The motivation of the world\u2019s most transparent politician somehow continues to elude the news media.<\/b>
\nWhile many public figures are complex, dynamic, and riven by cross-pressures, Paul Ryan is simple to understand. He was inculcated at a young age with the works of theorists like Ayn Rand, George Gilder, and Jude Wanniski, all of whom share a belief that the core mission of political life is to protect the earned wealth of the rich from political redistribution by the masses. Cutting taxes for the wealthy is not some minor pecuniary errand to Ryan but a defense of liberty and a moral calling of the highest order.
The main oddity of Ryan\u2019s career is how poorly he is understood, despite the simplicity of the task. Reporters spent the Obama era expecting him to support a bipartisan grand compromise that would reduce the deficit. They have spent the Trump era wondering why he hasn\u2019t rebelled against the president. The straightforward explanation, that he is acting on the basis of his anti-tax principles, has proven oddly elusive.
The latest missive in the grand tradition of failing to understand Ryan comes from the New York Times, which puzzles over his passivity toward Trump. Compare the various theories straining to explain Ryan\u2019s behavior here against the simple model that he is motivated primarily by low taxes for the rich.
On the one hand, the article quotes a supporter of Ryan, Peter Wehner, who sees Ryan\u2019s support of Trump as something he has somehow been coerced into. I bold-faced the key terms:
Little choice? Must? Of course Ryan has a choice. He has a wide array of options to express his opposition to Trump, if he indeed felt such a calling. He could allow a vote to release Trump\u2019s tax returns. He could have heeded the requests of Senate Republicans or Department of Justice professionals to call off the absurd partisan counter-investigation Devin Nunes is running in his chamber. He could even risk resigning, given the widespread belief that Ryan has no plans to continue his public career past this term. But Ryan doesn\u2019t do those things because he is motivated primarily by low taxes for the rich.
Counterposed against Wehner\u2019s belief that Ryan is justifiably compromising his values to support Trump is the opinion by former supporter Charlie Sykes that Ryan is infuriatingly compromising his values to support Trump. \u201cI always imagined that there was room for an alternative conservative vision to Trumpism, and Paul Ryan was ideally suited to be that leader of a non-Trumpist conservative Republican Party, but he\u2019s chosen not to assume that role,\u201d Sykes tells the Times. \u201cIt\u2019s very disappointing to see he\u2019s become so comfortable as an ally and an enabler of Trump.\u201d Alternatively, maybe Ryan doesn\u2019t want to form a dissident faction against a president who has cut taxes for the rich because he is motivated primarily by low taxes for the rich .
The article posits that Ryan\u2019s steady support for Trump is coming at the expense of things Ryan cares about deeply:
Well, it might seem strange that Ryan has failed to negotiate a grand bargain to cut spending and raise revenue, like Boehner attempted. Except Ryan doesn\u2019t care about the deficit and never has, which is why he supported a wide array of deficit-increasing measures the last time Republicans held the presidency, under George W. Bush. For instance, why did Boehner\u2019s grand bargain fail? Because Paul Ryan opposed it. And why did Ryan oppose it? Because he is motivated primarily by low taxes for the rich.
Here\u2019s a news report from 2012: \u201cEric Cantor, the second most powerful House Republican, told Mr. Obama during negotiations over an attempted bipartisan \u2018grand bargain\u2019 that Mr. Ryan disliked its policy and was concerned that a deal would pave the way for Mr. Obama\u2019s easy re-election.\u201d My source is the New York Times .
The Times today does concede that Ryan has gotten something for his support for Trump: \u201cTo be sure, Mr. Ryan has had some achievements, notably the rewrite of the federal tax code, which for the speaker marked the realization of a long-held dream.\u201d Maybe\u2026 that\u2019s the whole reason for his pattern of behavior throughout his career. Maybe the man is, I dunno, motivated primarily by low taxes for the rich.<\/p>\n

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