Opinion: Paul Ryan could restore sanity to the Republican Party – Greenville News

Jordan Barkin| Guest Column

There is buzz surrounding former House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-WI. The venerable conservative columnistGeorge Will, in The Washington Poston June 9, lauded Ryan's "seriousness about policies for economic dynamism and a sustainable safety net of entitlements."

The month prior, on May 27,Ryan spokeat the Reagan Presidential Library's exclusiveTime for ChoosingSpeaker Series. At the outdoor event, the51-year-oldsaid: "I think of the federal debt, which hardly comes up anymore, even though the debt is now $28 trillion." Ryan also emphasized what he sees as conservative principles:limited government, spending discipline and economic opportunity.

The Republican former speaker touched not only on policies, but also on electoral politics.

Ryan said: "Even for our good showing in the House, 2020 left Republicans powerless in Washington. Even worse, it was horrifying to see (the Trump) presidency come to such a dishonorable and disgraceful end. So once again, we conservatives find ourselves at a crossroads, and heres the reality that we have to face. If the conservative cause depends on the populist appeal of one personality or of second-rate imitations, then were not going anywhere. Voters looking for Republican leaders want to see independence in metal. They will not be impressed by the sight of yes-men and flatterers flocking to Mar-a-Lago."

It is easy to see why the stalwart Mitt Romney, R-UT,chose Ryanas his running mate in the presidential election of 2012. Even though the Republican ticket was beaten by Barack Obama and Joe Biden, party loyalists respected Ryan's managementand oratorical skills. After then-Congressman Ryanreturned to the House of Representatives in 2014, he became chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. In 2015, he was elected by his colleagues to be House speaker.

In 2016, Ryan gave only tepid-support to then-candidate Trump. When a sexual harassment scandal broke regarding Trump,Ryan stated:"I am sickened by what I heard today. Women are to be championed and revered, not objectified. I hope Mr. Trump treats this situation with the seriousness it deserves and works to demonstrate to the country that he has greater respect for women than this clip suggests.

Then-Speaker Ryan worked with Trump for a few months, keeping his reservations about the reality TV star mostly to himself. In April 2018, Ryan decided not to run for re-election, citing a desire to spend more time with his children.

Looking back, it seems prescient thatRyan left before he could become tainted by association with Trump-era scandals. OnJanuary 6, 2021, when extremists rioted at the Capitol, hurting Capitol Police officers and damaging property, Ryan had not been in an official position for a while. Once again, the Wisconsinitekept his hands clean and his name untarnished.

Ryan's absence from the daily fracas of the COVID era also enabled him to avoid the culture wars that both the left and right have engaged in. As a result, theeconomicsmajorseems above the fray, giving public policy lectures at venues includingthe University ofNotre Dame.

Meanwhile, Trump has indicated he may run again.NBC News reportedon June 1: "Trump returns to the electoral battlefield Saturday as the marquee speaker at the North Carolina Republican Party's state convention. He plans to follow up with several more rallies in June and July to keep his unique political base engaged in the 2022 midterms and give him the option of seeking the presidency again in 2024."

The article by Jonathan Allen continued, "Only one president, Grover Cleveland, has ever lost a re-election bid and come back to reclaim the White House. In modern times, one-term presidents have worried more about rehabilitating their legacies by taking on nonpartisan causes (...) than about trying to shape national elections. But Trump retains a hold on the Republican electorate that is hard to overstate, and he has no intention of relinquishing it."

Nominating Trump in 2024 would be a huge mistake for the Republican Party. As Willstated in an NPR "Morning Edition" interview on Feb.18:"Donald Trump has no deep roots in the Republican Party and in many ways repudiates much of the Republican position of traditional conservatism, of fiscal austerity, free trade, et cetera."

USA Today reported in June that"Donald Trump is ranked near the bottom of all USpresidents by a group of historians, getting the lowest grades for leadership of any commander in chief who has served in the White House in the past 150 years. The ratings of presidents on 10 leadership qualities, the fourth in a series conducted by C-SPAN, includes assessments by 142 historians and professional observers of the presidency."

Unlike Trump, Ryan has a keen understanding of constitutionality and the rules of Congress -assets for any president. Plus, he is free of the rot that the alt-right brought to the party in Trump's term.Ryan proclaimed, in his speech at the Reagan Library,"Today, too many people on the right are enamored with identity politics in ways that are antithetical to Reagan conservatism. The whole idea in this country is that every person has worth, and that our dignity, rights, and responsibilities, they all belong to us as individuals."

Ryan offers the challenge and tone that both Republicans and Democrats need to make the 2024 presidential election substantive and productive.

JordanBarkinis a Rock Hill-based columnist publishedbyUSA Today,Gannett and other media outlets. He is a former associate editor of Hearst Magazines.

More:

Opinion: Paul Ryan could restore sanity to the Republican Party - Greenville News