Cal Thomas: Paul Ryan’s hope for a Congress that works

  • By Cal Thomas
  • Monday, December 8, 2014 3:22pm
  • Opinion

Like two predatory animals circling each other, Republicans and Democrats are trying to sort out the meaning of last month’s election and plan strategies for the remaining days of the current Congress and the new one in which Republicans will hold majorities in both houses.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), soon to be chairman of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, spoke with me about the election and his party’s strategy going forward.

“I think (voters) want to see government respect taxpayers again and respect (government’s) limits. And they don’t want to see an executive go unchecked … people want to see a rebalancing of power because they feel theirs is being sapped away.”

About the recurring threat of a government shutdown, if Republicans don’t go along with President Obama, Ryan says it’s an attempt to make Republicans “the villain in their morality play,” which “they get to draft and write. … They’re trying to get us to take the bait. … We avoid it by defeating them with better ideas. They will play identity politics; we will play aspirational, inspirational, unifying politics.”

There is a debate within conservative circles over whether the outgoing Congress should pass a continuing resolution to fund the government only until Republicans are in control of the Senate, or pass a funding bill through next September. Ryan says House Republicans will take a two-step approach he calls “CRomnibus,” a combination of a long-term omnibus spending bill and a shorter-term continuing resolution.

“We’re going to fund all the government except for the immigration stuff,” he says. “That will be the CR, kick it into next year when we’ll have a better team on the field, and then formulate a plan how to deal with this issue. With CRomnibus (Democrats) can’t spend the next three months saying we’re trying to shut down the government.”

Ryan says he has received little word from the White House other than “we want to work with you” on whether President Obama will compromise on anything in spite of his post-election statements in which he said the message of the election was that voters want the parties to work together.

On immigration and the president’s recent executive order, which would allow 5 million illegal aliens to remain in the country, Ryan says House Republicans will pass a bill early in the new session to finish the fence along the southern border of the U.S. Republicans will attempt to sell the bill on the basis of the rule of law, rather than discrimination against immigrants. “I think there are a lot of Democrats who will vote for it,” he says. “I think the (Sen.) Joe Manchins (D-WV) of the world and the people who are coming up (for re-election) in 2016 (will also vote for it). I think we’ll pass the bill (in the Senate) with more than 60 votes.”

Ryan predicts the president is likely to sign it, if he thinks his veto might be overridden.

Ryan has recently been traveling the country with African-American conservative Robert Woodson, founder and president of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, an organization dedicated, according to its website, “with helping residents of low-income neighborhoods address the problems of their communities.” Ryan thinks it’s possible for Republicans to win more than the single digit number of black votes they have been getting: “I’m learning (conservative) ideas are universal and are needed in struggling communities more than anywhere else … if we take these great ideas … and sell them in an ecumenical way, people like it. People are practicing and preaching (these ideas). They may not say it, (but) they are preaching and practicing personal responsibility, upward mobility, redemption, truth, honesty, courage.”

Ryan says Republicans need to show up in minority neighborhoods and ask what has voting for Democrats gotten them? It’s a good question.

Like most other potential presidential candidates, Ryan says he’ll decide early next year whether to run in 2016. He sounds reluctant, given his young family. He says he has never been a seeker of high office, but if the office comes to him? Well, should opportunity knock, he just might open the door.

Email Cal Thomas at tcaeditors@tribune.com.

More in Opinion

Nick Begich III campaign materials sit on tables ahead of a May 16, 2022, GOP debate held in Juneau. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire file photo)
Opinion: North to a Brighter Future

The policies championed by the Biden/Harris Administration and their allies in Congress have made it harder for us to live the Alaskan way of life

Soldotna City Council member Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings participates in the Peninsula Clarion and KDLL candidate forum series, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024, at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: I’m a Soldotna Republican and will vote No on 2

Open primaries and ranked choice voting offer a way to put power back into the hands of voters, where it belongs

Shrubs grow outside of the Kenai Courthouse on Monday, July 3, 2023, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Vote yes to retain Judge Zeman and all judges on your ballot

Alaska’s state judges should never be chosen or rejected based on partisan political agendas

A vintage Underwood typewriter sits on a table on Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022, at the Homer News in Homer, Alaska. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Point of View: District 6 needs to return to representation before Vance

Since Vance’s election she has closely aligned herself with the far-right representatives from Mat-Su and Gov. Mike Dunleavy

The Anchor River flows in the Anchor Point State Recreation Area on Saturday, Aug. 5, 2023, in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Delcenia Cosman/Homer News)
Opinion: Help ensure Alaskans have rights to use, enjoy and care for rivers

It is discouraging to see the Department of Natural Resources seemingly on track to erode the public’s ability to protect vital water interests.

A sign directing voters to the Alaska Division of Elections polling place is seen in Kenai, Alaska, Monday, Oct. 21, 2024. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Vote no on Ballot Measure 2

A yes vote would return Alaska to party controlled closed primaries and general elections in which the candidate need not win an outright majority to be elected.

Derrick Green (Courtesy photo)
Opinion: Ballot Measure 1 will help businesses and communities thrive

It would not be good for the health and safety of my staff, my customers, or my family if workers are too worried about missing pay to stay home when they are sick.

A sign warns of the presence of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales at the Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, July 10, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Opinion: Could an unnecessary gold mine drive Cook Inlet belugas extinct?

An industrial port for the proposed Johnson Tract gold mine could decimate the bay

Cassie Lawver. Photo provided by Cassie Lawver
Point of View: A clear choice

Sarah Vance has consistently stood up for policies that reflect the needs of our district

Alex Koplin. (courtesy photo)
Point of View: Ranked choice gives voters more voice

The major political parties are not in touch with all Alaskans