The Way Forward by Paul Ryan

Author:Paul Ryan [RYAN, PAUL]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science / American Government / General
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2015-08-25T00:00:00+00:00

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The Progressive Party was founded in Madison, Wisconsin, about forty minutes from my home as a vehicle for native son Robert “Fighting Bob” La Follette’s 1924 presidential campaign. A Republican politician known for his fiery oratory, La Follette was the leading advocate for the Wisconsin Idea, the Badger State’s contribution to progressive reforms.

When I was growing up, our family was fairly apolitical, but as Wisconsinites, we were well aware of La Follette’s past crusades in government. The influence of the progressive movement was always in the air, and La Follette, a former governor, congressman, and senator, was given the hero’s treatment in our history lessons at school. One of our greatest high school rivals is Madison’s La Follette High.

To get a sense of La Follette’s importance to Wisconsin, one need only walk through Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol. The hall sits between the ornate Rotunda and the chamber where members of the House of Representatives deliberate. Starting in 1864, each state was invited to select two influential citizens, carve their likeness into stone, and place their statues in the hall. For one of Wisconsin’s two slots, our state chose La Follette.

These days, I pass his white marble figure every time I walk through the hall. If you look at him from just the right angle, Fighting Bob bears a slight resemblance to Martin Sheen, the actor who played the president on The West Wing. La Follette is seated in a chair, leaning to one side, and kind of lurching forward—which is to say that he looks like a man who could stand up at any moment and still hold his own.

Of course, during his lifetime, La Follette fought for and against lots of things, animated by the ideas of the progressive movement. The movement’s rise coincided perfectly with his own, having hit its peak between 1890 and 1920, a period known as the Progressive Era.

At the time, the country was grappling with changes brought on by industrialization and urbanization. Key thinkers and political leaders sought to reform our economy, government, and society in ways that would allow the nation to adapt to new conditions.

And to be fair, the movement gained support for good reason. Hardworking families faced real hardships. There was rampant corruption in government at all levels. Big business formed common cause with big government—at the little guy’s expense. Monopolies cornered markets. Families lived and worked in filth and danger. Progressives won at the ballot box because they spoke to these concerns.

Much like today, government had lost its way. But instead of renewing the American Idea, progressives went in a very different direction. In their search for ideas and inspiration, some came to believe that there are no foundational truths, just different but equally valid points of view. Moreover, they decided that there were no permanent principles or natural rights, only historical claims that changed with the times. So much for self-evident truths.

Instead, these progressives looked to the methods of science to guide government and society.

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