Ryan reaches out, sort of

First, he was out. Then, he was still out but willing to take a peek inside the door. Now, it appears, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the low-profile and unsuccessful Republican vice presidential candidate in 2012, is ready to be speaker of the U.S. House on his terms.

What a tangled web has the tea party radical element, about 40 House members, woven for the Republicans in the lower chamber. Tea partyers are basically anti-government radicals who seem prepared to stand pat against the routine raising of the debt ceiling, a stance that would cause America to default, throw the economy into chaos and shut down the government. They’re opposed to all things associated with President Obama, especially the Affordable Care Act that has made it possible for millions of Americans who didn’t have health insurance to have it.

Unfortunately for the House leadership, they’re also opposed to any Republicans who have a notion of compromise to get things done for the American people.

And, amazingly, the Republican leadership continues to draw back in fear of these loudmouth, do-nothing representatives. That’s why Ryan, who has signaled his antipathy for entitlement programs like Medicare and Social Security, is cautious about agreeing to become speaker. He has indicated he’d take the job if the entire Republican caucus, including the tea partyers, supported him.

Ryan has made deals in the past to avoid the financial collapse that might occur if Congress refused to raise the debt ceiling, and he has shown a willingness to at least talk about compromise. But he and other Republican leaders, knowing the volume the tea partyers can raise, are timid in offending this relatively small minority in the GOP.

Though bipartisanship has been the custom in Congress for a couple of centuries, the modern breed of Republicans wants only to compromise with each other and to ignore the Democrats completely. With the electorate becoming more diverse, and with approval ratings for Congress diving, that’s a foolish strategy.

Ryan knows, at least, that standing against raising the debt ceiling and shutting down the government would hurt the GOP in the 2016 elections. Unfortunately, he also knows the tea partyers really don’t care. .

No gavel will silence the radical Republicans. No wonder Paul Ryan seems in no hurry to pick it up.

This story was originally published October 21, 2015 at 7:19 PM with the headline "Ryan reaches out, sort of."