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October 21, 2015 12:58 PM UTC

Rep. Ken Buck on Speaker Paul Ryan: Not So Fast

  • 30 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE #3: CNN now reporting, Oh Lordy, Kumbaya:

Rep. Paul Ryan is pushing ahead with his — now likely successful — bid to be the next House speaker.

In a closed-door session, more than 70% of the House Freedom Caucus voted in favor of Ryan’s candidacy. But that is short of the 80% needed for an official endorsement, something Ryan has demanded.

It appears to be close enough for Ryan, and now he is just waiting for two other key House GOP caucuses to make their support known before he officially jumps in.

—–

Rep. Paul Ryan with now-Sen. Cory Gardner.
Rep. Paul Ryan with now-Sen. Cory Gardner.

UPDATE #2: The “House Freedom Caucus,” of which Rep. Ken Buck is a member, says it will not endorse Ryan for Speaker. If Ryan holds to his earlier requirements for seeking the position, the bus stops here.

You will never leave this place, John Boehner! Neverrrrrr!!!

—–

UPDATE: As Politico reports, Ryan’s requirements for running for House Speaker are not going over well with the right wing of the GOP:

Conservative media pundits chafed at Paul Ryan’s list of conditions upon which he would agree to the speakership, mocking him as “Emperor Ryan” and “King Paul.”…

…At one point on Drudge Report, headlines blared: “KING PAUL: PLEDGE YOUR ALLEGIANCE TO ME,” “DO IT BY FRIDAY,” “HE’S A DEM FAVORITE,” “OBAMA’S NEW PARTNER,” ‘F’ conservative rating,” and “WANTS TO SCRAP THOMAS JEFFERSON’S RULE.”

“[Ryan] wants to get elected after it is made impossible to get rid of him, then he will really get into specifics…Amnesty anyone?” Red State founder Erick Erickson wrote. “This would be a terrible, terrible deal for House Conservatives. It would gut their ability to pull the House Republicans to the right.”

This seems to be working out brilliantly.

—–

AP reports via CBS4 Denver on the quickly developing story of Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan’s possible bid to succeed the outgoing Rep. John Boehner as Speaker of the House:

Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan told GOP lawmakers late Tuesday that he will run for speaker, but only if they embrace him by week’s end as their consensus candidate — an ambitious bid to impose unity on a disordered and divided House.

Dragged reluctantly into seeking a job he never wanted, Ryan spoke to his colleagues behind closed doors, telling them he will run only with the endorsement of the major caucuses in the House. That includes the hardline Freedom Caucus that chased out the current speaker and his No. 2, and will now have veto power over Ryan.

Rep. Ken Buck.
Rep. Ken Buck.

Our local stalwart on the House Freedom Caucus, Rep. Ken Buck, isn’t doing much to encourage Ryan to make the jump:

“I think there are other candidates in this race, and I want to hear what they have to say,” said another Freedom Caucus member, Rep. Ken Buck of Colorado. [Pols emphasis]

Perhaps hoping to shore up support on his right, Ryan told House Republicans on Tuesday that there would be no immigration reform bill passed by the GOP-controlled House if he is elected Speaker — at least as long as Barack Obama remains President. Despite this concession, Freedom Caucus members reportedly remain concerned about demands by Ryan that the procedural tactic used this year to attempt to force Boehner to resign, the “motion to vacate,” be ruled out before he accepts the job. Or as New York Congressman Peter King colorfully explained, “He said he’s willing to take arrows in his chest, but not in his back.”

The Freedom Caucus indicated on Tuesday that it would stand by its endorsement of Florida Rep. Daniel Webster as the next House Speaker, but other candidates have been migrating toward Paul. Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who was a favorite of Colorado Rep. Scott Tipton, withdrew his own candidacy to back Paul for Speaker.

Ryan and other Republicans have been busy pushing the narrative that Ryan doesn’t really want to be Speaker, but would do it for the greater good of the GOP. Serving as House Speaker has not historically been a good launching point for a Presidential campaign, and Ryan is believed to still have his eyes on the White House; still, it would be hard to see Ryan not grabbing hold of the chance to increase his political power.

If Ryan is still having trouble getting support from the Freedom Caucus, perhaps he can ask his spokesman to appeal to Ken Buck based on a shared last name (Ryan’s spokesperson is named Brendan Buck).

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30 thoughts on “Rep. Ken Buck on Speaker Paul Ryan: Not So Fast”

  1. How bad is it when the party begs the Randian to take the speaker's job as the voice of reason.  Truly, the lunatics have now taken over the asylum.

