Who Can We Thank For Paul Ryan?

As CNN is reporting that Speaker Sneaker of the House Paul "Lyin'" Ryan (R- Galt's Gulch) is on his way to give neo- fascist dimwit Donald "Rump" Trump the sad! news that TrumpCare will go down to defeat this afternoon (and what do I do now, Mr. Dealmaker?), we would like to quote from Paul Krugman's column today on those responsible for this unmitigated disaster:

So how did Mr. Ryan reach a position where his actions may reshape the lives of so many of his fellow citizens, in most cases very much for the worse? The answer lies in the impenetrable gullibility of his base. No, not his constituents: the news media, who made him what he is. 

You see, until very recently both news coverage and political punditry were dominated by the convention of “balance.” This meant, in particular, that when it came to policy debates one was always supposed to present both sides as having equally well-founded arguments. And this in turn meant that it was necessary to point to serious, honest, knowledgeable proponents of conservative positions. 

Enter Mr. Ryan, who isn’t actually a serious, honest policy expert, but plays one on TV. He rolls up his sleeves! He uses PowerPoint! He must be the real deal! So that became the media’s narrative. And media adulation, more than anything else, propelled him to his current position.

To see that this gullibility is still rampant in the Beltway media, one need only look at David Broder impersonator Dan "No" Balz's characterization of Ryan's "reputation" in light of the TrumpCare debacle:

The greater damage has been to the reputation of House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) as the savvy intellectual godfather of a new conservative agenda around which his party could rally.

"Savvy intellectual godfather," indeed. You really haven't been paying attention for the past 8 years, have you, "No" Balz?!