The group came to the meeting with lofty demands, typical of hard-line Conservatives. Much of the conversation revolved around making sweeping changes to the House. Ryan entertained and agreed with many of their ideas in principle--but refused to commit to any of their initiatives. He seemed to have an attitude of "If you don't want me to run, I won't". Despite his lack of total dedication, the Caucus left the meeting and decided to endorse Ryan.
Their endorsement means a lot for the Republican party--it basically ensures that Ryan will be the Republican choice for House Speaker. It also shows possible signs of future bridge-building in the fractious party. That said, if he does become Speaker of the House, things might not be as easy as winning over the Freedom Caucus proved to be. Ryan has proven himself to be a hard-line Conservative in the past, but the caucus is known for being hard to please. If he makes a wrong move, they could take him down like Boehner.
Do you think that Ryan is a good candidate for House Speaker? Will he unite a divided party or will he have to turn to Democrats for support in his initiatives? Are big changes to the House in store?
http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/paul-ryan-freedom-caucus-speaker-republicans-215044
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/23/opinion/paul-ryan-a-speaker-for-the-freedom-caucus.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/supermajority-of-house-freedom-caucus-to-back-paul-ryans-speaker-bid/2015/10/21/d7411964-781e-11e5-a958-d889faf561dc_story.html
2 comments:
While I feel that it is obviously necessary for the Speaker of the House crises to be resolved, I am not quite sure that Paul Ryan is the fit. When reading some articles about his decision to run, one of his conditions was “I cannot, and will not, give up my family time. I may not be on the road as often as previous Speakers, but I pledge to make up for it with more time communicating our vision, our message.” Although some have applauded his commitment to family, others have found this point one for criticism. Even though he wants more free time than other Speakers have traditionally had, his conservative record shows otherwise. He has failed to support any policy that would be beneficial to America's hardworking families. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) posted about this on twitter today: "I'm glad to see @PRyan understands the importance of work/life balance for his next job. Millions of hardworking moms & dads want work/life balance too @PRyan but can be fired just for asking for time off to care for a sick kid." Senate Minority leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) also spoke out about this news: "I hope he will not take weekends off until we do something to solve the debt crisis and to fund the government." In Ryan's taking off of time, he will not be able to do the amount of fundraising that others have. For example, John Boehner spent at least 200 days traveling to fundraise. However, I applaud Ryan's ability to appeal to those who don't necessarily share the same conservative views, as well as to gain the approval of the Freedom Caucus, a difficult task. I still don't think he is the right choice even though it is imperative that someone is chosen soon in order to get the House back on track. Some of his Republican colleagues don't even think he's fit for the job, including Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) who said, "The impression I got speaking to Paul Ryan is that he would be somewhat thankful if he did not have to be speaker of the House." It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/politics/la-na-ryan-challenge-20151022-story.html
http://www.newyorker.com/news/amy-davidson/paul-ryan-and-the-fund-raising-life-balance
Although Paul Ryan may have a large commitment to his family, I see Ryan as a possible unifying speaker in an increasingly divided House of Representatives and Republican party. In his official statement declaring his candidacy he wrote. ""After talking with so many of you, and hearing your words of encouragement, I believe we are ready to move forward as a one, united team". Additionally, his attitude towards the Freedom Caucus, which generally hardlines for their policies and are unwilling to budge, was noncommittal. Ryan seems more concerned with uniting the party than pleasing only one of the interest groups. Traditionally, the Freedom Caucus placed pressure on the Speaker of the House to follow and push for their interests, but now they are seeming to feel a need to fall in line behind Ryan despite his aloofness. Ryan went so far as to call the Republican party "the problem". This attitude of trying to unite across party lines and acknowledge their follies is reassuring during a time when the country is so divided. Even if he is less committed in terms of fundraising and traveling across the country, the priority right now should be finding solutions as a new president will soon be stepping and fiscal problems approach. However, there is a concern that once Ryan is in the house the Freedom Caucus will not be as lenient with their policies. Although they may have endorsed him as a candidate that does not ensure a healthy relationship for the rest of his term. The government is at a turning point of will the divided increase and political gridlock only get worse, or will it be able to reconcile on some issues and finally move forward. Ryan seems focused on actual policymaking and working as a team. Although this seems ideological and difficult, an attempt would be better than the current situation of constant bickering and little action. Hopefully Ryan will be able change the ways of the House of Representatives and being to compromise on the multitude of issues that plagues this country.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/us/politics/republicans-paul-ryan-house-speaker.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/paul-ryan-speaker_562964e4e4b0aac0b8fc5cd7
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