Former House Speaker Pual Ryina (R-Wis.) continues to slam former President Donald Trump, calling him a “scourge” to the GOP and country. Ryan apparently was fed up with Trump’s criticism of him while he was House Speaker during Trump’s time in office. But it’s hard to figure out exactly who backs Ryan’s attacks on Trump when he seems more inclined toward 80-year-old President Joe Biden’s disastrous economic and foreign policy. Ryan—and other anti-Trumpers–takes any position as long as it’s opposite Trump. Ryan has been part of the never-Trump wing of the Republican Party, led by 76-year-old retiring curmudgeon Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Ut.). Romeny once called Trump as “phony and con artist” in 2016 campaign while Trump ran for president. If Ryan felt so strongly about Trump or the Republican Party why wouldn’t he run for president in 2024?
Ryan doesn’t run for president because he’s content sniping from the sidelines without any skin in the game, taking swipes from college campuses. Ryan had choice words for 51-year-old Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.) who brought the motion to vacate against 58-year-old House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.). Ryan can’t fathom that McCarthy had more than one detractor, including the entire Democrat House caucus voting McCarthy out en masse. Ryan said Gaetz was an “unprincipled demagugue” for filing the motion to vacate. Ryan says nothing of all the Democrats tossing McCarthy under the bus right after he worked with Democrats Sept. 30 to avoid a government shutdown. Yet to the gutless Ryan, it was only Gaetz that sabotaged McCarthy’s tenuous hold on the House GOP. Whatever Gaetz’s motives, including personal ones, Democrats could have easily saved McCarthy’s job.
Ryan said that the two GOP front-runners for Speaker 59-year-old Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and 57-year-od Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) shouldn’t take the job unless the House changes its rule to call a motion to vacate with only one vote. But when you think of McCarthy, he wouldn’t have survived a motion to vacate in the old system requiring a majority to oust a speaker. McCarthy had eight members, including Gaetz, voting to oust him from Speaker because of compromising with Democrats. Ryan calls the Freedom Caucus hardliners but who are the real hardlines? Biden thinks it’s OK to trash decades of diplomacy, détente and arms control with the Russian Federation. Apparently, Ryan thinks going to war with Russia is a good idea. What’s wrong with a faction of the GOP saying they’ve had enough spending billions on Ukraine, seeking more cash for other priorities?
Ryan was Romney’s VP pick in 2012 when he lost badly to former President Barack Obama, something Trump was critical about. Trump said Mitt “choked like a dog” in 2012, barely showed up on the campaign trail. Yet Ryan liked Romney’s Neocon and war hawk policies backing the Iraq War that cost the U.S. Treasury $3 trillion dollars, adding to the ederal budget deficit and national debt. Ryan isn’t concerned about today’s $33 trillion national debt and over $1.6 trillion federal budget deficit, all because Biden gives Ukraine a blank check to battle the Kremlin. So, when it comes to back Biden’s foreign policy, count Ryan all in, other than trashing anyone that dares to disagree with Biden. Ryan’s view, which could prove correct, is that Trump, with all his baggage, can’t win a national election, where several other candidates could beat Biden.
Ryan’s only valid point about Trump is that he could wind up getting convicted between now and the 2024 election. Well, if that happens, of course Trump wouldn’t represent the GOP in the 2024 election. But the GOP needs some new blood from candidates currently running. If one of the GOP candidates were remotely competitive, the’d run much stronger against Trump. Ryan should realize that things will eventually play out with Trump. Many of Trump’s followers don’t like the fact that the government went after him for the purpose of ending his 2024 election bid. If voters felt the government were fair, they wouldn’t back Trump so strongly. Funny how Ryan doesn’t remember the economic prosperity under Trump or, more equally importantly, that Trump didn’t start any new foreign wars. Biden started a doozy joining Ukraie to go to war against the Kremlin.
Ryan said that he’s old school, believes that politicians must tell the truth and show high ethics and morality. But what ethics count the most when someone promotes economic prosperity and world peace? Ryan doesn’t like Trump because of his own personal reasons, similar to other anti-Trumpers. Ryan had no problem with the ethics of falsely charging Trump as a Russian asset. Ryan went right along with all of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton’s lies about Trump. For Ryan, it’s OK to use the Justice Department and FBI to politically persecute candidates. “I think he’s a scourge. I think he’s dangerous to our party and the country . . “ Ryan told a group of students at Utah Valley University.Gary R. Herbert Institute of Public Policy. Ryan finds it’s OK o create hyperinflation or start reckless foreign wars but not OK to promote peace and economic prosperity.
About the Author
John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He’s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.
