Thread by @gregolear

Let's talk about Paul Ryan.

BLUF: @SpeakerRyan is complicit in #TrumpRussia.

To what extent remains to be seen, but he is, at best, an accessory to obstruction of justice by his refusal to remove @DevinNunes from the House intel committee.

At best.

[THREAD]

1/

I like to keep my focus on #TrumpRussia, but allow me a few comments about Paul Ryan.

First, there is a narrative that he is a "policy wonk," possessed of the keen intellect necessary to give heft to the GOP tax plan. William Buckley 2.0 or somesuch.

This is preposterous.

2/
In fact, Paul Ryan is kind of a dope.

Let me furnish a few examples.

3/
In 2005, at age 35, Paul Ryan attended a meeting of something called the Atlas Society, at which he proudly announced, “I grew up reading Ayn Rand and it taught me quite a bit about who I am and what my value systems are, and what my beliefs are...."

4/

ATLAS SHRUGGED "inspired me so much that it’s required reading in my office for all my interns and my staff," Paul Ryan said.

Again, he was 35 freakin' years old at the time.

5/

ATLAS SHRUGGED’s concept is beyond simple—those who contribute to society make the grade; those who don’t, don’t—and its black/white, with-us-or-against-us appeal is what makes it so popular w/ disaffected teenagers & other readers whose intellects are not yet fully formed.

6/

Ayn Rand’s thinking owes more to Leopold and Loeb—her contemporaries, whose murder trial took place two years before she emigrated to the United States—than any compassionate human being should be comfortable with.

7/

ATLAS SHRUGGED should not form the basis of a political party, however fringe. Nor should it or its odious creator have inspired the worldview of a man with such enormous political power.

Ayn Rand is the lipstick to the pig of social cruelty.

And she is Paul Ryan's hero.

8/

Then there was the time Paul Ryan insinuated that his Catholic upbringing also informed his odious budget views, and he got schooled by Jesuit priests and other profs from my alma mater, @Georgetown, on what Jesus was all about.

docs.google.com/document/d/1JR…

9/

The Jesuits wrote:

“...your budget appears to reflect the values of your favorite philosopher, Ayn Rand, rather than the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Her call to selfishness and her antagonism toward religion are antithetical to the Gospel values of compassion and love.”

10/

I mention these things because they show how Paul Ryan's worldview is based on "objectivist" cruelty masquerading as Catholicism.

Because he's too dumb to understand any of these concepts.

11/

Paul Ryan also boasted at an event that he spent his college days sitting around the keg, dreaming about how to gut the social safety net.

Because, you know, that's obviously what Jesus would do.

As Speaker, he's implemented policies that will cause a great deal of damage.

12/

But I'm not here to talk about policies, however odious.

Let's talk about Paul Ryan and the Russians.

Here's what we know: He was caught on tape laughing about Trump taking Putin's dirty rubles...and then demanding omerta.

13/

We also know that the Russians also hacked the RNC, and have all those emails. Nothing has become of them. I wonder why. 🤔🤔🤔

We know that a number of GOP MOCs took Russian money, filtered through shady dual citizens, the NRA, the #CamAnal business, super PACs, and etc.

14/

We know Paul Ryan no longer wants to be Speaker. There was some scuttlebutt that he would step down after the midterms.

This is strange behavior for a guy who, not long ago, wanted to be president.

15/

And we know that Paul Ryan has done NOTHING to check Trump's autocratic tendencies. To the contrary, he has helped him every step of the way.

16/

Devin Nunes is a criminal who will, when Mueller is done, be in prison for a long, long time. Paul Ryan must know this. He's privy to the intel. He knew the Nunes Memo was a piece of crap, but let it fly. Paul Ryan has been, in a word, NEGLIGENT.

17/

@SpeakerRyan may be too stupid to understand what Trump is doing. Given his intellectual deficiencies, that is possible.

It may also be that he has plugged his nose to get his odious billionaire gift of a tax bill passed. That is the conventional wisdom.

18/

Here's the thing, though:

Paul Ryan is SECOND IN LINE to be president. If Trump is guilty (duh) and Pence is also guilty (spoiler alert: also duh), he would be president if the two of them were removed.

So, like, why is he not trying to make that happen?

19/

Paul Ryan could demand that we vote on impeachment TOMORROW. If he were bold enough, he could get Pence to resign, impeach Trump, and install himself. And he'd be able to get more of his policies implemented as president, right? Which is what he wants, right?

20/

So why is Paul Ryan sitting on his hands, letting this happen?

Is it stupidity? Is he using Trump as a distraction to implement policy? Or...is he also mixed up in the Russia thing, and aware that Mueller's investigation will tar him, too?

Seriously, think about it: WHY is @SpeakerRyan not working to remove Trump/Pence and take the Oval himself...UNLESS he knows he can't, because he's also guilty af? Why is he protecting Nunes?

Paul Ryan is either dumb or guilty. Or both. I'm going with both.

[END]

PS

Let's make this fun...for every dirty ruble I sell in the next 48 hours, I will send one RESIST banknote to Paul Ryan's office. Let's show him what to do with dirty Russian money!

zibbet.com/resistdirtyrub…