Paul Ryan Bows Out

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan

It has been a rough week. But the news does not stop. One of the bigger news stories that broke today came from the Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan. He announced that he will not be seeking reelection this November and people on both sides of the aisle are freaking out about it. One side is more panicked and trying to remain calm as alarms sound all around them. The other side is nervously excited, thinking, �What if?�

            This is the 37^th Republican in the House that will not be running for reelection. Combined with the three senators who will also retire, 40 Republican Congressmen will not be returning to Capitol Hill in 2019. Compared to the last two elections where 22 retired in 2016 and 27 retired in 2014, this number is much higher. Ryan is also the leader of the Republican party. While he cited family matters causing his departure, there is no doubt that the possibility of losing the majority in the House and his tense relationship with the President played a role in the timing of his decision. Why else would Ryan pick this moment to opt out?

            In reality, Ryan never wanted to be the Speaker of the House and reluctantly accepted the nomination in order to unify his party. Kevin McCarthy of California was the front runner for the position but surprisingly dropped out at the last minute because of a disastrous TV interview he was in surrounding the Benghazi controversy, admitting that his actions to prosecute Hillary Clinton were politically motivated. McCarthy�s exit from the race caused the Republican Party in the House to erupt into chaos. Ryan became increasingly pressured by his colleagues to enter and he did so to save the party. He never really wanted to be the leader or the face of an increasingly unpopular Republican-controlled House. He became the scapegoat and was given the impossible task of maintaining a good relationship between the varying positions and characters of The White House and Congress.

            For that reason, Ryan may have been inspired to call it quits. However, he also cited family reasons and the need for him to be present during his daughter�s teenage years. That is understandable and while I am sure that is an honest reason to leave, he probably would have stuck it out longer if he was not Speaker of the House and constantly being slammed by politicians from both sides.

          

Democratic challenger Randy Bryce

  Another reason he might have decided to cut the cord is because he is facing competition in his own district from a Democrat. To lose to the opposition party while you are the leader of the majority would be beyond embarrassing. Ryan wanted to preserve what was left of his dignity in Washington. Randy Bryce, the Democratic challenger is a blue-collar populist type candidate that has been on the radar for some time, especially since he has raised nearly 5 million dollars so far. The Cook Political Report, a newsletter that analyzes polls and elections, gave the Republicans a five-point advantage for the election that Ryan would have been in. To put that in perspective, Democrat Conor Lamb recently won a House race in Pennsylvania in a district where the same newsletter gave the Republicans an eleven-point advantage.

            After everything that Ryan has endured over the past three years, the thought of losing in his own district might have set him over the edge of what he was willing to take from this country. Do I have any sympathy for Paul Ryan? Yes. He was a scapegoat and an easy target of criticism from Republicans angry at the Republican establishment and obviously Democrats.

            The field is wide open now in Wisconsin�s first district. The only Republican currently running is openly anti-Semitic so the Republicans will have to find a new candidate to run or face certain defeat. That�s all for this week.