Paul Ryan took the stage in Tampa and peppered his speech with lies, falsehoods distortions and exaggerations. There were many to choose from, but here are the five biggest lies.
1). Ryan accuses Obama of closing down the GM plant.
What Ryan Said, “A lot of guys I went to high school with worked at that GM plant. Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said: “I believe that if our government is there to support you … this plant will be here for another hundred years.” That’s what he said in 2008. Well, as it turned out, that plant didn’t last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day. And that’s how it is in so many towns today, where the recovery that was promised is nowhere in sight.”
The Truth: The GM plant closure was announced in June of 2008, when George W. Bush was president. Barack Obama took office in January 2009.
2). Ryan Claims Taxpayers Got Nothing Out of the Stimulus.
What Ryan Said, ” What did the taxpayers get out of the Obama stimulus? More debt. That money wasn’t just spent and wasted – it was borrowed, spent, and wasted. Maybe the greatest waste of all was time. Here we were, faced with a massive job crisis – so deep that if everyone out of work stood in single file, that unemployment line would stretch the length of the entire American continent. You would think that any president, whatever his party, would make job creation, and nothing else, his first order of economic business.”
The Truth: The stimulus added 3.3 million jobs, cut unemployment by 1.8%, and grew GDP by 4.1%. Nothing is what the country got when Ryan and his fellow Republican obstructed the American Jobs Act.
3). Ryan Accused Obama of Putting the Federal Government in Charge of Healthcare.
What Ryan Said, “Instead, we got a long, divisive, all-or-nothing attempt to put the federal government in charge of health care. Obamacare comes to more than two thousand pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees, and fines that have no place in a free country.”
The Truth: What would a Republican gathering be without a hat tip to the ugly step child of death panels? Obamacare doesn’t federalize healthcare. In fact, it does the opposite.
As FactCheck.org pointed out, “The health care law does set new minimum benefits packages, but that’s more a matter of coming between patients and their insurance companies, rather than patients and their doctors…he health care law doesn’t come close to establishing a government-run system like those of Britain or Canada. While Medicaid will be expanded to more people, most Americans will continue to get their insurance through a private carrier. To the dismay of many liberals, a proposal to include a government-run “public option” to private health insurance was dropped during the legislative process.”
4). Ryan Blames Obama for The Nation’s Downgraded Credit Rating.
What Ryan Said, ” It began with a perfect Triple-A credit rating for the United States; it ends with a downgraded America.”
The Truth: S&P blamed the downgrade on the political dysfunction caused by the Ryan led House on the debt ceiling, “We lowered our long-term rating on the U.S. because we believe that the prolonged controversy over raising the statutory debt ceiling and the related fiscal policy debate indicate that further near-term progress containing the growth in public spending, especially on entitlements, or on reaching an agreement on raising revenues is less likely than we previously assumed and will remain a contentious and fitful process.”
In short, Ryan is blaming President Obama for a crisis that he helped manufacture. If anyone is responsible for the downgrade, it is Paul Ryan and his fellow House Republicans.
5). Ryan Hints that Obama is a Socialist.
What Ryan Said, “None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us.”
The Truth: Ryan’s sly nod to the right wing talking point that Obama is some sort of secret socialist hides the fact that this president is the biggest taxcutter in American history. This is a president whose biggest policy achievement is a healthcare reform that will give private sector health insurance companies millions of new customers. Obama is a lot of things, but he is definitely not a socialist.
Ryan speech showed both why Romney chose him, and why he isn’t going to help the ticket. Romney chose Ryan because he can talk the talk the far right conservative backbone wants to hear. Ryan sent the crowd on the convention floor into euphoric joy with his claims that Obamacare is the root of all evil, and big spending Barack Obama is ruining the country with his secret socialism.
This kind of rhetoric only resonates with the Republican Party. Any non Republican tuning probably wondered what that teenage boy on stage was so darn mad about. That’s the other problem with Paul Ryan. He lacks gravitas. When you listen to Paul Ryan speak, you don’t hear leader of the free world. You hear a teenager railing against Mom and Dad because he can’t have the car tonight. This perception is only advanced by Ryan’s constant usage of his mother as a political human shield.
All told, the GOP’s big idea man(child) gave a speech that completely lacking in ideas. This was completely forgettable speech by a completely forgettable running on a completely forgettable ticket.




