Doherty Was For Paul Ryan Before He Was Against Him

After pretty much declaring himself president of the local chapter of the Paul Ryan fan club, conservative congressional candidate Brendan Doherty is now trying to distance himself from Ryan’s plan to slash medical benefits for retirees. Democrats don’t buy it, though.

“Paul Ryan may not be a household name to everyone in Rhode Island, but if you’re a senior citizen who relies on Medicare, you should know who he is and what he stands for, because these are the types of Republicans Brendan will be standing with and voting with, if elected to Congress,” said Bill Fischer, a spokesperson for the state Democratic Party in an email today. “Mr. Doherty’s statements on Monday supporting Medicare are simply not credible after he clearly supported Congressman Ryan at a tea party gathering in May.”

In May, Doherty said told an East Bay Tea Party group the opposite: “I had a great opportunity to meet with Paul Ryan about a month ago and that’s his position and he’s digging his feet in and I applaud him for that and I support him.”

Here’s the video:

Doherty was talking about Ryan’s budget proposal, which would indeed slash Medicare benefits. So which is it Brendan? Do you stand with Rhode Island retirees and the elderly or do you stand with Paul Ryan.

This is how Washington – and politics in general for that matter – works. Whatever Brendan Doherty might say to you while he’s on the stump, you can bet he’ll be voting in lock step with the most conservative Beltway Republicans in the country just as sure as his political mentor is former governor Don Carcieri.