewitt:
HH: That’s okay. Hey, in high school, what did you do in high school? Were you a speech and debate guy? Were you a bandie? What were you?
PR: No, I was student government and athletics, honor society, you know, that kind of thing. I was kind of a combination. I was class president my junior year, I was the school board rep my senior year. I lettered in varsity, you know, my first year in high school, mostly soccer and track. I was a distance runner and a soccer player. So kind of well-rounded. I can’t, I can play a cowbell. That’s about it for instruments.
HH: Are you still running?
PR: Yeah, I hurt a disc in my back, so I don’t run marathons anymore. I just run ten miles or yes.
HH: But you did run marathons at some point?
PR: Yeah, but I can’t do it anymore, because my back is just not that great.
HH: I’ve just gotta ask, what’s your personal best?
PR: Under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something.
HH: Holy smokes. All right, now you go down to Miami University…
PR: I was fast when I was younger, yeah.
Well, it turns out that Ryan has run but one marathon in his life—and that was when he was just twenty years old and in college. He did not run that marathon in under three hours as he had claimed. He did—in fact—run the marathon in just over four hours.
So why, I wonder, would someone who is running for vice president and who knows the press will likely pick up on everything he says lie about something so trivial?
It appears that James Fallows of The Atlantic wonders too. He wrote: “the mystery in this case is why someone just stepping into the spotlight of national attention would risk telling an (a) entirely unnecessary and (b) very easily disprovable lie. It doesn’t make “normal” political sense, where you lie to get out of a jam, or because you think you can’t be caught. ..”
He continued:
We’ve all exaggerated to make ourselves look better. You’ve probably done it. I know I have. (Let’s not think about the whole category of “what happens on first dates.”) But out of prudent self-protection, most people have a sense of “situational awareness” when it comes to self-burnishment. Somebody you’re talking to in a bar, and you’re never likely to see again, is in one category. Somebody interviewing you for national broadcast is in another. That is what I’m having a hard time fully understanding.
You’re on a nationwide show. You’re one of the handful of people most prominently in the national eye. You know that everything you say is going to be recorded, parsed, and examined. And still — last week, not at a freshman mixer or in a Jaycees speech somewhere — you happily reel off a claim that is impressive enough to get people’s interest and admiration, and specific enough to be easily testable.
I don’t understand this. I can understand, while obviously deploring, why Bill Clinton brazenly said “I did not have sexual relations with that woman” on national TV. It was a flat-out lie that to him might have seemed necessary to his survival. I can understand the little embellishments politicians and everyone else make — especially when these occur in early days of the campaign, or in odd corners where you think no one is listening.
That’s why I mention it one more time: This doesn’t fit the normal model of “efficient” political or human truth-shaving. It was a lie that was totally unnecessary — if he’d said he had run a five-hour marathon, we’d still know that he’s physically very fit. And telling it in his current state of 24/7-scrutiny and prominence was either unbelievably naive (“no one will ever double-check this”) or plain reckless (“I don’t care if they do”). Unless we get into Jonah Lehrer territory — that is, the realm of people who self-destructively take needless risks with the truth — I just am amazed.
Are you amazed too? What do you think about Paul Ryan’s marathon claim?
SOURCES
Lie or Mistake? Paul Ryan’s Marathoning Past (The New Yorker)
How Fast Can Paul Ryan Run? (The New Yorker)
The Real Mystery of Paul Ryan’s Marathon Time by James Fallows (The Atlantic)
Three ‘Post-Truth’ Related Items (The Atlantic)
Paul Ryan Has Not Run Sub-3:00 Marathon (Runner’s World)
Paul Ryan Interview (Hugh Hewitt)
Did Paul Ryan Really Run a Sub-Three-Hour Marathon? No, He Didn’t. (Slate)
Paul Ryan: Lying Liar (Huffington Post)
Paul Ryan Address: Convention Speech Built On Demonstrably Misleading Assertions (Huffington Post)
Fox News: Paul Ryan’s Speech “Greatest Number of Blatant Lies” (Daily Kos)
Paul Ryan’s speech in 3 words (Fox News)
Bush Chief Political Strategist: Paul Ryan’s Speech Was Full Of Lies (ThinkProgress)
6 Worst Lies In Paul Ryan’s Speech (ThinkProgress)
Paul Ryan’s breathtakingly dishonest speech (Washington Post)
Facts Take a Beating in Acceptance Speeches (New York Times)
The Medicare Killers (New York Times)
Ralph,
I guess we ARE making progress. I take it you agree that Ryan plays fast and loose with the facts. That was the point of my post.
@Elaine, so good, we are making some progress. From George H.W. Bush’s “read my lips, no new taxes,” to Bill Clinton’s “I did not have sex with that woman,” to George W. Bush’s “weapons of mass destruction,” and on to Barack Obama’s “the Patient Care and Protection Act doesn’t involve more taxes”–we now recognize that ALL politicians lie. So while Rafflaw, the Leftist, will turn a blind eye to Obama’s rampant, material, and RELEVANT lies, he will focus with great zeal and enthusiam on Ryan’s trivial Marathon lie. But that is the nature of things. Hard-core Democrats as well as Republicans engage in the same mindless trivia that Rafflaw focuses on–while ignoring the REAL and very DANGEROUS lies told by both candidates.
