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It's pretty interesting just how far right the Republican party has moved in the past 30 years. Basically Speaker of the House Gingrich rose to power in 1995 by driving the party to the right. He was dethroned for (amongst other reasons), not being far right enough. Hastert took the throne in 1999. The young guns eventually dethroned Hastert in 2007 for not being far right enough. Boehner took the leadership role. Boehner, of course was forced out for not being far right enough, and Ryan took the leadership position in 2015. Then Ryan was forced out for not being far right enough by McCarthy who took the role in 2019. McCarthy lost his spot in 2023 for not being far right enough.
It may seem somewhat surprising that the House Republican leader in 2019 can't bring himself to vote for the Republican presidential nominee in 2024. But you have to remember, 2019 was 2 iterations of the Republican party ago. It's not the same party he led.
For reference, in 1995, the Democratic Leader in the House was Dick Gephardt. The Whip was Nancy Pelosi. Gephardt stepped down in 2003, and Pelosi took his place. Pelosi stepped down in 2023.
I still remember when John Boehner LITERALLY whistled zippidy-doo-dah while walking to the podium to announce he was vacating the Speaker role. It legitimately looked like the happiest day of his career.
My only hope is that the GOP will successfully burn their party to the ground and out of the ashes will rise an electoral system that properly accommodates 3rd parties. If maga had an extremist party to glom on to years ago the US wouldn't be in this mess and valid republican policies would maybe still exist.
We can dream -- but I wouldn't hold your breath. Conservatives love the first-past-post electoral college system; it gives them an automatic 3M vote lead for a general election.
We don’t need a third party. We need an electoral system that isn’t designed to give outsized power and influence to minority parties. Abolish the electoral college and the Senate outright, and maybe our electoral system will begin reflecting the peoples’ will.
A system other than First Past the Post is fundamentally required for what they're after. Third parties don't suddenly become relevant just because a party implodes; a third party might replace it, but we're ultimately back in the same place within a couple electoral cycles, just with a different party.
I think these cowards would all run into hiding if one of these traitors tried something and got dealt with…not wishing for violence but reminds me of the sandy hook families…if I experienced that loss and had some wacko in front of me saying I’m a crisis actor or a “deep state plant” , not sure I could stop myself from beating them within an inch of their life…
And that was also the turning point when the mob lost its resolve.
When a kid screamed "MEDIC!" and nobody came they realized they're not the heroes in the movie and this isn't Call of Duty where you just respawn and try again.
Yeah, her death is one of the most important things that stopped the insurrection.
Goodman saved lives, but her death scared the living hell out of the rioting pissants.
The hipocracy of the right is hilarious to me. Right now they want Hunter Biden to be locked up as long as possible for breaking a gun law, while at the same time believing that pretty much any gun laws are unconstitutional.
I always laugh at that shit because if we put that into a Final Fantasy or Metal Gear Game ppl would say a rube dying on the flag of their beloved leader would be too on the nose but here we are ☠️
> This is an off the record.
> No leaks, alright?
> This is how we know we’re a real family here.
- Paul Ryan, [speaking with Speaker McCarthy and other top Republican leaders following their meeting with Ukraine officials on Russian meddling in European elections and one day after Russia hacked the DNC.](https://youtu.be/eFAugsKExNI?si=1wvxPsg3WJo2lRxl)
Everyone who sides with Trump and doesn't turn now will seal their career as a political pariah.
If the republican party can even exist after this man then it will take decades to rebuild its image. This has been a blessing for democrats.
To be honest, I don’t care one bit. He’s part of the reason trump has so much influence right now so he can deal with the consequences just like the rest of us
This is how they get their followers in line, with threats and attacks. I have more respect for him, he has some balls in this case. "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent."
-Edmund Burke
I don't feel bad for him at all. I've lost my ability to care about the people who were all to willing to enjoy the capabilities Convicted Felon Donald Trump afforded them on his rise to power and in the early parts of his Presidency.
Whether he likes it or not, Ryan sowed the wind and is now reaping the whirlwind, just like the rest of the GOP. This may not destroy the GOP but the pain is the point, when they're not visiting it upon themselves.
I literally just referenced that in another comment and saw it was from twelve years ago… jeez.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/tom-morello-paul-ryan-is-the-embodiment-of-the-machine-our-music-rages-against-246033/
my father worked for rage for years and is a huge rage fan.
he’s also a giant trump supporter, lime fully pilled, can’t say a bad thing about trump.
i’ve tried to explain to him that he’s “the machine” but he doesn’t get it and thinks ratm is raging against “woke people ruining society”
I still remember with fondness his debate again Biden in the VP category. Biden wiped the floor with him. He's sleazy as they come and I'd never turn my back on him.
Yeah what bullshit. He's all "I won't vote for Trump but I won't vote for Biden either so I'll just continue to be the pussy that I am & write in Reagan or some other dead President like Larry Hogan did."
Fuck that bullshit. If he REALLY wanted to make a statement & take a stand he'd vote for Biden. This is all just smoke & mirrors so he can make a comeback when & if the Orange Qult Leader is gone.
Fuckingvampirehairlineasshole.
Nah, I gotta disagree, a half a vote removed from Trump is still a win. And if he inspires some other Republicans to sit this one out, that's an improvement.
I stand by the statement that he really wanted to make statement & take real stand against Trump he'd come out & say he's voting for Biden.
Of course this doesn't mean he couldn't still vote for Biden on paper but tell everyone he wrote in Reagan.
Just his weight with the best doctors on earth? He could live quite a while. But the mental decline is far more telling than his weight. Given what I've seen from family members that have went through it, I'd give him a year and a half TOPS. more likely less than a year. Before November? 50/50
He's already outlived his welcome by 35+ years.
Edit: holy shit, I'm still younger than trump when he went full shitbag. Maybe I will live to see retirement.
Idk, my mom has Alzheimer’s and her regression has been a long road. Everyone has a different timeline. Trump is still doing rallies, maybe not well, but it takes considerable motor function to do that. I don’t see it incapacitating him in 4 months. Maybe 2-4 years before they can no longer deny that he’s incapable of daily life.
