PAUL Ryan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, is a decent man who must this week chair the Republican National Convention that will nominate an indecent candidate for the post of president of America. That would be an undignified mission for any politician. The week’s agonies are more acute because Donald Trump’s juggernaut-like progress to the nomination amounts to a repudiation of many of Mr Ryan’s most cherished conservative politics, and of his approach to politics.
Mr Ryan stands for fiscal discipline with a special focus on reforming pension and healthcare safety nets, such as Social Security and Medicare, before their costs expand and eat the federal budget whole. In contrast Mr Trump promises to keep Social Security payments as they are, and has mused aloud about expanding government healthcare—delighting the older, often working-class voters who are some of his most enthusiastic supporters. Speaker Ryan proposes to make America more competitive by embracing free trade and comprehensive immigration reform. Mr Trump swept 16 rival candidates aside during the presidential primaries by promising to shield Americans...Continue reading
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