Charles #Koch says #PaulRyan is a "shoo-in" at the convention if #DonaldTrump falls short: source https://t.co/tn0Im21bF1 via @HuffPostPol
— Dr. David Romei (@DavidRomeiPHD) April 4, 2016
Politico‘s Mike Allen is very excited about this week’s GOP fantasy savior:
On the eve of the Wisconsin primaries, top Republicans are becoming increasingly vocal about their long-held belief that Speaker Paul Ryan will wind up as the nominee, perhaps on the fourth ballot at a chaotic Cleveland convention.
One of the nation’s best-wired Republicans, with an enviable prediction record for this cycle, sees a 60 percent chance of a convention deadlock and a 90 percent chance that delegates turn to Ryan — ergo, a 54 percent chance that Ryan, who’ll start the third week of July as chairman of the Republican National Convention, will end it as the nominee…
Ryan, who’s more calculating and ambitious than he lets on, is running the same playbook he did to become speaker: saying he doesn’t want it, that it won’t happen. In both cases, the maximum leverage is to not want it — and to be begged to do it… Of course in this environment, saying you don’t want the job is the only way to get it. If he was seen to be angling for it, he’d be stained and disqualified by the current mess.
But Ryan, 46, a likable Midwesterner, could look too tempting to resist as Republicans finally focus on a beatable Hillary Clinton. He got rave reviews for a “State of American Politics” speech on March 23 (hashtag on his podium: “#ConfidentAmerica,” the title of his high-minded manifesto at the Library of “#ConfidentAmerica,” the title of his high-minded manifesto at the Library of Congress in December). In the “State of Politics” address, Ryan offered himself as the anti-Trump (without mentioning The Don): “Politics can be a battle of ideas, not insults.”
On “Morning Joe” Monday morning, Joe Scarborough said that if Trump falls even one vote short of a clinch, the convention will “look for someone else”: “If Trump doesn’t get the number, they’ll say they have rules for a reason.” And Karl Rove told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt last week: “A fresh face might be the thing that would give us a chance to turn this election and win in November against Hillary.”…
At least one CNBC analyst picks up the megaphone:
… More and more, it’s apparent a Republican leader who never was a candidate for president would have to be the compromise nominee if we do get a truly brokered convention. And despite all his protestations, House Speaker Paul Ryan would be the most likely choice in that kind of scenario. I’m not saying Ryan would necessarily be the best candidate, but he’s already been called upon to save the party once and it’s likely he would be again for a number of reasons. His experience as the vice presidential nominee four years ago means he will have at least a few people close to him experienced in national campaigning.
The fact that Ryan has not really attacked Trump or Cruz so far in this mean season will make him much more palatable to both camps’ delegates. He’s even wisely staying out of the country while his home state of Wisconsin holds this crucial primary today, (he voted absentee). And most importantly, he’s not named “Cruz” or “Trump.”…
According to The Hill, Ryan himself is shyly scuffing his feet, as any ‘surprise’ ‘compromise’ candidate would…
…“I do believe people put my name in this thing, and I say, ‘Get my name out of that,’” he said on “The Hugh Hewitt Show.” “If you want to be president, you should go run for president. And that’s just the way I see it.
“I’m not that person. I’d like to think my face is somewhat fresh, but I’m not for this conversation. I think you need to run for president if you’re going to run for president, and I’m not running for president. Period, end of story.”
Ryan also voiced uncertainty over the Republican National Convention in July, arguing it might have different rules than the 2012 version…
If thou be willing, remove this cup from me… Mr. Charles P. Pierce, in his part-time job as political theatre critic, judges that “Paul Ryan Is Very Bad at Pretending to Not Run for President”. Jon Chait, at NYMag, is even more dismissive of this idea, and of Ryan’s acting skills:
… Republican elites fervently, desperately hope that this [deadlocked convention] scenario would lead to Ryan securing the nomination. It is hard to think of a more natural fit to rescue them. If the United States had a parliamentary system, Ryan would be the Republican leader. No other figure combines the roles of public communicator and chief ideologist in quite the same way. Asked about such an instance by John Harwood, Ryan all but said he would take the job. (“You know, I haven’t given any thought to this stuff. People say, ‘What about the contested convention?’ I say, well, there are a lot of people running for president. We’ll see. Who knows?”)…
… Ryan’s history is to acquire a reputation as lacking ambition even as he rockets up the ranks. His repeated denials of interest in serving as Speaker of the House were, in retrospect, merely a negotiation over the terms under which he’d accept the job. (The rebellious House Freedom Caucus, the counterparty to the negotiation, turned down Ryan’s demands. He accepted the job anyway.)…