Perry supporter Ned Ryun targets the social conservative lady

By Michael Gaynor

It's time for Ryun to move on, not Bachmann.

American Majority president and self-described amateur historian Ned Ryun asked Andrew Breitbart why he wrote Righteous Indignation: Excuse Me While I Save The World and Breitbart smartly replied (with modesty missing from the subtitle) (http://americanmajority.org/majority-2/andrew-breitbarts-righteous-indignation/):

"The un-ironic answer is that the book tells you why I wrote the book. It is ultimately the story of my awakening, my transformation from being a default cultural liberal in the bluest, most elite part of a blue city in a blue state: Hollywood. And over the last 15 years, I've increased my knowledge of what it means to be a conservative and connected it with my desire to alter the cultural landscape. When I see a conservative movement that is solely fixated on politics, I realize that I'm in a unique position to inform and to focus on the cultural side of our political problems. We, as Americans, are not going to win back our country if we don't take back K-12, the humanities departments, and the graduate schools of our nation's top higher education institutions. We're not going to win if we don't neutralize the devastating, repetitive attacks on American exceptionalism, capitalism, and Judeo-Christianity from the leftist cynics in Hollywood who are too drugged or ungrateful to understand that they're helping slowly to rot the greatest country on earth from within. In short, I wrote this book to do my small part in trying to reclaim this righteous country, and to awaken as many people as I can to join this army."

Breitbart's right about the taunting task we face and the need to "focus on the cultural side of our political problems."

Ryun recently made it worse by blogging that "It's time for Michele Bachmann to go."

Some Bachmann New Hampshire staffers resigned, and Ryun used that as a reason for publicly urging Bachmann to drop out of the race,apparently in the hope of helping his candidate, Governor Rick Perry. (Ryun first backed the well qualified Congressman Mike Pence, but Pence passed on the presidential race and now Ryun's hyping the Texas disappointment, Rick Perry.)

Ryun didn't call upon former Speaker Newt Gingrich to drop out when his presidential campaign was jolted by resignations in mass, but not only opportunistically rushed to call for Bachmann to drop out, but absurdly impugned Bachmann's Tea Party credentials:

"For the last two years, I've been cautioning about the dangers of individuals or organizations trying to present themselves as leaders of the Tea Party movement. An individual personality or organization purporting to be a 'leader' of what is truly a grassroots movement can hurt the tea party brand by creating false impressions about its core beliefs. Bachmann, the leader of the so-called tea party caucus in the House and the most vocal about her affiliation with the Tea Party than any other Presidential candidate, has consistently presented herself as a champion of the movement and its values. Bachmann has ridden her tea party credentials from obscurity to a national platform like no other.

"Since her meteoric rise this summer and win in the Iowa Straw poll, her campaign has been plagued by losses of top staff, lackluster fundraising and a seeming lack of direction. Bachmann's resulting plunge in the polls is troubling for the tea party, not because 'one of their own' is losing her footing, but because the longer Bachmann stays in the race, the more likely we will see her shift to the right. This rightward shift will come as the campaign works to hold on to its more conservative base of support in advance of the release of Bachmann's new book next month."

Bachmann was Tea Party before the Age of Obama prompted the Tea Party movement and she IS the head of the Tea Party caucus.

"Davecrespo315" commented on Ryun's post: "Michele Bachmann has stood for the TEA Party since its existence. She has stood against the establishment and fought for principle and the constitution, not party loyalty or political correctness. The recent example is when she stood against Washington and refused to vote to raise the debt ceiling. While she is not the only one who represents the TEA Party in the presidential race, she is an unapologetic advocate of everything the TEA Party stands for, whether its fiscal responsibility, strong immigration policy, strong national defense, advocate of our gun rights, and defending traditional values. It is too early to dismiss her and asking her to withdraw from the race is disrespectful and arrogant. She has not given up and there are many TEA Party groups who support her because she has fought for the TEA Party. You need to sincerley reconsider what you are saying and let the process work out."

