An Opening to Create Allies

Many thanks to the Republican leaders who unequivocally withdrew all support for Donald Trump following the release of the Billy Bush video.  They are to be admired. While Paul Ryan who, early in the election process, refused to give an unqualified endorsement to the Trump candidacy, has said that he would not defend the Republican nominee, he was a reluctant supporter and lukewarm campaigner from the beginning.  It was interesting to watch him struggle with his instincts to stay away from Mr. Trump, but find the balance of being the party leader.  

Mr. Ryan was clear in his unwillingness to risk the Republic by campaigning for a man who from the outset promoted disrespect for many of those living in America as well as disregard for democratic principles.  Congressman Ryan’s recent response to Mr. Trump’s misogyny has been, in part, due to his being personally offended and not simply a response calculated to counter the loss of women’s support for the Republican Party.  

One lesson from this interesting debacle, has been that the party elders, such as Mitt Romney, immediately disavowed the Trump candidacy.  Mr. Ryan, coming from the circle of the far right experienced his first major test of leadership for all. Do what is right and the party will benefit.  Hopefully, Mr. Ryan has learned that the elders have wisdom.  That the "old-fashion" politics of compromise works and bipartisanship can work.  Is there hope for  Mr. Ryan, when it took the Mr. Trump's outrageously offensive acts for him to respond? Mr. Ryan is on the verge of becoming a solid party leader who follows his moral and political instincts to serve the country.  He will determine his own fate in 2017.

Mr. Ryan and his colleagues must continue to show support for women by setting aside what, during the present administration, appears to be opposition for opposition’s sake.  Mr. Ryan has an opportunity to lead us into an era where the best interest of the country is the paramount consideration.   Our political representatives may not like each other  and they may disagree on strategies that will keep our country strong: economically, politically and morally.   But they need to respect each other and be willing to reach compromise.  They must also be unwilling to concede to those who act solely to promote their own self-interest or personal bias.  

The determinative test of Mr. Ryan leadership is here.  He must decide whether  to work professionally with our first female president.  The continuous irrational refusal of Congress to work with each other as well as with the executive branch contributed to creating the vacuum that permitted Mr. Trump to claim the Republican nomination.  Paul Ryan was part of that  vacuum building. A courageous Mr. Ryan can reverse the atmosphere of distrust and non-cooperation, even in the face of criticism from his party colleagues.  Women will be grateful for a return to professional, issue-based discussion.   Setting aside tactics of hostility and anger, both rooted in the masculine, will help bring gender balance to political leadership and permit the country to recover some of the core values that seem to have been lost.

May Mr. Ryan find his way to seeing the election of our first woman president as an opportunity to infuse the feminine principles of respect and civility into his party’s leadership.