Conservative Media Outraged After Paul Ryan Agrees To Serve As Speaker If The House Meets His Conditions

Written by Katie Sullivan

Published

Right-wing media were outraged over Rep. Paul Ryan's (R-WI) announcement that he would accept the job of Speaker of the House if the party united behind him.

Paul Ryan Announced He Will Run For Speaker Of The House If Republicans Unite And Agree To His Conditions

New York Times: Paul Ryan Will Accept Position As Speaker Of The House If Republicans "Unite Behind Him" And Accept His Conditions. Paul Ryan announced on October 20 that he would accept the position of Speaker of the House if all factions of his party agreed to unite behind his leadership and agreed to certain demands, as The New York Times reported: 

Representative Paul D. Ryan said Tuesday that he would be willing to serve as speaker if all the factions of his party could unite behind him, giving hope to House Republicans who have been divided by conflict and confusion.

In what were at times pointed remarks in a private session with his colleagues, Mr. Ryan called for changes both to the way the speaker's job is structured -- focused more on communicating the party's message and less on fund-raising -- and for an end to the antics of “bomb throwers and hand wringers,” according to members in the room.

“We have become the problem,” Mr. Ryan said in a news conference afterward. “If my colleagues entrust me to be the speaker, I want us to become the solution.”

He suggested that he wanted an answer by Friday.

Mr. Ryan made it clear that he would not accede to preconditions set by “one group,” a clear reference to the members of the hard-line Freedom Caucus, which helped push Speaker John A. Boehner into retirement. Now it may be those same hard-liners who are feeling pressure to fall in line behind Mr. Ryan. [The New York Times, 10/20/15]

Conservative Media, Outraged By Ryan's Demands, Compare Him To A “King” And “Caesar”

Laura Ingraham: Paul Ryan's “Petulance And The List Of Demands” Shows “Ryan Should Not Be Speaker.” On the October 21 edition of Courtside Entertainment Group's The Laura Ingraham Show, Ingraham told members of the House Freedom Caucus, “You did not run for your House seat in your district, with your constituents, to be a rubber stamp for Paul Ryan,” adding that “The petulance and the list of demands that were issued last night demonstrates one thing very clearly. Ryan should not be Speaker of the House”:

LAURA INGRAHAM: The Freedom Caucus, as it's called, the conservatives in the Freedom Caucus, you run in your own districts to represent your constituents. You promised your constituents that you would resist President Obama's lurch to the left at every turn, that you would stand up for the working people of your district. You did not run for your House seat to be merely a rubber stamp for the Chamber of Commerce. You did not run for your House seat in your district, with your constituents, to be a rubber stamp for Paul Ryan. The petulance and the list of demands that were issued last night demonstrates one thing very clearly -- Paul Ryan should not be Speaker of the House. Paul Ryan should continue to do -- I don't even know if at this point he should be chairman of Ways and Means. [Courtside Entertainment Group, The Laura Ingraham Show, 10/21/15]

Mark Levin Attacked The “Pseudo-Conservative Movement” For Backing Paul Ryan. On the October 20 edition of Cumulus Media Network's The Mark Levin Show, Levin criticized “pseudo-conservative[s]” who “tell us only Paul Ryan can be Speaker.” Levin said, “It's amazing how many commentators who are Republican embrace this disaster, these electoral defeats, and yet they're still at it. I'm glad I'm not one of them, and I never will be”:

MARK LEVIN: Now they're telling us only Paul Ryan can be Speaker of the House, because he's a true blue conservative. How so? Cause he voted for everything George W. Bush wanted, and virtually everything John Boehner wanted. And he's the most radical Republican -- the most radical Republican -- on the issue of immigration. Go on the Internet. It's all there now. Wish I'd known it earlier, but it's there. With his buddy Luis Gutierrez and, by the way, endorsed today by Harry Reid, as he was endorsed last week by Luis Guitierrez. What do they know that we don't know? Nothing. We know it all. The same people who've lost election after election, the same people who cost us Congress in 2006. The same people who sought to stop Reagan from reaching the American people with massive landslides. The same people who have massively increased our debt, who have opened our border broadly, who've sold out the First Amendment with McCain-Feingold. Those people -- they now tell us only Paul Ryan can be Speaker, and no outsider should be president. And it's amazing how many surrogates they have in the so-called conservative movement. It's really a pseudo-conservative movement. It's amazing how many commentators who are Republican embrace this disaster, these electoral defeats, and yet they're still at it. I'm glad I'm not one of them, and I never will be.  [Cumulus Media Network, The Mark Levin Show, 10/21/15]

