WhatFinger


Speaks slowly so Chuck Todd can understand

Ryan on MTP: No immigration reform while Obama's in office



It's not easy making a worthwhile point when you go on Meet the Press, because you have to answer questions from Chuck Todd, who never asks you about anything worthwhile. But Speaker Paul Ryan did a pretty good job regardless in his appearance yesterday. Conservatives opposed to Ryan because immigration is their number one issue and they think Ryan is a pro-amnesty sellout will be pleased to know - I think, you never know with them - that Ryan vowed there will be no comprehensive immigration reform taken up by the House as long as Obama is president. Why?
"The president has proven himself untrustworthy on this issue because he tried to unilaterally rewrite the law himself." I was more interested, though, in Ryan's comments about tactics vs. ideas coming from Republicans in Washington: The money quote is this: "We've been bold on tactics. We've been timid on ideas."

Support Canada Free Press


"We're going to exercise the power of the purse and write appropriations."

Not that tactics are entirely unimportant, but I think what he's referring to is the constant quest to find tactics that can somehow prevent Obama from doing things he shouldn't do because they are a) bad ideas; and b) outside his constitutional authority. But these tactics never seem to work, and Ryan believes that has a lot to do with the fact that Republicans have not put forward much of a vision of their own for how to take the country in a better direction. Of course, this is very difficult to articulate when you're forced to have a conversation in which the other participant is Chuck Todd, because he will constantly interrupt your intelligent thoughts to ask moronic questions. Todd constantly asked Ryan about issues in the context of the presidential campaign, which is a strange way of approaching an interview with a guy whose career now and in the foreseeable future will be in the legislative branch. Perhaps the most silly and random example was when Todd asked Ryan, quite out of the blue, whether Donald Trump can lead the Republican Party "with this rhetoric on immigration." I'm not even sure what that's supposed to mean, and it had absolutely nothing to do with Paul Ryan or his new job as Speaker of the House, but Ryan wasn't taking the bait and letting Todd manufacture a "Ryan doubts Trump" headline or anything of the sort. And even when Todd did ask questions about Ryan and the House, he did it in the dumbest possible way. Front and center was his requeset for "one big piece of legislation" on which maybe Ryan could work with Obama. Ryan said he didn't have any particular piece of legislation in mind that might fit that description, but instead was focused on getting the House to operate properly again. Todd's response to that? He kept repeating the question, before going back to more questions about the presidential race. Oh well. Chuck Todd isn't important so let's not spend any more time talking about him. Two more highlights from Ryan: Regarding spending: "We're going to exercise the power of the purse and write appropriations." If this means what I think it means, then Obama can no longer assume that everything he wants in the budget is automatically his, but once again spending will actually originate in the House. Of course, whenever that happens Obama goes straight to brinkmanship and plays it for a government shutdown, knowing full well that his water-carriers in the media (like Chuck Todd) will blame the Republicans for daring not to give the king whatever he wanted. Let's see if Ryan battles that tactic better than Boehner did. It's hard to imagine how he could do so any worse. And finally, Todd repeated an Elizabeth Warren narrative, which was basically: How could Ryan want weekends at home with his family when he doesn't support federally mandated family and medical leave? Ryan's answer: "Because I love my children and I want to be with them on Saturdays and Sundays like most people, doesn't mean I want to take millions in taxpayer money to create a new government entitlement." If you don't appreciate how this guy handles himself, I don't know what to tell you. He's not only the most conservative Speakers we've had since . . . probably ever, but he's smart and quick and comfortable with himself, and isn't about to concede the right to set the terms of the debate to the likes of Chuck Todd. So you grouse if you want. I'm enjoying this.


View Comments

Dan Calabrese -- Bio and Archives

Dan Calabrese’s column is distributed by HermanCain.com, which can be found at HermanCain

Follow all of Dan’s work, including his series of Christian spiritual warfare novels, by liking his page on Facebook.


Sponsored