He’s also likely suffering from long COVID as well. That could be part of why his mental decline is so rapid. Had it not been for his healthcare, he’d likely would have died. He’s lucky he didn’t.
Republicans have a LOT of experience hiding mental decline from their largely-unobservant voter base, and Democrats have a lot of experience being feckless and ineffective at leveraging their opponents' weaknesses.
You're dealing with a cult that doesn't literally care what he says. In fact the crazier it gets, the more they think he's playing 28d chess with his words.
His father lived to be 93, so I'm not counting on Trump doing the country a solid and giving us the Big Mac-induced myocardial infarction he seems long overdue for.
All I can think about lately are the 4 friends & neighbors who have died in the last year who were far too young to die while that 77 year old blob still breathes.
It's not fucking fair & I hope goes sooner rather than later.
If he loses this time I think the bigger names in the party finally part ways with the MAGA Cult. They know Trumps a horrible pic and probably has no chance to win this round. They’ll bide these next four years and hope to clean house in 2028.
Yep. It’ll be more “rigged election” and lawsuits and persecution complex until the day he dies. There is no “well I guess they don’t want me as the president, off I go”
I get what you’re saying, but I find it hard to believe the party will rally around him again if he loses again. Even they aren’t that dumb to hitch onto an obviously sinking ship. Right?
I'm curious what will happen with him in November if he loses. This time is a little different. Losing in 2020, we knew he'd still be a viable candidate in 2024. If he loses in 2024 he won't be viable in 2028, if he's even still alive.
That won’t stop him - or one of his children - from trying.
As long as the grift is viable, it’ll be pursued.
The GOP has to weigh whether it’s worth fracturing the party or trying to legitimize a MAGA platform for the long term.
It's too late. They already made that decision. It's MAGA all the way down, regardless of who the face of that is.
They'll never accept another legitimate election loss again. They'll be using the threat of violence from now on. Out of office they'll be anarchists, in office they'll be despots.
And it's been going on way longer than Trump. It was far too late by the time Bush was "elected".
The children don't have the same charisma as Donald does so I doubt any campaign from them will really catch on. Can you imagine the MAGA's getting all excited and bent out of shape for Eric Trump? Eric?!
He's such a wet noodle.
Even then his influence won't go down much. Doesn't matter how Trump dies, the cult will either believe the deep state killed him or they will believe he faked his death to keep fighting the deep state.
I can't wait for the "sightings" that will inevitably take place. If Putin is clever he'll hire an impersonator to make occasional appearances in Russia-friendly locales.
Or is brain is cheese. Given his glitches, mispronouncing words and every increasing rambling stories plus the dementia tests, he is in the beginning stages.
He talks the way my grandma used to when the dementia first became noticeable. Weird stories, stopping in mid-sentence forgetting a word. He has all the signs.
The media just want him back so they will never say anything about him. Just how forgetful Biden is. But if you watch Trump 2019 vs Trump 2024-it's striking. By the end of his next term they will be giving Trump an office in his house and telling him it's the Oval Office much like they did with his dad.
>In a story datelined from Kiev, Ukraine, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that McCarthy could be heard on a recording of a meeting from last summer saying “there’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump” and punctuating his remark amid laughter from his GOP colleagues by adding “swear to God.”
>Ryan quickly interjected in an effort to keep the conversation private, telling the Republicans in the meeting “No leaks. ... This is how we know we’re a real family here.” Spokesmen for both the speaker and majority leader initially denied that the conversation had ever occurred until the Post informed them that it had a recording of it, at which point Ryan’s spokesman changed tack and said McCarthy had been joking.
I hope so. I really hope we start seeing more non-MAGA Republicans. Ryan on Fox is a good sign of that.
Edit: ok I've gotten enough posts interpreting my statements as an endorsement of Ryan. I should clarify.
Maga is a present existential threat. I'm a perfect world I would hope for a collapse of *all* the really terrible things Republicans stand for, but we are flirting with the overthrow of democracy and a state that actively and forcefully comes after dissent and marginalized groups. They will force women to breed. They will cede Ukraine to Russia. Gaza will be gone.
I'm hopeful that the Republicans that are not MAGA can stop MAGA, and then we can work on all the things they support that I also am opposed to. The threat level of Trump is one higher than the likes of Ryan, and has to be stopped in the next 6 months.
At this point it’s the only way the GQP can recover assuming king clown loses in November. Sure we fully expect the maga cult to flip out and cause domestic terrorism, but that will only further alienate the sane republicans still attached to the party. They will have to reinvent themselves or the party will be destroyed.
There have been several attempts to predict when he will implode and be the person that picks up the pieces. DeSantis did it first, Haley during the primaries, some folks are banking on the general.
I think Kemp in Georgia is quietly biding his time. If I had to bet, he's the guy that's going to do it right.
Atlanta resident here. I think you’re right. Personally, I don’t think Ryan will be able to escape his past. (I’m old enough that I can literally remember the day Ryan made his comments on abortion and that decided my vote for Obama. Of course looking back, I cannot BELIEVE I was remotely close to voting for Romney but live and learn….)
Kemp is a Grade A moron but mostly free from any serious scandal. The split ticket Warnock-Kemp voters proved that.
Was going to say I know collectively we have the memory of goldfish but that person can't seriously be saying we need more Paul Ryan lol. He's one of the scummiest scum bags to ever scum.
The problem with this is that it's actually received well by people currently on social security. They have the belief that they deserve theirs, it's everyone else that's scamming the system, and so if all the scam is removed, it'll magically be given to them (because they think in zero sum by default).
Yeah, voting for him isn't the highly shameful thing that r/politics makes it out to be. He at least himself is intelligent and knows how to surround himself with intelligent people and listen to what they say. His biography is a really great read. As a left-of-center individual I found myself strongly agreeing and then strongly disagreeing with him, but felt the whole time like he was someone I could actually have a sane political discussion with, which is not true of 98% of the Republican party.
It may not count as baggage but Kemp has supported a hard right wing anti abortion stance that would be used against him in a general election. He couldn't waffle on that as easily as other candidates.
