Never in the modern era, and perhaps not in American history, has someone been dragged kicking and screaming into the most powerful position in Congress. It took weeks of frantic phone calls—from McCarthy, Priebus, Boehner, Mitt Romney, even Cardinal Timothy Dolan—to talk him into it, and even then he was reluctant.
continue at JSHouse Speaker Paul Ryan said in an interview Wednesday he doesn’t expect to ever run for political office again.
“I really don’t,” the Janesville Republican said.
“I always sort of thought when I took this job, this would be the last elected office I’d have, which I’m fine with,” Ryan said after announcing his decision to retire from Congress this January, ending a 20-year career in Washington.
“I never thought of myself as a lifer in politics, let alone a lifer in Congress. And so I really don’t know what I’ll do next,” said Ryan, who spoke at length with the Journal Sentinel and reporters from three other news organizations.
“I wouldn’t mind being ambassador to Ireland in my 60s,” joked Ryan, who is 48.
BIG World Over Thursday: @SpeakerRyan is my guest. Have a question for the Speaker? Send it here. @EWTN 8PM ET pic.twitter.com/LCNl693YSe— Raymond Arroyo (@RaymondArroyo) July 6, 2016
continue at Catholic SunPeople of faith have the responsibility to “advocate for their faith,” not only through good works, but on spiritual realms — one being through prayer, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, said May 17.
He made the comments at the 12th annual National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, which drew a record high of about 1,300 attendees to a downtown Washington hotel.
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In his address, in addition to highlighting the importance of prayer, Ryan also emphasized the need to advocate for the government to safeguard religious liberty.
“Religious liberty is going to make a comeback,” he said. “There is a growing need for faith in this nation.”
Ryan, who is Catholic, also emphasized the importance of good works, referencing the ministry of Sister Constance and the Little Sisters of Poor.
Ugh, hold on for a second. I need a glass of water—or maybe something stiffer…
continue at CruxRyan’s one-hour talk April 27 at the Jesuit-run university’s Gaston Hall was billed as an effort to reach out to millennials. Political observers described it as an effort to soften his image in preparation for a 2020 run for the presidency.
The speech came nearly four years to the day after the Wisconsin Republican told a Georgetown audience, “The work I do as a Catholic holding office conforms to the social doctrine as best I can make of it.”
This time around, however, Ryan said nothing about his Catholic beliefs.
“What prompted you to reconsider your previous statements about poor people as takers?” asked Rachel Hirsch, a graduate student.
“I was just wrong,” Ryan replied. “I didn’t mean to give offense. … There are people who get knocked down in life. And to lump an entire category of people in one broad brush is wrong, I think.”
“There was a time that I would talk about a difference between ‘makers’ and ‘takers’ in our country, referring to people who accepted government benefits. But as I spent more time listening, and really learning the root causes of poverty, I realized something. I realized that I was wrong. ‘Takers’ wasn’t how to refer to a single mom stuck in a poverty trap, trying to take care of her family. Most people don’t want to be dependent. And to label a whole group of Americans that way was wrong. I shouldn’t castigate a large group of Americans to make a point.”He's said the same thing for a while now.
See more at: http://www.speaker.gov/video/here-s-story-four-year-old-logan-barritt#sthash.SwbqFbP8.dpufWhen Speaker Ryan was deciding who he should invite as his State of the Union guests, a certain four-year-old boy from Milton, WI, came to mind. The boy’s name is Logan Barritt, and he certainly has a story to tell.
Source
It all began when Logan’s grandfather gave him a handful of pocket change, which he was going to add to his piggy bank. If you or I were given a lump of change, we probably wouldn’t think twice of what we could do with it—if anything, maybe gripe about having to carry it around. Yet when Logan’s mother asked him this very question, Logan had much bigger plans.
“I want to give it to the soldiers,” said Logan, who was raised on the stories of his Uncle Craig, a veteran Marine. Their jobs didn’t seem very “fun,” Logan explained, and he wanted to change that.
Logan’s parents posted a call for donations on their Facebook pages. The result? Enough money to send 17 care packages to Americans serving overseas for Christmas, complete with Pez dispensers. -
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| Logan Barritt |
Little Sisters of the Poor, guests of Speaker Ryan, arriving at US Capitol to attend the President's #SOTU address. pic.twitter.com/7InOgS9NhB
— Stephen Crowley (@Stcrow) January 12, 2016
Meet my #SOTU guests Sr. Veit & Sr. Marguire. Seeking relief from the health care law. pic.twitter.com/eXEomXmcVz
— Paul Ryan (@SpeakerRyan) January 13, 2016
Washington (CNN) Rep. Paul Ryan told House Republicans on Tuesday he is willing to serve as speaker and will make a decision within the week -- but only if his conditions are met.
