Paul Ryan Is Retiring

This is truly sad.  Paul Ryan was one of the most principled and thoughtful members of Congress.  Instead of tweets and unrealistic positions, he actually tried to make a difference.  He pushed for programs to actually help people who needed help.  For him, being in Congress wasn’t all about getting re-elected. 

In 2008, he proposed “The Roadmap for America’s Future,” which was a plan to increase economic growth by reforming the tax code and Medicare and Social Security.  When he became chairman of the House Budget Committee, he wrote “The Path to Prosperity.”  While most politicians seem to focus on looking good, Paul Ryan wanted to do good.

So, his retirement is sad for those who think the Republican Party should stand for something more than tweets and knee-jerk reactions.  But I understand why he has decided it’s not worth it anymore.  Why would a serious person want to be minority leader when the House impeaches Donald Trump next year, which will happen if the Democrats take the House?  (If the Democrats take the House in November, the next two years will make these two look great.)

Interestingly, even though he is announcing his retirement in mid-April, Paul Ryan is giving people who might want to run for his seat plenty of time to decide and file – because in Wisconsin the filing deadline is not until June 1.  Unlike, for example, Illinois where candidates had to file in December of last year and we have already had our primary.  But then, election rules in Illinois are written by and for the politicians, not the people.

Finally, while I am sad Paul Ryan is retiring, I am glad for him if it is the best for him.  Best wishes, Speaker Ryan.  Thank you for being an example of what our leaders can be, even if too many of them aren’t.
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UPDATE (4/11/18 12:55 pm):  Here is a comment from James Wigderson, Editor of RightWisconsin, on what Paul Ryan's retirement means.  Regardless of what you think of RightWisconsin, or who is right in Wisconsin, Mr. Wigderson nails it on what Speaker Ryan's retirement means for the Republican Party and the United States (and as I said, it is sad):

"One aspect of Ryan's decision that cannot be overstated is what his retirement means for entitlement reform.  With Ryan gone, there is no prominent leader in the Republican Party talking about the need to control entitlement spending.  President Donald Trump made it clear when he running he had no interest in the kind of long-term deficit-reduction budgeting advocated by Ryan.  Certainly, there is no appetite for controlling entitlement spending in the U.S. Senate, and there is little chance that Ryan's successor as the House Republican Leader, likely to be in the minority after November's elections, will be as interested in entitlement reform.

I remember when Americans for Prosperity loaded up a bus to Ryan's district to hear his first long-term entitlement reform plan.  It was both revolutionary and dangerous for a young congressman to suggest we needed to reform entitlements.  It seemed unlikely that he would ever be able to convince his own colleagues of the need, let alone the country.

Eventually, the Ryan plan became the GOP plan, in part because the Democrats started linking every vulnerable House Republican to the plan, whether or not they were actually for it.  As Republicans actually strengthened their majorities despite being tied to Ryan's budget plan, the strength of Ryan's argument grew. 

Unfortunately, the 2012 election (with Ryan running for Vice President) did not result in a Republican win, and by 2016 the one GOP candidate who wanted nothing to do with Ryan's entitlement reform, Trump, won the party's nomination.  Now we're left to hoping that we can grow out of the projected budget deficits.

While Ryan can point to many accomplishments in his career, his party's failure to reform entitlements will probably have the biggest impact on future generations."