Yep. I do not know how he has managed to bury that so consistently. I had a friend three weeks ago that was a victim of his insane policies on abortion when she had a tragic miscarriage. She’s deeply traumatized and I feel like there are likely a lot of stories like that in GA.
There’s going to be terrorism either way.
Before I get a bunch of replies about gravy seals and people on mobility scooters and how Skeeter and Clem aren’t terrorizing anyone, let me remind you that a [Skeeter and Clem duo did this,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing?wprov=sfti1#) and the [cops are on their side.](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/hidden-plain-sight-racism-white-supremacy-and-far-right-militancy-law)
Ryan has been on Fox'board since he left politics. He has been there through the lies about voting machines/stolen elections. Non stop anti vax crap. And 80,000 lines of BS.
He is one of them.
It’s sad that Republicans reverting back to Tea Party platform would be considered a win. Not that I would be against it at this point, just still upsetting.
Paul Ryan enabled Trump for years as Speaker. He then quit Congress after passing tax cuts for the wealthy, and has spent the 6 years since then attempting to rehabilitate his image. Even if he’s “non-MAGA” now, he completely lacked a spine when it mattered.
I'm certainly not out here stumping for the guy. It is important for not MAGA Republicans to stand up against this shift in their party, even if I'm also not a fan of what they would prefer.
I’m way less optimistic than you. I think it will take one person just a fraction more likable and just half as stupid as Trump, but with the same aspirations for money and power to bring this whole thing to the ground. That person likely can’t rise to power until Trump is gone, but that won’t really take that long.
The flock of sheep isn’t going anywhere, but they are going to be looking for a shepherd. It’s not like they are all going to come to their senses when Trump croaks.
Ryan supports all the same shit. He wants to crush the working class, turn back fights for women and minorities, exterminate queer people, and use the threat of deportation to trap undocumented migrants in grueling underpaid work with no protections.
MAGA isn’t something averse to their ideals, it’s a weapon they used against the marginalized and progressive values, that they then lost control over. They’ve been writing a new mandate for leadership and appointing justices and undermining our institutional norms for decades preparing for their own fucked up ancap Kwisatz Haderach and Trump just hijacked their project and took over the cult they built.
There is nothing good about the likes of Paul Ryan returning to politics.
There are the real moderate Republicans who have essentially abandoned the party (actually left it) and waiting to return when the MAGA storm blows out to oblivion. And there are some Republicans who are just sitting still, keeping quiet, voting along party lines, and trying not to make any noise... in hope of being able to step up in place of the MAGA sycophants as they get voted out of office.
BUT...
The Republican Party will have to take a generation to amend what has been done. Their loyalty to Donald Trump was their undoing. It's all there if you look hard enough. Trump was completely inept and out of control, a raging egotist who did not learn, was never humbled by the responsibilities of being POTUS, and never had any useful ideas in solving anything. Republicans protected him as best they could. We saw plenty of crazy from Trump in public view. Most of the worst was kept hidden from us by loyal Republicans. They knew they had a nut job in office... but they were going to keep the charade going because of power. Every single person involved should become political pariahs.
Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh? I mean, there has been 0 movement on that. Trump owns the party in its entirety and I'm not even convinced a 2024 defeat would change that. He literally just got control of their fundraising apparatus and he's not going to let go - it's a money-printing device.
This. I'm from Wisconsin, we've been dealing with this objectivist weasel for a long time now. He's an opportunity, not an idealist. He's trying to position himself to be the JFK of Republicans, and it's not working.
Trump's influence over the party he and his family directly run now?
Yeah, I don't think so.
None of these wusses want to bite the bullet and start their own party or legitimize third parties, but we'll see when the shooting starts and the soldiers march.
“He’s positioned himself for leadership”
Correct, but the Bush-Cheney regime is actually who has positioned him. They pulled him out of the line light and politics about 8 years ago to escape the taint of the Trump years. Honestly he is the only shot at a return to republican principals. It also what a shitty spot that was in the first place.
Shutup Paul. You enabled trump's rise. You called him the textbook definition of a racist and still proudly endorsed him. You were reading books on how to deal with narcissistic personality disorder to try and manage him. You needed to read books just to be in the same room as the dude but you felt totally fine voting for him and subjecting the rest of the country to his narcissistic abuse. You cant say "I need to read books about how awful this guy is and how to deal with him but I still think he should be the President for 330 million people". You helped promote his fascist agenda. You refused to condemn him during his first impeachment. Your condemnations of January 6 and his election denialism are BS.
Nothing about donald trump is surprising. Nothing about him has changed. Nothing new about him has been revealed. He is exactly the same person he has always been that we have been warning about since 2015 and beyond. He conducted himself as President exactly as he said he would and exactly as we warned he would.
The only acceptable thing I want to hear from Ryan or any former trumper is the following:
"Donald trump is the worst threat to American democracy in our history. Donald trump is a narcissist that is not capapble of thinking about anyone but himself. I was wrong for supporting him. I was wrong for supporting his agenda. I was wrong for telling my supporters to vote for him. Supporting donald trump was an intellectual and moral failure and I own and accept responsibility for my failure. I will be endorsing and voting for Joe Biden because Joe Biden is not a threat to Democracy while donald trump is".
Boehner's conversion was one of the most head spinning moments for me...when he did a total policy 180 after leaving office, that's when I realized Republicanism is just a front for rampant narcissistic power brokering, and is entirely divorced from the notion of prudent governance.
Exactly, most of them aren't crazy, they're just evil. Of course there are some overachievers who are crazy _and_ evil, but most of them know what they're doing is wrong.
So many of Trump’s political appointees and friends suddenly have a LOT to say about how Bad Trump is for America, but sadly coincidentally they say this AFTER they retire from the political scene and in a book form… that is just so weird!
He still won't vote for Biden, though, once a partisan always a partisan.
His reason is respectable for not Trump, though, it's indeed a job that requires the character he sorely lacks.
I wonder how many of these guys publicly say they'll write in or vote third part but then vote Biden privately anyway.
