As I watched Paul Ryan roll up his sleeves and
try to explain the GOP healthcare bill in a style reminiscent of an
adjunct professor, and then his follow up performance on the Sunday
morning talk show circuit, I was reminded as to why I was against
electing this man as Speaker of the House. In the Sunday interviews
there was a stark contrast between Ryan and Sen. Rand Paul who is
opposing the bill. Ryan regularly spoke of “the process”. In contrast,
Paul, was on the same Sunday circuit speaking on both the substance and
process of the bill. The difference between the two men’s appearances
was quite revealing if one were to remove their Paul Ryan blinders.
Personally, I never understood the hype in
regards to Ryan. His resume is Congressional Intern, Congressional
Staffer, and Congressman. In other words, he is a creature of
Washington. He was literally raised on the hill. He views everything
through a D.C. prism. Toughness and negotiation skills are a perquisite
for any speaker to be successful. Additionally, a little charisma
doesn’t hurt. Amazingly, these are all traits we have yet to see
exhibited by the man who has choked on the big stage multiple times.
People often refer to Paul Ryan as “one of the
smartest people on the Hill”. While I’m sure Ryan appreciates the
compliment, I’m not exactly sure it’s something to be proud of. “The
Hill” is populated with people whose skillsets are so weak, they
couldn’t last five minutes in the private sector. Congress is filled
with liars, whiners, and conventional thinkers. The reason Donald Trump
is able to get networks from CNBC to Fox News to bow to his demands is
because he understands negotiations. In contrast, Ryan botched the
healthcare rollout showing that he didn’t learn from the controversial
Ryan plan rollout prior to a very tight election. By unveiling this
plan, he not only forced his Republicans colleagues to have to defend
this plan, but he also gave the President and his fellow Democrats
ammunition even though they did not have a plan themselves.
In fairness to Ryan, in person, he is a very
likable man. At the same time, there are plenty of nice men and women in
Congress. The problem is how far being “nice” will get you with
extremists like Nancy Pelosi or even an aggressive president in your own
party who might need to be kept in check. For example, do people
believe once Democrats begin calling Ryan, “anti-immigrant” he will
respond by standing his ground on immigration reform? Do we believe he
will fight side by side with President Trump on hot button legislation?
Being nice guys is why the Romney/Ryan ticket lost a disaster of
presidential administration in 2012.
Although Ryan has exhibited a deficiency in
toughness and negotiation skills, he also lacks the charisma to inspire.
On top of these weaknesses, Ryan has horrible political instincts and
has consistently choked on the big stage. Moreover, no one can claim he
was an asset to the Romney presidential ticket. Let’s be real here.
Sarah Palin was basically thrown into her vice-presidential debate
unprepared and she kept then Senator Biden off guard. If you count his
lies and exaggerations, she clearly won. In comparison, we are told Ryan
is the boy wonder; a genius; a policy wonk. Yet, he had his clock
cleaned by a Vice President who had to defend a disastrous four-year
record. Ryan looked nervous, scared, and quite frankly out of his league
against Biden, who at times appeared to be mentally unstable.
Perhaps I’ve always had low expectations when it came to Ryan’s ability to be an effective speaker. At the time, I believed Rep. Dan Webster would have made a much more effective speaker and I still believe that. I must confess I was never sold on the “Young Guns” crew of Kevin McCarthy, Eric Cantor, and Paul Ryan. Nevertheless, Ryan was clearly the brightest out of that bunch. Still, Ryan’s consistency is respectable, but Republicans have to ask themselves: Will continuing to believe in his abilities just mean more underwhelming results?
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