The Platzner Post
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 12:18 am
How many lies do I tell thee??? Let me count the ways!!! The Platzner Post Facebook, and Twitter https://www.facebook.com/ThePlatznerPost
loading...
Sheri
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 12:19 am
Thank you for your concise facts regarding this speech. I am forwarding everything like this I can find to my mom and sister so they will stop falling for the same rhetoric spewed over at Fox News. This is easy to read and clear to understand. THANK YOU!
loading...
Dan
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 12:23 am
Not true….. Good ole Wikipedia
In October 2008, GM announced Janesville Assembly would be largely idled December 23, 2008 when production of SUVs would end.[10] A skeleton crew continued to work at Janesville Assembly through June, 2009, completing the Janesville/Isuzu light truck contract.
loading...
majii
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 2:48 am
You scored zero rebuttal points! Please read more carefully. The decision to close the plant was made in 2008. Nothing you look up on Wikipedia or anywhere else changes the fact that President Obama didn’t MAKE the decision to close the plant in Ryan’s district as Ryan claimed. This means he’s lying.
loading...
Ruth
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 11:43 pm
Not only that, but if you listen to Paul Ryan quoting Obama, what Ryan says Obama promised was: “IF they had the government support they needed, THEN they could stay open a hundred years”.
Number one, that ain’t no promise to keep anything open. It’s a conditional statement; IF they had the requisite support, THEN they could stay open indefinitely.
And that would have been true – IF Paul Ryan and his assh*t teabagger buddies hadn’t conspired to make sure that Obama was stopped from getting anything done, no matter how badly the American people needed it, THEN that plant, and millions of other American jobs, might not have gone to third world sweat shops.
Of course, IF Paul Ryan wasn’t a conspiring traitor, THEN none of this would have happened – but then, Mitt wouldn’t be quite so rich.
loading...
Sally
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 3:29 am
And the President, then candidate, never said what Ryan asserts. He never promised to keep it open.
loading...
Benjamin
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 5:13 am
Dude, it is true. They STATED that they were closing, and they did. They only stayed open with a skeleton crew through 2009 to finish a contract by your writing, but the fact of the matter is, THEY DID SAY THEY WERE CLOSING ‘BEFORE’ Obama took office. Sheesh, get a grip man.
loading...
labman57
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 1:08 am
Ryan is relying on the tried and true tactics refined by Karl Rove and used by Republican politicians across America:
It matters little whether or not your talking points have any basis in fact. All that matters is whether you can SELL your political rhetoric to the electorate. And if you keep repeating the lie over and over again, eventually some constituents may decide that your disinformation must be true, or you would not keep repeating it.
loading...
sugapea
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 4:04 pm
It’s not just the ‘Rove-Lie’…
It’s The-Hitler-BIG-LIE.
FDR-1944 exposed the GOP on this BIG LIE many years ago!
Watch the clips of FDR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=a03BQvMlJHA#!
The GOP are now becoming exactly like the Nazi’s!
Hope Obama is bold enough to call-out Republican’s for what they’re doing!
loading...
Anne
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 1:38 am
Just because crazies like Cain, Palin, and Bachmann were not invited to speak doesn’t mean their regressive ideology has any less traction. Lying Ryan is an example of the GOP’s use of more rational seeming folks to sell the steaming, smelly pile of crap that is what their ideology amounts to. It’s a sad commentary that some folks are so filled with senseless hatred toward President Obama that they welcome being lied to.
loading...
mom2pekes2
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 2:37 am
When did Freedom of Speech become freedom to lie about everyone and everything not in your favor? Or is it simply a republican politician’s sworn oath when they are campaigning?
loading...
Abdullah Ibrahim
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 3:15 am
We found Ryan’s speech is more rhetoric, lack of substance and full of lies. People who can talk usually lack of ability to do work reminiscent to Malaysian opposition leader Annuar Ibrahim.
loading...
Obvious1
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 3:31 am
Wow, how’d you manage to trim it down to five? You deserve some sort of medal for editing…
loading...
