I’m confused, by what method do we ever believe anyone? What has Ryan done that makes him untrustworthy? Honest question - I don’t understand why he can’t be trusted. Is there basis for this or is this just another case of the gop penchant for eating their own?
Check out sites like COnservative Review that rate politicians. They explain how and why they arrived at their rating. That will tell you what you need to know.
Your question is exactly the point I’m making here. No one inside Washington DC should be trusted. Not Ryan, not Cruz, not anyone. We’ve had our trust broken too many times by too many people using the same promises we’re hearing now to buy those promises again.
I disagree that we ‘eat our own’ as you said. We elect people who say “I will go to Washington DC and represent conservative values” more than 95%+ of the time, they don’t. And that percentage drops the longer they stay there. So they’re campaigning as conservatives but governing (in many respects, not all respects) as liberals. So our disgust with them not so much ‘eating our own’ as it is holding our congressmen to their words.
Contrast that to the Democrats who send people to Washington that never, ever compromise on their core values. It’s easy for a Dem voter to keep a Dem representative. By and large they vote how they campaign.
I suspect a large portion of Trump’s support stems from that exact feeling - the feeling that he will actually do what he says he’s going to do. My girlfriend HATES Trump. HATES him. The other day I asked her if she believed he would do what he says (build the wall, deport illegals, tax plan etc..) she said “without question”.
Imagine that, support for a Republican candidate based not on promises but on the belief that they’ll actually govern as they campaigned. As a 46 year old who was too young to vote for Reagan, this will be the first time in my life that I’d be able to pull the lever with that belief.