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Diamond Member
Excellent editorial from the WSJ.
The Republican Crack-Up
What about Paul Ryan?
I'd support him.
Kevin McCarthy suddenly quit his bid to succeed John Boehner as House Speaker on Thursday, amid an increasingly toxic crack-up inside the Republican conference. At 247 Members, the GOP enjoys its largest House majority since the 71st Congress of 1929-30—but a minority may squander it with ultimatums and self-sabotage. ...
The rebels don’t have nearly enough support to stand up their own man, but they can blow up all House business and decapitate the leadership of their own party. The danger is that having deposed Mr. Boehner and now Mr. McCarthy, they will refuse to back anyone who won’t meet their demands. ...
We share most of the Freedom Caucus’s policy goals. But what they haven’t offered is a realistic or even remotely plausible strategy to achieve what these conservatives say they want until there is a GOP President. Their demands on Mr. McCarthy included electing one of their Members as Majority Leader when not one of them can get the votes himself. Some are also demanding that protectionist Members be put on Ways and Means to blow up the Pacific trade deal.
The GOP Congress could slip into chaos that cedes the agenda to Democrats or is unable to do even the most basic work of government. GOP approval ratings, already low, will sink further and let Democrats run against a reckless Congress. Add Mr. Trump as the presidential nominee, and the GOP could lose the House, Senate and White House in 2016. ...
Paul Ryan’s colleagues are already imploring him to stand as the only potential Speaker who could consolidate the GOP’s factions. He’s said repeatedly he doesn’t want the job, and no wonder. If the only way to become and remain Speaker is to capitulate to the impossible demands of a rump minority, then you’re being set up to fail.
Then again, Mr. Ryan may be the only Republican with the national standing and conservative credentials to defy the Cruz ultimatums. He’d be assailed with the usual sellout and surrender epithets, any future presidential ambitions might suffer, and he’d have less time for his young children. But he could save the House majority from self-destruction. ...
The rebels don’t have nearly enough support to stand up their own man, but they can blow up all House business and decapitate the leadership of their own party. The danger is that having deposed Mr. Boehner and now Mr. McCarthy, they will refuse to back anyone who won’t meet their demands. ...
We share most of the Freedom Caucus’s policy goals. But what they haven’t offered is a realistic or even remotely plausible strategy to achieve what these conservatives say they want until there is a GOP President. Their demands on Mr. McCarthy included electing one of their Members as Majority Leader when not one of them can get the votes himself. Some are also demanding that protectionist Members be put on Ways and Means to blow up the Pacific trade deal.
The GOP Congress could slip into chaos that cedes the agenda to Democrats or is unable to do even the most basic work of government. GOP approval ratings, already low, will sink further and let Democrats run against a reckless Congress. Add Mr. Trump as the presidential nominee, and the GOP could lose the House, Senate and White House in 2016. ...
Paul Ryan’s colleagues are already imploring him to stand as the only potential Speaker who could consolidate the GOP’s factions. He’s said repeatedly he doesn’t want the job, and no wonder. If the only way to become and remain Speaker is to capitulate to the impossible demands of a rump minority, then you’re being set up to fail.
Then again, Mr. Ryan may be the only Republican with the national standing and conservative credentials to defy the Cruz ultimatums. He’d be assailed with the usual sellout and surrender epithets, any future presidential ambitions might suffer, and he’d have less time for his young children. But he could save the House majority from self-destruction. ...
The Republican Crack-Up
What about Paul Ryan?
I'd support him.