Charles Rangel: “My colleagues, the last few days in New York people have been asking me: Do you really think Paul Ryan is going to…”

“My colleagues, the last few days in New York people have been asking me: Do you really think Paul Ryan is going to become Speaker of the House? I said: No. They said: Why? Don't you believe he is intelligent, smart, dedicated? I said: That is just the problem. I can't find anyone that I know and like that is more conservative than Paul Ryan. Paul Ryan, if he were to become Speaker, would be saying to the Republicans: I cannot accept this responsibility unless you respect the integrity of the United States of America. They said: Well, Charlie, what does that mean? I said: Well, Paul Ryan wouldn't allow us to go into default. Paul Ryan would support increasing the debt ceiling. Paul Ryan would recognize that we need our infrastructure, we need our jobs, we need education. They said: Well, what is the difference with that? I said: If Paul Ryan were to get these type of commitments from the Republican Party, Speaker Boehner never would have left, McCarthy never would have left. So what are we going through today? Well, Paul Ryan knows that this is not going to become law. Why? Because it doesn't make any sense. It is almost like if you were in a corporation--since we are using analogies--and they say: We promise you you are not going to go bankrupt. You say: Well, how are you going to do that, since the only people that you have to pay are those you borrowed money from? Well, what about the cost of manufacturers? What about the salaries of the workers?…”