  2. Buck's sticking to his guns …

    … yeeeeffin'haw!!!  

    Who needs a House Speaker when unending turmoil is so much damn fun?!?

    What little respect I had for Ryan was somewhat enhanced when he first (second, third … fifty-third) ruled out the position, and completely permanently quashed with his now playing Hamlet.

    How much longer will the Republican caucus continue to tolerate the Buckheads in their asylum??

     

     

        1. Because you are indicating that the Freedom Coalition is Koch supported but that coalition's main objection to Ryan is that he is pro-immigrant.

          Moderatus is not my secret identity.  Bluecat is.  Oops!

          /sarcasm

          1. I mentioned nothing about Ryan or immigration in that particular post about today's hashtag.  The Koch Brothers invested heavily in this Freedumb Kochus monster; it is a beast of their own making . Now, they have a problem. 

            The caucus' problems with Ryan run much deeper than just the immigration issue.

             

          1. …just sayin'

            That said, the counselor apparently slept through the last decade where the Kochtopus funded these Teabillies of Frankenstein.  Apologies to anyone offended by my use of 'Jesus'.  A practicing Catholic, I've decided that if these TeaBillies can bastardize the tenets of the Christian faith in the name of Jesus – I'll use the name to call the assholes out.  

            I'm pretty sure it would be #JesusApproved 

             

      3. No, I think the Kochs are pro-immigrant but anti immigration reform. Having undocumented citizens here gives them and their kindred industrialists a permanent underclass of workers. They can be exploited for low wages, wage theft and as a fear trigger for their right wing minions. They can also be used to apply downward pressure to wages in general and to union membership specifically.

          1. My recollection is that AFP was "sitting out" the debate (I expect to still be able to claim connection to the Tea Party, which is xenophobic) and Cato has been pretty much full bore "amnesty."  I think Cato has moderated to build a wall, guest worker visas, at times, though.  Both are Koch funded.

            Even the Kochs aren’t always wrong.

              1. I think it may be an honest expression of Libertarian sentiment.  Hard to have Liberty when you're in the greybar hotel.  Also, if you don't like laws, you don't like the ones that get you locked up more.

                Libetarianism sometimes results in freedom like prison reform and sometimes like The Hunger Games.

        2. According to many sources, they're in favor of immigration reform, because Libertarianism. Bernie Sanders accused them of being Open Border advocates.

          They want more labor, no restrictions. Whether they really advocate for Open Border solutions or not, they do advocate for increased immigration, looser standards – and, of course, a repeal of minimum wage and most other workplace regulations.

      4. You suddenly show up and have to completely fabricate something to put in somebody else's mouth to argue with? Seriously? Go back to bed or wherever you've been, Fladen. 

  5. Where is this headed? If the Republicans can't agee on a Speaker, Boehner won't resign. At that point the Freedom Caucus does not have much of a threat with a motion to vacate the chair. They have demonstrated they can't replace him. I understand these guys have safe districts but all that guarantees them is a paycheck. At what point do the adults impose some discipline. 

    1. Obviously Ryan is plenty far right conservative. The Freedom Caucus thinks real conservatism means no compromise and therefore no governing by democratic process.  Not conservative enough for them means not willing to entirely dump the democratic process in favor of extortion.

    2. There doesn't need to be an officially elected speaker – leadership could appoint a Speaker Pro Tempore for as long as is needed. It's happened before.

      Of course, threatening to make Boehner step down doesn't really hold a lot of power when he really wants to step down anyway. "Okay" is a pretty disappointing response to a threat when you want to show off just how important you are…

      1. The Speakership requires a vote of the full House – it's not just an option. Boehner (or majority leadership via a Speaker Pro Tempore if Boehner is already gone or deposed) can call that vote without any agreement from the GOP caucus(es).

        It won't change much, though, because unless Democrats have a reason to support the new Speaker, they won't be voting in favor. That's the anchor they threw Boehner before he announced his resignation: you're not helping us, so why should we help you?

        Hope that answers both the literal question and whatever thoughts you might be having about it.

  6. It sounds like Paul Ryan might be the next Speaker of the House. The "Freedom" Caucus took a vote, and while they won't endorse him, they "accept" him. (Their endorsement requirements are only slightly less stringent than their terms on the debt ceiling and budget: an 80% membership approval was required to endorse Ryan, and they didn't meet that threshold.)

    1. Two things are all we need to know:

      1) The "Freedom" Caucus is ungovernable

      2) Ryan is exceedingly ambitious

      Result: Ryan will take the job, and the right-wing dominated House will continue its useless ways.

       

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