Sally
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 3:35 am
Didn’t Queen Ann strike that same pose? They all look like two bit snake oil salesmen or those tent revival meeting con artists from the 1800′s. Bet Ryan never mentioned Medicare and his REAL plans for it, or the end of SS. ANd while they want to gut the ACA ASAP, what will they replace it with? The GOP has had decades to deal with all these issues, but their main agenda is gutting regulations, appeasing the lowbrows by cuting their taxes, and starting wars. When Huckabee was going on about our personal freedoms, he neglected to mention that he was silent when Bush passed the Patriot Act, first used warratless wiretapping on all of us, and tortured people. Where was Huck then?
And did Ryan tell the women present that he will ban contraception the first chance he gets? I do hope that this guy loses his House seat in November along with the WH. He is dangerous to this republic.
loading...
Janice
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 6:57 am
Really Dan?? Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that ANYONE can edit. That’s their slogan, not mine. You’re gonna need a more reliable source to prove your point.
loading...
j
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 7:26 am
I think we must be the laughing stock of the world, in a very sad way, this countr4y under republicans is taking us back to the awful racist past that we want to forget and taking women back to the day when back street abortions killed hundreds of women a year, every civilized country is trying to move into the 21st century, the republicans are taking us back to a time when vigilantes ran things (have you heard about the two republicans in Florida who want to be allowed to shoot illegal voters?
loading...
lou
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 7:28 am
Reps just wait for the dems response to the crazy far right liers. Ryan is just like, Palin, Limbaugh and Bachmann. Desperate bunch of liers.
Please watch the following and comment.
http://www.upworthy.com/an-amazing-speech-from-one-of-the-last-good-men-in-politics
loading...
Monet
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 7:42 am
Found a piece on boldprogressive.org about Paul Ryan writing a letter asking to meet with Management of said plant in 2008 asking them not to close. If he’s a Christian I’m a sock puppet. I don’t subscribe to those beliefs anymore but from what I recall, lying to and deceiving people does not get you on that stairway to heaven.
loading...
Wesley
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 8:14 am
Succinct and well stated. I especially like the Lying Ryan refernce by one of the posts. I am stealing that!
loading...
Jimmy
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 8:37 am
The WHOLE truth:
The unemployment rate in 2008 was 6.8%. However,the number of unemployed Americans doubled during the Great Recession — from 7.26 million to 14.77 million. The jobless rate remained stuck around 9% for much of President Obama’s term, although it fell to 8.6% in November 2011 and has remained below 9% in the months since. Easy to bring it down to 9 when you jack it up to from 6…..
loading...
Kurt
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 11:16 am
Everyone should read this post, UNTIL, it sinks in.
loading...
sonofGMemployee
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 8:41 am
Actually the employees of GM recieved a letter around the middle of October 2008 announcing the plants that were going to close. Most workers did not come back after the Christmas break and the one’s that did only came back to assist in shutting the plant down and moving equipment to other facilities.
loading...
j
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 9:13 am
My husband just made the comment ‘These politicians, before they get up there to make a speech to the country, should place their hand on the bible and swear to tell the truth’.
They all say they are christians.
loading...
Jimmy
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 10:19 am
actually Mitt is a Mormon
loading...
Jay
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 11:13 am
Thses men that work in our white house doesn’t sever God that’s why they tell so many lies because they sever the father of lies. God bless you all and this world.
loading...
kansukre
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 11:14 am
The same lies we saw back in 2000 to push the country to war fear that cost 8 trillion resurface now is the future of America the future of our children, when the republican party become the party of dummies
loading...
Learned from History
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 12:31 pm
Do you really think that banning abortion would cause it to cease to exist? No. It causes women to resort to desperate measures, like unsafe coat hanger abortions in unsanitary conditions because they will fight to get an abortion anyway. Research before you spew hate. And to add the icing to this cake, who the hell are you as a man to tell a woman what to do with her body?
loading...
Carole Ellis
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 12:36 pm
We, the American have to start holding our Leaders accountable for thier actions,not sure exactly how, maybe by having a non-partisan group that could investigate questionable decisions.
loading...
j
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 1:35 pm
I saw the Maddow interview with slimy Walker of Wisconsin, is it really true that he won his recall with 200,000 votes more than the first time? I had heard rumors that there was suspected vote tallies from the one lady that usually rigs the Madison elections. Also he says Wisconsin is 100% behind him, is this true, from all the hate we saw on TV towards him it does not ring true.
