Amusements

Kevin D. Williamson:

I have a question for Ted Strickland: What in hell is “economic patriotism”? More specifically, what in hell does perennial ward-of-the-state Ted Strickland mean by “economic patriotism”? Both Strickland and his wife spent a great deal of their lives on the public teat, in publicly funded institutions and in elected office. So far as I can tell from his biography, Strickland has not worked for a profit-oriented enterprise in his adult life, and his only nonpublic paychecks have come from a Methodist children’s home and a fellowship at Harvard’s Institute for Politics. He spent most of the 1970s and early 1980s desperately trying to climb aboard the federal gravy train, unsuccessfully running for the House three times. People who have spent most of their lives supported by taxpayers probably should be more circumspect when criticizing . . . taxpayers.

Is it possible, then, to refer to Paul Ryan as a perennial ward of the state? COMMENTS SAY NO.