Round-Up Of Speaker Ryan’s Policy Agenda Rollout

By: Meredith Kelly

. . . just kidding.

Speaker Ryan’s efforts to roll out his “Better Way” agenda yesterday ran into the buzz-saw of Donald Trump’s offensive, racist rhetoric. This will continue to be the case until Election Day and every House Republican is accountable for Donald Trump’s divisive campaign.

THREE DAYS AGO: “Speaker Ryan’s comments on Donald Trump’s nomination have elevated the House Republican agenda,” said Ryan spokeswoman AshLee Strong.

Here’s a (not comprehensive) round-up of the recent coverage on Paul Ryan’s endorsement of presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump:

  • Washington Post Editorial: “On Thursday Mr. Ryan capitulated to ugliness. It was a sad day for the speaker, for his party and for all Americans who hoped that some Republican leaders would have the fortitude to put principle over partisanship, job security or the forlorn fantasy that Mr. Trump will advance a traditional GOP agenda.”
  • The Fix: “Think of the logical inconsistency in Ryan’s comments Tuesday. Yes, Trump is engaging in a ‘textbook’ example of racism. No, I will not rescind my support. What conclusion can possibly be drawn from those comments? That, sure, Trump is playing with racism but he’s still better than Clinton? . . . Trump’s words and actions are forcing a choosing: You are either for him all the way or you are not. Increasingly, there is no room in between those two poles.”
  • Conservative columnist George Will: “The Caligulan malice with which Donald Trump administered Paul Ryan’s degradation is an object lesson in the price of abject capitulation to power. This episode should be studied as a clinical case of a particular Washington myopia — the ability of career politicians to convince themselves that they and their agendas are of supreme importance.”
  • Wisconsin conservative columnist Christian Schneider: “And there will be a long-term price to pay. Any time Ryan stands before reporters detailing his positive agenda steeped in conservative principles, the podium should feature a giant asterisk — that is, House Republicans believe in the pillars of conservatism right up until the point when a puzzlingly hirsute man-baby decides to mock women, minorities and the handicapped. When Ryan espouses political civility, ask him about his endorsement of America’s most prominent Obama birther. We now know that no person exists who is so disgusting that he is below Republican appeasement.”
  • The Fix: “If the speaker’s belief is that his plan to help the poor will be wasted without the right president, then his office can’t really complain when journalists ask if and why he still believes Trump is that right president. Reporters were essentially following Ryan’s own logic when they questioned him about Trump.”
  • Joe Scarborough: “[Ryan] cannot say, ‘Well, Donald Trump’s Donald Trump, but the House is’ — no! Now he endorses Donald Trump, he endorses his racism against Muslims. Paul Ryan endorses his racism against Mexicans. Paul Ryan endorses his racism against Americans who may have, oh, I don’t know, one-16th Mexican blood in there, saying they’re disqualified to be judges.”
  • Rick Wilson: “You own his politics. You own his policies, even the ones that only last as long as the next contradiction. You own the racial animus that started out as a bug, became a feature and is now the defining characteristic of his campaign. You own every crazy, vile chunk of word vomit that spews from his mouth.”