Paul Ryan for Speaker talk sure is getting to be ubiquitous

In the aftermath of Kevin McCarthy's withdrawal from the Speaker race, all the talk this morning seems to be focused on one name - one very reluctant name: Paul Ryan. Ryan says he doesn't want the job and would prefer to remain as chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, where he believes he can make more of a direct impact on the nation's fiscal condition. He also has small children at home and doesn't want to give up any more time with them than his current gig already requires. Then there is the whole meme that being Speaker is a "thankless job" that no sane person would ever want (more on that below).

But for all this, Ryan seems to be emerging as the one candidate who could unite both the centrist and Tea Party elements of the House Republican Caucus, and the word this morning is that his "absolutely not" responses are changing to "no comment" responses as he cancels fundraisers and meets with colleagues. Is this happening? It seems at this point the only real obstacle is Ryan's own unwillingness, and the signals are that it's breaking down. National Review editors today urge Ryan to take the job:

House Republicans are angrily divided, and no faction is blameless. Too many Republicans have been content with an agenda that merely attempts to get business done on time, and to please business lobbies. (Those lobbies are sometimes right and sometimes wrong, but conservatism is not reducible to their preferences.) Too many other Republicans think that leadership consists of unrealistic demands combined with strong rhetoric. More than any other prominent House Republican, Ryan has pushed back against both tendencies. He has instead outlined a practical agenda and done the hard work of building support for it from all corners of the party. Although he has sided with leadership in tactical disputes in recent years, he has consistently pushed the envelope on substance, understanding that the party needs a serious policy agenda to counter that of the Left. He is a knowledgeable and effective defender of conservative policy. Sometimes we think he is wrong on both substantive and tactical matters, but we never doubt that he is wrong for the right reasons. For these reasons, Ryan is trusted by most House Republicans, whatever their opinion of the Boehner era.

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For Ryan to lead House Republicans would require some accommodations. He would have to commit to keeping immigration legislation that most Republicans oppose off the floor, whatever his own opinion of it. He would have to receive assurances from many of the Republicans who vexed Boehner that they will stay with the party on procedural votes, in return for assurances that he will not ride roughshod over them. And with preteens at home, Ryan would surely want to remold the responsibilities of the speakership to involve less fundraising travel.

I realize that for some conservatives Ryan waded into RINO territory when he agreed with Patty Murray on a budget compromise in 2013. But if you look at his overall record of seriousness and depth on fiscal policy, it's hard to find anyone better. Even more so, he can support and defend conservative fiscal ideas in the face of the media onslaught much better than Boehner ever could. The Freedom Caucus may want one of their own, but they have to recognize they are maybe 40 members of a 247-member caucus. If they can get someone who basically shares their policy goals and is respected by the leadership, they're going to be doing pretty well. Early indications are that they get this. Now about this nonsense that the the Speakership is a "thankless job" and that's why no one wants it: Boo hoo. Why did these people run for Congress in the first place? So they could receive everyone's gratitude? I hear this all the time from Boehner defenders: Being Speaker is a thankless job that comes with unrealistic expectations! No sane person would want the job! Shut up already. That's the biggest bunch of sniveling crap I've ever heard. The nation needs a leader to step into this position, bring all factions together make the House majority effective in a way that it hasn't been - at least under Republican control - since Newt Gingrich was Speaker. If he isn't going to be thanked for it, too damn bad. If House conservatives are hard to please, then he needs to work with them, communicate clearly with them and treat them with respect rather than treat them as disgusting annoyances as Boehner did. Maybe then they'll respect the Speaker's strategies to accomplish what he can with Obama in the White House. And maybe the new Speaker will hear their concerns and take them into account when deciding the way forward, in a way that Boehner didn't. But the purpose of the Speakership is not to have everyone love, thank and appreciate you. It's to do what the nation needs done. The people who keep bitching about how thankless the job is are disqualifying themselves every time they open their mouths as far as I'm concerned. Yes, it would be a sacrifice for Ryan to take the job. If that's too much to ask, then maybe he should pass on it too. But I don't think he sees it that way. I certainly hope not, because Ryan is a good choice, and if he passes I honestly don't know what to hope for next.