Paul Ryan Under Pressure To Run For House Speaker

Paul Ryan Being Pushed To Become Speaker Of The House. Rep. Paul Ryan is considering whether to run for Speaker of the House after coming under pressure from multiple Republican figures asking him to run. This follows House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) decision to not run for Speaker, according to CNN:

Rep. Paul Ryan is telling House Republicans privately he is considering running for speaker, several members say.

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Romney even called Ryan and asked him to run, an aide to the former presidential candidate said.

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There may be no way for Ryan to avoid the calls to run.

“He needs to do this for the team,” said Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Michigan. 

“There's going to be a lot of pressure on Paul,” said Rep. David Jolly, R-Florida. “If Paul really means no, he better keep his phone off the next two weeks. Or throw it in Lake Michigan.” [CNN, 10/9/15]

New York Times: Conservative Media “Embarked” On Crusade To Discredit Ryan's Conservative Credentials. Amid mounting calls for Ryan to run for Speaker of the House, conservative media “have embarked on a furious Internet expedition to cover Representative Paul D. Ryan in political silt,” according to The New York Times:

Far-right media figures, relatively small in number but potent in their influence, have embarked on a furious Internet expedition to cover Representative Paul D. Ryan in political silt.

In 2012 when Mitt Romney picked Mr. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin, as his running mate, the concern among some in their party was that Mr. Ryan was too conservative, particularly when it came to overhauling social programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

Now, as he agonizes over whether to answer the appeal of his colleagues to become their next speaker, the far right is trotting out a fresh concern: Mr. Ryan is too far left.

He is being criticized on issues ranging from a 2008 vote to bail out large banks to his longstanding interest in immigration reform to his work on a bipartisan budget measure. On Sunday night, the Drudge Report -- a prime driver of conservative commentary -- dedicated separate headlines to bashing Mr. Ryan on policy positions. [The New York Times, 10/12/15]

Conservative Media Slam Ryan Over Immigration, Trade, And Spending

Erick Erickson: Ryan “A Dangerous Pick for Conservatives.” In a blog headlined, “Paul Ryan is a Dangerous Pick for Conservatives,” Fox News contributor Erick Erickson wrote that Ryan “collaborated with Senate Democrat Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) to raise taxes” and “voted for No Child Left Behind, the Prescription Drug Benefit, TARP, caps on CEO pay, the AIG bill, the GM bailout, the debt ceiling, and now the fiscal cliff.” Erickson, who led calls for current Speaker Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) to leave his post, claimed that Ryan “has been the brains behind most of the fiscal deals [Boehner] has cut with Barack Obama”:

Personally, given Washington these days, I think the default should be to burn it to the ground (metaphorically speaking), but you know what I mean. Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) will give the veneer of conservatism to whatever he touches.

For example, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) collaborated with Senate Democrat Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) to raise taxes. Republicans then ran to every media outlet to declare it was not a tax increase. It is just a “user fee” because only productive citizens who have to travel for work and families on vacation will pay it.

Likewise, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) has been the brains behind most of the fiscal deals Rep. John Boehner (R-OH) has cut with Barack Obama. Then there are his votes.

While in Congress, he voted for No Child Left Behind, the Prescription Drug Benefit, TARP, caps on CEO pay, the AIG bill, the GM bailout, the debt ceiling, and now the fiscal cliff. In fact, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is one of less than a dozen Republican congressmen to have voted for every bailout to come before Congress.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) is a creature of Washington. He worked on Capitol Hill, worked in a think tank, then went back as a congressman. He speaks Washingtonese with the best of them. [RedState, 10/9/15]

Mark Levin: Ryan Is An “Amnesty Advocate.” Conservative radio host Mark Levin slammed Ryan on Twitter, calling him “an amnesty advocate”:

NOT SO FAST! Paul Ryan an amnesty advocate, along with his buddy Luis Gutierrez http://t.co/eCWNptuLiu

-- Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) October 9, 2015

[Twitter.com, 10/9/15]

Levin Before McCarthy Dropped Out: Ryan Does Not Prioritize “Preserving America's Cultural Identity As A Western Nation.” In an interview with Breitbart News, Mark Levin grouped Ryan in with other Republican congressman who he claimed “think that increasing corporate profits through large-scale immigration and globalist trade pacts like Obamatrade are more important than prioritizing the wages of Americans or preserving America's cultural identity as a Western nation”:

