Ryan unveils anti-poverty proposal as part of election-year policy agenda

[Valin]

Washington Post:

Kelsey Snell and Mike DeBonis

June 7 2016

 

After months of deliberation over how to create House Republican consensus on an election-year policy agenda, Speaker Paul D. Ryan on Tuesday unveiled a proposal for fighting poverty that identifies a long list of policy ills but stops short of prescribing specific legislative fixes.

 

The anti-poverty plan, formally announced at a nonprofit social services and housing provider in the hardscrabble Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, includes a list of problems with the current social welfare system and recommendations for how to fix them — largely by shifting money and programs from federal control to groups like Anacostia’s House of Help City of Hope.

 

“These are the people who are fighting poverty on the front lines … and they are winning,” Ryan said, standing next to the group’s founder, Shirley Holloway, and seven fellow House Republicans.

 

“If there is anyone we should listen to, it is them — the people here in our communities who are actually successful in fighting and winning and beating back poverty,” he continued. “What they’re doing is, they’re not isolating the poor, they are elevating the poor. If we want people to contribute to our society, then we need to reward those contributions.”

 

The 35-page document is the first piece of a larger agenda effort Ryan launched earlier this year, aimed at allowing rank-and-file members to craft a substantive blueprint during a presidential campaign where much of the focus has been on party infighting and concerns about bombastic presidential front-runner, Donald Trump.

 

(Snip)

 

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I Have A Dream..it is that we get one Republican story a day that doesn't mention the douchbag Donald Trump..

[Geee]

Paul Ryan’s Purgatory

 

Should he support a man who might sabotage his agenda and his brand of uplifting conservatism?

 

For Paul Ryan, everything was going according to plan.

 

It was a sunny Tuesday morning, and the speaker of the House, joined by seven congressional Republicans, had just wrapped up a meeting with community leaders at a rehab center in one of Washington’s poorest neighborhoods. They lined up behind a podium on the lawn, and for nearly half an hour, eight white Republican lawmakers — flanked by seven black civic activists — talked of their determination to address the endemic problem of poverty. They peppered their remarks with buzzwords such as “mobility,” “empowerment,” “opportunity,” and “accountability.”

 

Ryan then offered to take questions. Hands shot up; the first inquiry came: Did Ryan have any regrets about endorsing Donald Trump, who has continued to question the impartiality of U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel, based on his Mexican heritage? Ryan turned, mid question, to Bishop Shirley Holloway, his host at the community center, and smiled. “I told you.”

 

The speaker was there to promote the House GOP’s solutions to poverty, but he knew he’d be asked about Trump. So he tackled the question unambiguously: “Claiming a person can’t do their job because of their race,” Ryan replied, “is sort of like the textbook definition of a racist comment.” He continued: “I think that should be absolutely disavowed. It’s absolutely unacceptable. But do I believe that Hillary Clinton is the answer? No. I do not.”

 

If Ryan assumed that such a forceful response would satisfy reporters looking for a quick headline, he was mistaken. The next question came: Did Ryan worry that Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric would “undercut” the House GOP’s agenda? Yes, Ryan acknowledged; this very exchange was proof that Trump was overshadowing the House’s policy efforts. The third question was also Trump-related; so were the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh. When at last one reporter chimed in to ask about the minimum wage, the speaker let out a laugh. “Thank you so much.”

 

Welcome to Paul Ryan’s purgatory.

 

The man who spent the better part of two decades climbing the congressional ranks — while promoting a particular set of principles and embodying a sort of decorum and decency he hoped would come to characterize his party — has risen to the position of speaker only to watch the Republican nominee for president overshadow his policy agenda and sabotage his brand of optimistic, uplifting conservatism.

 

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/436329/paul-ryan-purgatory-donald-trump-versus-core-values

[Valin]

@Geee

 

Have you ever seen a Presidential campaign like this one? Because I haven't. As things stand right now, no matter who wins we (Americans) are screwed.

[Geee]

@Geee

 

Have you ever seen a Presidential campaign like this one? Because I haven't. As things stand right now, no matter who wins we (Americans) are screwed.

 

If we lose the majority, then we are REALLY screwed. My hope is that if we can keep a Republican majority they can 'somewhat' limit the damage, no matter which disaster is elected.

[Valin]

 

@Geee

 

Have you ever seen a Presidential campaign like this one? Because I haven't. As things stand right now, no matter who wins we (Americans) are screwed.

 

If we lose the majority, then we are REALLY screwed. My hope is that if we can keep a Republican majority they can 'somewhat' limit the damage, no matter which disaster is elected.

 

 

All I can say is Keep A Good Thought.

 

What would be intellectually interesting is to watch the relationship between the Trump administration and the leadership On The Hill.

 

Thing is this campaign (both Democratic and Republican) will be studied for the next 100 years....I'm thinking Adams vs Jefferson.

[Geee]

 

 

@Geee

 

Have you ever seen a Presidential campaign like this one? Because I haven't. As things stand right now, no matter who wins we (Americans) are screwed.

 

If we lose the majority, then we are REALLY screwed. My hope is that if we can keep a Republican majority they can 'somewhat' limit the damage, no matter which disaster is elected.

 

 

All I can say is Keep A Good Thought.

 

What would be intellectually interesting is to watch the relationship between the Trump administration and the leadership On The Hill.

 

Thing is this campaign (both Democratic and Republican) will be studied for the next 100 years....I'm thinking Adams vs Jefferson.

 

 

It's a glimmer of hope, but the only optimism I have left to cling to.