Turning to the issue of why Ryan would lie about his Marathon run–trivial as the lie may be, you must go back to the underlying principle that I’ve already explicated; i.e., that ALL politicians lie. Yes, Ryan is busy lying about a number of topics, as is Romney. But the SAME is the case with Obama and Biden–who are also lying every which way to Sunday. You should understand that while on the campaign trail, all of the candidates are so busy lying to the public that exaggeration about one’s “accomplishments” is de rigueur. Do the candidates care if they get caught? Not really. Just as all politicians lie, they are also skilled at covering it up, explaining it away, and employing other excuses, and tactics of diversion.
So, if all candidates lie, why should I vote for either one? Good question. Unfortunately, in today’s politics, you don’t have much of a choice. The system does not ALLOW an honest candidate, and in fact weeds them out very early in the game. Although polls don’t actually seem to test this, I believe that a vast percentage of Americans already understand and agree with everything I’ve said. And so it comes down to voting AGAINST someone, rather than FOR a particular candidate. So because the public was FED UP with Bush, and they looked at McCain as Bush III, they voted for Obama. Today, most Americans don’t see a real difference between Obama and Romney, and, in fact, there really isn’t much difference. They talk a different game, but they are both liberals, make no mistake about that. In fact, it is because Romney has not been able to sufficiently differentiate himself from Obama and his policies, that the race is as close as it is. There is more difference between Coke and Pepsi than between Romney and Obama.
Keyboard went out. It was a Gateway keyboard. Just replaced with an HP keyboard.
And now it’s time someone used a drill on his brain………………
I didn’t imply that Paul Ryan was the only politician who has ever lied. I said he lied about something that was trivial–his marathon time–and wondered why he lied about it. Why do you suppose he’d lie about something so trivial?
==========
How about Ryan saying Obama said something when he was the President when he wasn’t the President yet.
Elaine,
Mr. Ryan no longer knows the difference between the truth and reality.
Ralph,
Two excerpts from my post:
“I understand that politicians often fudge the truth, leave out details, take their opponents’ comments out of context, etc., in order to win votes.”
“So why, I wonder, would someone who is running for vice president and who knows the press will likely pick up on everything he says lie about something so trivial?”
I didn’t imply that Paul Ryan was the only politician who has ever lied. I said he lied about something that was trivial–his marathon time–and wondered why he lied about it. Why do you suppose he’d lie about something so trivial?
I had some friends in Birmingham, England 25 years ago when I was a human, long before my dog life. They had a great cheer that they would give out when someone of their friends came into their neighborhood bar. When I see this smiling Ryan I think of these folks. CHEERS BIG EARS!
This schmuck makes Dan Quale look like a saint. Saint Bernard, but Ryan is dumb to lie like this. He will be front and center in this campaign. The Willard and Big Ears. Cheers.
Elaine,
Great topic. Mr. Ryan and Mr. Romney have a real problem with the truth.
@Elaine & bettykath: So your point is that Ryan lied or was misleading? Well then, welcome to reality. I have some news for you, having been around the block more than a couple of times: ALL POLITICIANS LIE. Neither the Republicans nor the Democrats hold a monopoly on lies, fibs, distortions, etc. However, the Marathon business is surely the most trivial thing I have heard about in some time. For more relevant lies, Obama is the current king. Here’s just a little sample. To give you a complete accounting of Obama’s lies, even in condensed form, I would need at least 60 pages to write them out for you. http://obamalies.net/obama-denies-healthcare-is-a-new-tax-on-all-americans.html
Paul Ryan is a fraud. Typical nonsense.
Yes elaine they do…. What Obama is for….. Ryan was for…. But now he is against….
When I got fired by the IRS I sent Paul Ryan a letter requesting his assistance. He sent me a reply letter stating that due to ethical considerations with regard to federal employees he couldn’t get involved.
He said in his reply letter that he hopes I understand. I sent him a reply saying yes, I understand.
Paul Ryan’s Labor Day Promise to American Workers: Candy and a Sports Schedule
John Nichols on September 1, 2012
http://www.thenation.com/blog/169695/paul-ryans-labor-day-promise-american-workers-candy-and-sports-schedule
Excerpt:
Technically, Ryan has represented Janesville in the US House of Representatives since 1999. But the House Budget Committee chairman’s real designation has always been Paul Ryan, R-Wall Street.
Janesville used to be a major manufacturing center. Now it has fallen on hard times. Like so many manufacturing communities in the Great Lakes region, it has been rocked by the outsourcing of US jobs. That’s not Ryan’s concern, however. Since his election to the House in 1998, Ryan has voted for free-trade pacts —including the extension of most-favored-nation trading status to China—that have been absolutely devastating to his hometown and other communities in his southeastern Wisconsin district.
So how has Ryan kept getting re-elected? He’s a smart politician. At election time, he spends millions of dollars collected from Wall Street speculators and CEOs to tell his constituents that he really is determined to save their jobs—or, at the very least, to find them new jobs. He cuts lovely television ads on the assembly lines of the factories that remain in operation and promises to fight for working families.
