 Rev. Patrick Conroy |
Hats Off to Speaker Paul Ryan for reinstating Rev. Patrick Conroy, whom he had canned in a huff, to his post as House chaplain.
The Republican politico, owned up to his mistake and then fixed it. That's a very rare bird in DC.
Ryan though didn't have a prayer against the eloquent and media savvy Jesuit whose dismissal triggered an uproar from Republicans and Democrats, an extraordinary occasion in super-partisan Washington.
On May 3, the priest sent a letter to Ryan to revoke his resignation, which was effective May 24, on the advice of counsel after learning that the Speaker did not have the "absolute prerogative and authority" to fire up. That's the job of the full House.
The retiring Ryan, who really didn't need this self-inflicted crisis, caved and gave his blessing to the feisty priest.
Elected in 2011, Conroy's record of administering to the spiritual needs of Congress was unblemished.
In a bit of face-saving, the Congressman said he accepted Conroy's letter and decided that he would remain on the job. “It is my job as Speaker to do what is best for this body, and I know that this body is not well served by a protracted fight over such an important post,” he said in a statement.
Ryan, a conservative Catholic, was apparently irked by the chaplain's prayer in the House in which he expressed the wish for a “guarantee that there are not winners and losers under new tax laws, but benefits balanced and shared by all Americans.”
Ryan told him: "Padre, you just got to stay out of politics."
But the miffed Ryan failed to realize that Conroy was just living his faith and following his order's "preferential option for the poor."
Conroy is happy to be back in business and that people are reading his prayers.
Keep 'em coming.
New York Mets have been PR gold for majority owner Steve Cohen, who has snared one of NYC's gambling casino licenses... "Dozy Don" should escape the gilded confines off the Oval Office, which has become an old-age home for the 79-year-old president... Shocking revelation: Extreme weather poses threat to the perceived value of a home, says real estate maven.
Omnicom CEO John Wren isn’t exactly spreading cheer this holiday season as he works to cull another 4,000 people from the payroll in the wake of the Interpublic takeover... Donald Trump would have denied scamming his one-time personal lawyer and PR front man Roy Cohn, who taught him well....Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth enlists "Franklin the Turtle" in his tough-guy campaign to vaporize alleged drug boats.
The debate over when the AI bubble will burst diverts attention from the game-changing technology that it may become some day... Pete Hegseth takes aim at Scouting America. Can't he find something useful to do?... The Cracker Barrel saga winds down as shareholders oust board member who oversaw its marketing disaster... New York Times makes an "awful" editorial decision.
Why MSNBC’s recent MS NOW rebrand won’t help the cable news channel’s flagging viewer numbers if it doesn’t take the opportunity to change its content model and mission.
Donald Trump’s smarmy session with the psychotic master of Saudi Arabia destroyed any sliver of dignity that had remained in his gilded Oval Office... If Trump is telling the truth about Mohammed bin Salman not knowing about the murder of Khashoggi, he should release the transcript of his call with the crown prince... Foul-weather friend Home Depot decries lack of storms... Texas gov Greg Abbott stages pubicity stunt with threat to shut down No. 1 Muslim advocacy group in the Lone Star State.
