Paul Ryan had a clear and simple choice to make. On one hand he could realistically look at the fight it would take to put a spending bill with TRump’s wall funding in front of him in a timely manner, take into account the need to counterbalance a rogue pResident, and tell him he would have to sign a bill without it or else own the shutdown. On the other hand, he could reflexively rally his party on the backs of Nancy Pelosi’s assertion to the pResident that he didn’t have the votes in the House and charge into the abyss to leave Stinking Mitch McConnell as the sole impediment to tRump’s will.
We know that Ryan chose to be a partisan hack. “Why?” is a different question for another day. But his cowardice in this last big battle underscores and highlights the sheer inability of even the alleged leadership of his party to deviate from their script, even when reality and decency demand it. Did Ryan think he was making Pelosi look weak by doing what she said he couldn’t right before she accepts the Speakership from him? Probably. But plunging America into further chaos on top of the two huge crises tRump already just created is governmental malfeasance. Ryan got his orders from tRump, ordered the whip and the vote, and dumped the whole stinking mess on the Senate, where Mitch will either have to rewrite the rules again to “solve” it quickly, or punt and try to pin things on Schumer.
In the meantime, there is further economic chaos and dismay, further goading of “the base” and tRump to act against the will and the best interests of this country, and the implicit stab at the incoming Democratic House.
The big takeaway to me is a Speaker Pelosi must be willing to spend the power that is being invested in her. A Democratic-run House must be prepared to be the roadblock that everything in Washington HAS to pass through, and that everyone must respect and negotiate with accordingly. TRump thinks he holds all the power. He has the Senate to check the House, he has the VETO to check them both.
But despite all the trouble he is already in, he really still has the most to lose. And that’s the real root of power.