Ryan laid out his guidelines in a closed-door session with the full House GOP conference after weeks of lobbying from senior members of his party for him to take on the difficult task of leading the divided conference -- a job Ryan repeatedly said he has never wanted.
"I came to the conclusion that this is a very dire moment -- not just for Congress, not just for the Republican Party, but for our country. And I think our country is in desperate need of leadership," Ryan told reporters after addressing his colleagues.
Ryan told his colleagues he is willing to take "arrows in the chest but not in the back," a GOP source inside the meeting told CNN.
"We need to move from an opposition party to being a proposition party." - Paul Ryancontinue at CNN
U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan is passing on a run for the presidency in 2016, saying his work as Ways and Means chair deserves his undivided attention.continue at WisPolitics
Insiders have speculated for weeks that Ryan would not run after taking over as chair of the Ways and Means Committee, where he will have the opportunity to shape national debate on issues that range from the tax code to Social Security.
"It's clear our country needs a change in direction. And our party has a responsibility to offer a real alternative," Ryan said in a statement. "So I'm going to do what I can to lay out conservative solutions and to help our nominee lead us to victory."
Ryan told NBC News that he made the decision weeks ago and was at peace with it. Ryan, who turns 45 later this month, did not rule out a future bid in the interview and declined to endorse anyone.
Republican Rep. Paul Ryan tore into IRS commissioner John Koskinen in a tense exchange at Friday morning’s House Ways and Means Committee hearing on the IRS’s lost emails.Read more: http://dailycaller.com/2014/06/20/paul-ryan-goes-ballistic-on-irs-commissioner-over-lost-emails-i-dont-believe-you/#ixzz35CILe7Xw
“I am sitting here listening to this testimony. I just – I don’t believe it,” Ryan said, turning to Koskinen. “That’s your problem. Nobody believes you.”
Ryan accused the IRS of misleading Congress by previously claiming that no targeting occurred and then that progressive groups were also targeted by the IRS. “All of those things have been proven untrue,” Ryan said.
“You bury in a 27-page letter to the Senate asking for them to conclude the investigation that you’ve lost Lois Lerner’s emails…Monday, our investigators ask your agency if any other hard drives crashed” and Koskinen finally admitted that six other IRS officials under investigation also had their hard drives crash.
Rep. Paul Ryan said Sunday he doesn't expect the Pope to agree with him about the role of government in addressing social mobility.continue at Ch3000
But he does welcome Pope Francis' contribution to the U.S. debate on wealth and poverty.
Ryan, a Catholic, has for several years written the House Republican budget proposals, which he says will ensure the long-term viability of the social safety net. He doesn't, however, expect the Pope to endorse his specific policies.
"He's a Pope. Popes don't endorse budgets," Ryan said on ABC's "This Week."
Ryan's split assessment of the Pope comes as political figures adapt to Pope Francis' spot on the political spectrum.
Many Democrats see Francis as aligned with them on social and economic issues, especially in his criticism of "trickle-down economics" and his characterization of an "impersonal economy."
President Obama, for one, said in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper this week that he has "been really impressed so far" with the Pope's "regard for those who are less fortunate."
Ryan has discredited the pontiff's critique of capitalism by saying the Pope doesn't understand the concept. He stood by that on Sunday.
"I think they have crony capitalism in Argentina where you have real exploitation," Ryan said. "That is not the free market."But Ryan said he was "excited" that Francis was talking about social justice issues
Again, he asks whether "capitalism should be the goal of the countries now making efforts to rebuild their economy and society?" John Paul's answer is:Photo
The answer is obviously complex. If by capitalism is meant an economic system which recognizes the fundamental and positive role of business, the market, private property and the resulting responsibility for the means of production as well as free human creativity in the economic sector, then the answer is certainly in the affirmative even though it would perhaps be more appropriate to speak of a business economy, market economy, or simply free economy. But if by capitalism is meant a system in which freedom in the economic sector is not circumscribed within a strong juridical framework which places it at the service of human freedom in its totality and which sees it as a particular aspect of that freedom, the core of which is ethical and religious, then the reply is certainly negative.
continue at TPMThe son of a slain Sikh temple president plans to challenge U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan in next year's congressional election, in a Wisconsin district where support for the 2012 Republican vice presidential nominee has been strong but slipping.
