Rep. Paul Ryan: Vote for Me, I'll Kick You when You're Down

COMMENTARY | When Rep. Paul Ryan, R.-Wis., ran for re-election in 2010, his motto should have been, "Vote for me, and I'll kick you when you're down." Ryan likes to talk about how many town hall meetings he had in 2009, a total of 17, but in 2011, when so many people continue to struggle, his last meeting was held in April.

At that meeting Ryan was booed for his plan that would extend tax breaks to the wealthy but phase out Medicare for our senior citizens. Since then, he has not given the people in his district a chance for an open discussion, and next time, Ryan will charge $15 for the right to ask him a question.

Graeme Zelinski is the spokesman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, and commented, "Paul Ryan has had a hard time going before open crowds, and for good reason. I'm sure Ryan doesn't want to go before the public to explain while his extreme ideology caused Standard & Poor's to downgrade U.S. long-term treasury bonds. Beside, Ryan likes smaller settings - the kind where you can cozy up to a hedge fund manager and get a good $350 bottle of win.

This isn't the worst part. On Thursday, a group of unemployed who couldn't afford to pay the $15 admission to the luncheon in order to talk to Ryan, staged a peaceful sit in at his office. They thought it would be a good way to ensure a conversation with the congressman.

It shouldn't have to be this hard to have a discussion with a person whose salary is paid by the American people. The protesters who came out on Thursday, came out to protest because of the lack of free access to communicate with Ryan, as well as his proposals to shred social programs.

The unemployment rate has been sitting unchanged at 10 percent in Racine, and many of the protesters are those who have been struggling for several years just to make ends meet. Some have had unemployment benefits end, forcing them to take low paying part time jobs, placing them on the edge of homelessness.

You might be thinking, surely the congressman must have some compassion with people from his own community experiencing such difficult times. Didn't he come out to at least talk to them? No, he did not.

Ryan does have a good excuse. He was on vacation with his family in Colorado. Everyone deserves a vacation, don't they? In that case, maybe Ryan could have a staff member speak with the group, or at least a few individuals.

That didn't happen either. A representative of Ryan's staff came out and handed one of the protesters a written statement. It said, "Although I was unable to personally meet with those who stopped by my Kenosha office, I appreciate hearing from so many on the urgent need to create jobs in Southeast Wisconsin. I pride myself on being accessible to those I represent."

Several hours later, Ryan's office called the cops on the crowd who just wanted to have a discussion. The officers said they left peaceably, and no doubt with their head in their hands as Ryan kicked them down just a little bit more.