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Who's Going to Buy/Read Paul Ryan's New Book?

Will you read Paul Ryan's Book?

  • Total voters
    23
ChezC3

ChezC3

Relentless Thinking Fury
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http://www.amazon.com/The-Way-Forward-Renewing-American/dp/1455557560/ref=sr_tr_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408560176&sr=8-1&keywords=paul+ryan

I'm not a real big fan of Paul Ryan myself. I think he's an Establishment player who derides the government, calls for less government, all the while never holding a job outside the government.

Having said that, he's here, he's a media darling, and he is a player. So, I just ordered his book and hope to God that it is more interesting than I fear...

Who else has bought/will buy?

What do you think of him?

Is he a contender?

*** Some autofill nonsense happened with the poll, the first choice is simply "Yes"
 
Not I. While I have no faith or love for Obama or the Democrats, I equally have no love for the religious reich and the Republicans. Both parties need to chart an entirely new course before I'll really be interested in what they have to say.
 
Cephus said:
Not I. While I have no faith or love for Obama or the Democrats, I equally have no love for the religious reich and the Republicans. Both parties need to chart an entirely new course before I'll really be interested in what they have to say.
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I tend to agree, (minus the religious bashing BS of course)but I always want to give them an ear, if for no other reason than to know what to expect and see precisely where they went wrong.
 
I don't need to read his book, I already know that he's an Ayn Rand ditto-head and a long-time government employee who has no use for the government except making a living from it.
 
I will. I read all sorts of books by politicians....I like to get a glimpse into their minds. I actually like Ryan a lot. Met him a few times in 2012. Pretty neat guy.

Is he a contender? Not for 2016, but later, yes I think he may be.
 
I haven't the time. I still have yet to get through some of the memoirs and materials put out by Bush administration officials.
 
Fiddytree said:
I haven't the time. I still have yet to get through some of the memoirs and materials put out by Bush administration officials.
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did you make time for Krauthammer?
 
ChezC3 said:
did you make time for Krauthammer?
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As he is on my list of folks I research on spare time, I have put him on my list. I have watched the Fox News exclusive documentary on Kraut regarding the memoir. I thought it was similar to Ben Wattenberg's Fighting Words (which was a worthy read, as was his complimentary documentary-memoir).

Right now I am doing completely unrelated policy research.
 
Fiddytree said:
As he is on my list of folks I research on spare time, I have put him on my list. I have watched the Fox News exclusive documentary on Kraut regarding the memoir. I thought it was similar to Ben Wattenberg's Fighting Words (which was a worthy read, as was his complimentary documentary-memoir).

Right now I am doing completely unrelated policy research.
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Ah, hehe, I understand, you simply haven't come to grips yet that you must sleep less and read more... :lol:

Thanks for putting up that comparison, I haven't read it, but it will be put on the list.
 
ChezC3 said:
Ah, hehe, I understand, you simply haven't come to grips yet that you must sleep less and read more... :lol:
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No, trust me, I had. Just after the intense travel, I cut back and have been trying to get healthy again, mixed with research and writing. ;)

Thanks for putting up that comparison, I haven't read it, but it will be put on the list.
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Kraut's book seems to be a collection of writings, correct? In that case, for about 20 years now, the default assumption was that you would read Irving Kristol's first collection "Neoconservatism: Autobiography of an Idea" (more recently, the second collection entitled "The Neoconservative Persuasion"). I would also suggest digging back through Daniel Patrick Moynihan's "Miles to Go" and "The Norman Podhoretz Reader."

With regard to Paul Ryan's poverty plan, Daniel Patrick Moynihan would once again be of interest. His "Maximum Feasible Misunderstanding: Community Action in the War on Poverty" and "The Politics of a Guaranteed Income: The Nixon Administration and the Family Assistance Plan" and the "Miles to Go" text would be an interesting sparring session.
 
Fiddytree said:
No, trust me, I had. Just after the intense travel, I cut back and have been trying to get healthy again, mixed with research and writing. ;)



Kraut's book seems to be a collection of writings, correct? In that case, for about 20 years now, the default assumption was that you would read Irving Kristol's first collection "Neoconservatism: Autobiography of an Idea" (more recently, the second collection entitled "The Neoconservative Persuasion"). I would also suggest digging back through Daniel Patrick Moynihan's "Miles to Go" and "The Norman Podhoretz Reader."

