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Fact Check: Tim Ryan Claims He Stands Up to Democrats

Guy Benson
Guy Benson  |  October 11, 2022 1:05 PM

If you watch Tim Ryan's ads or see his television appearances, the image he seeks to portray is that of a tough, working class, moderate, independent thinker who isn't beholden to either political party.  That's the facade he attempted to maintain at last night's Ohio Senate debate, echoing similar themes.  If you knew nothing about the man's record, the statement below might be appealing.  

If you know anything about said record, however, it's a transparent and disingenuous pander:

Alas, when push comes to shove, Ryan has voted literally 100 percent of the time for the Biden/Pelosi agenda.  On every single vote -- every one -- Ryan has been a reflexive, leadership-saluting, partisan Democrat.  No moderation, no independence.  Total obedience.  In a cutesy commercial he's running in the Buckeye State, Ryan likens politics to marriage, noting that even spouses disagree on things.  Ryan may not see eye-to-eye with his wife on any number of issues, but he votes with Biden every single time.  That's an extraordinary degree fealty.  You can't run as Mr. Independent when your black-and-white voting record demonstrates that you're anything but.  Ryan won't be caught in the same room with the president whose agenda he's unflinchingly advanced in the House of Representatives because that would further contradict the fable he's trying to tell about himself, but he let the mask slip at an event he did with Chuck Schumer, whom he called his future "boss:"

That's an amusing, if accidental, admission that neatly encapsulates his mentality in Congress. Biden and Pelosi have effectively acted as his bosses for years, as he votes for everything they tell him to. If he somehow gets himself elected to the Senate, his bosses won't be the people of Ohio, but rather a Senator from New York and a president that the voters of Ohio rejected by eight points in 2020.  As for Monday's debate, just like Blake Masters torched Sen. Mark Kelly over the border in Arizona, J.D. Vance lit Ryan up on the issue:

And here's a Republican-aligned operative exposing the embarrassing hackery of a journalist's framing of Vance's answer on abortion:

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Tim Ryan's position on abortion?  Don't even bother asking.  Simply check Nancy Pelosi and Joe Biden's position (like Biden, Ryan once claimed to be pro-life or very moderate on the issue, only to abandon those 'convictions' out of political expediency), and that's where he comes down.  Namely, zero restrictions, up to birth, paid for by taxpayers.  He wouldn't list a single limitation he would support when pressed on the question, and he voted for the barbaric and radical bill Pelosi shoved through the House -- because of course he did.  It's what he does.  I'll leave you with this:

UPDATE - This is spot on: