Speaker Paul Ryan has been off in Washington a long time, and it appears he does not want to acknowledge the existence of his Democratic opponent Ryan Solen. In this open letter, Ryan asks the Speaker to come back to the district and actually engage him and the people face to face.

MOUNT PLEASANT, WI - Mr. Ryan, Since you seem so insistent that we never meet, or that you even wish to acknowledge my existence, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ryan Solen. I am the Democratic candidate running against you at this very moment. Contrary to what your staff may have told you, there is still an election on November 8th, and I have been attempting to invite you to a debate or two. Common courtesy would be to answer at least one invitation out of the two dozen I provided. Considering that you have not even attempted to reject the invitations, I can only assume that your insulting silence is an arrogant sneer at what you perceive to be my simple campaign. Perhaps you don’t see my campaign as a threat to your bought-and-paid-for corporate sponsored empire. You would be wrong.

I have had the opportunity to speak to many of the people within the 1st Congressional district. Many are questioning what they know about you and what you really represent. You were one of the original group that decided to fight against Obama on everything when he was sworn into office. Not compromise. Not question. Fight against. Since that time, this country has watched as you promoted, and took part in stopping progress on the simplest of legislation while cultivating a persona of being the nice-guy. Now as Speaker of the House, you are the figurehead of a party that uses obstruction as a political tool, while the rest of us feel the pain from the lack of action.

Today, the country is struggling. Unemployment still haunts many as more companies ship jobs overseas in the sick pursuit of ever wider profit margins while lowering their tax profile. Trickle-down economics is nothing more than the wealthy and corporations relieving themselves on our feet while trying to convince us that it’s raining. Corporations benefit. The people suffer as a result. You have tried to rescind the ACA dozens of times, wasting time and money in the process, while promoting a vague idea of your own health care ideas that look a lot like what the ACA was created to fix. Health insurance companies benefit. The people suffer. You encourage cutting education funding in the name of reducing “spending”, and fight against student loan reform. Banks benefit. The people suffer. You declare that welfare benefits need to be cut and accuse the poor that they are unemployed because they are lazy, even when no jobs are available, no education options are affordable, and they can’t afford to keep themselves healthy. The privileged survive. The poor remain poor and suffer. You pack unrelated and unpopular legislation in important bills in the hopes that Democrats will vote against it so you can blame them for inaction. Party politics continue. The people suffer. I participated in the war in Iraq; a war that you voted for against the recommendations of military leaders and the international community; a war that resulted in many veterans requiring further care from the VA that you continue to vote against. You are so enamored with how inspired our form of government is, yet you do everything in your power to instill distrust in it. Your endorsement of Donald Trump, a man of such moral turpitude and lacking of empathy or compassion, leaves many including myself to question your political motivations and leads us to conclude that your true allegiance is to the party first, corporations second, and the people last if considered at all.

For a long time, I have been one of your constituents. Now I am also your possible replacement. Your ability to represent the people is called into question, as in order to represent, one must actually be present. Your campaigns portray you as one of us, yet you entertain big donors and receive millions of dollars from those hoping for stronger influence and benefit. Your constant urging of opposition to even the simplest of suggested progress across the aisle indicates that as Speaker of the House, your performance has been a disaster, and that your decision making ability in government has been blinded by partisan prejudice. You have failed me, and the people of the 1st Congressional District of Wisconsin.

Please consider this the start of debate. I, and the rest of the country await your rebuttal.

Regards,

Ryan Solen
Congressional Candidate
1st Congressional District of Wisconsin
September 18, 2016