From this weekend's Fox News Sunday, regular George Will tells host Chris Wallace that the Zombie-Eyed Granny-Starver (h/t Charlie Pierce), a.k.a. Rep. Paul Ryan needs to stay right where he is as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, so he can help lower George's taxes and gut our social safety nets (otherwise known as "entitlements" in Villager speak).
WALLACE: You know, that's the question, George. Is he -- is he in a position of strength or not? Because as you heard Jim Jordan say, the Freedom Caucus isn't just going to bow down and say, oh, Paul Ryan, come on in. They're going to make demands about decentralization of power as speaker.
You know, and I think Karl put his finger on it, which is yes, you get 218 now, but when you get to the debt limit, or you get to the budget, or you get to another issue, are you going to have the votes to push your agenda?
WILL: A, I don't think so. B, I don't think that's the most consideration.
Rarely is this country so fortune to have exactly the right person in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. This Paul Ryan chairmanship at Ways and Means. The biggest problem confronting the company is economic stagnation, which is a product of unreformed entitlements and unreformed tax codes.
The only person in the government who can take the lead on that in there, and Paul Ryan at Ways and Means. Now, it's as though we have an orchestra, and I say we have this great lead violinist, let's make him conductor. Babe Ruth is our best player, let's make him manager of the team.
That's just the wrong skill set. There are half a dozen good men and women on the House. I’m not saying they're all fungible, but they could do the job of conducting the business of the House.
As Capper already discussed here, why should Ryan agree to take the Speaker's job when he's got it so good right now?
If the Republicans really want Ryan to even seriously consider being the Speaker of the House, they are going to have to find a way to really sweeten the pot.
Ryan has got it good right now. He doesn't have to do anything. He introduces some bills that his dark money overlords give him, gets them passed and then sits back, watching the money roll in. Why would he give that up for a job where he actually has to work?
Not only that, he's the last one of the "Young Guns" that hasn't been completely disgraced. Why in the world would he want to risk being proven the fraud that he is by exposing his incompetence to the world?
I'm sure Will knows this as well, but that didn't stop the disgusting fawning over him that has become all too common from everyone in the corporate media these days. I think I'm going to be ill if I hear one more person call him a "policy wonk."
