Missoula  Coming off the river after a great 10 days of fishing and fun, topped off by a pig roast and hootenanny with good friends, old and new, we headed into our Missoula home away from home, the Break Café and Bakery, our favorite local coffeehouse, though we wish the coffee were better….Plug in all of the electronics since they are screaming for juice, and as the emails start pouring in it becomes clear that the Tea Party and Little Government intellectual and ideologically dogmatic Congressman from Wisconsin, Paul Ryan, is destined to be Governor Romney’s vice presidential pick – OMG what a kick in the guts:  it just takes your breath away!   Now we have toadying to the rich and Wall Street at the top of the ticket and wet kisses to the most reactionary of the Republican regressive reprobates at the bottom of the ticket with Ryan.   Sarah Palin, where are you when we need you, we have now gone from the ridiculous to the obscene.

On the upside, we can’t say there’s not a clear choice now, if anyone had thought that.  Romney has suddenly made a statement to the hard right that is a big sloppy kiss, and to the rest of us has been clear that there is no longer a “moderate” George anywhere around.  It’s ass kicking time, and it’s our butts that have a bull’s-eye for his foot.

Social security, Medicaid, social services, and safety nets, Ryan is clear with his no compromising, “cut first, look later” style that there’s no hope for any of these constituencies from the sick to the seniors if this team emerges victorious.  They would be S.O.L!  Uh, that means, we would all be S.O.L.

If there had been any warm fuzzy headed doubters before, that’s all over, Grover.  It’s the battle of the knifes now, and it’s ON!