Ryan’s been Speaker since October, 2015, when the Freedom Caucus forced out Boehner.
During that time has he had any major success as Speaker?
I would say no. The media is characterizing the collapse of the American Health Care Act bill as a Trump debacle, but I think that the failure is primarily on Ryan. It’s no accident that the bill was informally called “RyanCare.” Trump simply wanted some kind of Obamacare replacement passed to keep his campaign promise, and he didn’t appear to know or care what was in it. It was Ryan’s job to get it written and passed, and he bombed.
Ryan won’t be able to get the rest of Trump’s legislative agenda passed if he can’t bring the Freedom Caucus to heel, and so far he’s batting zero on that.
The punditocracy considers Ryan a genius policy wonk, but he wasn’t particularly successful before becoming Speaker. This online tool for rating legislator effectiveness lists him as “below expectations.”
He successfully mentioned Obama’s name multiple times without mentioning Trump’s once during a press conference after the health care non vote.
He seems to have consistently managed to dress himself.
John Boehner is also listed as being, similarly, incapable by that tool.
Maybe they become Speaker by spending more time trying to organize things than trying to submit and pass their own legislation? Without a better sense of the dynamics involved, I don’t know that I would take that one number as the last word on the subject.
I think they both deserve blame.
On the one hand, Ryan had seven years to come up with something better. The Republicans could have had this thing ready to go.
On the other hand, a competent president would have, you know, taken some kind of interest in the legislation that was supposed to be his first major legislative victory, fulfilling one of his major campaign promises. He would have known enough about policy to actually help build consensus, rather than mucking about and offering or promising things at random since he didn’t know what he was talking about. A competent president would have united the party by doing something more than pissing and moaning on Twitter.
I agree. The biggest thing that is puzzling to me is that Trump is a billionaire. Couldn’t he have hired a consultant company, given them a general idea of what he was after and had them churn out an equivalent paper to the mess Ryan dropped? I mean, HE wouldn’t have had to do more than attend a meeting or two, give them his big picture ideas and plans, and then let them do the heavy lifting. Whatever they came up with might not have worked or been feasible (either economically or politically), but it would have been SOMETHING. I just don’t get it.
For that matter, it’s hard for me to grasp that, after winning the presidency, Trump seemingly did nothing to prepare to actually BE president. Again…the guy is a billionaire. For peanuts he could have hired some consultants, given them the task of organizing and preparing for when he took office, then gone off to the golf course. It seems like he did the golf course thing while not actually doing what and competent CEO would do…delegating.
Assertion not in evidence.
Using his personal money to make government work better seems to be the diametrical opposite of Trump’s ambitions.
A thousand times, this. Trump’s primary accomplishment in his first 10 weeks as president seems to be figuring out ways to use the government to drive business to the Trump Organization.
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Using his personal money to make government work better seems to be the diametrical opposite of Trump’s ambitions.
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Certainly, I get that is why he didn’t do it from his own perspective. It still puzzles me, as if it were ME, I would rate looking stupid and unprepared as above spending a few bucks on something like this and spend the freaking peanuts on ensuring I at least LOOKED prepared and less foolish. Though I guess from his perspective he thinks he can wave his hands, speak some gibberish and his followers will swallow anything he babbles. Doesn’t seem to be working out all that well for him.
Then again, he didn’t know how complicated healthcare was…and figured everyone else was in the same boat. 
How the thread is going so far:
Q: Has Paul Ryan had any successes?
A: Trump is a goofball!
Ryan has basically been Speaker for the election year. Yes, he had a failure with repeal&replace. But for most of his tenure he’s been herding cats and walking tightropes through a contentious election. Considering the election outcome, it’s hard to consider his first year a failure.
I think you misunderstand what a “policy wonk” is. It has nothing to do with guiding legislation through the legislature.
Right…think ‘policy nerd’ instead. From what I understand, Ryan IS a policy nerd/wonk. Doesn’t make him an effective leader. But I think that the GOP is kind of on a cusp right now, so not sure ANYONE could lead them successfully to the promised land, since each of the factions envision what that is in very different terms.
Eh, I think Ryan’s main skill is selling himself as a policy wonk, rather than actually being one. The Ryancare plan was a policy mess as well as a political one. And his various budgets were basically just GOP wishlists, with the more difficult and unpopular bits papered over with TBA.
He doesn’t really even need to spend money. There’s a ton of Conservative healthcare plans already written up. Including one by Trumps own Sec of HHS. Which makes Trumps decision to just dump working it out on Ryan, and Ryan’s decision to try and cram creating a new plan in the space a few days rather than just run with one that’s already been worked out and discussed even more bizarre.