Former House Speaker John Boehner says that current House Speaker Paul Ryan would be the perfect guy to be the Republican presidential nominee. Never mind that nobody really cares what Boehner thinks anymore, or that Ryan hasn't even been able to unite House Republicans to pass a damned budget.
At the Republican convention, “anybody can be nominated,” Boehner said at a conference in Boca Raton, Fla.
“If we don’t have a nominee who can win on the first ballot, I’m for none of the above,” Boehner said. "They all had a chance to win. None of them won. So I’m for none of the above. I’m for Paul Ryan to be our nominee.”
Officially, Boehner has endorsed John Kasich, and his spokesman has carefully qualified Boehner's remarks as "off the cuff" and "hypothetical." But a contested convention is looming large over the GOP, and Boehner apparently thinks Ryan, in Politico's words, "would be a good candidate to heal a fractured party." Again, tell that to the House Freedom Caucus which has rebelled against him on the budget. Politico also says "Ryan's staff has recoiled at the notion, saying it was an 'incredibly remote scenario,' and the 'speaker has no interest in it.'" Staff needs to check in with the boss again, because he's not ruling it out.
"You know, I haven't given any thought to this stuff," Ryan said Tuesday night in an exclusive interview at the Capitol. "People say, 'What about the contested convention?' I say, well, there are a lot of people running for president. We'll see. Who knows."
Of course Paul Ryan wants to be president. There isn't a member of Congress who doesn't think that they could be president. But the thought that Paul Ryan—the guy who was a big loser along with Mitt Romney—could actually unify the party is ridiculous. At this point, he's no more loved by the Trumpists and House maniacs than Boehner. If the GOP establishment decides that he's the guy to save them from Trump, there won't be any unifying to speak of.
