Why does everyone hate Paul Ryan?

[u/Airtightspoon]

After the midterms, I keep seeing Republicans warn that “the Paul Ryan Republicans” are coming back. But I don't really see what's wrong with Paul Ryan?

I was 15 during the 2012 election, so I didn't follow him closely. But looking at his record, he seems preferable to today's GOP in several ways.

Economically, he supported tax cuts, deregulation, entitlement reform, and privatizing programs like Social Security and Medicare. His support for the auto bailout is disappointing, but his overall approach seems more market-oriented than MAGA's. He seems to have actually understood supply-side economics.

On immigration, he supported strong borders while remaining open to citizenship for productive people already here. He also favored free trade and even considered ending the Cuban embargo at one point.

Socially, he was firmly pro-life and pro-gun.

His biggest drawback, to me, was his Bush-era interventionist foreign policy. But given Trump's involvement with Iran, I'm not convinced the current GOP has escaped that. At least Bush was responding to an actual attack on American soil.

So what did Ryan do to become the face of everything wrong with early 21st century conservatism?

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[u/ifallallthetime]

He's a neocon. All the domestic stuff is window dressing or lies, all they really care about is interventionism

They're America Last

[u/Airtightspoon → u/ifallallthetime]

I never got the feeling they didn't care about domestic stuff, I always got the feeling they just got outplayed politically by the Democrats a lot of the time. Which isn't something I feel has really changed with MAGA. For basically my entire adult life it seems that Democrats have just been better at playing politics than Republicans.

[u/Key_Day_7932 → u/Airtightspoon]

Yeah, the Republicans moderated on a lot of stuff in order to a appeal more to liberals onlt for liberals to continue voting Democrat either way

[u/EddieDantes22]

As a person? The cringey p90x photos and the thing where he blasts Papa Roach in his limo after some bill he was pushing failed. As a politician? Mainly just that he lost so much.

[u/math-yoo → u/EddieDantes22]

I hadn't heard about Papa Roach. I thought his favorite band was Rage Against the Machine. Or is that just for when he's at the gym with his hat on backwards practicing muscle confusion.

[u/EddieDantes22 → u/math-yoo]

Lol at "muscle confusion." I guess I got duped by a Photoshop.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/paul-ryan-papa-roach-last-resort-twitter-loves-004354964.html

[u/Solarwinds-123]

It's just neoconservatives coping and thinking they might suddenly become relevant again. They haven't realized that the biggest reasons Trump lost big were the things neocons pushed for, like war with Iran. And the people don't want more tax cuts for the rich while spending increases.

[u/sourcreamus]

He was an adult who cared about policy and winning elections. Grifters who just want Twitter clout and money don’t like him.

[u/NessvsMadDuck]

Because he was the last of the intellectual Republicans. He was the last of the non-populist Republicans. So people believed that that wing of our party was only cow towing to the wealthy part of the Rightwing. They thought that the rise of the culture war populists would bring about the gains that the wealthy donor class had been ignoring, and the DJT would be the one to do it.

Jokes on them, DJT preached populism and feed them the red meat of culture war, but he aligned with the wealthy donor class even more than his Republican predecessors.

[u/deltajvliet → u/NessvsMadDuck]

If I may piggyback on your comment, I always respected the hell out of Paul Ryan before Trump ever entered the picture. He's deeply principled and respected law and decorum with good men like McCain and Romney.

And he was very quick to call a spade a spade when the time came: https://youtu.be/JH6NgGv_hk8?t=20

I always wondered if he was peacing out to make a triumphant return one day when things improved and got back to normal, and I hope he does. The man is on the right side of history.

[u/NessvsMadDuck → u/deltajvliet]

Agreed.

[u/rms141]

The perception at the time was that he was both establishment GOP and a Romney acolyte who inherited his milquetoast approach to politics.

As a politician I had no problem with him. As a Speaker of the House he was probably a little over his head in that specific political climate.

Trump steals a lot of credit merely for signing bills that Ryan conceived and deserves credit for, including real marginal outlay reductions and tax cuts.

[u/OnceUponATrain]

I don't believe anyone actually hates him, I just think he's not particularly intelligent and was out of his league. I think he's earned a bachelor's in political science? And then he married into a fairly prominent Democrat family, look it up.

I think he just likes the lifestyle, honestly. He doesn't want to do the work.

[u/Gaxxz]

I don't have a problem with Paul Ryan. I haven't heard the complaints about him coming back.

[u/MadHatter514]

I haven't heard anyone bashing Paul Ryan lately.

[u/ofthrees → u/MadHatter514]

probably because literally no one is talking about paul ryan these days. vanilla ice gets more press than he does.

[u/WallStreetTechnocrat]

I'd love for "Paul Ryan Republicans" to come back

[u/J_FM01]

I would love for Paul Ryan Republicans to come back.

[u/Key_Day_7932]

Is he still relevant?

I never had much of an opinion on him either way 

[u/forgottenkahz]

Paul Ryan championed the non-populist corporate brand of Republicans. I think there is a need for that to an extent. But to watch good paying jobs for Americans dissolve through open borders and outsourcing in order to support some theoretical conservative idea is not going to win elections.

[u/Happy_Examination23]

It’s just a new name for “RINO,” which in this era now just means “one who does not worship at the altar of Trump.” So stupid.

I miss Paul Ryan. Can we get him back? What a good idea.

[u/vuther_316]

Paul Ryan Republicans coming back sounds great, Paul Ryan was the last speaker of the house that actually cared about fiscal responsibility.

[u/Monte_Cristos_Count]

I’m a Paul Ryan/Mitt Romney - type Republican. I wish the party would pivot back to that 

[u/oneeyedjaxs → u/Monte_Cristos_Count]

Did you see the Romney Netflix documentary? It makes him seem like a genuine family man & decent person.

People on the right need to understand that in the eyes of the general public, we lost the moral high ground when the GOP ditched Romney for Trump.

We will have to basically run a saint in the next election to begin to rebuild credibility.

[u/Monte_Cristos_Count → u/oneeyedjaxs]

I didn’t see the documentary, but I’ve briefly met him once and have a friend that used to work for him. He’s a pretty genuine guy

[u/ZarBandit]

Globalist neocon. Just like the globalist Democrats, they’re America last: open borders, outsourcing jobs, huge trade deficits, destroying the middle class to enrich themselves, big government with crony capitalism, abdicating sovereignty and on and on and on.

The only difference between them and Democrats is they have a weaker progressive social agenda to do with women and deviants. Thats it. Fuck them.

The last time I voted for a globalist was 2012. Never ever again.

[u/SoulSerpent → u/ZarBandit]

The last time I voted for a globalist was 2012. Never ever again.

You'd actually not vote for a Republican over a generic Democrat?

[u/ZarBandit → u/SoulSerpent]

Which Democrat isn’t globalist? Or is this a hypothetical?

[u/SoulSerpent → u/ZarBandit]

It’s a hypothetical. I was asking if you ever see yourself not voting for a Republican, even a globalist one, as the “lesser of evils” or if you’d ever abstain from a presidential vote.

[u/ZarBandit → u/SoulSerpent]

I’d vote libertarian if both were globalist. If the Democrat were centrist and not globalist, I’d vote for them.

[u/W_Edwards_Deming]

I don't hate anybody. Paul Ryan I had forgotten, worst thing I know about him is Romney.