Nothing is so fractious as the right side of the political spectrum in victory. So, what do you think? Is Jeanine Pirro right? Does Paul Ryan have to go and step down as Speaker of the House?
One has to give Jeanine Pirro credit. The woman is not afraid to rub people the wrong way. She opened her weekly broadcast last Saturday evening with the assertion that Paul Ryan should step down down as Speaker of the House. She spoke with utter conviction and with such clarity as to leave no wiggle room.
I was… a bit disappointed. I like Pirro. She’s high energy, quick, and most admirably, she’s arranged her life in such a way that makes her immune to the consequences most of us would face for being that outspoken. I envy her in the best sense, if there is such a thing. Thus, she can afford to be fearless in a way that you and I can not.
On whom all agree…
The subject of Paul Ryan brought to mind one of my favorite short stories, Shadows In The Dark, by L. Sprague de Camp. Here is the relevant excerpt:
Taurus the chancellor brushed back the white hair above a face lined with the cares of many years. He looked intently at Conan, sitting across from him in his cabinet of state.
He said: “You ask what would befall if Khossus were slain? Why then, the council would choose his successor. As he has no legitimate heir, his sister is the likely choice, since the Princess Yasmela is popular and conscientious.”
“If she declined the honor?” said Conan.
“The succession would pass to her next of kin, her uncle Bardes. If, good Conan, you think to grasp the crown yourself, dismiss the thought. We Khorajis are a clannish folk; none would accept a foreigner like you. I mean no offense; I do but utter facts.”
Conan waved away Taurus’s apology. “I like an honest man. But what if a ninny came to sit upon the throne?”
“Better one ninny on whom all agree, than two able princes wasting the land in a struggle for power. “
And therein lies our dilemma. Paul Ryan was supposed to be the Ninny On Whom All Agreed. His accession to the speakership heralded an era of optimism. Finally, we had someone able to bridge the divide between the fractious Conservatives, the libertarian minded Freedom Caucus/Tea-Party, and the Old Guard/Country Club Republicans, often derisively referred to as Republicans In Name Only (RINOs).
We’ve had a free election. Yet reprobates like Pelosi and Schumer are determined to lay waste to the realm. It has been ever so with the deranged Left (redundant, I know). The electorate has rejected their world view. So they will burn it all down.
This is why we can’t have nice things…
Ryan was in every sense a political draftee who put his nation first and graciously put aside his own presidential ambitions. The new speaker demonstrated a degree of magnitude not seen since Richard Nixon refused to allow a re-count after the 1960 presidential election.
But to Pirro’s point – while I don’t think it’s time for Ryan to step down, I do have one burning question: Why wasn’t the legislation to replace The Affordable Care Act ready to go?
I am putting aside my own distaste for Socialized Medicine, given how its insertion distorts the market.
…and why I’m not a Republican…
But the elephant in the room is simply the past 6 years. The republicans have had a majority in the House since 2010. Over one thousand legislative and Gubernatorial seats have gone over to them during the disastrous Obama Administration, so clearly there’s popular support.
They employ platoons of staffers – the majority of whom are law school graduates, I presume, so manpower was certainly not an issue.
This is the over-arching disappointment. The Republicans had the time and resources to bring the various factions together and present a comprehensive Healthcare Reform bill. No piece of legislation is perfect, because everyone has a different idea of perfection. Yet since the founding of the Republic, lawmakers have written and passed legislation through laborious horse trading and sausage-making. Human Nature at its finest.
…and why we shouldn’t have heroes.
The lessons of Watergate were many, yet the Republicans seem to have never internalized any of them. Not since Newt Gingrich saved Bill Clinton from himself have we seen Patriots make so many unforced errors. I’m not talking about non-scandals involving Russia or Tweeting.
The Left continues to maintain it’s stranglehold on Broadcast and Print Media, Entertainment, Advertising, and Education. In spite of all this, they continue to lose elections, but that won’t hold for long. The system is nearing collapse, and those who hold America dear need to move forward on the broader issues. We can always sort the details out later.
Selah.
I believe Judge Pirro is a little too quick on the trigger. While Ryan’s comment “it’s harder to be the leadership party rather then the opposition party”(paraphrased) was highly jeered in the press–there is truth in his statement.
I feel Ryan is an intelligent and thoughtful man. I also believe he will learn from his mistake. I imagine the next piece of Republican legislation will be better crafted and with more input from the various Republican interests.
Political infighting has always been stronger on the right than on the left. I believe that has to do with those on the right having stronger principles than those on the left. I’m not throwing mud at the left here as, at its core, the Democrat party consists of two wings that seem to ignore with ease two very different ideologies–LBGT rights versus the defense on Islamic rights–two greater oppositional philosophies I cannot even imagine.
Too, let us not forget that Trump is neither a Republican in the traditional sense nor a Democrat in the same sense. I feel that he operates from a position of pragmatism–what does it take to make the deal? This trait, more than any other, makes him suspect to groups like the House Freedom Caucus.
Trump and Ryan will be continually pressed to find common ground on future legislation. However, I would prefer having these two guys work things out over going through a long process of selecting a new Speaker. The time and treasure lost in that fight would kill any prospect of tax relief and a meaningful infra-structure bill before the 2018 mid-terms. If the Republican House members cannot go home to their districts and show their constituents true legislative progress, then the mid-terms will be very shaky for the Republicans.
Saved as a favorite, I actually enjoy your
blog!