Last week, I wrote a piece on the prospects of Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) becoming the new John Boehner as Speaker of the House. In short, I said that Conservatives should absolutely reject Ryan for just that reason; he would be the new Boehner!
Well, the reluctant leader—he claims that he’s not interested in the position—is now expressing his interest in getting the gig. But his pretend willingness comes with two caveats:
1. He must receive the full support of Conservative groups like the House Freedom Caucus.
2. The rule known as the Jefferson rule, which allows anyone to call for the Speaker to vacate the chair much like Mark Meadows (R-NC) did against John Boehner this past summer, must be abandoned in the name “unity.”
Besides being the epitome of arrogance, Ryan has specific motivations for making these selfish requests.
By demanding unanimous support, Ryan can play the establishment card when Conservatives reject his Royal RINO-ness. This would allow him to join Mitch McConnell, the departing John Boehner and the Democrats in blaming those dangerous far right-wing extremists for an inept Congress while isolating the HFC:
Let’s be clear. This is a move will ISOLATE freedom caucus. I bet RSC, Tues Group get behind him. Will put HFC in quite the spot
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) October 21, 2015
As for rejecting the Jefferson rule? That’s simple. After seeing what happened to Johnny-boy, he doesn’t want to get fired when he goes back to doing business-as-usual, just like a good little Washington establishment Republican is expected to do.
Because Thomas Jefferson was just so yesterday.. Paul Ryan Wants House Conservatives To Sign Their Own Death Warrant https://t.co/k59ZmyVASO
— StridentConservative (@StridentConserv) October 21, 2015
Can you actually imagine demanding that a prospective employer hire you unconditionally, and then demand that he agree not to fire you when you fail to do the job? That’s exactly what Ryan did.
The House Freedom Caucus voted against endorsing Ryan on Wednesday, so what will he do in light of his demands? Will he stay true to his word and drop his name from consideration? Or will he begin his new job—assuming he gets it—with a broken promise on the very first day?
Even if he Ryan chooses to go for it, he still faces challenges from other members of the Congress who aren’t members of the House Freedom Caucus like Steve King (R-IA) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX).
By the way, noticeably absent from the discussion so far is House Freedom Caucus member Ken Buck (R-CO), who hasn’t responded to requests from the media for comment. And that got me to thinking…
Since Ken Buck voted for Boehner at the start of this session, and subsequently supported Kevin McCarthy, should we be concerned that Ken is hiding out right now?
David Leach is the owner and publisher of The Strident Conservative where he is proudly politically-incorrect and always “right,” and he is also a frequent contributor at RedState.com.
His political commentaries can be heard daily on KLZ560 AM at 3pm MST and on other Crawford Broadcasting stations throughout the day.