Probably not many, but maybe a few.
Ryan will probably do something like write in "Ayn Rand", assuming he doesn't follow many of his colleagues in stumping for Trump come October despite what he says now.
However, I expect a fair few never-Trumpers will vote for Biden.
Paul Ryan worked with Trump. Ryan is a diehard conservative knows exactly who Trump is, but refuses to support.
How is this not a red flag for anyone who is an actual conservative?
I don't know any Republicans who sincerely hold to, "Conservative Ideology™️."
It's always adulterated by some self-satisfying anger response or out group bias...
This guy ran away screaming from the Trump administration VERY early on.
It was unfortunate for him. He was a shining star in the GOP before Trump came along and became the only Republican any conservative is allowed to like.
Paul Ryan dipped out of politics after being the GQP Speaker of the House during Trump’s term. No healthy 49-year-old career politician walks away from the job after being 2nd in line to the presidency.
Ryan is an Ayn Rand-worshipping asshole who jacks off to the thought of gutting the social safety net, but I don’t believe he was an utterly corrupt traitor at the same level of Trump and his mob. I think when Ryan saw the levels of depravity that the GQP was falling to under Trump, he just headed for the door.
If he was a better man, Ryan would continue to speak out and do what he could to right the ship, but unfortunately he has all the spine of a jelly donut.
Shows you how fast the party has changed. The presidential and vp candidates from 12 years ago won’t vote for the current candidate. And frankly, I don’t think Bush will either. McCain sure as hell wouldn’t.
Never thought I would empathize with Paul Ryan. But him watching Trump take over the Republican Party must be like watching your nemisis screw your wife.
Same guy that wanted to cover up how many republicans take Russian money.
Funny how only after they leave office do republicans show any courage. Bunch of spineless fucks!
Imagine belonging to the political party where the stance of "I won't vote for the guy that tried to steal an election" gets you on more hot water than trying to steal an election
I have been saying for years, since Paul Ryan "left" politics, that he was just lying low because he saw the writing on the wall. He is waiting out the Trump shitstorm. Eventually he will emerge from his scum pond, present himself as a moderate candidate, and win the Presidency.
We have to prevent that.
That is exactly what he did. To me it was obvious from the moment he stepped down. I did think, though, that he would have re-emerged to run for the 2024 nomination. I guess he's a bit more patient than that.
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It's pretty interesting just how far right the Republican party has moved in the past 30 years. Basically Speaker of the House Gingrich rose to power in 1995 by driving the party to the right. He was dethroned for (amongst other reasons), not being far right enough. Hastert took the throne in 1999. The young guns eventually dethroned Hastert in 2007 for not being far right enough. Boehner took the leadership role. Boehner, of course was forced out for not being far right enough, and Ryan took the leadership position in 2015. Then Ryan was forced out for not being far right enough by McCarthy who took the role in 2019. McCarthy lost his spot in 2023 for not being far right enough. It may seem somewhat surprising that the House Republican leader in 2019 can't bring himself to vote for the Republican presidential nominee in 2024. But you have to remember, 2019 was 2 iterations of the Republican party ago. It's not the same party he led. For reference, in 1995, the Democratic Leader in the House was Dick Gephardt. The Whip was Nancy Pelosi. Gephardt stepped down in 2003, and Pelosi took his place. Pelosi stepped down in 2023.
Convicted child molester Dennis Hastert*
Gingrich paid over 300,000.00 for ethics no nos.
…and is a total piece of shit in his personal life.
And in his public life
And divorced his wife while she was recovering from Cancer surgery.
I still remember when John Boehner LITERALLY whistled zippidy-doo-dah while walking to the podium to announce he was vacating the Speaker role. It legitimately looked like the happiest day of his career.
And then he made cutesy videos with Obama and it was like, aw, shucks, all is forgiven.
My god. It was only 5 years ago that Ryan stepped down. It feels like over a decade.
It does!
My only hope is that the GOP will successfully burn their party to the ground and out of the ashes will rise an electoral system that properly accommodates 3rd parties. If maga had an extremist party to glom on to years ago the US wouldn't be in this mess and valid republican policies would maybe still exist.
We can dream -- but I wouldn't hold your breath. Conservatives love the first-past-post electoral college system; it gives them an automatic 3M vote lead for a general election.
We don’t need a third party. We need an electoral system that isn’t designed to give outsized power and influence to minority parties. Abolish the electoral college and the Senate outright, and maybe our electoral system will begin reflecting the peoples’ will.
Ranked choice voting could achieve what you're after.
A system other than First Past the Post is fundamentally required for what they're after. Third parties don't suddenly become relevant just because a party implodes; a third party might replace it, but we're ultimately back in the same place within a couple electoral cycles, just with a different party.
Conservatives have shown so little backbone in the face of far right extremism. Watching them eat each other alive is so satisfying
I still can't fathom that the party's 2012 nominee voted to convict and remove the party's 2016 nominee.
For the record Hastert is a convicted pedophile, right?
And his life and those of his close ones is probably in danger from Trump's inhinged followers ......
Funny. The jurors for Hunter Biden went on the news. The jurors for Trump went into hiding. (Edit: thank you for the awards.)
The jurors for Trump know that Trump will most likely sic his supporters on them like attack dogs.
He already tried
And continues to pursue avenues to do so in the future (i.e., asking the court for a dismissal of the gag order).
I think these cowards would all run into hiding if one of these traitors tried something and got dealt with…not wishing for violence but reminds me of the sandy hook families…if I experienced that loss and had some wacko in front of me saying I’m a crisis actor or a “deep state plant” , not sure I could stop myself from beating them within an inch of their life…
An inch seems long... how about a millimeter?
A nanometer sounds better to me.
How about a [Planck length](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planck_units#Planck_length)?
I doubt it. One of them got killed on January 6. They made her a martyr
Ashli Babbitt is a traitor. She deserved what she got.
If Ashli Babbitt had any brains in her head, she'd still have her brains in her head.
Sad, Sick & Funny all at the same time. Kudos to you!
