# Paul Ryan vs The Stench (Romney campaign melting down internally) \[satire warning\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [September 26, 2012, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842 "2012-09-26T01:21:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/41 "2012-09-26T13:27:44Z")
I don’t know what you guys are talking about. This is great news for the Stench campaign: Gilligan has been unleashed! Add to this great story the fact that we now know that all the major polling firms are oversampling people with opinions, and we can easily conclude that there will be a Stench landslide in November. It is inevitable. (And no, I’m not talking about some kind of natural disaster at a landfill.) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/42 "2012-09-26T13:32:45Z")
> [@Giles](#): > > More recently, Joe Lieberman did the same in 2000. As did Lloyd Bentsen in 1988. And “The Stench”? Really? I just can’t believe that, for the reason **Little Nemo** stated. ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/43 "2012-09-26T13:45:26Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > From now until November, Ryan’s political career is linked to Romney’s. He goes down if Romney goes down. I don’t believe this is true. Ryan is one of the most powerful Repblican office-holders in the country, and Romney is just a candidate for president. Ryan is running for re-election to congress, and I would bet that he fully expects to be in congress next year. All the Romney-Ryan ticket is to Ryan is a recognition-booster. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/44 "2012-09-26T14:01:39Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Oh dearie me, they really are in a froth over there, aren’t they? 😃 Really? I can’t tell much of a difference between the posts there and here. Lots of doubt about it being true, but a few (on both boards, for different reasons) thinking it is true. I little “froth” over there = a little “glee” here. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/45 "2012-09-26T14:13:47Z")
I honestly don’t believe a word of it. I’ve posted the PowerPoint gags on Facebook (because, seriously, who isn’t sick of PP presentations?) but I’ll believe the “Stench/Gilligan” thing when I hear them say it themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/46 "2012-09-26T14:40:16Z")
But seriously, I would not be surprised at all if the Stench is just one of those names. You know, like how bald guys used to be called Curly, or fat dudes were called Slim. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/47 "2012-09-26T14:50:03Z")
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#): > > Oh dearie me, they really are in a froth over there, aren’t they? 😃 I guess they’re still bitter that Santorum didn’t get the nomination. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/48 "2012-09-26T15:03:51Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > But seriously, I would not be surprised at all if the Stench is just one of those names. You know, like how bald guys used to be called Curly, or fat dudes were called Slim. I hear he smells like Joop! ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/49 "2012-09-26T15:09:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > So does this mean that Ryan has… **gone rogue?** He’s a _ **maverick** _! ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/50 "2012-09-26T15:09:31Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > I have a hard time crediting this. From now until November, Ryan’s political career is linked to Romney’s. He goes down if Romney goes down. So knocking Romney in public (and saying around anyone except maybe his wife is making it public) would be political suicide. Impulsiveness and a lack of care concerning consequences are typical traits of the sociopath. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/51 "2012-09-26T15:21:20Z")
I thought Romney and Ryan were going to be a great team and lifelong best buds like John Kerry and John Edwards. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/52 "2012-09-26T15:21:38Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > But seriously, I would not be surprised at all if the Stench is just one of those names. You know, like how bald guys used to be called Curly, or fat dudes were called Slim. Reagan was called ‘Crazy Legs’ in college for his football skills, if I was him I would have stuck with that. Obama’s Secret Service nickname is Renegade, which is better than W’s ‘Tumbler’ which is funny for a guy with a drinking problem. Mitt Romney is ‘Javelin’, which isn’t bad. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/53 "2012-09-26T15:32:48Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > …Mitt Romney is ‘Javelin’, which isn’t bad. I don’t want either of them coming quickly towards me. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/54 "2012-09-26T15:42:11Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Also meaningful, even in a satirical piece, is the line “Dan Senor, one of Romney’s closest advisers.” > > For those with short memories, Dan Senor served in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in the early days of our Iraq misadventure. He was the guy always giving out happy talk to the press about how great everything was going, as Iraq all but went up in flames in the spring of 2004. He was our own Baghdad Bob. > > If he said the sun was rising in the east, I’d want to get independent corroboration. I know he’s part of the Romney campaign, but if he’s really one of Romney’s _closest advisors_, how dumb or crazy is that, really? nevermind ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/55 "2012-09-26T15:50:05Z")
> [@AnalogSignal](#): > > Krugman referenced it on his NY Times blog: > [Death By PowerPoint, Continued - The New York Times](http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/death-by-powerpoint-continued/) Krugman’s now got a note up saying, “The word is, this was really clumsy satire”, with strikethroughs of his previous comments. I would assume someone at Politico is having a really unpleasant day. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/56 "2012-09-26T15:58:16Z")
Satire, yes, but in the sequential headlines dept: On Yahoo, right now: \*\* Mitt Romney lowers debate expectations. Stinkbug invasion promises foul fall. \*\* OK, so I’m easily amused. ---
**Author:** ![Kyomara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8edcca/32.png) [@Kyomara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyomara)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/57 "2012-09-26T16:17:57Z")
This article sucked. How can you continue to take the first half seriously after reading the second half? And why in the hell did Politico present it as actual journalism? ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/58 "2012-09-26T16:24:40Z")
The [Gawker story on this](http://gawker.com/5946600/paul-ryans-got-a-cute-nickname-for-his-floundering-running-mate-the-stench?utm_campaign=socialflow_gawker_facebook&utm_source=gawker_facebook&utm_medium=socialflow) now includes an update confirming that it’s satire. It was a weird story, though. There were some actual, verifiable facts in it, surrounded by stuff that seemed clearly intended to be comedy. I’m not surprised people were confused by it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/59 "2012-09-26T16:32:29Z")
Now that it is confirmed to be satire, I can see that he was trying to make fun of Ryan’s wonkishness. “Ryan’s gone rogue! He’s completely broken off from the Romney campaign! He won’t do what his handlers say! _He’s giving Powerpoint presentations!_” But…yeah, the way he wrote it was pretty confusing. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2012, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842/60 "2012-09-26T16:35:40Z")
[Bloomberg News reports that it was satire.](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-26/politico-s-paul-ryan-satire-the-joke-s-on-them.html) Too bad, really. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/paul-ryan-vs-the-stench-romney-campaign-melting-down-internally-satire-warning/635842.md?page=4)