Speaker Paul Ryan’s “Year of Ideas,” born on October 29th 2015, passed away on Super Tuesday, March 1st 2016 at the age of four months. It met its untimely and early end at the hands of a Republican electorate that is simply not interested in policy and good governance. A known accomplice, the House Freedom Caucus, also claims responsibility for its demise.
The “Year of Ideas” started with heady ambition. There was talk of opportunity, unity, regular order, and hope. But it quickly became clear that for all his hope of “uniting the clans,” Speaker Ryan simply couldn’t put a leash on the HFC. Emboldened by the ascendency of Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, the HFC was happy to watch the Ryan Agenda wither and die.
The final nail in the coffin came when Trump all but locked up the Republican nomination. The Republican electorate spoke with a loud, clear, small-handed voice: we don’t care about policy, logic, or unity – give us more bigotry and bad hair. Realizing there was absolutely no chance of any actual work happening in Congress, the “Year of Ideas” crawled into Speaker Ryan’s personal copy of The Apprentice and passed away peacefully as it heard Wolf Blitzer call Virginia for Trump.
The “Year of Ideas” is survived by Speaker Paul Ryan, who plans to spend more time in the gym, let his #CONFIDENCEBEARD go wild, and vote for the eventual Republican nominee (read: Donald Trump); The House Freedom Caucus, which is really running the show; and several dozen hapless Members of Congress who signed up for “task forces” to develop Ryan’s empty – yet “bold” – policy agenda.
In lieu of flowers, please submit donations to the United States Treasury to reimburse taxpayers for Republican waste.