Newsbits for July 22

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Six months after Ryan took the Speaker’s gavel, the barn is dirty again, and he’s shown himself to be a demonstrably worse leader than Boehner. Not only has the entire agenda he laid out at the beginning of the year fizzled, but Ryan cannot get agreement on emergency measures, which even the most gridlocked Congresses of the past could manage. The difference between Boehner’s and Ryan’s approaches boils down to one key thing. By the end, Boehner had come to hate the House Freedom Caucus, the far-right cabal that brought on his ouster through its relentless opposition to compromise. But Ryan merely fears the Freedom Caucusers, unwilling to cross them by championing legislation they don’t like. And with the extreme right flank having an effective veto on the process, nothing of consequence can move.

Paul Ryan Is Making John Boehner Look Like a Legislative Genius | New Republic

Billionaire industrialist Charles Koch, a key source of financing for conservative Republican causes along with his brother, said Democrat Hillary Clinton might make a better president than the candidates in the Republican field. Koch, in an interview to air on Sunday on ABC's "This Week" program, said that in some respects Bill Clinton had been a better president than George W. Bush, who Koch said had increased government spending.

Charles Koch says 'it's possible' Hillary Clinton might be a better president - Business Insider

Ryan, who lost his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather all to heart attacks in their fifties, often emphasizes protecing quality time with his family. But by betting all of his political chips to get tax reform passed before the next midterm elections, Ryan will earn himself the ability to spend as much time as he wants with his family while he considers his next political move, be it the governor's mansion in Madison or seeking to move directly to the White House.

Paul Ryan is about to spend all his political power...to get ousted—commentary

It's long been clear that Ryan's goal is to implement a major overhaul of federal fiscal policy. He wants to reshape Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid and greatly slow the rate of growth in spending on them. He also wants to sharply reduce tax rates. Whether you think this agenda is good or bad is immaterial to this analysis. My point is only that Ryan cares genuinely about implementing it, and he has shaped his political career around doing so. Ryan's theory of how he would make such sweeping policy changes was that he would get legislation through Congress, and a like-minded Republican president would sign it. Or at least that was his theory as of a few months ago. Now, Trump has ruined Ryan's policy-change strategy. He's overwhelmingly likely to lose the November election to Hillary Clinton. And even if he somehow won, he has expressed strong opposition to the sort of entitlement cuts Ryan wants. Because of this, Trump has little to offer Ryan in exchange for his support.

Paul Ryan is having a YOLO moment - Business Insider