"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."
Remember this, Mr. Ryan? Looks like you are in grave danger of violating your oath – which was meant for ALL Americans, not only your party’s members. During the last 13 months you have consistently put PARTY WAY ABOVE COUNTRY. You are protecting an autocrat/dictator-wanna-be president who abuses the constitution, constantly tries to blur the boundaries among the three branches and consistently pokes holes in the American democracy by trying to interfere with and undermining the justice department, our security institutions (FBI, CIA; you DO realize that most, if not all, the top members you all questioning are Republicans, right? HONEST Republicans), and the media (of course, only that part of the media that do not praise or support him); who is asking for loyalty – not for the country, but to him, just like all autocrats/dictators do. All this - not because he cares about the American people, but because he cares only about himself.
Mr. Ryan, you are not a stupid man. I urge you to look deep and hard inside yourself – and at the big picture, at the SAKE OF AMERICA, not just the sake of your party and your own personal interests, and admit that you support a reckless president who has, within less than a year, sunk the United States status in the world to be behind South America (we used to be the world leader, remember? Not any more!). You are shielding a president who has WEAKENED the U.S., also security-wise (1. By alienating our allies while warmly welcoming and praising the autocrats/dictators of the world; 2. By diminishing our diplomatic cadre, and 3. You may think whatever about the climate change, but EVERY SINGLE SECURITY EXPERT puts climate change as one of the top concern for security. You are smart enough to see why).
You are supporting a president who, because he goes along with your agenda (albeit not because principles, but almost solely because his obsession with the previous president and the urge to dismantle everything President Obama has done). You are defending a person who is the antithesis of your party’s values; a person who himself has no values or principles (well, except for two – enriching himself and stroking his ego); is a pathological liar, racist, bigot, misogynist and sexual predator (why do we have much lower standards for a President than for the entertainment industry, for the houses and for every other industry in the U.S.???); a Kleptocrat, hypocrite, IGNORAMOUS (BY CHOICE, which is the worst kind of stupidity), narcissist, Paranoid (remember Nixon?...), xenophobe, DIVISIVE, bully, NEVER takes responsibility, and completely incapable of empathy (I’ll let psychologist address this one).
These are not – SHOULD NOT be – partisan matters! These are matters of the survival of the U.S. and the survival of the country’s democracy.
You said you wanted transparency. What about transparency of the White House and the President? What about producing tax records? What about divesting from his businesses? Transparency needs to be for all, not selective! (And for that matter – why object to releasing the Democratic critic of Nune’s memo? Again – apparently, Party is MUCH more important than Country.) Remember your oath? It is to serve ALL Americans, not only your donors and supporters…
So, please, stop compromising your principles and claim your place in history as a REAL leader, not as a huge compromiser of values and principles. (And that also goes for bringing issues to the table also when you don’t have an R only sure vote, but when you have a majority of the ENTIRE congress. Remember DACA? There was a majority in the entire congress to settle that – but you refused to bring the issue to the floor because you didn’t have majority of Republicans.)
