Everyone has something to say about Paul Ryan, and few of those words are flattering. The left hates him for being too conservative. The right blames him for not being conservative enough. When you analyze his tenure as Speaker of the House, you get a mixed bag. He put more than a few good proposals to the Senate only to see them completely destroyed. He often voiced his support of Trump’s policies, but he couldn’t rally Congress to make major changes.
On the good side, he did play a role in passing important tax cuts and gutting the Obamacare mandate. On the bad side, immigration reform hasn’t happened, the wall is still gratuitously unfunded, and Congress just passed one of the most detrimental spending bills in history. With such extreme victories and failures on his resume, it’s difficult to say if Ryan’s departure is for better or worse.
Regardless, he has announced his retirement. He will not seek re-election. Many voices on both sides of the political spectrum are claiming they know why. Some say it’s a family problem. Others say he is afraid of losing. We might not be able to say that we know the real reason, but we do. Watch this video if you want to know what has driven Ryan from the political arena and what it means for America in the coming years.