Can Clinton & Ryan get along? Let’s ask Newt Gingrich!
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But first, it’s important to establish who will be to blame if they don’t.
The relationship would hinge on how Clinton decides to begin her presidency. She could claim an electoral mandate and launch a pitched battle to pass the more progressive parts of her agenda. Or she could start with a relatively incremental push on a menu of domestic issues on which she and Ryan have shared interests, including infrastructure investment, criminal-justice issues and anti-poverty measures.
Remember, Ryan is a nice guy who wants to help the disadvantaged by leaving them at the mercy of people like Scott Walker, Sam Brownback and capitalist pigs who flock to right-to-work states.
People who know Ryan said his amiable disposition can do only so much to help him connect with Clinton. “He’d be gracious and a gentleman, sure — less confrontational than Newt, and he’d be smoother than John Boehner,” said William J. Bennett, a close friend of Ryan’s and a former education secretary under President Ronald Reagan. But, Bennett said, “these aren’t people who are going out to dinner.”
And don’t overlook the bothsidesism!
There is a glaring fault line between optimism and pessimism about Clinton and Ryan forging a productive partnership. Some see the pair as policy wonks with pragmatic instincts who are poised to break the logjam. Others say their political caution and entrenched ideologies would prevent them from defying their bases to resolve disputes and build agreements.
At this point I stopped and checked the author of the article. My surprise that Robert Costa was involved could fit in here . with room to rattle.
And I was not kidding about Newt.
“Paul Ryan will not be dealing with Bill Clinton,” Gingrich said. “I had a guy I could talk to who had been the governor of Arkansas and dealt with that state’s legislature and helped to found a centrist organization,” he added, referring to the Democratic Leadership Council. “Hillary, on the other hand, is someone who is hard left. They are totally different people with different instincts.”
That guy you could work with? The one you impeached?
House Republican leaders have said that if Clinton is elected, they intend to continue their investigation into her use of a private email server as secretary of state, forecasting a stormy atmosphere. “Next year could be very much like 1998, when we impeached Bill Clinton,” Gingrich said.
Yep, that guy. Regarding Emailghazigate, Ryan’s statement – issued after the WaPo article was published – suggests that Clinton has already failed in her attempt to win Ryan over.
In his statement, the House speaker reiterated his criticisms of Clinton’s email practices while serving as secretary of state, saying the exchange demonstrated a “complete disregard for properly handling classified information.”
“This is exactly why I called on DNI Clapper” — Director of National Intelligence James Clapper — “to deny her access to classified information,” Ryan said.
All together now: She didn’t. Even. Try.