Ryan has, of course, been practicing the age-old political art of fooling some of the people some of the time.
The truth is that Paul Ryan has no interest in fighting for working families—in Janesville or anywhere else in the United States.
In 2008—during the presidency of George W. Bush—General Motors announced that the sprawling plant that had been Janesville’s top employer for nine decades was closing. Thousands of jobs were lost.
Unemployment soared. Working families in Janesville and surrounding Rock County are still struggling.
What was Ryan’s response? He proposed schemes to gamble Social Security funds in the stock market and to gut Medicare and Medicaid.
Paul Ryan has never offered anything of value or consequence to the laid-off workers of Janesville… until Labor Day, 2011.
As he marched with other politicians in the Janesville Labor Day parade, the congressman was confronted by Wisconsin workers who were struggling with high unemployment and bleak prospects. A man was videotaped asking what his representative planned to do to aid Ryan’s unemployed constituents.
“So what should I have to work for to get a job?” the man asked. “Should I have to work the same wages as in China? Should I have to work for $1 an hour?”
Ryan tried to brush his questioner off. But when the man persisted, Ryan said, “C’mon, we’re all here to have a good time.”
When he was reminded that it was Labor Day, which would seem to be an appropriate time to discuss unemployment and the condition of workers, Ryan finally offered something:
“Would you like some candy?” Ryan asked. “Would you like a Packer-Badger schedule?”
Candy or a sports schedule.
That’s all job-seeking Wisconsinites ever got from Paul Ryan.
And that’s all job-seeking Americans will ever get from him.
Everybody Does It
By Paul Krugman
9/2/12
http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/02/everybody-does-it/
Excerpt:
That seems to be the new Beltway line, now that the shock over the lie-fest in Tampa has died down a bit. At the Washington Post (except at Ezra’s blog), at Politico, and so on, it’s excuse time — sure, Ryan and Romney told a few whoppers, but isn’t that just how politics is?
It’s not hard to understand why this is happening. For one thing, there’s the views-differ-on-shape-of-planet ethos that has imbued political journalism for many years now. On top of that, a lot of people in DC have major reputational capital at stake. After all the puff pieces on Paul Ryan, after all the op-eds praising his truthfulness and responsibility, after not one, not two, but three Pete Peterson-backed deficit-hawk organizations gave Ryan an award for fiscal responsibility, admitting that he’s actually a big low-body-fat liar would be extremely painful.
Ralph,
I didn’t read much of anything about Republicans v Democrat, just all about Paul Ryan. Considering that the topic is Ryan and his truthfulness (or lack thereof), can you provide information to dispute what was written?
Ralph,
So, Ralph, do you have any opinion about Paul Ryan’s marathon claim? Did you think there were any inaccuracies or untruths included in his convention speech?
A typical submoronic article written by a Leftist. (Can a Leftist write any other kind?) So, of course, it all boils down to: “Republicans bad, Democrats good.” Or, “Conservatives bad, LIberals good.” Sure, the details may change, but the message and even the pseudo-“factual” discussion–and I use even that term very, very loosely–remains the same.
Paul Ryan’s marathon lie
He’s used to the media letting him get away with outlandish claims. But this time he went too far
BY JOAN WALSH
9/2/12
http://www.salon.com/2012/09/02/paul_ryans_marathon_lie/
Excerpt:
At first I thought the flap over Paul Ryan claiming he ran a marathon in under three hours was silly. (No, I’m not a runner.) Before I read his remarks to the worshipful Hugh Hewitt, it seemed possible that he’d either mis-remembered or mis-spoken. Anyway, Ryan is telling so many destructive political lies on the campaign trail, I thought, why does it matter if he exaggerates his running prowess?
Then I read the interview. He neither mis-spoke nor mis-remembered; he boasted about the feat with specificity and swagger.
Asked if he still ran marathons (plural), Ryan answered “Yeah, but I can’t do it anymore, because my back is just not that great.” When fanboy Hewitt interjected, “I’ve just gotta ask, what’s your personal best?” Ryan fatefully answered “Under three, high twos. I had a two hour and fifty-something.” The adoring Hewitt exclaimed “Holy smokes!” To which Ryan humbly answered, “I was fast when I was younger, yeah.”
Of course the world now knows that Ryan ran exactly one marathon, and he completed it in just over four hours, not under three. Runners World got the scoop, because marathoners know that Ryan’s claim, if true, was extraordinary. Ryan admitted he got his time wrong in a statement to Runners World, noting “The race was more than 20 years ago.”
So why would Ryan lie? He’s incredibly fit. No one doubts that he does a grueling P90X workout every day. A Google search for “paul ryan shirtless” yields almost 2.2 million results. Why would he feel he had to embellish his remarkable athletic achievements?
Because he thought he could.
Ryan is obviously evil incarnate and unfit for public office. I have NEVER heard of a politcian embellishing or dissembling like this!!!!
“I’m shocked to hear gambling is going on in this establishment.” Captain Renault