As the November 6 midterm election draw ever closer, the people at the liberal Time magazine continue their efforts to help the Democratic Party recapture both the Senate and the U. S. House of Representatives. Part of that "sunny future" is Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan not only winning re-election, but also leaping to a post in the leadership of the Democratic Congressional Caucus.
Time political reporter Alana Abramson began her article on Tuesday by stating:
As a lawmaker from a district with parts backing Donald Trump, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan is at the center of a group of Democrats who are thinking hard about the party’s future.
So when in short order he recently joined a Medicare for All caucus, proposed legalizing recreational marijuana and put forward a job training bill, many Democrats took notice.
“While he was rolling out these positions,” Abramson noted -- now sounding more like a cheerleader than a hard-nosed reporter -- “Ryan was a featured speaker at the Opportunity 2020 conference earlier this month in Ohio, a conference organized by the centrist think tank Third Way that convened moderate Democrats to strategize about the future.”
“Democratic strategists said his recent moves indicate how moderates contemplating a future within the party are trying to strike a balance within its competing factions,” the political reporter noted.
“Some have speculated that the policy shifts are a sign that he may be running for higher office, potentially even president.,”she noted.
As if that wasn’t partisan enough, she added: “Adding fuel to the speculation: He recently hired Pete D’Allesandro, one of Bernie Sanders’ top Iowa advisers, and will be speaking at the Iowa Wing Ding, a fund-raiser often viewed as a key event for presidential hopefuls.”
During an interview with the liberal magazine, Ryan “downplayed that kind of talk with the usual hand-waving.”
“I’m not gonna go past 2018,” he said. “We’ll have that conversation right after the midterms.”
Abramson also noted: “Two Democrats have already thrown their hat into the ring for the position of party caucus chairman, which will be up for grabs since 28-year-old Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defeated the current chairman, Rep. Joe Crowley in the New York primary earlier this month.”
The reporter confirmed:
He is still considering challenging Pelosi and took issues within interview she gave to Rolling Stone in which she said he and Rep. Seth Moulton’s calls for new party leadership were “inconsequential.”
I think that’s really inappropriate to take personal shots at members of your own caucus. Really, saying who is consequential and who is not consequential is part of the main problem in the Democratic brand right now.
"These people think we’ve forgotten them," he added, “and for the leader of the party to say that about her own members is really a problem.”
However, Ryan has not always been in lockstep with the party.
“He was pro-life until switching his position in 2015,” the reporter noted. “The National Rifle Association gave him an ‘A’ rating early in his career, although he has since donated any funds he received to gun safety groups.
And he broke with his party last year and endorsed corporate tax cuts, although he ultimately voted against the tax reform bill.
“He’s moving very much in both directions at once,” said John Russo, former co-director of the Center for Working-Class Studies at Youngstown State University, which is in Ryan’s district.
“I think what he’s trying to do is take a little bit of Bernie and a little bit of Hillary … its part of positioning himself, either for a presidential run or a run at Pelosi again.”
