(Think Progress) -- As is typical when someone important or notable leaves a job, friends and colleagues gather around and sing their praises.
No such luck for House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
Ryan will soon take leave of his ornate office in the Capitol, with few people stepping up to slap him on the back and hail his tenure as successful. It’s hard to fathom how anyone could proclaim that Ryan wielded the speaker’s gavel with any degree of distinction, or point to some generally agreed-upon accomplishments — at least not with a honest and straight face. There are few publicly congratulatory toasts on offer. Virtually no one seems to have a positive word to say about the 54th House speaker’s two terms as the third in line to the Oval Office.
Quite the contrary, Ryan’s retreat from Washington, presumably to return to Janesville, Wisconsin, is being hooted and jeered with derision. Here’s just a sampling: