Paul Ryan is reportedly tapping out.

Courtesy of CNN: 

House Speaker Paul Ryan is not seeking re-election and will retire from Congress after this year, his office announced Wednesday. 

"This morning Speaker Ryan shared with his colleagues that this will be his last year as a member of the House," Ryan aide Brendan Buck said in a statement. "He will serve out his full term, run through the tape, and then retire in January. After nearly twenty years in the House, the speaker is proud of all that has been accomplished and is ready to devote more of his time to being a husband and a father." 

According to two sources with direct knowledge, in calls this morning with his leadership team, Ryan made clear much of this decision was about spending time with his family, but also noted that he planned to leave after this Congress and didn't think it was fair to his district or the GOP conference to run for re-election only to leave right after. 

A source familiar told CNN that Ryan called House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy about his retirement before the news broke. 

Ryan, a Wisconsin Republican, has been in Congress since 1999 and became House speaker in 2015.

This...is...huge...news.

Ryan did not want to be Speaker in the first place, but he clearly enjoyed being in politics and using his position to screw over poor people at every opportunity.

If he is throwing in the towel it is likely because he realizes that the Democrats will almost certainly be the majority in Congress after the midterms, and that his days as Speaker are over anyhow.

He might also fear the "Iron Stache," and realize that he is going to be humiliated in this next election cycle and wants to get out while the getting is good.

Can you say "Blue Wave?"

Texas Rep. Blake Farenthold abruptly resigns amid sexual harassment allegations.

Courtesy of CNBC: 

Rep. Blake Farenthold resigned abruptly Friday, months after sexual harassment allegations against the Texas Republican surfaced. 

Farenthold, who has represented Texas' 27th District since 2011, said in December he would not seek re-election this year. The 56-year-old becomes only the latest member of Congress to resign in recent months following sexual misconduct allegations. 

"While I planned on serving out the remainder of my term in Congress, I know in my heart it's time for me to move along and look for new ways to serve," Farenthold said in a statement Friday. 

A 2014 harassment lawsuit brought by a former staff member against Farenthold was settled using $84,000 in taxpayer money. The congressman's former communications director, Lauren Greene, accused him of making sexually inappropriate comments. Other former aides have spoken to media outlets about a toxic work environment.

Pajama boy is out?

Aww. what a shame. 

Personally I have no idea how he lasted as long as he did.

I mean the guy's like a poster boy for inappropriate sexual behavior.

Some of the allegations about the conduct in his office, and among his staff, are quite shocking.

Looks like we can chalk up another win for the #MeToo movement, and the Blue Wave.

Wisconsin Scott Walker is running scared from the Blue Wave.

Courtesy of CNN: 

On Tuesday night, it happened again. 

Democrat Patty Schachtner beat Republican Adam Jarchow for a western Wisconsin state Senate seat that had been held by a Republican since 2000 and in a district that President Donald Trump won handily in 2016. 

Schachtner's win marked the first Republican-to-Democrat switch at the state legislative level of 2018 but it is the 34th state legislative seat pickup for Democrats since the start of 2017. That trend is beginning to rightly alarm smart Republicans.

I don't know if you could actually put Scott Walker in the smart category, but he is certainly deep into the alarmed category.

Tonight’s results show we are at risk of a #BlueWave in WI. The Far Left is driven by anger & hatred -- we must counter it with optimism & organization. Let’s share our positive story with voters & win in November.

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) April 4, 2018

Big government special interests flooded Wisconsin with distorted facts & misinformation. Next, they'll target me and work to undo our bold reforms. We need to keep moving #WIForward & make sure a #BlueWave of outside special interest money doesn’t take us backward.

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) April 4, 2018

Damn! You can almost smell the panic.

Walker's policy decisions have been devastating for the people of Wisconsin, and he was so afraid of this voters that he tried to change the law to get out of holding two special elections.

So yes, he has every reason to fear the Blue Wave.

Hey, maybe he IS in the smart category.

Overwhelmingly voters want to elect politicians that will stand up to Donald Trump.

Courtesy of USA Today: 

Americans are mad, and that is putting Republicans at risk. 

A new USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll finds voters looking toward the midterm elections are overwhelmingly unhappy with the country's direction, dissatisfied with its political leadership, and interested in electing a Congress that will confront President Trump. 

By close to 2-1, 58%-32%, those surveyed say they want to elect a Congress that mostly stands up to the president, not one that mostly cooperates with him. 

The level of voter unrest is rare at a time of prosperity, when a 55% majority rate the economy as being in a recovery. Even that assessment has a partisan cast: Republicans are twice as likely as Democrats to say the economy is growing. 

Seven in 10 Republicans say the country is headed in the right direction. But more than eight in 10 Democrats say it's off on the wrong track, and seven in 10 independents agree with them.

This of course reinforces what we have already witnessed in these special elections where Democrats are emerging victorious in places that have traditionally been GOP strongholds.

That blue wave is definitely coming, and it is being driven by women, minorities, and the newly energized young people of this country.

This could be a bloodbath.

Metaphorically speaking of course.

Republicans becoming increasingly worried about the "blue wave" predicted in the 2018 midterm elections.

Courtesy of New York Magazine:  

Republicans are growing more and more alarmed about the prospect of losing the House of Representatives in November, which would break the party’s stranglehold on unified power in Washington. (Senate control is more of a longshot for Democrats, but if the ball bounces the right way, it’s within grasp as well.)

A senior Republican on Capitol Hill told ABC News, “If the election were held today, the House would be gone. Fortunately, the election is not today.” 

These concerns have made their way to President Trump. The Washington Post reported on Sunday that “the concern has grown so acute that Trump received what one congressional aide described as a ‘sobering’ slide presentation about the difficult midterm landscape at Camp David last weekend, leading the president to pledge a robust schedule of fundraising and campaign travel in the coming months.” 

The problem with Trump’s plan is that, much as he may deny it, he is a primary, if not the primary, reason for the Republicans’ plight. The president’s approval rating continues to hover in the high 30s, a dismal number considering the country’s humming economy. And, as is his wont, Trump keeps making a spectacle out of himself and his party, as he did this week with his “shithole” comment and a series of other missteps you probably don’t even remember a few days after the fact.

I REALLY hope that Trump shows up all over the country to "help" GOP candidates, as that will insure Democratic victories in places that the Dems are struggling.  

I almost hesitate to share this information becasue I do not want the Democrats to become complacent.

Remember predictions of victory only come true if we actually show up to vote.

Democrats are notorious for skipping the midterms, but this year we need to show up by the truckloads, because if we take back both the House and the Senate, we essentially render Trump powerless.

And even if he gets impeached and replaced by Mike Pence, the destructive GOP agenda will still grind to a halt.