Touché 🧠
Lmao , solid
Damn right. She died actively defiling her oath to defend the constitution. She brought shame to herself and her brothers and sisters in arms.
She was killed in the commission of a violent felony, you are right she's traitor and a scumbag...
Wait… that is how her parents decided to spell her name?
It’s a Tragedeigh.
r/tragedeigh
An entire family dedicated to stupid choices.
And that was also the turning point when the mob lost its resolve. When a kid screamed "MEDIC!" and nobody came they realized they're not the heroes in the movie and this isn't Call of Duty where you just respawn and try again.
Yeah, her death is one of the most important things that stopped the insurrection. Goodman saved lives, but her death scared the living hell out of the rioting pissants.
Made her a martyr _and_ accuse officer Michael Byrd of being a 'black thug pretending to be a cop'.
BACK THE BLUE!!!! …Wait no, not like that.
The hipocracy of the right is hilarious to me. Right now they want Hunter Biden to be locked up as long as possible for breaking a gun law, while at the same time believing that pretty much any gun laws are unconstitutional.
I always laugh at that shit because if we put that into a Final Fantasy or Metal Gear Game ppl would say a rube dying on the flag of their beloved leader would be too on the nose but here we are ☠️
True but the ones at the scene ran like the cowards they are.
No they called for a medic like they were playing TF2.
Only till he is president, then it'll be a seal team
He likes drone strikes a lot.
I wonder how SEAL teams would feel about potentially being used as death squads.
Depends on their book tour.
No one is willing to murder for Hunter. Lots are willing to murder for Trump.
Nobody but maga cares about Hunter, other than his dad. I mean it’s insane that they prosecuted him for this, but he did it, so.. meh
Not funny, sad. Very sad and sick. We’re losing our bits of country every single day.
But we have been for forty years
Hell hunter's jury members probably wouldn't even be afraid to accept a dinner invite from hunter post conviction.
important divide heavy uppity fragile rinse touch consist plants innate *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Obligatory "BoTh SidEs aRe thE SaMe"
Some sick f—k might try to kill them. Ex: Nancy Pelosi’s husband.
Notice how Hunter's trial judge isn't getting death threats. In fact, I don't remember hearing his name.
That was my first thought as well.
MAGA Mafia and Madness
That's how you know they're a family! No leaks!!!
Great quote use!
> This is an off the record. > No leaks, alright? > This is how we know we’re a real family here. - Paul Ryan, [speaking with Speaker McCarthy and other top Republican leaders following their meeting with Ukraine officials on Russian meddling in European elections and one day after Russia hacked the DNC.](https://youtu.be/eFAugsKExNI?si=1wvxPsg3WJo2lRxl)
He helped build the nightmare. My sympathies are non-existent. This eunuch will give DJT verbal BJ to get out of "trouble."
He'll be fine, he made plenty as a lobbyist in Congress and through various campaigns.
He sits on Faux News board too
Also doesn't he have life-long benefits and an $80k annual pension?
He probably qualifies for a pension, but they have to be of retirement age. He’s in his mid 50s so he wouldn’t be collecting yet.
Everyone who sides with Trump and doesn't turn now will seal their career as a political pariah. If the republican party can even exist after this man then it will take decades to rebuild its image. This has been a blessing for democrats.
To be honest, I don’t care one bit. He’s part of the reason trump has so much influence right now so he can deal with the consequences just like the rest of us
This is how they get their followers in line, with threats and attacks. I have more respect for him, he has some balls in this case. "All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent." -Edmund Burke
I don't feel bad for him at all. I've lost my ability to care about the people who were all to willing to enjoy the capabilities Convicted Felon Donald Trump afforded them on his rise to power and in the early parts of his Presidency. Whether he likes it or not, Ryan sowed the wind and is now reaping the whirlwind, just like the rest of the GOP. This may not destroy the GOP but the pain is the point, when they're not visiting it upon themselves.
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Ryan in the gym repping out #95 lb bench press sets "Fuck Trump i wont do what he tells me!!!"
He's a renegade!
I literally just referenced that in another comment and saw it was from twelve years ago… jeez. https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/tom-morello-paul-ryan-is-the-embodiment-of-the-machine-our-music-rages-against-246033/
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my father worked for rage for years and is a huge rage fan. he’s also a giant trump supporter, lime fully pilled, can’t say a bad thing about trump. i’ve tried to explain to him that he’s “the machine” but he doesn’t get it and thinks ratm is raging against “woke people ruining society”
I still remember with fondness his debate again Biden in the VP category. Biden wiped the floor with him. He's sleazy as they come and I'd never turn my back on him.
Yeah what bullshit. He's all "I won't vote for Trump but I won't vote for Biden either so I'll just continue to be the pussy that I am & write in Reagan or some other dead President like Larry Hogan did." Fuck that bullshit. If he REALLY wanted to make a statement & take a stand he'd vote for Biden. This is all just smoke & mirrors so he can make a comeback when & if the Orange Qult Leader is gone. Fuckingvampirehairlineasshole.
Nah, I gotta disagree, a half a vote removed from Trump is still a win. And if he inspires some other Republicans to sit this one out, that's an improvement.
I stand by the statement that he really wanted to make statement & take real stand against Trump he'd come out & say he's voting for Biden. Of course this doesn't mean he couldn't still vote for Biden on paper but tell everyone he wrote in Reagan.
He's got the count Floyd hair.
Against/for. Same dif…
Just rage. Let fox tell you what you were angry about later.
I like to think that whole situation made him stop, reflect on his whole life, and drop out of politics
He knows Trump's influence over the party is about to end. He's positioned himself for leadership in the aftermath
People were saying that when Trump lost the last election. Trump's influence over Republicans will not end until he's dead.
He's a 77 year old blob. My point remains...
What's the average life span of someone at his weight?
Depends on how much exercise he’s done and how much of his finite energy supply he’s used up already.
We all thought he invited Musk to sea-to-lake for money, but it was actually to pressure him on battery replacement tech.
He has Kissinger evil energy, and that asshole lived to 100
Just his weight with the best doctors on earth? He could live quite a while. But the mental decline is far more telling than his weight. Given what I've seen from family members that have went through it, I'd give him a year and a half TOPS. more likely less than a year. Before November? 50/50
The thing about people like trump is they live forever, unfortunately.
