While this does suggest that Ryan would not try to push through a pro-immigration bill that would be passable only via the support of Democrats, it nonetheless does not commit Ryan to support any border security measures (or anything else to stop illegals) at any point... even if/when he is Speaker following a (hopefully) Republican Presidential victory in 2016.
Such a declaration, therefore, essentially maintains the status quo, which is a pro-immigration policy that Ryan would tend to favor. The next President could change that policy, of course, but then that President would have to kick-start Congress since a Speaker Ryan would have done nothing in the interim.
The upshot is that with statements like that from Ryan - which Brooks is again trying to get confirmation on - Brooks indicated that he would be inclined to support Ryan for Speaker under these circumstances. He was not asked, nor did he say whether he actually preferred Ryan to Webster, though I believe he did indeed support Webster's FC endorsement.
Note that with a 72% level of support to endorse Ryan within the FC, that could be enough to satisfy Ryan's own requirements - and certainly would be sufficient to get him elected as Speaker even without the FC's full blessing. Thus, it appears that the fix is in unless Ryan himself were to pull the plug for whatever reason.
This is NOT reassuring.
Ryan is no conservative, but there are distinct advantages to him becoming Speaker:
1. There is no consensus on a replacement for Boehner and he stays on without a replacement. Ryan completes the coup. That is a win for conservatives. It’s very important to complete the coup.
2. Ryan’s biggest concern about the job is how it will impact his future Presidential aspirations. I’d say it will significantly and negatively. Ryan is likely trading a pretty boy run at the White House for a temperamental stint as Speaker. Good.
3. He made promises to the Freedom Caucus. Of course they aren’t to be trusted, but that’s not the point. Breaking promises costs political capital. Conservatives, if smart, will extract a high political price for each promise broken.
4. Trying to shore up a GOP coalition means it will be much more difficult to depend on crossing the aisle when trying to pass legislation without GOP consensus. In the House, that means the conservatives. It will now be much more politically difficult to depend on Pelosi to carry anti-conservative legislation.
We were never going to get a conservative Speaker. I think the Freedom Caucus has done much to leverage Ryan. I think this will play out just fine. The Establishment is losing the political capital to prosecute its agenda. Yes, Ryan is their guy but the party’s almost over.
To quote Sen. Cruz, the base is volcanic now. That’s going to be Speaker Ryan’s reality.
If Republican Representatives elect Ryan as Speaker, it will drive more conservatives out of the Party.
It is no wonder that the Republican Party is called the Stupid Party.
Forget Paul Ryan; he is a liar.
They should have kept Boehner. At least then they could blame the booze.
Tagline...
When the ship is in mutiny and the Captain has walked the gangplank, how comfortable can his successor be in continuing the same course?