Amar Kaleka, 35, told The Associated Press he'll file paperwork Wednesday to form an exploratory congressional committee. He plans to formally announce his candidacy as a Democrat next month.
Kaleka said he wants to bring accountability and transparency back to Washington. He blamed the government shutdown on Ryan, who's the House Budget Committee chairman, and his GOP colleagues. He said citizens are tired of career politicians who care more about staying in power than serving the people.
"There's a fever in the nation, and specifically in this district, for our leaders to stop playing politics and do their jobs," Kaleka said. "All I want to do is bring democracy -- a government of, for and by the people -- back to America."
On another issue, Ryan, who is against homosexual “marriage,” recently raised eyebrows with remarks on adoption by same-sex couples.
In reply to a question at an April 29 town-hall meeting in Wisconsin, Ryan acknowledged that he, in 1999, voted in favor of a ban on federal funding of same-sex adoptions in the District of Columbia. But Ryan said that he would not vote for such a ban today.
“I do believe that if there are children who are orphans who do not have a loving person or couple, I think if a person wants to love and raise a child, they ought to be able to do that. Period,” Ryan said. “I would vote that way.”
After the remarks, Ryan’s office issued a statement that read:
“Gay adoption is an issue best handled by the states, and this is primarily an issue of federalism. Years ago, because of Congress’ unique jurisdiction over Washington, D.C., I faced a vote on an amendment that would have prohibited the D.C. government from using federal funds in assisting with the adoption of children by same sex couples. I voted in favor of this amendment, which never became law. Gay adoption has been legal in Washington, D.C. for several years now. As stated last week, I would not vote for such a ban today.
“I support the First Amendment rights of religiously affiliated adoption agencies to set their own terms and conditions for adoption according to their conscience. I support federal provisions to guarantee those basic rights to adoption agencies in D.C. and across the nation. And, finally, I believe that our focus should always be on the well-being of the child.”
Ryan told the Register that homosexual adoption in the District is legal and that such a ban, if proposed again, would not pass. Ryan said he saw no “utility” in revisiting the D.C. ban issue.
“I don’t want to re-litigate this issue,” Ryan said reticently. “The Church teaching is very clear that the ideal home is with a mom and a dad.”
Ryan said that he didn’t regret the D.C. vote, but that he regards homosexual adoption as a state issue and “up to states.”
continue at RicochetThe season of Commencement addresses is upon us, and we all know just what that means, don't we? An ocean of self-indulgent liberal blather. Against this sea of nonsense, I offer Congressman Paul Ryan.
Yesterday at Benedictine College, the superb Catholic school in Atchison, Kansas, Ryan did something important. He insisted that the free markets matter not simply because the prove so successful at producing goods but because they're moral.
To wit:
[W]hy is there such resistance to free enterprise? It’s the old problem of greed. The critics say nothing good comes from commerce....Sure, free enterprise makes more stuff, they argue. But it relies on “greed”—on people pursuing their self-interest. And isn’t the love of money the root of all evil…or something to that effect...?
At some level, we all ask ourselves, “How can I make ends meet?” But the successful ask a better question: “What’s something people need?” Voluntary exchange is an act of good faith. It gives the buyer a good in exchange for something of equal value. It creates a culture of personal responsibility and good will. To attract customers, you must be trustworthy. To attract workers, you must treat them with dignity.
Paul Ryan sat down with President Minnis and Archbishop Naumann and explained he is trying to keep it a State's Rights issue, instead of letting the Federal government being able to dictate it upon the state's. He said that he does not support gay's being able to adopt and never has. The media is twisting his words to suit their own purposes.That aspect did not seem clear from the original comments. That may be the case, but until he offers a clarification we'll have to wait and see if that truly is his position.
Read more: NY Daily NewsFormer vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan said Monday he supports the right of gay couples to adopt children, a reversal of his position on the issue.
"Adoption, I would vote differently these days," the conservative Wisconsin congressman said at a town hall meeting in his hometown of Janesville, Wis., according to ThinkProgress.
"That was I think a vote I took in my first term, in 1999 or 2000. I do believe that if there are children who are orphans who do not have a loving person or couple, you know, I think if a person wants to love and raise a child they ought to be able to do that. Period. I would vote that way,” he said.
In 1999, Ryan voted for a bill that banned same-sex couples in Washington, D.C., from adopting children.
But on Monday, Ryan still doubled down on his stance against legalizing same-sex marriage, saying that he believes “marriage is between a man and a woman.”