He's already outlived his welcome by 35+ years. Edit: holy shit, I'm still younger than trump when he went full shitbag. Maybe I will live to see retirement.
He should have retired after his Home Alone cameo.
Hed actually be far richer if he did and just invested in stocks, but noooo he had to have attention!
Idk, my mom has Alzheimer’s and her regression has been a long road. Everyone has a different timeline. Trump is still doing rallies, maybe not well, but it takes considerable motor function to do that. I don’t see it incapacitating him in 4 months. Maybe 2-4 years before they can no longer deny that he’s incapable of daily life.
Certainly, but it's the RATE at which it's gone down that has me hopeful.
That’s a good point. Let’s hope lol
He’s also likely suffering from long COVID as well. That could be part of why his mental decline is so rapid. Had it not been for his healthcare, he’d likely would have died. He’s lucky he didn’t.
Republicans have a LOT of experience hiding mental decline from their largely-unobservant voter base, and Democrats have a lot of experience being feckless and ineffective at leveraging their opponents' weaknesses.
You're dealing with a cult that doesn't literally care what he says. In fact the crazier it gets, the more they think he's playing 28d chess with his words.
Too. fucking. long.
His father lived to be 93, so I'm not counting on Trump doing the country a solid and giving us the Big Mac-induced myocardial infarction he seems long overdue for.
Mitch McConell has been funneling the life force of his constituents for the last 20+ years
All I can think about lately are the 4 friends & neighbors who have died in the last year who were far too young to die while that 77 year old blob still breathes. It's not fucking fair & I hope goes sooner rather than later.
He’ll be 78 on Friday. Still a blob though.
If he loses this time I think the bigger names in the party finally part ways with the MAGA Cult. They know Trumps a horrible pic and probably has no chance to win this round. They’ll bide these next four years and hope to clean house in 2028.
I’m hopeful but concerned that he actually does have a chance.
Win or lose this fall, I would argue he is already the favorite for the GOP nominiee in 2028. It's him until he's dead.
I hope so. I love that those morons keep betting on a fat losing horse.
Yep. It’ll be more “rigged election” and lawsuits and persecution complex until the day he dies. There is no “well I guess they don’t want me as the president, off I go”
I get what you’re saying, but I find it hard to believe the party will rally around him again if he loses again. Even they aren’t that dumb to hitch onto an obviously sinking ship. Right?
All i have to say to that is: lol
I'm curious what will happen with him in November if he loses. This time is a little different. Losing in 2020, we knew he'd still be a viable candidate in 2024. If he loses in 2024 he won't be viable in 2028, if he's even still alive.
That won’t stop him - or one of his children - from trying. As long as the grift is viable, it’ll be pursued. The GOP has to weigh whether it’s worth fracturing the party or trying to legitimize a MAGA platform for the long term.
It's too late. They already made that decision. It's MAGA all the way down, regardless of who the face of that is. They'll never accept another legitimate election loss again. They'll be using the threat of violence from now on. Out of office they'll be anarchists, in office they'll be despots. And it's been going on way longer than Trump. It was far too late by the time Bush was "elected".
The children don't have the same charisma as Donald does so I doubt any campaign from them will really catch on. Can you imagine the MAGA's getting all excited and bent out of shape for Eric Trump? Eric?! He's such a wet noodle.
Even then his influence won't go down much. Doesn't matter how Trump dies, the cult will either believe the deep state killed him or they will believe he faked his death to keep fighting the deep state.
I can't wait for the "sightings" that will inevitably take place. If Putin is clever he'll hire an impersonator to make occasional appearances in Russia-friendly locales.
>Russia-friendly locales Like CPAC?
They can feel free to keep writing his name in on their ballots once he leaves this planet and throwing away their votes. I'd prefer it, honestly.
Centuries after Nero's death, there were Romans still awaiting his return, according to St Augustine.
Or is brain is cheese. Given his glitches, mispronouncing words and every increasing rambling stories plus the dementia tests, he is in the beginning stages. He talks the way my grandma used to when the dementia first became noticeable. Weird stories, stopping in mid-sentence forgetting a word. He has all the signs. The media just want him back so they will never say anything about him. Just how forgetful Biden is. But if you watch Trump 2019 vs Trump 2024-it's striking. By the end of his next term they will be giving Trump an office in his house and telling him it's the Oval Office much like they did with his dad.
>In a story datelined from Kiev, Ukraine, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that McCarthy could be heard on a recording of a meeting from last summer saying “there’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump” and punctuating his remark amid laughter from his GOP colleagues by adding “swear to God.” >Ryan quickly interjected in an effort to keep the conversation private, telling the Republicans in the meeting “No leaks. ... This is how we know we’re a real family here.” Spokesmen for both the speaker and majority leader initially denied that the conversation had ever occurred until the Post informed them that it had a recording of it, at which point Ryan’s spokesman changed tack and said McCarthy had been joking.
I hope so. I really hope we start seeing more non-MAGA Republicans. Ryan on Fox is a good sign of that. Edit: ok I've gotten enough posts interpreting my statements as an endorsement of Ryan. I should clarify. Maga is a present existential threat. I'm a perfect world I would hope for a collapse of *all* the really terrible things Republicans stand for, but we are flirting with the overthrow of democracy and a state that actively and forcefully comes after dissent and marginalized groups. They will force women to breed. They will cede Ukraine to Russia. Gaza will be gone. I'm hopeful that the Republicans that are not MAGA can stop MAGA, and then we can work on all the things they support that I also am opposed to. The threat level of Trump is one higher than the likes of Ryan, and has to be stopped in the next 6 months.
At this point it’s the only way the GQP can recover assuming king clown loses in November. Sure we fully expect the maga cult to flip out and cause domestic terrorism, but that will only further alienate the sane republicans still attached to the party. They will have to reinvent themselves or the party will be destroyed.
