"I never thought I'd be speaker. But I pledged to you that if I could be a unifying figure, then I would serve—I would go all in. After talking with so many of you, and hearing your words of encouragement, I believe we are ready to move forward as a one, united team. And I am ready and eager to be our speaker."
Are the Republicans now really united? Has Paul Ryan really brought to together? I know that's the image they would like to present to the media (and through them the voters), but I don't believe it. I want to see how they handle a couple of things that are coming up very soon -- raising the debt ceiling, and passing a new budget. The debt ceiling will need to be raised in the first week of November to avoid a default on government debts, and a new budget will need to be passed by December 11th to avoid a government shutdown.
While the "Freedom Caucus" (the teabagger caucus in the House) is going along with Ryan as Speaker, that does not mean they have changed their minds about what they want. They (and some other House Republicans) want to stop the raising of the debt ceiling and pass a budget they know the Democrats and the president could never agree to -- which would shut down the government.
Is Ryan going to let them do that? Or is he going to want to compromise to avoid that (which is what killed Boehner's speakership). If Ryan can somehow maneuver the House through those, and still maintain a unified party, then I'll give him credit. But I think he's taken over a thankless job, and probably one that no one could do (considering the state of the current Republican Party).
I've heard a couple of the members of that "renegade" caucus speak about what they expect and they didn't sound like they had ever heard the word compromise. I think Paul (Eddie Munster) Ryan is going to encounter the same resistance. Paul Ryan scares me because he thinks Ayn Rand was some sort of economic prophet. She was a hypocritical, social science fiction writer who came to this country with a chip on her shoulder, criticizing our society and then taking advantage of its social benefits (social security) until she died. Unfortunately, many in the Gen X group bought her ideology as truth. My son drank the Ayn Rand koolaid until he discovered that it doesn't work in the real world. I didn't argue with him, I let him figure it out on his own. It doesn't stand the test of time or logic. That's why Paul Ryan scares me. He needs to discover the holes in Randian ideology and he may try to push through his economic plan that will destroy the social safety net and could ultimately jeopardize our national security. Hold on to your proverbial hats, we're in for a bumpy ride unless the Democratic voters get motivated and change the political climate. I'm an agnostic so I don't believe in prayer...
ReplyDeletethe fox is guarding the hen house.
ReplyDelete