Will history forgive Paul Ryan?

As he ends his reign with a whimper, did Ryan sell his party out?

By Mary Elizabeth Williams

Senior Writer

Published December 4, 2018 12:00PM (EST)

Paul Ryan (AP/Susan Walsh)
Paul Ryan (AP/Susan Walsh)

This week, Andrew O'Hehir writes that history has its eyes on Paul Ryan — and it won't be kind. Setting aside even his "fiscal hypocrisy… his willful political blindness [and] his collaboration with a regime of corruption and destruction," O'Hehir calls Ryan "a second-rate grifter who came up short and got pimped out by a much better one."

Do you agree? Is Ryan's retreat karmic justice, or is he comparatively benign when stacked against his conservative colleagues?


By Mary Elizabeth Williams

Mary Elizabeth Williams is a senior writer for Salon and author of "A Series of Catastrophes & Miracles." Follow her on Bluesky @maryelizabethw.

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House Of Representatives Paul Ryan Republican Party Speaker Of The House