With his ego running on overdrive, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) demanded that House Republicans unify behind him or else they will have to look elsewhere for a new messiah.
Video of Ryan:
Basically I made a few requests for what I think is necessary, and I asked to hear back by the end of the week.
First, we need to move from being an opposition party to a proposition party. Because we think the nation is on the wrong path, we have a duty to show the right one. Our next speaker needs to be a visionary one.
Second, we need to update our House rules so that everyone can be a more effective representative. This is, after all, the people’s house. But we need to do it as a team. And it needs to include fixes that ensure we don’t experience constant leadership challenges and crisis.
Third, we, as a conference, should unify now, and not after a divisive speaker election.
The last one is personal. I cannot and will not give up my family time. I may not be able to be on the road as much as previous speakers, but I pledged to make up for it with more time communicating our message.
What I told the members is, if you can agree to these requests, and I can truly be a unifying figure, then I will gladly serve. And, if I am not unifying, that is fine as well. I will be happy to stay where am, at the Ways and Means Committee.
Ryan really doesn’t want to be Speaker, and he is trying to protect himself from the chaos that swallowed up John Boehner by imposing conditions on his candidacy.
What is so delicious about Ryan’s statement is that he is using the House Republicans’ own tactics against them. Ryan is the one who is making unilateral demands. It is his way or nothing. The same tactics that House Republicans have failed with against President Obama are now being used by Paul Ryan.
The dysfunction in the Republican House is systemic and ideological. Even if House Republicans agree to Ryan’s condition, they won’t stick to their half of the bargain, and before long Ryan will be plagued by the same dysfunction that caused John Boehner to flee the House.
Republicans don’t get it. Their problem isn’t a bad speaker. Their problem is a party that is really two political parties that are at war with each other. Paul Ryan’s ego is so big that he believes that he can end the war when in reality he is likely to be the conflict’s next high-profile casualty.
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