Paul Ryan’s road ahead

[Geee]

Washington Times:

The speaker of the House, the Hon. Paul Ryan, recently expressed his hope for a “confident America.” He went on to say, “We don’t shut people down. If someone has a bad idea, we tell them why our idea is better. We don’t insult them into agreeing with us.” He spoke of the superiority of persuasion to execration.

 

Close observers of the Ryan metier thought he was addressing Donald Trump. After listening to the campaigns in both parties, I have a different view. To my mind, Mr. Ryan was urging caution on everyone campaigning for the presidency this year. Certainly, his remarks were aimed at his fellow Republicans, including Ted Cruz and John Kasich. Yet they were also aimed at Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton, both of whom whenever they take to the podium disparage Messrs. Trump, Cruz, Kasich and forget not the infamous 1 percent.

 

Mr. Ryan calls for reflection and restraint from both parties. Nonetheless, he is in a tricky position. In a year of riotous politics, he has taken a chance of offending the rabble-rousers by calling for a sense of restraint. He even has a Tea Partier challenging him back home.

 

Of course, he has no alternative given his lofty goals in the House of Representatives. As speaker of the House, he is responsible for getting budgets through that chamber that are acceptable to a majority while advancing his free-market policies. He has never been known for heated rhetoric and he is not calling for it now. His role is unique in national politics. He wants to be effective, which seems to be what the majority of Americans call for, but he is an advocate of free markets.