Paul Ryan’s Non-Commitment Holding Up House Speaker Race

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AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Jake Sherman at Politico analyzes Paul Ryan’s reluctance to officially join the race for Speaker of the House and how it is keeping some his colleagues from putting full effort into their own campaigns.

From Politico:

It’s the Paul Ryan paralysis syndrome and it’s gripping any House Republican who wants to be speaker.

The Wisconsin Republican has said he doesn’t want to be speaker of the House, but he is considering it. And until he flatly rules it out, the other potential candidates for the chamber’s top job — a list nearly two dozen names long and growing — are forced to proceed gingerly. With one breath they’re gauging support, with the next they’re letting would-be backers know their interest could be temporary if the Ways and Means Committee chairman gets in.

The best example, perhaps, is Texas Rep. Bill Flores. The third-term Texas Republican who chairs the Republican Study Committee sent a letter to his House colleagues on Monday, indicating he is considering a campaign for speaker — only if Ryan doesn’t run.

Read the rest of the story here.

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