Paul Ryan To “Retire”

Ken AshfordCongress, RepublicansLeave a Comment

I’m not the first to say it. Paul Ryan got into politics for one reason and one reason only. To give huge tax cuts to the wealthiest of people. He’s wanted to do that since he read Atlas Shrugged.

And he did it. He had to endure kissing HARD on Trump’s ass to do it, but he did it. He got his deficit-exploding tax cut.

Now, he has nothing to do. America is perfect in Ryan’s eyes:

Speaker Paul D. Ryan told House Republican colleagues on Wednesday that he will not seek re-election in November, ending a brief stint atop the House and signaling the peril that the Republican majority faces in the midterm elections.

Mr. Ryan told the House Republican Conference that he will serve until the end of this Congress in January, which will mark 20 years in Congress. But his retirement announcement is sure to kick off a succession battle for the leadership of the House Republican Conference, likely between the House majority leader, Kevin McCarthy of California, and the House majority whip, Steve Scalise of Louisiana.

It could also trigger another wave of retirements among Republicans not eager to face angry voters in the fall and taking their cue from Mr. Ryan.

Angry voters indeed.

Ryan was never suited to this job. He is a policy wonk. But speakership generally requires either a wily manipulator (Tip O’Neill) or a unifying legislative vision backed by the party (1994 Gingrich or 2006 Pelosi). Ryan was neither.

But you could see why Ryan would want to run from the blue wave.  40 Republicans are not running again (compared to only 19 Democrats)

Ryan’s priorities were not supported by legislators. He was interested in solving big problems like entitlements. They weren’t.

So Ryan out. He tried to be the soul of the Republican Party. But he lost…. to Trump.

This is the funny part

Anyway, Paul Ryan will soon have the peace of mind that when he turns 50—in less than two years—he will enjoy a defined-benefits pension of about $79k annually for the rest of his life, funded by the same taxpayers whose Social Security he’s been trying to cut or privatize his entire career.