Paul Ryan to Tea Party: "You are the problem"

WP ^ | 2/3/2016 | Paul Waldman

[DeathBeforeDishonor1]

Today, Paul Ryan gave a fascinating speech at Heritage Action, a tea party-allied organization that has fashioned itself as the guardian of conservative purity. The speech called for unity. “To quote William Wallace in Braveheart,” he said, “we have to unite the clans.”

But his speech was actually a repudiation of everything the tea party has done. Not only that, Ryan also took shots at the congressional Republican leadership, and even the current GOP presidential candidates. He didn’t call anyone out by name, but if you understand what’s happening now and the conflict that has roiled the Republican Party for the last seven years, the critique was hard to miss.

Not surprisingly, for much of the speech he blamed conservatives’ own sins on progressives, Democrats, and Barack Obama. That has become a familiar refrain — It’s their fault that we’ve become such monsters! — but when you say that, you’re still acknowledging that the sins exist. Let’s start here:

“My theory of the case is this: We win when we have an ideas contest. We lose when we have a personality contest. We can’t fall into the progressives’ trap of acting like angry reactionaries. The Left would love nothing more than for a fragmented conservative movement to stand in a circular firing squad, so the progressives can win by default.

[US_MilitaryRules]

efu ryan. I’m tired of working for slave wages. I make pretty good money and you guys are stealing over 60% it. What do you think I am STUPID! FU

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Did you read the opinion piece? The headline is highly misleading.

[Night Hides Not]

The fake conservatives voted him speaker.

The Texas Delegation has been most disappointing.

[CaptainK]

I believe Ryan wants to be primaried so he can go on to a cushy lobbyist job, like Cantor

[butlerweave]

Ah , I said there would be attacks on the Tea Party , but I thought it would be from the Democrats

[Politicalkiddo]

We are The People. If you have a problem with us, then we must be something right.

[Dr. Sivana]

Any man who wears a one size fits all baseball cap backwards should be horse whipped.

Agreed, unless you are working on a car, playing catcher with a catcher's mask on, or are playing the part of Oscar Madison in "The Odd Couple". I would also extend the ban to fitted caps (which I wear, because "One Size Fits All" means "One Size Fits Many")

[Forgotten Amendments]

This is a snarky Post blogger. Very little of substance here. He doesn’t even know that Heritage is about as establishment as it gets.

[cyclotic]

Actually anyone who wears any baseball hat backwards, unless it’s for the purpose of the bill being an impediment should be horse whipped.

Anyone who wears a baseball hat sideways or with the bill flat and not properly curled is also subject to said horse whipping.

Being foliccally challenged, I do tend to wear hats indoors in particularly cold environments, but only when appropriate.

[Forgotten Amendments]

I think I have a new favorite FReeper!

[Durbin]

“Did you read the opinion piece? The headline is highly misleading.”

Yeah I read it.

“So we have to be straight with each other, and more importantly, we have to be straight with the American people. We can’t promise that we can repeal Obamacare when a guy with the last name Obama is president. All that does is set us up for failure . . . and disappointment . . . and recriminations.

“When voices in the conservative movement demand things that they know we can’t achieve with a Democrat in the White House, all that does is depress our base and in turn help Democrats stay in the White House. We can’t do that anymore.”

What depresses our base is we have a majority republican party in Congress and Obama and the democrats still are getting everything they want. So again. Pound sand Ryan.

[Dr. Sivana]

Before we can unite the clans, we have to pick the rigth clans. Crony capitalists are users, and I will trade the John Ellis Bushites for some non-Republican Donald Trump supporters any day.

[Dr. Sivana]

Yup.

We can't promise that we can repeal Obamacare when a guy with the last name Obama is president.

Maybe not, but you don't have to fund it and Planned Parenthood while you are at it.

[zerosix]

Paul Ryan has met the enemy.......and it is us!

[Lurkinanloomin]

Lyin’ Ryan is begging to be Cantorized!

Come on Wisconsin, we threw out sitting Majority Leader Weasel Eric Cantor here in Virgina.

[duffee]

Ryan believes we should be masochistic sheeple and blindly follow the GOP-e and send them money to show how happy we are to be pissed on.

[GodGunsGuts]

Instead, we are going to piss on him until we flush him out of Congress, just like his boneheaded GOPe predecessor.

[duffee]

“He said we have to unite the clans”

He does appear to have unified the FReepers, at least for the life of this thread.

[elcid1970]

“...anyone who wears any baseball hat backwards, unless it’s for the purpose of the bill being an impediment...”

As a welder I wore a ball cap backwards, straight on the head, the bill curled, and helmet on top. Kept sparkles off the back of my neck.

Anyway, I’m growing sick of the Republicantes. Give away the store, throw away opportunities, & now act unethically when it was not only unethical but totally unnecessary.

If Hillary doesn’t waddle into the WH, I’ll eat my old welder’s cap. It’ll have a nice toasted flavor, anyway.

[steel_resolve]

This.