"Jen" commented: "Michele Bachmann has fought for and championed the tea party core values — with all due respect to Mr. Ryun, I STRONGLY disagree and I think it was flat out wrong to come out with a statement like that. Congresswoman Bachmann was the first member of Congress to introduce legislation for the full scale repeal of Obamacare. She took a strong stance on not raising the debt ceiling. She has fought tooth and nail for Tea Party principles and I have the greatest respect and admiration for her because of it. I had hoped that she would run for Presidency after following her record in Congress very closely and I fully intend to support her every step of the way. Mr. Ryun, please don't think you speak for everyone involved in the Tea Party movement, because you certainly don't speak for me."

"Reneetdoyle" was factual and firm: "No one has brought a more positive image to the Tea Party than Michele Bachmann. She has spent every waking minute giving voice to the values of the Tea Party. She gave thousands of dollars out of her PAC in her last Congressional race to Tea Party endorsed candidates all over the United States and radically affected the control within the Republican Party. Your remarks damage the image and mission of the Tea Party more than anything and embarrass the Tea Party groups who really do believe that one person cannot speak for all of them. I wish you understood that."

"Gadsdengurl"' was blunt: "I'm sensing a lot of misogyny toward the only woman candidate, and one who has been clear and consistent at debates...."

"Steev127" too: "I believe your observations and assesments (and you frankly) to be out of touch and full of it. Michelle Bachmann does stand for the Tea Party and she has often had to stand alone when voting for Tea Party values . Michelle Bachmann not only shouldnt go away she should be backed more vigorously than ever. You seem to be a little weasel Ned."

Is there more to Ryun's action that a desire to help his man, Rick Perry, who has floundered as a result of miserable debate performances that highlighted his limited knowledge, poor preparation and desperation?

Yes. Ryun wants to keep "social issues and religion" out of the presidential race and Bachmann is a strong social conservative.

Ryun admitted that he suspects that Bachmann will say "more about social issues and religion" and he definitely doesn't want her to do so, even though he describes himself as "an evangelical who is deeply pro-life."

So deeply pro-life he doesn't want the life issue discussed!

Ryun: "...while many inside the tea party movement are socially conservative, social issues are not what drive the Tea Party. The Tea Party as a whole was founded on the principle that the American people are being enslaved by their government's unquenchable appetite for spending, debt and the taxation that limits our freedom, and that the future of this great nation has been endangered by our leaders' reckless behavior. The message of limited government, fiscal responsibility and accountability from our elected officials has broad appeal and is responsible for the massive political shifts we have seen in this country since mid-2009. It is the reason Barack Obama is in a fight for his political life. Those fiscal issues which attract Republicans, independents, and conservative Democrats alike must continue to be the focus of the majority of America's grassroots, led with courage by the Tea Party."

Those social issues matter, Bachmann is right to address them and Bachmann is unashamedly evangelical AND pro-life.

Curiously, Ryun has not charged men in the race like Herman Cain or Newt Gingrich are in it to increase their book sales, but he targeted the women with a book coming out soon.

At least Ryun didn't discriminate on the basis of color!

Ryun:

"In Bachmann's case, it is clear that the campaign has become less about reform and more about her personal effort to stay relevant and sell books; a harsh commentary, but true. It's not about tea party values or championing real plans to solve real problems. While other campaigns are diving into the substance, the supposed tea party candidate Bachmann is sticking to thin talking points and hanging on for dear life.

"Every day the campaign flounders, it risks hurting the credibility of the movement. If she really is about the tea party, and making it successful, it's time for the Congresswoman to move on. The Tea Party doesn't have a spokesperson, and it's certainly not Michele Bachmann."

"guamjeff": "Who the heck is Ned Ryun? Who made him the arbiter of the Tea Party movement? He is partisan in favor of Perry and is abusing his position in the Tea Party to dis and cause trouble for Bachmann. He needs to go home, take a nap and quit whining about people that don't agree with him. To npsmith I would say that Ryun is much more an embarrassment. Bachmann has been standing for conservative principles stronger than almost anyone else in congress and has the creds for her claims. She has been attacked by the MSM and ignored as much as possible by the conservative media and has brought down the ire of establishment Rino republicans. That last one, for me, is almost an endorsement. If Bachmann doesn't garner support enough to continue her campaign then so be it but it's tawdry and small to come out against her like this. It will only hurt everyone in the long run."

Right. It's time for Ryun to move on, not Bachmann.

© Michael Gaynor