OPINION:
“Personnel is policy,” most of the time, and whom a president, governor, senator or mayor surrounds himself with is a good way to judge whether he will stay true to his convictions, beliefs and values once comfortably in office. Once elected, such officials tend to attract either “yes men” or advisers with rogue agendas while taking care to appear to be reliable “yes men.” Both yes men and agenda thieves are dangerous. Yes men rarely warn the boss of approaching disasters until it’s too late to do anything about them, and agenda thieves give advice and guidance to promote their own interests.
The late Stan Evans, a conservative icon, once observed that “when our people get into a position to implement conservative policies they all too often cease being our people.” Conservatives who know Rep. Paul Ryan know him as “one of our people.” He came up through the conservative movement and remains close to many of those he worked with on his way to where he is today. He is both policy wonk and politician who wants to move as far foward as fast as he can, but he’s a man who won’t sacrifice the good to pursue perfection. He understands that compromise is sometimes necessary to get that famous and oft-derided half-loaf.
The question is always how much to compromise. That often seems to be a simple question inviting an easy answer, but simplicity is elusive in the real world, and even more difficult in the fantasy world of Washington. A leader trying to answer this question relies on the advice of those he trusts, but ultimately has to decide for himself. “The buck,” as Harry S. Truman said of his desk in the Oval Office, “stops here.”
Paul Ryan has the values, convictions, skill, background and beliefs to lead his House colleagues, and by all the evidence has the determination to keep his inner wonk happy. He knows better than to rely on the Washington maxim “to get along, go along.” We think he deserves the votes and the support of his colleagues to be the next speaker of the House.
To make his own life easier, he should surround himself with a team as dedicated as he to fundamental conservative values. That’s how he can make the House work as it should. The House Freedom Caucus wanted Rep. Daniel Webster of Florida as speaker, and Mr. Ryan could look to Mr. Webster as a leadership partner, perhaps as majority leader. Mr. Webster should be able to work well with David Hoppe, whom Mr. Ryan has chosen as his chief of staff. His selection would reassure doubters that the new speaker won’t be easily nudged to the left. Mr. Hoppe served as chief of staff to the late Jack Kemp, onetime Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott of Mississippi and former Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, and as vice president of the Heritage Foundation, offering guidance and advice from a conservative true believer.
Those who have worked with Mr. Hoppe over the years know him to be a knowledgeable and committed conservative. It’s to Mr. Ryan’s credit that he has turned to him for assistance and to Mr. Hoppe’s that he’s willing to take on the difficult, thankless, and important job to help him fix what is clearly broken. If personnel is indeed policy, conservatives, who have been betrayed before by big talk and little action, should be reassured by the team that Mr. Ryan is assembling, a team that we believe would be even stronger with the addition of Mr. Webster.
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