He also said lots of states had lost jobs under Obama, if I am correct it was republican govs laying off public employees – is this right?
loading...
kentaysdad
Sep. 11th, 2012 at 3:07 pm
j.
Yes it is true that Walker won his recall. Many people who voted to keep him in office stated they would not vote for him in a regular election. But they felt this was not the intended use of the recall provision. They felt if he was recalled it would set up future recalls by the opposing party whenever unpopular decisions were made.
loading...
Larry
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Please listen to the speech again-
Ryan did not claim that the GM plant was closed by Obama. He claimed Obama promised to save the plant and did not.
Also, Read the S&P report again – rising debt and Gov. spending compare with GDP were factors in the downgrade.
loading...
i am hated
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 1:55 pm
I find this story interesting. Though why did you leave out the first part of the speech on the gm plant closing.You edited like always to fit your view
loading...
Kim Potvin
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 5:22 pm
Well the good news is SE LA was dealing with Issac. And could not watch the convention. LOts of water no lights. Guess what Obama was not on vacation and Brownie was not there. And what so bad about Socialism, us Cajuns been doing it a long time.
loading...
Jake
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 5:25 pm
How about going straight to the source – Ryan’s own website: http://paulryan.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=200270
Ryan co-signed a letter in June 2008 about the plant closure. It also mentions that he had been looking into this since March 2008. The closure was planned and executed under George W. Bush and Ryan knew full well about that.
loading...
Jake
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 5:26 pm
How could Obama save the plant if it closed prior to him taking office?
loading...
sabrinalilypup
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 6:21 pm
IN SO MANY NEWSPAPERS I read today, August 30, 2012, All the news media are poised to renounce the Blatant Lies, Misrepresentation of facts, Dishonest & Objectionable Discourse in Paul Ryan’s Speech, a man seeking for the second highest office in the land. “The purpose of all the news media EXPOSING the Lies of Paul Ryan is for the simple reason that this country will not tolerate such atrocity in our society, LYING to the American People. The foundation of this country was built on reasonableness and honesty of one person and Paul Ryan is a threat to corrupt a whole nation of honest citizens who are victims of his false representation. We are not a Dictatorship Nation. We refuse to be fed only those information(s) to suit the whims of the governing body of our society. We stand united to TELL ONLY THE TRUTHS TO ALL THE CITIZENS OF THIS COUNTRY.”
loading...
Shiva (Moderator)
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 6:52 pm
Romney has been lying all along.
loading...
brian
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 7:18 pm
the plant was open till april 2009 or run on idle. which is a fancy auto term for it is still open but not manufacturing. i guarantee union workers where still getting their checks, benefits etc. this happens all the time in detroit and has happened for decades. east coast liberals dont have a clue how auto unions work.
loading...
Shiva (Moderator)
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 7:45 pm
Thats funny, arnt liberals the ones in the unions? Doesnt that just make you spin?
The closing was announced long before Obama was pres. It doesnt matter when it closed its doors.
“Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) claimed during his convention speech Wednesday that President Obama is responsible for the closure of a GM plant in Janesville, Wisconsin. However, as many media outlets have noted, GM announced plans to close the plant in June ’08 — long before Obama was even elected — and it ceased major operations in December of that year.
For proof, just ask one of the more prominent supporters of the Janesville plant shutdown — the George W. Bush Administration. After all, the closure was part of a broader GM restructuring initiative that the then-President supported. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino even praised it as evidence of GM “adapting well:”
The White House called the announcement a sign that the auto giant was “adapting well” to market shifts.
“It’s a sign that Detroit continues to adapt and evolve and address the change in consumer tastes and attitudes. And I think that they’re adapting well,” spokeswoman Dana Perino said.
“And they’ll make these changes, and hopefully be able to pull themselves up out of what has been a rough several years,” she said. …
GM plans to shutter production at its Toluca, Mexico, pickup truck at the end of the year and its Oshawa, Canada plant will be closed in 2009. Plants in Moraine, Ohio and Janesville, Wisconsin, are slated for closure in 2010 “or sooner if market demand dictates,” GM said.”
loading...
Shiva (Moderator)
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 7:46 pm
BTW, can you back your “guarantee” up? I thought not
loading...
