Here's the thing about Paul Ryan

There are questions as to whether Paul Ryan was a genius pick for VP or a dud. There are arguments for and against.

Paul Ryan definitely appeals to the far right conservative tea party base. He wants to gut all government services while at the same time preserving tax breaks for the wealthy. His hero is Ayn Rand. He's led a completely obstructionist House and managed to stop President Obama from getting anything productive done since 2010, all the while blaming President Obama for getting nothing done.

I have no doubt that in many cases Ryan is exactly what he appears. He seems a dedicated family man. He has a beautiful young wife, 3 adorable young kids - all of whom he seems to love tremendously. He's a good Catholic (except for the whole caring for the poor part). He's a good looking wholesome guy next door (if the guy next door hated everything you stood for). All the photos that have been surfacing this week via social media portray him as just a regular guy. The guy who carts his babies around in a sling. Who played sports in high school. The prom king. The guy who tragically lost his dad at the age of 16 - and there is absolutely no sarcasm intended here - that is indeed a tragedy for any child. The guy who was voted biggest brown-noser of the Class of '88 (HA - love that!).

I'm sure that in addition to appealing to the far right, they thought he'd help with the ladies, too. After all, we girls love our handsome, dreamy legislators. I know that's how I choose a candidate, and I'm sure all my sisters-in-arms can agree that the cuter a candidate, the better he'll treat me. He's young, good looking, and loves cheese. Be still my heart.

Here's the thing, though.

Ryan is that guy. You know, the high school jock who smiles super pretty and talks sooo sweet, and then once you've given it up, treats you like crap and tells everyone in the whole school what a piece of trash whore you are.

He's a cosponsor of HR 212, which would bestow personhood upon fertilized eggs, even before implantation. Thus, pretty much making almost all forms of birth control illegal, as well as imposing a death sentence on women with ectopic pregnancies, with any life-threatening illnesses (including mental illness) and basically gutting our rights to any autonomy over our own bodies. Yes, the old incubator argument.

He wants to basically do away with Medicare as we know it - privatizing it and giving seniors vouchers worth approximately half their current benefits to purchase their own supplementary insurance. Which would be superdy duper, except aside from cutting benefits in half, he also wants to repeal the ACA, meaning that seniors would be subject to all sorts of pre-existing condition restrictions AND insurance would cost them more if they could even get it at all, only they'd be getting only half the benefit amount to assist them that they were previously receiving. Which they'd have to pay for using their now non-existent social security benefits, which for many is their only source of income.

He freely admits his hero is Ayn Rand, who would screw the poor and laud the rich until the cows came home.

He wants to do away with government programs that help the poor, elderly, and underserved, including Medicare and social security, yet he went to college on the social security benefits he received as a survivor when his father died. Apparently what's good for the goose is definitely NOT OK for the gander.

The Republican party has been challenging President Obama's experience for 4 years now - claiming he had no private sector experience (a lie, BTW). Yet Ryan went straight from college to an internship on Capitol Hill to a Congressional seat. That is an entire career in public service. Which, BTW, I think is admirable, except that when a Democrat (or a less wealthy person) does that, it's called a lack of experience and a detriment to their understanding of how the "real world" works. Additionally, they would have you believe that because Ryan drove a Wienermobile and waited tables during college he has worked as a professional in the private sector. Ummm... ok then.

Double standard, anyone?

NOT that I don't respect waiters and Weinermobiles. I waited tables in college. And I love wieners (heh). But that doesn't qualify me to be the next President of the United States... errr.... Vice President of the United States.

By all indicators, Ryan had an upbringing no different than yours or mine. Nice midwestern family. Popular high school kid. College on a shoestring budget. You would think that he would get it. But that's where it all ends. Ryan married into a boatload of money. I have no doubt that had he not, he might have some compassion left in him for those less fortunate. I'm sure that he believes that putting money on the plate every Sunday in church means he's doing his part to support the poor.

But here's the thing.

When you're a legislator, your responsibility to care for your constituents goes beyond the cash you give every Sunday. It goes beyond saying you're a nice religious family man. You don't get to toss your money in the plate and walk away because you did your part. Being a legislator means that you have to look outside your own worldview and understand the plight of all people. Because you serve all people. Not just handsome midwestern family men with adorable wives and children who give $10 every week just like you. You also serve the homeless guy on the corner, and the Wisconsin teacher who just got fucked by the state, and the guy who plunges out your toilet when your adorable kids toss their Hot Wheels cars down it.

What - that doesn't happen to you, too?

You're responsible for the poor, the elderly, the rich, the teachers, the doctors, the homeless, the plumber, the lady who sells you shirts at Sears, the lady who sells you shirts at Nieman Marcus, the cropduster, the farmer, the construction worker, and everyone in between. And when you're the VP, you're not only responsible for those in your state, you're responsible for the whole damn thing.

Yes, Ryan is a good guy next door from the midwest. He loves his wife and kids and church.

But he doesn't love Americans. And that's who he wants to represent.