Speaker Ryan needs to take ownership of divisiveness

By Rob Howard
Political Columnist

“House Speaker Paul Ryan on Wednesday decried ugliness and divisiveness in American politics, delivering a veiled but passionate rebuke to GOP front-runner Donald Trump and the nasty tone of the presidential race,” according to the Associated Press

"’When passions flare, ugliness is sometimes inevitable. But we shouldn't accept ugliness as the norm,’ Ryan told an invited audience of congressional interns on Capitol Hill.

"’If someone has a bad idea, we tell them why our idea is better. We don't insult them into agreeing with us,’ he said.”

Well great. I’m happy that Ryan has finally come around to the conclusion that divisiveness in American politics is a bad thing. But my question is, where was he for the past seven years?

Well, to start with, he was in on the obstructionist planning for the GOP starting January 20, 2009. According to the Huffington Post, “As President Barack Obama was celebrating his inauguration at various balls, top Republican lawmakers and strategists were conjuring up ways to submarine his presidency at a private dinner in Washington. 

“The event -- which provides a telling revelation for how quickly the post-election climate soured -- serves as the prologue of Robert Draper's much-discussed and heavily-reported new book, Do Not Ask What Good We Do: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives."

“According to Draper, the guest list that night (which was just over 15 people in total) included Republican Reps. Eric Cantor (Va.), Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), Paul Ryan (Wis.), Pete Sessions (Texas), Jeb Hensarling (Texas), Pete Hoekstra (Mich.) and Dan Lungren (Calif.), along with Republican Sens. Jim DeMint (S.C.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.), Tom Coburn (Okla.), John Ensign (Nev.) and Bob Corker (Tenn.).”

So right from the very beginning, Ryan was part of the GOP effort to derail President Barack Obama’s legislative program, and defeat him when he ran for reelection in 2012.

Ryan opposed the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), often called Obamacare, from the start, voted against it, and said nothing about the ugliness of the developing Tea Party movement at congressional members’ town hall meetings, where they shouted down usually Democratic politicians who had voted for the ACA.

In 2012, TeaPartyExpress.com said, “Tea Party Express Chairman Amy Kremer said the selection of Congressman Paul Ryan as the vice-presidential choice of Mitt Romney confirms his strong commitment to the tea party economic issues that have caused the tea party movement to become such a major force in American politics.”

It’s only recently that Speaker Ryan has decided enough is enough. In February, The Atlantic reported on a meeting between Ryan and the “Freedom Caucus” (read Tea Party Caucus) in Congress. He said, “Don’t fight over tactics. And don’t impugn people’s motives. It’s fine if you disagree. And there’s a lot that’s rotten in Washington. There’s no doubt about that. But we can’t let how you vote on an amendment to an appropriations bill define what it means to be a conservative. Because, it’s setting our sights too low. Frankly, that’s letting the president define us. That’s what he wants us to do. That’s defining ourselves as an opposition party, instead of a proposition party.”

In other words he was telling the Tea Party caucus that they are the problem.

And then this week, at the speech reported on by the AP, he said, “’We are slipping into being a divisive country,’ he said, ‘If we're going to keep this beautiful American experiment going we're going to have to stay unified.’"

The AP’s report on the speech continued, “Ryan took the opportunity Wednesday to voice regrets about his own previous contributions to divisive political discourse. He said that in the past he'd referred to certain people as ‘takers,’ but then thought more about how people could become mired in poverty and dependent on government help. ‘To label a whole group of Americans that way was wrong,’ he said.

“Still, Democrats wasted no time in criticizing Ryan's speech, noting that while remaining officially neutral in his party's presidential primary, Ryan has repeatedly promised to back the eventual GOP nominee. The speaker has also avoided any outright denunciation of Trump even while criticizing several of the businessman's more extreme positions, such as barring Muslims from entering the country.

"’Speaker Ryan's words will ring hollow until he backs them up with action and withdraws his support from Donald Trump,’ said Adam Jentleson, spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada.”

And I have to say, I agree with that position. But I would take it further. Speaker Ryan has to own his contribution to the divisiveness in American politics. Starting out a new President’s term by plotting to obstruct his program from the start was a contribution to that divisiveness. Supporting the Tea Party in its obstruction was too.

So don’t think that Ryan is late to the game. He’s been a player and a coach since January 20, 2009. He should apologize for that, for tolerating the hatefulness of the Tea Party, and for his continued allegation that he will support the GOP nominee – presumably even if it is Trump.

We will judge Speaker Ryan on his actions to bring America together – if there are any. Not on his words at a speech to Congressional interns.

The AP summed it up best, “It was the latest occasion since Ryan became speaker last October that he has summoned his party to unity, and delivered lofty pledges that the House of Representatives will be the vehicle for producing a bold governing vision for the GOP.

“Yet divisions within the party have blocked House Republicans from passing a budget for the upcoming fiscal year, an embarrassment for Ryan, and GOP leaders have struggled to come up with meaningful legislation to debate.”

The Gayly – March 24, 2016 @ 3:25 p.m.