According to Rep. Paul Ryan's office the Congressman is vacationing with his family, but that isn't stopping nearly a dozen protesters from sitting-in until they get an audience. Blogger HUG PAC is one of the concerned citizens asking to see Ryan's jobs plan and wrote today:

In an attempt to schedule a personal visit with the man who represents me to congress I sent him an email explaining how I wanted to talk with him about his job creation policies. I went on to explain how I wanted to share with him how his decisions are negatively affecting my ability to provide stability to my family. I use to make $42,000 a year, I can’t find a job offer over $10 an hour now…

He emailed me back, an automated response of course, stating how busy he is during his August recess and how he will not have time to take my appointment, but I am welcome to join a conference call at the end of the month.

Politico reports that some constituents seeking an audience with the District 1 Representative are being told to attend his $15-per-head meeting at the Rotary. That leaves some of the long term unemployed in Ryan's district with a choice between having a voice and eating a family dinner. Ryan has also offered to host telephone conference calls with constituents, but has not yet scheduled any traditional face-to-face town halls.

The protests started before 11:30 a.m. this morning with nearly 100 attendees picketing in front of Ryan's office at 5455 Sheridan Road in Kenosha. During the protest half a dozen protesters entered the offices and are refusing to leave until they're granted an audience.

Ryan has been a prominent figure in the news this week with national GOP bigwigs suggesting he could be spending his vacation pondering a run for the Presidency. Gov. Scott Walker put his support behind Ryan running for the Republican nomination on Greta Van Susteren's show yesterday, but said "right now it is still highly unlikely."

Jesse Russell

Co-Editor

Jesse was born and raised in Connecticut, began blogging in 1997, and moved to Madison in 2003. In 2005, he co-founded dane101 along with Kristian Knutson and Shane Wealti. In addition to helping nearly a dozen contributors run this website he's helped launch various events in the city including What's Your Damage?!, the MadPubQuiz of Awesomeness, the Fire Ball Masquerade, Dane101's Freakin' Halloweekend, and more.