Paul Ryan channels philosopher John Locke

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Folks, can we please stay on topic and the mud slinging and insults?

Thank you,

Hefficide
ATS Moderator

I've noticed quite a few posters in this and other threads condemn Ryan for voting for NDAA and the 2001 Patriot Act. Because of these condemnations it might seem as though Ryan was out of the mainstream. Did you know that the Democrat candidate for VP also voted for both of these bills? Which one, if either, should we criticize?

Was he a maverick? Well, on the NDAA, 40 Republican senators voted for the bill, 45 Democrat senators voted for it (including Harry Reid). On NDAA in the House, the Democrats split 93-93.

On the Patriot Act in the Senate, the vote was 98-1. In the House, the vote was 356 to 65, with the Democrats voting for it by more than 2 to 1.

Targeting Ryan for his votes on these issues seems thoughtless and certainly doesn't make him any different on these votes than the Democrats and Joe Biden. Both bills passed with veto proof majorities in both chambers.

“But America is more than just a place…it’s an idea. It’s the only country founded on an idea. Our rights come from nature and God, not government. We promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes. This idea is founded on the principles of liberty, freedom, free enterprise, self-determination and government by consent of the governed.”

----Paul Ryan

I would like to look at the original quote.
There are many good things here. If it were true, then we would have a better place no question about it. The main problem I see here is the promise of equal opportunity. I was raised in a world like the Ward and June Cleaver family. What a wonderful opportunity I was given. Great life, schools, family, etc. You name it, I have a great life. Not everyone was given my start. I was born on second base, as the saying goes. Some kids are not even in the batter'sb ox.

The flaw in the statement above is the promise of equal opportunity. Not all American children are given the start I was given. One of the main divides in the country is that most Americans want this to be true but we disagree on how to get there.

Do we assume that all have equal chances and everyone is able to suceedw ithout assistance?
Do we assume that not all have equal chances and not everyone is able to succeedwi thout assistance?
Do we find a happy medium?


Oldre posters on the thread might remember that we used to have polititians who would work together.
EPA? republican prez....
Deregulate airlines? democrat prez....
many more examples as we all know.

(broke hand = poor typing.. sorry)

reply to post by bjax9er


Who cares?

Pretty words first uttered by a man two centuries dead -- in and of themselves -- do nothing for anyone in the present.

What Locke never anticipated was an unprecedented coordination of kleptocratic mercantilist oligarchs, who have systematically rigged the playing field so that productivity in the US is up 500% since 86, but wages are flat to 1981 in the aggregate.

I can quote poetry too. Whoopty.