Erick Erickson: “It Is A Terrible Idea To Put A Man In The Speaker's Chair Who Is Behaving With The Ego Of Barack Obama And The Demands Of A Caesar.” In an October 20 blog post on RedState.com, Erick Erickson criticized Ryan for “coming in with a list of demands as if he's a savior” and warned the House Freedom Caucus that "[t]his should be a big red flag":

Good grief, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is a one man soap opera.

First he doesn't want it. Then he still doesn't want it. Then he kinda, sorta, maybe wants it. Then he does not want it again. How many weeks into the saga of Ryan are we?

Now, if only they will hand him the laurel crown he will take the burden begrudgingly, but they must be unanimous, fawning, and accommodating to the Princeps Ryan, our Immortal Beloved.

[...]

But on top of that, Ryan is coming in with a list of demands as if he's a savior. This should be a big red flag to the House Freedom Caucus. They should be making the demands. Instead,Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) and his friends in the media are trying to make the House Freedom Caucus their pet chihuahua in a sorority colors tutu.

By next week, we will be watching Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) 96% perform stupid pet tricks on the floor of the House of Representatives all because Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) 55% demands unfailing loyalty, fealty, and unity as if he is the second coming of Julius Caesar. I think it is a terrible idea to put a man in the Speaker's Chair who is behaving with the ego of Barack Obama and the demands of a Caesar.

[...]

I think I'd rather nominate one of the sorority sisters at the University of Georgia for Speaker. At least she'd be less of a drama queen and not nearly as high maintenance. [RedState, 10/20/15]

Laura Ingraham: “Emperor” Paul Ryan Is “Possibly The Worst [Speaker] Choice.” Conservative radio host and Fox News contributor Laura Ingraham expressed her outrage at Ryan's announcement in a series of tweets, calling him “EMPEROR RYAN,” “Boehner 2.0,” and “possibly the worst Spkr choice”:

[Twitter.com, 10/20/15; 10/21/15; 10/21/15]

Hot Air: “The House Needs A Speaker, But Not An Emperor.”  In an October 21 post titled “The House needs a Speaker, but not an Emperor,” Hot Air compared Paul Ryan to Julius Caesar, writing that it would be a  “mistake to rush rashly into the arms of a savior if the price is disastrously high”:

Am I the only one who finds much of this troubling even in the midst of what can rightly be described as a leadership crisis? Right off the bat this conveys a sense of a coronation more than an election. The position of Speaker is a critical one and it was designed to be determined by a (hopefully broad) consensus of the members, or at least the members of the majority. What Paul Ryan is asking in exchange for rescuing the party from itself is essentially the cancellation of any sort of competitive election or airing of competing ideas. We're being offered the opportunity to have everyone else clear the field and agree in advance to the result before he will even consider “running” for the position. This is unsettling if only in light of the lessons of history.

[...]

But with all that said, we hold elections for a reason, and that includes the election of a Speaker. We also keep mechanisms in place to remove elected officials should they fail to adequately serve the needs of those who lift them to power. The House leadership is in a moment of crisis and I don't deny that. A strong, conservative Speaker is needed to move the party's agenda forward after John Boehner's departure. But this seems a a disturbing path to take in digging ourselves out of the hole we currently reside in. It would, in my opinion, be a mistake to rush rashly into the arms of a savior if the price is disastrously high. I'm not opposing Paul Ryan as the next Speaker of the House, but I would much prefer to see the next Speaker elected in regular order, have them ready to commit to the full demands of the office and be sworn in knowing that they are still answerable to the members. If Paul Ryan meets all those requirements to the satisfaction of his peers then we should be in great shape. If not, I would remind everyone of the ultima ratio required to remove Caesar, though only metaphorically in the modern era. [Hot Air, 10/21/15]

Drudge Report: “King Paul: Pledge Your Support.” On October 20 the Drudge Report mocked Paul Ryan's decision in its top headline, featuring an image of Paul and declaring “King Paul: Pledge Your Support; Dem Favorite; Obama's New Partner”:

[Drudge Report, 10/20/15]