In speaker bid, Rep. Ryan sparks debate on work-life balance

Under Boehner's leadership, conservatives have been blamed for threatening to "shut down the government" by stopping taxpayer funding of Planned Parenthood.

Yet Ryan may be on a short leash with the Freedom Caucus.

Ryan met with the RSC Wednesday. As always, the members of the Freedom Caucus never manage to "win" because they are a sliver of the conference and an irrational, non-strategic one at that. Last night, the recalcitrant House Freedom Caucus voted overwhelmingly to support his candidacy, falling just shy of the 80 percent threshold required for a formal endorsement. It also exposed fissures in the typically close-knit caucus. That makes it all but certain that he will take the chamber's top job.

Republicans will choose a new speaker next week - voting in the conference next Wednesday to pick their nominee and on the House floor next Thursday. "The ball is now in Paul Ryan's court". "What he's doing is selfless".

Every potential speaker of the US House has expectations about how to do the job. Ryan said he wouldn't pursue immigration reform while Obama is in office and vowed that any immigration-related legislation would have to adhere to the Hastert rule. Such process is not afforded to illegal immigrants, though. "We are going to send out a , and the ball is in Paul Ryan's court". She said Ryan is a lawmaker who "knows the territory, who knows the issues; that's helpful". The vice president himself went to China and said that he sympathized and wouldn't second guess their one child policy of forced abortions and sterilizations.

Both instances might be cases where Republican leaders would have to rely largely on Democratic votes to achieve their goals, a practice the Freedom Caucus strongly opposes and wants to see Ryan avoid. Now that his party controls Congress, Ryan has become a reliable asset of me-too Republican accommodationists whose primary concern is making sure everyone gets along, instead of actually reducing the size and cost of government. He also demanded that his family time not to be compromised. Most Republicans will not vote to raise the debt limit without concessions that the White House has already ruled out.

"No other speaker candidate came in and said here's the list of my demands, either meet those or I'm not going to do this", said Rep. Tim Huelskamp of Kansas. Ryan clocks in at a score of -0.23, which is about in line with the average Freedom Caucus member.

According to The Hill, many illegal immigrants are after the welfare and the ability to work anywhere in the country, something that is afforded to those non-immigrant workers who are sponsored by their company for an I-140 application, which adjusts their status as permanent resident aliens.

Of course, thinking to make mischief, a few Democrats pretended to endorse Ryan for speaker, remarkable considering they once accused him of wanting to murder granny. They're sick of how this place is run, of the dog-and-pony shows on committees. "They want a return to bills from members being considered, rather than approving the leadership's bills".

Viguerie says he and those in the so-called Freedom Caucus are "looking for a fighter". "But I'm willing to start those conversations because I trust Paul".

Earlier this week, Ryan said he wouldn't launch a bid for Speaker unless he won endorsements from three major GOP caucuses: the HFC, Republican Study Committee (RSC) and the centrist Tuesday Group. Its members were surveyed by secret ballot Wednesday, and its steering committee is expected to decide Thursday whether to grant an endorsement.