With regard to Paul Ryan's poverty plan, Daniel Patrick Moynihan would once again be of interest. His "Maximum Feasible Misunderstanding: Community Action in the War on Poverty" and "The Politics of a Guaranteed Income: The Nixon Administration and the Family Assistance Plan" and the "Miles to Go" text would be an interesting sparring session.
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All that my be a bit too much NeoCon for me to stomach..,:lol:

Yes, "Things That Matter" essentially could be read like a compilation of essays, if you open up to a chapter in the middle, you're not going to miss anything, each one kinda stands alone while the different parts of the book being divided into different themes.

As poverty plans and all of that is concerned I try to find key ingredients which are relevant and realistic. Ryan has a tendency to eschew the latter at times, but hopefully the book will give a better "feel" for what his vision is than a policy paper.
 
Paul Ryan is one of the few Congressmen or Senators who has a complete grasp on the budget.
I don't always agree with his priorities, but am glad he's taking over Ways and Means from the retiring Dave Camp.
He knows how tough it will be from his own side of the aisle.

His agreement with Sen. Murray last December took months of secret negotiations because of D.C. leaks.
At that, neo-cons from both parties are preventing a solution to the Veteran's pension and sabotaged several billion in savings .
 
ChezC3 said:
I tend to agree, (minus the religious bashing BS of course)but I always want to give them an ear, if for no other reason than to know what to expect and see precisely where they went wrong.
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No, the religion is one major reason why the Republican Party is such a disaster. They clearly have no interest in representing the American people as a whole, only those with a particular religious bent. Of course, someone like Ryan, he doesn't think that there's anything wrong with the Republican Party, except maybe that they're not quite religious enough, although as a Catholic and not a fundamentalist Protestant, I might give him the benefit of the doubt.

We all know where they went wrong, unfortunately, they have no interest in fixing it.
 
Cephus said:
No, the religion is one major reason why the Republican Party is such a disaster. They clearly have no interest in representing the American people as a whole, only those with a particular religious bent. Of course, someone like Ryan, he doesn't think that there's anything wrong with the Republican Party, except maybe that they're not quite religious enough, although as a Catholic and not a fundamentalist Protestant, I might give him the benefit of the doubt.

We all know where they went wrong, unfortunately, they have no interest in fixing it.
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Rubbish. The reason the GOP is in such disarray is their economic policies. Obama and the like didn't get elected because gays weren't allowed to marry or that abortion is an abomination they lost because of their support and their policies which on the surface seem fair and balanced, are great in theory, but at root only help the upper class and rich. The bailout of corporations, the idea that corporations are people all that BS, THAT is what cost them because THAT crap is what sent the middle, the independents, the fence sitters running full steam to the Left.

It is completely fallacious to think that the GOP's problem, that the reason why they're in disarray is due to cultural and social issues.

It's -- to quote Carville -- "the economy, stupid."
 
ChezC3 said:
Rubbish. The reason the GOP is in such disarray is their economic policies. Obama and the like didn't get elected because gays weren't allowed to marry or that abortion is an abomination they lost because of their support and their policies which on the surface seem fair and balanced, are great in theory, but at root only help the upper class and rich. The bailout of corporations, the idea that corporations are people all that BS, THAT is what cost them because THAT crap is what sent the middle, the independents, the fence sitters running full steam to the Left.

It is completely fallacious to think that the GOP's problem, that the reason why they're in disarray is due to cultural and social issues.

It's -- to quote Carville -- "the economy, stupid."
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The Republicans are just as fiscally liberal as the Democrats are. Obama got elected, at least the first time around, because he was black. Obama hasn't done a damn thing to fix the economy, nor will he. We need someone in office who is actually fiscally conservative, but that doesn't describe either the Republicans or the Democrats these days. Both of them are pretty much liberals with baggage.
 
Cephus said:
The Republicans are just as fiscally liberal as the Democrats are. Obama got elected, at least the first time around, because he was black. Obama hasn't done a damn thing to fix the economy, nor will he. We need someone in office who is actually fiscally conservative, but that doesn't describe either the Republicans or the Democrats these days. Both of them are pretty much liberals with baggage.
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You're confusing reality with perception. He got the Dem Candidacy because he was black. After the Bush travesty it was a given that the Dems would be in the WH. I voted for Obama in 08, but I was voting against McCain, not for Obama. They didn't know that when they voted for him, did they? And then you got McMillionaire talking of 49 or 51% or whatever the hell that was in a time where a great majority of Americans are in squalor, of course he was gonna get re-elected.

To the rest -- Yes, I agree.

I agree and have been saying for years, they're two sides to the same coin.

As it is, it's what we got. So, as an electorate we have to outsmart the buggards and put into place the right combination of people this means they can be far left, far right, moderate, Estab, Corp Dem, et al, individually but when forced together, they might just do some good in spite of themselves.
 