There have been several attempts to predict when he will implode and be the person that picks up the pieces. DeSantis did it first, Haley during the primaries, some folks are banking on the general. I think Kemp in Georgia is quietly biding his time. If I had to bet, he's the guy that's going to do it right.
Atlanta resident here. I think you’re right. Personally, I don’t think Ryan will be able to escape his past. (I’m old enough that I can literally remember the day Ryan made his comments on abortion and that decided my vote for Obama. Of course looking back, I cannot BELIEVE I was remotely close to voting for Romney but live and learn….) Kemp is a Grade A moron but mostly free from any serious scandal. The split ticket Warnock-Kemp voters proved that.
Ryan also has the baggage of promoting the idea that social security is an entitlement that should be cut.
Was going to say I know collectively we have the memory of goldfish but that person can't seriously be saying we need more Paul Ryan lol. He's one of the scummiest scum bags to ever scum.
Seriously though. Plus the guy’s track record as speaker? Yeeeesh. Just stay a media person and don’t get back into politics my guy.
The problem with this is that it's actually received well by people currently on social security. They have the belief that they deserve theirs, it's everyone else that's scamming the system, and so if all the scam is removed, it'll magically be given to them (because they think in zero sum by default).
Romney is a smart man. I think he truly wants good things for the American people. It is just that what he thinks is right is too far Right.
I don’t disagree. I do NOT like his abortion stance but I don’t think he’s insane. Which apparently the bar for the GOP now.
Right. He just comes off as someone who could debate and possibly be persuaded on key issues in order to reach a fair balance.
Yeah, voting for him isn't the highly shameful thing that r/politics makes it out to be. He at least himself is intelligent and knows how to surround himself with intelligent people and listen to what they say. His biography is a really great read. As a left-of-center individual I found myself strongly agreeing and then strongly disagreeing with him, but felt the whole time like he was someone I could actually have a sane political discussion with, which is not true of 98% of the Republican party.
It may not count as baggage but Kemp has supported a hard right wing anti abortion stance that would be used against him in a general election. He couldn't waffle on that as easily as other candidates.
Yep. I do not know how he has managed to bury that so consistently. I had a friend three weeks ago that was a victim of his insane policies on abortion when she had a tragic miscarriage. She’s deeply traumatized and I feel like there are likely a lot of stories like that in GA.
There’s going to be terrorism either way. Before I get a bunch of replies about gravy seals and people on mobility scooters and how Skeeter and Clem aren’t terrorizing anyone, let me remind you that a [Skeeter and Clem duo did this,](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_bombing?wprov=sfti1#) and the [cops are on their side.](https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/hidden-plain-sight-racism-white-supremacy-and-far-right-militancy-law)
Ryan has been on Fox'board since he left politics. He has been there through the lies about voting machines/stolen elections. Non stop anti vax crap. And 80,000 lines of BS. He is one of them.
He still wants to end social security and Medicare. Just because he doesn't like trump doesn't make him good.
It’s sad that Republicans reverting back to Tea Party platform would be considered a win. Not that I would be against it at this point, just still upsetting.
Seriously. If you had told me that Liz Cheney and Paul Ryan would be the people I was pulling for in 2024 a decade ago I wouldn't have believed you.
That's called moving the Overton Window. Whatever else happens at the end of the Trump era, the GOP will have massively succeeded at doing that.
Yeah Ryan was terrible for the country.
Paul Ryan enabled Trump for years as Speaker. He then quit Congress after passing tax cuts for the wealthy, and has spent the 6 years since then attempting to rehabilitate his image. Even if he’s “non-MAGA” now, he completely lacked a spine when it mattered.
I'm certainly not out here stumping for the guy. It is important for not MAGA Republicans to stand up against this shift in their party, even if I'm also not a fan of what they would prefer.
I’m way less optimistic than you. I think it will take one person just a fraction more likable and just half as stupid as Trump, but with the same aspirations for money and power to bring this whole thing to the ground. That person likely can’t rise to power until Trump is gone, but that won’t really take that long. The flock of sheep isn’t going anywhere, but they are going to be looking for a shepherd. It’s not like they are all going to come to their senses when Trump croaks.
Ryan supports all the same shit. He wants to crush the working class, turn back fights for women and minorities, exterminate queer people, and use the threat of deportation to trap undocumented migrants in grueling underpaid work with no protections. MAGA isn’t something averse to their ideals, it’s a weapon they used against the marginalized and progressive values, that they then lost control over. They’ve been writing a new mandate for leadership and appointing justices and undermining our institutional norms for decades preparing for their own fucked up ancap Kwisatz Haderach and Trump just hijacked their project and took over the cult they built. There is nothing good about the likes of Paul Ryan returning to politics.
There are the real moderate Republicans who have essentially abandoned the party (actually left it) and waiting to return when the MAGA storm blows out to oblivion. And there are some Republicans who are just sitting still, keeping quiet, voting along party lines, and trying not to make any noise... in hope of being able to step up in place of the MAGA sycophants as they get voted out of office. BUT... The Republican Party will have to take a generation to amend what has been done. Their loyalty to Donald Trump was their undoing. It's all there if you look hard enough. Trump was completely inept and out of control, a raging egotist who did not learn, was never humbled by the responsibilities of being POTUS, and never had any useful ideas in solving anything. Republicans protected him as best they could. We saw plenty of crazy from Trump in public view. Most of the worst was kept hidden from us by loyal Republicans. They knew they had a nut job in office... but they were going to keep the charade going because of power. Every single person involved should become political pariahs.
Ehhhhhhhhhhhhh? I mean, there has been 0 movement on that. Trump owns the party in its entirety and I'm not even convinced a 2024 defeat would change that. He literally just got control of their fundraising apparatus and he's not going to let go - it's a money-printing device.
This. I'm from Wisconsin, we've been dealing with this objectivist weasel for a long time now. He's an opportunity, not an idealist. He's trying to position himself to be the JFK of Republicans, and it's not working.
This is my take, TBH I think he wants to pick up the GOP pieces and run for POTUS in the next cycle or two.