Antoine
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 8:04 pm
It’s funny how people keep talking about how much money Obama has spent, and spent here in America, yet you don’t hear about how much money Bush poured into a war (that we were lied to about) and to help rebuild another country while we were sinking into a deppression!
loading...
Shiva (Moderator)
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 8:10 pm
Good read
http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/05/22/153293789/under-obama-federal-govt-spends-at-lowest-rate-in-decades-says-journalist
loading...
Don Berghuis
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 8:32 pm
Good luck in trying to change an Fox Noise listener.To them, no false statement is beneath them.Facts don’t convince them.
loading...
Vick
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 8:44 pm
Bernie Sanders is “Democratic Socialist” who want the US to become one of those European style democracies. Is he demented? can he point to a thriving European economy who is the envy of the world? I don’t think so. He and his socialist comrades (Hello Obama)want to collapse the American economy/system and revive it in their own deranged, selfish, condescending, statist rule.
How can any true patriotic American defend and identify with such a destructive plan?
loading...
Shiva (Moderator)
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
LOL, you have no idea what Bernie wants. And to answer your question, Germany for one. The entire world is in trouble. didnt anyone tell you that?
But on the bright side, those socialists sure have the best healthcare in the world. Even though they are not socialists and you dont know what a socialist is
loading...
1voice1vote
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 9:58 pm
The supremely stupid threat of defaulting on debt by Teapublican Congressional obstruction got the USA a downgrade, brainiac. But thanks for playing, Fox-tells-me-what-to-repeat-repeat-repeat-Larry.
loading...
1voice1vote
Aug. 30th, 2012 at 10:01 pm
Apparently the “Reply” feature is not replying directly. The above comment was in reply to “Larry” up thread.
Larry said …….
“Also, Read the S&P report again – rising debt and Gov. spending compare with GDP were factors in the downgrade.”
loading...
Alan
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 4:51 am
The fact is, employment had increased every month beginning about one year after Obama took office. Before that, jobs were being lost at an astounding rate. I don’t blame Bush for the job losses, but blaming Obama is just ignorant.
loading...
Janet
Aug. 31st, 2012 at 7:02 am
I WORKED AT THE JANESVILLE GM PLANT!!!!!!!!!!!!! First of all, lay off the union! Our union representatives had appoitments to talk to Ryan in D.C. several years before the announcement of the plant closing. They wanted to talk to him about the fear that GM would close the plant. Ryan continuously cancelled the appointments for every reason under the sun until the delegation left D.C. He does not care about the working class. As the unions have grown weaker and disappeared from the landscape, so has the middle class. Do your homework–when the middle class does well, everyone does better–even the wealthy. This generation of wealthy doesn’t get it. They just want more for themselves.
Second of all, GM announced the plant was closing (BY 2010) in June of 2008; before Obama even received the democratic nomination. In late July of 2008, I along with about 800 others were permanently laid off. By November of 2008, GM announced they would close the Suburban line, which was down from two shifts to one, in late December of 2008. Merry Christmas. The Izusu line was kept in operation until April of 2009. There were less than 40– yes, forty–peoply on that line.
A company as big as GM doesn’t make a decision like that in one day or even one year. They had that planned for years–all under the Bush administration. GM will not be back in Janesville in that same building. It is too old and decrepit. It cannot be updated to their liking. If GM comes back to Janesville, it will be in a new plant.
From,
A Former GM Janesville Line Worker
loading...
Anne
Sep. 1st, 2012 at 9:24 am
I thank you immensely for your informative post that refutes Lying Ryan’s blatantly false claims blaming President Obama for the fate of your former workplace. Your truthful narrative does even more to place Weathervane Willard’s partner in an even more unfavorable light, since it shows him as being instrumental in the closing that cost so many people their jobs. I’m quite sure that his transparent lies on national TV added insult to injury.
loading...
claude j migeon md
Sep. 2nd, 2012 at 8:52 pm
What don’t you enlarge the discussion presented in New York Times by JAmes B sTewart on 8/25/12 ,
Apparently , in 2010 , Mitt Romney declare 2,73 millions of income abruad and 2.5% in local taxes , He declared $392,000 in the USA
and payed 392,000 in taxes , or 13.9% in the USA.
It is disgusting to see a candidate/president who manage to report 87% of his rather nice income outside of his country .
What kind of citizen is that.
loading...