Let’s be honest: nobody is perfect, and Paul Ryan is no exception. Though some of his statements in regards to Obamacare were questioned, there were several other prevalent domestic and foreign policy issues that Ryan spoke about with intellect and a cool head.
1. His refusal to support Trump’s relationship with Putin
A Reuters poll conducted after Trump’s 2016 campaign showed that over 80% of Americans consider Russia to be a threat to the United States, which is also almost a 10% increase from the last poll conducted on this issue in 2015. Correspondingly, Speaker Paul Ryan commented at last night’s Town Hall Meeting that “Russia is a global menace led by a man who is menacing.” I must say that hearing this statement from Ryan soothed my ire with Trump’s recent “bromance” with Russian president Vladimir Putin–a man whose government was recently confirmed for allegedly tampering with the United States 2016 Presidential election…in one way or another. Ryan’s stand against Putin was a stand for democracy, and he later followed up with a call for sanctions and stronger Russian engagement policy.
2. His roots in democracy
For all of you HC readers who might need a briefing before we discuss this issue: CNN reported on Tuesday January 10 2017 an alleged collusion between the Russian government and the 2016 Trump campaign; however, CNN specifically noted that it could not be verified. On the other hand, BuzzFeed did publish the unverified claims, and Trump falsely accused CNN of publishing fake news along with BuzzFeed.
Though Trump falsely and pettily accosted a CNN reporter during his first press conference as president-elect, (see clip here,) Paul Ryan deemed the issue unworthy of media attention because it is not a “product of the intelligence committee”. It is solely important that we continue investigations of Russia’s interference with the United Stated 2016 Presidential election as well as prevent any further possible interference with our nation and our nation’s allies.
3. His practicalness
Instead of heeding Trump’s call for a wall, Speaker Paul Ryan called for a secure border: correspondingly with Trump, Ryan discussed securing laws so that deportation of violent criminals who are repeat offenders is possible without repealing DACA (if that shall be) without replacement. When a voter inquired about laws being constructed to protect communities from being destroyed by heroin and opioids, Ryan, once again, spoke of the importance of border security to prevent the influx of drug supply from our Southern border. He also later lauded Congress for coming together, making the public health of communities affected by drugs all over the country a bipartisan issue and successfully passing policy and funding legislation to fix a variety of prescription related issues today.
4. His dab
After hitting Ryan with several emotional questions from voters present at the meeting, Tapper asked Ryan what the most amusing thing is that the media has targeted him for, and, of course, his answer was in regards to the technique of his dab. Whether or not you previously questioned the Speaker of the House on his ability to successfully execute a dab, it is a question no longer.
As far as this author is concerned, our Speaker of the House is doing a hell of a lot of good for our country.