House Speaker Paul Ryan’s retirement announcement Wednesday thrilled Larry Klayman, the founder and chairman of the conservative watchdog group Freedom Watch.
“Good riddance,” Mr. Klayman said in a video message, calling Mr. Ryan an ineffective establishment Republican who was disloyal to President Trump.
“He’s fleeing the ship, like a rat fleeing the nest,” said Mr. Klayman.
He slammed the Wisconsin Republican for being “two-faced” in dealing with Mr. Trump, for being immature in his leadership role and for looking like Eddie Munster, ghoulish boy character with a widow’s peak on the 1960s sitcom “The Munsters.”
“Let’s get a speaker of the house who knows what he is doing, that is mature and doesn’t look like Eddie Munster, frankly, and can get the job done for conservatives and libertarians,” said Mr. Klayman.
Mr. Ryan, who served as the running mate for 2012 Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, has often run afoul of conservatives.
He also irked Mr. Trump’s supporters by withholding his endorsement during the 2016 presidential race and bucking the Trump agenda.
Mr. Ryan eventually backed Mr. Trump’s legislative agenda, including the tax cuts that were the signature accomplishment for both the president and the GOP-run Congress.
“They did get tax reform though, but that wasn’t because of Paul Ryan. Virtually nothing else has transpired there,” Mr. Klayman said of the speaker’s record.
Mr. Klayman also blamed Mr. Ryan’s establishment bent for stymying the conservative agenda and putting the Congress’ GOP majority at risk in this year’s midterm elections.
“We need a speaker of the House who has guts, who will stand up for conservative and libertarian principles, someone who isn’t afraid, who isn’t two faced and will stab this president in the back. We need this president to succeed,” said Mr. Klayman.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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