Thomas Garvie
tgarvie@uwyo.edu
This past Thursday the United States House of Representatives concluded one of the most surprising and at some points erratic proceedings in recent memory by electing a new Speaker of the House. Before we discuss the new Speaker and the impact of this move, it is important to give you an idea of the general political landscape surrounding what has been an exhausting month-long search for a leader.
The turmoil began for the Republican Party with the launch of the 2016 presidential election season that would see not five, not ten, but 17 candidates throw their proverbial hats into the ring to be elected to represent the GOP come next November. Of the 17 there are certainly some big names like Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and even financial mogul Donald Trump. However, the name that is missing is that of former GOP Presidential Nominee Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney’s absence is important because the presence of the former face of the party in the election could have greatly reduced not only the number of candidates in the field, but also the subsequent division in the party.
Though the field has shrunk all the way down to a much more manageable 15 candidates (sarcasm) the division is still clear.
Somehow even more concerning than Donald Trump being a frontrunner in the republican primaries, were mounting tensions on the Hill where former Speaker of the House John Boehner was being pressured from both sides of the aisle on his policies. This includes critique delivered by his own ultra conservative base who claimed he was selling out and not standing by the values of the party. The mounting pressure became too much for Boehner and he announced in September that he would step down creating a buzz, but not warranting panic. It wasn’t until his second in command House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy stepped aside in the race leaving only a litany of no names to be chosen from.
Enter Paul Ryan. The former vice presidential candidate and sitting congressmen for Wisconsin’s first district became the prettiest girl at the prom, with every republican wielding any clout in the House visiting and writing to him to convince him to run. Ryan said on numerous occasions that he didn’t want the job and that he never had. However, after taking a long look at the alternatives- or lack thereof- Ryan brushed up on his Plato philosophy and stepped forward as the reluctant leader of the party and the House. As such, the young Ryan was in a unique position to make some pretty hard demands in exchange for gracing the body with his candidacy.
Not the least of his proposals involves the abolition of a House rule that allows the Speaker to be removed with a simple majority vote. While this can be viewed as a power grab, I think it is more accurately an attempt to protect Ryan from the same threats that were made by the House Freedom Caucus and were instrumental in forcing out Boehner. While Ryan has currently 70% approval from this caucus, they are not the only ones in a position to make these threats in the future.
His other demands are less radical but are viewed by some to be a cop out of some of the more customary duties of the speaker. For example Ryan made it clear that he was unwilling to sacrifice time on the weekends with his family, which means he would be unable to spend countless hours campaigning on behalf of colleagues. And while one congressman called this “an unreasonable demand,” according to CNN I think that most would agree that the man has a right to forgo tedious semantics for the sake of preserving his family.
Politically, Ryan seems to have stricken a perfect balance in the party between the very moderate former speaker and the ultra conservative tea party. The balance is so perfect in fact, that he has garnered support from a number of democratic house members as well as a few tea partiers.
The fact of the matter is that Paul Ryan is the youngest speaker since the Civil War, with strong leadership qualities and a plan. He has the ability to bring both sides of the aisle closer during the infinitely partisan time ahead. He is a man taking a position of power for the sake of the party, the government and the people rather than to further his own agenda that never included this step and could ultimately cost him a run at the white house. While staunch liberals will disagree with some policies while fighting others simply on some strange misplaced since of principle, and ultra conservatives bash him for being too weak on immigration (which apparently now is anything short of building a wall), I think the truth is clear.
Speaker Paul Ryan will be a galvanizing and unifying force for not only the Republican Party but Congress as a whole.