I will download it for free off the world wide web when somebody who paid for it makes it free.
 
`
I don't read anything by any politician who is in public office at the time. Now that I think of it, my reading list has never included even a politician who has retired.
 
Ryan5 said:
I will download it for free off the world wide web when somebody who paid for it makes it free.
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I applaud your staunch fiscal conservatism, Mr. Cheapskate.;)
 
ChezC3 said:
The Way Forward: Renewing the American Idea: Paul Ryan: 9781455557561: Amazon.com: Books

I'm not a real big fan of Paul Ryan myself. I think he's an Establishment player who derides the government, calls for less government, all the while never holding a job outside the government.

Having said that, he's here, he's a media darling, and he is a player. So, I just ordered his book and hope to God that it is more interesting than I fear...

Who else has bought/will buy?

What do you think of him?

Is he a contender?

*** Some autofill nonsense happened with the poll, the first choice is simply "Yes"
Click to expand...

No, but it's not necessarily a statement on Ryan. Books written by politicians are just usually boring reads, especially when they are clearly candidate promotional material. The exception is Presidential memoirs.
 
ChezC3 said:
You're confusing reality with perception. He got the Dem Candidacy because he was black. After the Bush travesty it was a given that the Dems would be in the WH. I voted for Obama in 08, but I was voting against McCain, not for Obama. They didn't know that when they voted for him, did they? And then you got McMillionaire talking of 49 or 51% or whatever the hell that was in a time where a great majority of Americans are in squalor, of course he was gonna get re-elected.
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That's entirely wrong. Democrats were pushing very, very hard in minority neighborhoods to get blacks and Hispanics to register to vote so they could vote for a black man. I have several friends who never voted in their lives but registered just to vote for Obama based on his skin color, because it was a "historic event", and have never voted again since. In fact, Obama's candidacy is largely responsible for anti-gay legislation like Prop 8's passage, the poor black and Hispanic communities who came out for Obama's skin color are also traditionally very religious and also voted for anti-gay hate.

Thanks Obama! I mean, I voted for Obama in '08 too, also voting against McCain. I didn't give a damn about Obama's skin color at all, he was the least detestable of the two options at the time.
 
Cephus said:
That's entirely wrong. Democrats were pushing very, very hard in minority neighborhoods to get blacks and Hispanics to register to vote so they could vote for a black man. I have several friends who never voted in their lives but registered just to vote for Obama based on his skin color, because it was a "historic event", and have never voted again since. In fact, Obama's candidacy is largely responsible for anti-gay legislation like Prop 8's passage, the poor black and Hispanic communities who came out for Obama's skin color are also traditionally very religious and also voted for anti-gay hate.

Thanks Obama! I mean, I voted for Obama in '08 too, also voting against McCain. I didn't give a damn about Obama's skin color at all, he was the least detestable of the two options at the time.
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No, that's not entirely wrong. The Clinton Machine had it in the bag. Then, came Obama. Independents and swing voters didn't vote en masse for Obama cause he was black that is completely absurd. I'm not saying NO ONE voted for him for that reason but not in the proportion which would make it the reason he won. It was the perfect storm.
 
ChezC3 said:
No, that's not entirely wrong. The Clinton Machine had it in the bag. Then, came Obama. Independents and swing voters didn't vote en masse for Obama cause he was black that is completely absurd. I'm not saying NO ONE voted for him for that reason but not in the proportion which would make it the reason he won. It was the perfect storm.
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Even Samuel L. Jackson says that's why he voted for Obama, because he was black. I think there's a lot more influence there than you're willing to give credit to. It was the grassroots, not the Democratic political machine that won.
 
Books written by presidential hopefuls generally tend to be structured less to educate than to play to a base and/or lay a foundation for one. Thus they are usually more self serving than really useful. A careful analysis of Obama's books, for instance, is to give the illusion of reasonableness and middle-of-the-road normalcy while containing all the right code phrases to reassure the black community that he wasn't an 'oreo' and his liberal base that he could be trusted to stick with the progressive doctrines. I haven't read Ryan's book but I can almost bet that it is structured to make him appear less-than-right-wing-radical while reassuring his base or intended base that he is trustworthy to hold the line on conservative values.

So will I go out and intentionally buy it? Probably not. But if it is offered as a daily deal or sale price on my Kindle? I would probably download it and read it while sitting in waiting rooms and such. I didn't answer the poll because there was no 'maybe' or 'other' option offered.
 
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