Kevin McCarthy occupies the business wing of the Republican Party shared by other politicians like Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ). All seem to think that increasing corporate profits through large-scale immigration and globalist trade pacts like Obamatrade are more important than prioritizing the wages of Americans or preserving America's cultural identity as a Western nation. [Breitbart News, 9/25/15]

Laura Ingraham: Ryan Allowed Obama To Fast Track Trans-Pacific Partnership Treaty. Conservative radio host Laura Ingraham tweeted that Ryan “gave Obama [Trade Promotional Authority],” while unfavorably comparing him to McCarthy and former Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA). Ingraham has been credited with helping oust Cantor from the House and GOP leadership:

They tried Eric Cantor. They tried McCarthy. The only “Young Gun” left is Ryan who just gave Obama TPA.

-- Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle) October 9, 2015

[Twitter.com, 10/8/15]

Drudge Report: Ryan Supports “Open Borders” And “Obamatrade.” The Drudge Report criticized Ryan with headlines declaring he “has two-decade history of pushing open borders” and “Would push through Obamatrade”:

[Drudge Report, 10/11/15]

Breitbart: Ryan Is “Universally Despise[d]” By Conservatives And “A Champion Of Big Government.” Breitbart News's Matthew Boyle claimed “the conservative base universally despises” Ryan due to “his backing of amnesty, reflected in the endorsement for the Speakership from Democrat amnesty king Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL).” Boyle also claimed Ryan “has really been a champion of big government”:

Despite his portrayal by the media as being conservative, most actual conservatives in the House know that Ryan isn't a conservative. He's served as a leadership envoy to conservatives for the past many years but has really been a champion of big government. 

In addition to helping Boehner retaliate against conservatives, he's helped push through President Barack Obama's Obamatrade agenda, he pushed through a budget deal with Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA)  that busted through spending caps set by the Budget Control Act while claiming they didn't bust through those caps, and he's pushed through the Doc Fix bill that increased the national debt. He's done all of that and more by misleading conservatives in the House. [Breitbart News, 10/11/15]

Sean Hannity: Many Conservatives “Not Happy” With Ryan. On the October 9 edition of Fox News' Hannity, host Sean Hannity said “a lot of conservatives” did not like Ryan due to his positions on immigration and spending:

HANNITY: I see a lot of conservatives. They're not even happy with Paul Ryan because of his positions on immigration which they believe will ultimately lead to some amnesty or TARP or bailouts or spending plans. They don't feel it is dynamic enough. [Fox News, Hannity, 10/9/15]

Fox Guest: Ryan Is “Weak On Immigration.” On the October 9 edition of Fox Business Networks' Lou Dobbs Tonight, Fox guest and conservative talk radio host Dom Giordano said Ryan was not “ideal” for Speaker and said he was “weak” on immigration:

GIORDANO: I don't think Paul Ryan is the ideal guy at all. I think he's weak on illegal immigration and a host of things. This is opportunity. This is what my listeners and people tell me they're happy about. They want Mitch McConnell out of there even more than Boehner. [Fox Business Network, Lou Dobbs Tonight, 10/9/15, via Nexis]

Pat Buchanan: Ryan “Stands Squarely With The Establishment And Against The Revolt.” Conservative columnist Pat Buchanan criticized Ryan in a column for conspiracy website World Net Daily, calling Ryan's support for the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal “the unilateral surrender of Congress' power even to amend the trade treaties Barack Obama brings home.” Buchanan also called Ryan “an open-borders man”:

Ryan's popularity and pleasant persona are not going to be able to smooth over those divisions. For they are about ideology, and about issues such as free trade and amnesty for people here illegally, where Ryan stands squarely with the establishment and against the revolt.

Many House rebels and Trump supporters look on the hollowing out of America's industrial base as the direct result of trade treaties negotiated for the benefit of transnational corporations, whose profits are contingent on cutting production costs by moving factories out of the USA.

Ryan voted for all of those trade deals. And Ryan voted for fast track, the unilateral surrender of Congress' power even to amend the trade treaties Barack Obama brings home. [World Net Daily, 10/12/15]