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BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL
Paul Ryan accuser won't talk
By: Byron York | Chief Political Correspondent Follow Him @ByronYork | 07/11/11 5:47 AM
Susan Feinberg, an associate professor of management and global business at Rutgers University, caused a stir in the left-wing blogosphere over the weekend with her account of witnessing House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan drinking a glass of $350-a-bottle wine at an upscale restaurant near the Capitol. (Feinberg, who was at the restaurant, Bistro Bis, with her husband to celebrate her birthday, knew the wine was pricey because she could make out the name on the label and checked it on the wine list.) Feinberg confronted Ryan, accusing him of hypocrisy for drinking an expensive wine while advocating reduced spending for Medicare and Medicaid. But she didn't stop there.
Feinberg also suggested Ryan might be guilty of ethics violations, secretly snapped a photo of him and two dinner companions, and then took the "story" to Talking Points Memo, the lefty site which ran a high-profile piece suggesting Ryan might be guilty of some sort of wrongdoing.
Ryan told TPM that his two dinner-mates had ordered the wine, and that he, Ryan, didn't know what it cost and drank only one glass. Ryan's explanation was supported by TPM's account, presumably based on Feinberg's recollection, which said that when Feinberg confronted Ryan about the cost of his wine, "Ryan said only: 'Is that how much it was?'"
Nevertheless, Feinberg and TPM hinted that Ryan might have violated House ethics rules by accepting an expensive meal from lobbyists. But it turned out that the two men with whom Ryan was dining were, as he said, economists and not lobbyists. Feinberg and TPM also suggested that Ryan might have violated House rules against accepting gifts in general. But it turned out that Ryan had paid for his meal and wine -- Ryan even showed TPM his copy of the receipt, which TPM then posted on the web.
Having failed to catch Ryan in an act of wrongdoing, Feinberg and TPM accused him of hypocrisy. Ryan's dining companions, one of whom was a wealthy hedge-fund manager, ordered two bottles of the $350 wine. Ryan, by his own account, drank one glass but nevertheless paid for one of the bottles. But the $700 wine bill outraged Feinberg and her husband, who were at the restaurant to celebrate her birthday. "We were just stunned," she told TPM. "I was an economist so I started doing the envelope calculations and quickly figured out that those two bottles of wine was more [sic] than two-income working family making minimum wage earned in a week." When she had finished her own meal, Feinberg confronted Ryan and angrily asked him "how he could live with himself" for drinking expensive wine while advocating cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. Feinberg left the restaurant after management intervened.
Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: Paul Ryan accuser won't talk | Byron York | Beltway Confidential | San Francisco Examiner
BELTWAY CONFIDENTIAL
Paul Ryan accuser won't talk
By: Byron York | Chief Political Correspondent Follow Him @ByronYork | 07/11/11 5:47 AM
Susan Feinberg, an associate professor of management and global business at Rutgers University, caused a stir in the left-wing blogosphere over the weekend with her account of witnessing House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan drinking a glass of $350-a-bottle wine at an upscale restaurant near the Capitol. (Feinberg, who was at the restaurant, Bistro Bis, with her husband to celebrate her birthday, knew the wine was pricey because she could make out the name on the label and checked it on the wine list.) Feinberg confronted Ryan, accusing him of hypocrisy for drinking an expensive wine while advocating reduced spending for Medicare and Medicaid. But she didn't stop there.
Feinberg also suggested Ryan might be guilty of ethics violations, secretly snapped a photo of him and two dinner companions, and then took the "story" to Talking Points Memo, the lefty site which ran a high-profile piece suggesting Ryan might be guilty of some sort of wrongdoing.
Ryan told TPM that his two dinner-mates had ordered the wine, and that he, Ryan, didn't know what it cost and drank only one glass. Ryan's explanation was supported by TPM's account, presumably based on Feinberg's recollection, which said that when Feinberg confronted Ryan about the cost of his wine, "Ryan said only: 'Is that how much it was?'"
Nevertheless, Feinberg and TPM hinted that Ryan might have violated House ethics rules by accepting an expensive meal from lobbyists. But it turned out that the two men with whom Ryan was dining were, as he said, economists and not lobbyists. Feinberg and TPM also suggested that Ryan might have violated House rules against accepting gifts in general. But it turned out that Ryan had paid for his meal and wine -- Ryan even showed TPM his copy of the receipt, which TPM then posted on the web.
Having failed to catch Ryan in an act of wrongdoing, Feinberg and TPM accused him of hypocrisy. Ryan's dining companions, one of whom was a wealthy hedge-fund manager, ordered two bottles of the $350 wine. Ryan, by his own account, drank one glass but nevertheless paid for one of the bottles. But the $700 wine bill outraged Feinberg and her husband, who were at the restaurant to celebrate her birthday. "We were just stunned," she told TPM. "I was an economist so I started doing the envelope calculations and quickly figured out that those two bottles of wine was more [sic] than two-income working family making minimum wage earned in a week." When she had finished her own meal, Feinberg confronted Ryan and angrily asked him "how he could live with himself" for drinking expensive wine while advocating cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. Feinberg left the restaurant after management intervened.
Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: Paul Ryan accuser won't talk | Byron York | Beltway Confidential | San Francisco Examiner
