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It finally happened – Speaker Paul Ryan announced his retirement from Congress. Frankly, this came as no surprise to us in Wisconsin who were no more excited about his work than the rest of the nation was. Wisconsinites want compassionate leaders that will work to make our communities thrive and all of our lives better. That wasn’t Paul Ryan.
With poverty in Wisconsin at a 30 year high, instead of investing in programs to give people the tools and opportunity to climb out, Ryan pushed healthcare legislation that would have ripped coverage away from 100,000 Wisconsinites, leaving them on the brink of financial ruin if they became sick.
With Wisconsin roads and bridges in desperate need of repair, Paul Ryan ignored this crisis and the opportunity for high-paying jobs the infrastructure investment would have created and instead lead the effort to give huge tax breaks to the wealthy. Clearly, good-paying jobs for Wisconsinites was not his priority.
But when Speaker Ryan paid for huge tax breaks to the ultra wealthy by going after Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, I knew he was done. Hard-working Wisconsinites have paid their fair share for years into Social Security and they weren’t going to stand for some politician stealing their benefits and ripping health care from them in order to give wealthy corporations a windfall of cash.
Paul Ryan leaves behind a legacy of tax cuts for the wealthy at the expense of working families. In this age, our nation needs real leaders who will stand up for our values. Instead, Paul Ryan has run away, and his abrupt departure from Congress is as sure a sign as any that voters will reject the extreme GOP agenda in November.
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