Ryan's the Hope?

What? Me Worry?

Maybe not so much.  In countering the push to convince Paul Ryan to run and be crowned as Speaker of the House, the rabid right backlash has gathered strength enough for a New York Times headline that Stanley Kubrick or Kurt Vonnegut would have loved: Latest Unease on Right: Ryan Is Too Far Left

Paul Krugman doesn't think much of Ryan either, but for a different reason:

"What makes Mr. Ryan so special? The answer, basically, is that he’s the best con man they’ve got. His success in hoodwinking the news media and self-proclaimed centrists in general is the basis of his stature within his party. Unfortunately, at least from his point of view, it would be hard to sustain the con game from the speaker’s chair."

And Krugman puts his finger on how Ryan has succeeded so far:

"To understand Mr. Ryan’s role in our political-media ecosystem, you need to know two things. First, the modern Republican Party is a post-policy enterprise, which doesn’t do real solutions to real problems. Second, pundits and the news media really, really don’t want to face up to that awkward reality."

But here's another wrinkle.  Congress is recessed and Ryan says he won't say this week whether he will run.  So between now and Oct. 20, a lot of candidate wannabes (an amazing number of whom are from Texas) will test the waters.  If none of them gets warm, then Ryan starts to look inevitable all over again.

Maybe.