Republican Party

Paul Ryan is Very Serious

But he's not the clean-cut superboy everyone in the cable news media makes him out to be. He's been trying to pass superduper tax loopholes for his contributors.

...a look at Ryan's record since he was elected to Congress in 1998 shows that he has tried to create an array of special loopholes for his top contributors, whose interests range from air fresheners to fraternity housing to beer.

Take S.C. Johnson & Son, one of Ryan's biggest donors. The multibillion-dollar company, which is based in Ryan's district and manufactures popular cleaning products like Pledge and Windex, donated $41,092 to the congressman between 1998 and 2012, according to OpenSecrets.org.

Ryan introduced two bills in May 2005 that would have granted the company special exemptions from tariffs. Specifically, his bills sought to suspend duties for imported components of "unique air freshener products … assembled by S.C. Johnson in the United States," Ryan said during floor remarks at the time. Neither bill advanced.

I wonder if Shatner-as-Kirk Dylan Ratigan will do another rant about money in politics and aim his spittle in the direction of Ryan. I doubt it.