More Democrats Back Paul Ryan For House Speaker

Rep. Paul Ryan has racked up two more quasi-endorsements for House Speaker from two Democratic leaders.

Ryan “is smart enough to know what he needs to do and it sounds to me like he is trying to make sure if he does make the move to be speaker, he does it so he can get things done,” said California Democrat Reps. Xavier Becerra, according to Politico.

“Whether or not he will actually work with the Democrats to move an agenda … has more to do with whatever deal he makes or will make with the House Freedom Caucus,” said New York Democrat Rep. Joe Crowley.

The endorsements won’t help Ryan, who is backed by the GOP’s establishment, as he tries to win the House Speakership.

But if he gets the job, he’ll likely push for goals that are very unpopular in the GOP’s base – passage of a trans-Pacific free trade treaty, a rollback of stiff jail sentences and a bill to increase the inflow of wage-cutting foreign labor. All three goals are top priorities for the Democratic Party and the GOP’s big donors.

Ryan has already won endorsements from the top Democratic Senator, Minority Leader Harry Reid, and from from Rep. Luis Gutierrez, the most fervent Democratic advocate for amnesty and increased cheap-labor immigration.

“I’m a Paul Ryan fan,” Reid said Oct. 20. “I hope he gets it.’”

Gutierrez backed Ryan on Oct 9. “Let me just say this. Smartest person, I believe, in the GOP conference and would be good for the country, would be good for the Republican Party, would be good for the House of Representatives … because Paul Ryan is the kind of individual that will work with other people on the other side of the aisle, and I think that that’s what need,” he said.

Becerra, a former chairman of the Hispanic Caucus in the House, knows that Ryan is a live-long supporter of more immigration and greater use of foreign workers. Becerra and Crowley hold the titles of chairman and vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus.