Paul Ryan’s Denouement

A few days ago it seemed like Paul Ryan’s final act of cruelty and futility would be his decision to include a provision in the Farm Bill to block any consideration in the House to withdraw American support for the Saudi Arabian war in Yemen. This was a useless act of cruelty because the House will pass such a bill when Democrats gain control in January. He followed that up by pushing a bill that would increase the number of immigrants that come to this country. Unfortunately, but typically, those immigrants would only be allowed to look like Paul Ryan, namely Irish. After supporting Donald Trump’s xenophobic campaign against Central American immigrants for the last three years, it takes an extraordinary amount of chutzpah for Ryan to push for more Irish immigration.

However, Ryan may just be providing the most fitting ending for his failed leadership, namely being unable to provide enough Republican votes to avoid a government shutdown. Underscoring the House Republicans real lack of interest in actually governing, dozens of GOP lawmakers who are retiring or being replaced have abandoned Washington altogether. Sadly, many of these lawmakers no longer have a place to live in the capital because they relied on their offices for a bed in DC. As the NY Times notes in its usual method of never directly blaming the GOP, “It is perhaps a fitting end to a Congress that has showcased the untidy politics of the Trump era: Even if the president ultimately embraces a solution that avoids a shutdown, House Republican leaders do not know whether they will have the votes to pass it.”

It truly is a fitting end to the speakership of Paul Ryan, perhaps not even getting enough of his Republican members to show up for a vote to avoid a government shutdown and, once again, relying on Democratic votes to keep the government functioning, if not under Ryan then when they take control in January.

UPDATE: Because Paul Ryan never ceases to amaze in his rampant hypocrisy, his most fitting denouement may be this vomit-inducing hagiography of himself, paid for by our tax dollars.