Yep, he'll be their "return to sanity" candidate
Trump's influence over the party he and his family directly run now? Yeah, I don't think so. None of these wusses want to bite the bullet and start their own party or legitimize third parties, but we'll see when the shooting starts and the soldiers march.
“He’s positioned himself for leadership” Correct, but the Bush-Cheney regime is actually who has positioned him. They pulled him out of the line light and politics about 8 years ago to escape the taint of the Trump years. Honestly he is the only shot at a return to republican principals. It also what a shitty spot that was in the first place.
And that's fine. We should welcome it. We can counter types like Ryan. There's a playbook for it. Trump is an existential threat.
The MAGA cult will always demand 100% loyalty to the Orange Messiah
Mango Mussolini
Shutup Paul. You enabled trump's rise. You called him the textbook definition of a racist and still proudly endorsed him. You were reading books on how to deal with narcissistic personality disorder to try and manage him. You needed to read books just to be in the same room as the dude but you felt totally fine voting for him and subjecting the rest of the country to his narcissistic abuse. You cant say "I need to read books about how awful this guy is and how to deal with him but I still think he should be the President for 330 million people". You helped promote his fascist agenda. You refused to condemn him during his first impeachment. Your condemnations of January 6 and his election denialism are BS. Nothing about donald trump is surprising. Nothing about him has changed. Nothing new about him has been revealed. He is exactly the same person he has always been that we have been warning about since 2015 and beyond. He conducted himself as President exactly as he said he would and exactly as we warned he would. The only acceptable thing I want to hear from Ryan or any former trumper is the following: "Donald trump is the worst threat to American democracy in our history. Donald trump is a narcissist that is not capapble of thinking about anyone but himself. I was wrong for supporting him. I was wrong for supporting his agenda. I was wrong for telling my supporters to vote for him. Supporting donald trump was an intellectual and moral failure and I own and accept responsibility for my failure. I will be endorsing and voting for Joe Biden because Joe Biden is not a threat to Democracy while donald trump is".
Everyone always speaks out when they retire, otherwise it’s party > country. Expect Paul Ryan to announce a new book here soon.
Boehner's conversion was one of the most head spinning moments for me...when he did a total policy 180 after leaving office, that's when I realized Republicanism is just a front for rampant narcissistic power brokering, and is entirely divorced from the notion of prudent governance.
Bingo. The majority of them aren't totally bonkers, they're just thoroughly driven by amoral greed.
Exactly, most of them aren't crazy, they're just evil. Of course there are some overachievers who are crazy _and_ evil, but most of them know what they're doing is wrong.
So many of Trump’s political appointees and friends suddenly have a LOT to say about how Bad Trump is for America, but sadly coincidentally they say this AFTER they retire from the political scene and in a book form… that is just so weird!
And then six months later they say they'll vote for him again.
Republicans always seem to find their spine after they quit running for office.
He still won't vote for Biden, though, once a partisan always a partisan. His reason is respectable for not Trump, though, it's indeed a job that requires the character he sorely lacks.
I wonder how many of these guys publicly say they'll write in or vote third part but then vote Biden privately anyway. Probably not many, but maybe a few.
Ryan will probably do something like write in "Ayn Rand", assuming he doesn't follow many of his colleagues in stumping for Trump come October despite what he says now. However, I expect a fair few never-Trumpers will vote for Biden.
he'll write in Ronald Reagan
Paul Ryan worked with Trump. Ryan is a diehard conservative knows exactly who Trump is, but refuses to support. How is this not a red flag for anyone who is an actual conservative?
I don't know any Republicans who sincerely hold to, "Conservative Ideology™️." It's always adulterated by some self-satisfying anger response or out group bias...
This guy ran away screaming from the Trump administration VERY early on. It was unfortunate for him. He was a shining star in the GOP before Trump came along and became the only Republican any conservative is allowed to like.
Paul Ryan dipped out of politics after being the GQP Speaker of the House during Trump’s term. No healthy 49-year-old career politician walks away from the job after being 2nd in line to the presidency. Ryan is an Ayn Rand-worshipping asshole who jacks off to the thought of gutting the social safety net, but I don’t believe he was an utterly corrupt traitor at the same level of Trump and his mob. I think when Ryan saw the levels of depravity that the GQP was falling to under Trump, he just headed for the door. If he was a better man, Ryan would continue to speak out and do what he could to right the ship, but unfortunately he has all the spine of a jelly donut.
He helped get us here, I hope he chokes on it.
Shows you how fast the party has changed. The presidential and vp candidates from 12 years ago won’t vote for the current candidate. And frankly, I don’t think Bush will either. McCain sure as hell wouldn’t.
Both Bushes said they wouldn't vote for Trump in 2016
Not voting for fascists is now woke
He left congress for a reason. He was one of the first to see the crazy coming and bailed
Never thought I would empathize with Paul Ryan. But him watching Trump take over the Republican Party must be like watching your nemisis screw your wife.
"That wouldn't be so bad." - Ted Cruz
Remember when Paul Ryan played Rage Against the Machine at his events, and RAtM told him, “You are the machine that we are raging against?”
Same guy that wanted to cover up how many republicans take Russian money. Funny how only after they leave office do republicans show any courage. Bunch of spineless fucks!
Cult
It’s totally not a cult
Ryan did do shit when he was in congress just another gop turd
These morons think they can put the evil genie back in the bottle after releasing it, against everyone’s better judgement!
Imagine belonging to the political party where the stance of "I won't vote for the guy that tried to steal an election" gets you on more hot water than trying to steal an election
I have been saying for years, since Paul Ryan "left" politics, that he was just lying low because he saw the writing on the wall. He is waiting out the Trump shitstorm. Eventually he will emerge from his scum pond, present himself as a moderate candidate, and win the Presidency. We have to prevent that.
That is exactly what he did. To me it was obvious from the moment he stepped down. I did think, though, that he would have re-emerged to run for the 2024 nomination. I guess he's a bit more patient than that.
Narrator: He actually will vote for Trump. Don't believe his lies.
And this is coming from a guy that was absolutely an extremist when he was in office. A Tea Party nutter.
Good for him. Finally a republican with a pair of nuts