Ryan Speaks

On January 4, 2018 I wrote in the kanesrealm blog that Paul Ryan would not run for Congress again and would leave office in 2019. Yesterday Speaker Ryan announced that he would be doing just that. What I wrote was not based on a crystal ball or insider information, it was based on an old fashioned trait, paying attention. I criticized the media for not asking the right question of Ryan late last year, which was "will you be on the primary ballot in 2018?" He would have replied that it was too early to announce that, which would have meant, no. Twenty years in Congress and occupying the Speakers seat requires no contemplation.

I will not recount here the many things I've written about Paul Ryan and his philosophies. He stated his great disappointment was not accomplishing the entitlement changes which has been his lifelong political work. Entitlement reform is the language of destroying all social safety nets established since the New Deal, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. But don't despair, he still has eight solid months to further erode the progress made for ordinary Americans. He also knows well that the 1.5 trillion dollar tax cut he helped craft will result in cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, so his patron saint Ayn Rand would be proud.

In an interview after his announcement he stated he "was not running for President" and that that there had " been friction in his relationship with Trump". This is true, he won't be running for President in 2020 and if by friction he means he didn't always enjoy being Trump's lapdog, that's also true but that's the price you pay for abandoning your alleged values in exchange for accomplishing as much damage to the common man as possible. Like a slug working your way through the national garden you're bound to get dirty.

As to the Presidency, we have not heard the last from Paul Ryan. He will be a candidate in 2024 or 2028 depending on the Trump fallout of the next year.

Look for upcoming books, speaking tours and think tank appointments which will permit him to keep his name and face prominent on the national scene.

One good thing about his departure is for awhile we won't have to hear more about this poor tortured policy wonks' terrible ordeal of being Speaker of the House, sleeping in his palatial office in the grandest building representing freedom and democracy in the world and of course his long suffering family who have been deprived of his presence. We should all weep for this reluctant public servant who has secured himself a six figure pension and a national voice to spread his political viewpoint while you and I tilt at windmills and worry about our futures.

Goodbye for now Mr. Speaker, perhaps you'll grow a spine in your final months, but probably not.

Don't worry, I'll keep writing about you while you're in power.