Ryan asked for Stimulus cash then lied about doing so.
On one hand, the GOP very publicly bashed and rejected Obama's Stimulus packaged; but behind closed doors, they lobbied for the job creating funds and at times -- adding insult to injury -- they attended ribbon cutting celebrations in their home district bragging to their constituents about how they were creating jobs and opportunities for growth.
Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, a fiscal conservative and critic of federal handouts, has sought for his constituents in Wisconsin an expansion of food stamps,stimulus money, federally guaranteed business loans, grants to invest in green technology and money under President Barack Obama's health care reform law.
Such requests are at odds with Ryan's public persona as a small-government advocate and tea party favorite who has pledged to tighten Washington's belt.
The Associated Press reviewed 8,900 pages of correspondence between Ryan's congressional office and more than 70 executive branch agencies that it obtained under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. They showed that for 12 years as a member of Congress, Ryan has sought from the federal government money and benefits that in some cases represent the kinds of largess and specific programs he is now campaigning against.
As Mitt Romney's running mate, Ryan calls those kinds of handouts big-government overreaching. He tells crowds he supports smaller government and rails against what he calls Obama's wasteful spending, including the president's $800 billion stimulus program.
"The stimulus was a case of political patronage, corporate welfare and cronyism at their worst," Ryan said during his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention. "You, the working men and women of this country, were cut out of the deal."
And during Thursday's vice presidential debate, Ryan said the stimulus amounted to "$90 billion in green pork to campaign contributors and special-interest groups."
But Ryan's constituents benefited from stimulus spending and other government-assistance programs, according to AP's review. Ryan once told federal regulators that cutting a stimulus grant for a town in his district at the 11th hour would be "economically devastating." source
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