Vice Shitty

If you listen to the loudest voices on the right -- the insanely irresponsible austerity-or-bust Tea Party types and the cheerleaders on talk radio and within the official GOP PR unit at Fox News -- Paul Ryan is the conservative Christ-child and Mitt Romney's decision to tap him as his running mate is "bold" and makes this campaign all about big Republican ideas. Ryan is one of those guys whose sheer orgiastic lust at the idea of giving head to Ayn Rand's strap-on while being done from behind by Grover Norquist makes him a serious "idea man" within the Republican party. But regardless of that, mainstream GOP insiders also know that his unapologetic objectivist wealth-worship and open advocacy for an end to the social safety net makes him toxic to a vast swath of America -- and that's why behind the scenes they're both terrified and angry right now.

From today's Politico, which is anything but a liberal outlet:

"Away from the cameras, and with all the usual assurances that people aren’t being quoted by name, there is an unmistakable consensus among Republican operatives in Washington: Romney has taken a risk with Ryan that has only a modest chance of going right — and a huge chance of going horribly wrong.

In more than three dozen interviews with Republican strategists and campaign operatives — old hands and rising next-generation conservatives alike — the most common reactions to Ryan ranged from gnawing apprehension to hair-on-fire anger that Romney has practically ceded the election...

The more pessimistic strategists don’t even feign good cheer: They think the Ryan pick is a disaster for the GOP. Many of these people don’t care that much about Romney — they always felt he faced an improbable path to victory — but are worried that Ryan’s vocal views about overhauling Medicare will be a millstone for other GOP candidates in critical House and Senate races."

Here's the thing: No matter what you hear from the GOP pep squad, make no mistake -- Ryan can only hurt Mitt Romney. He can't and won't help him in November.