Matthew Ricchiazzi, New York State’s leading Tea Party activist and the co-founder of Buffalonians for New Leadership, is calling on Roger Stone to begin whipping votes among the members of the House of Representatives — in aim of assuming the Speakership in the coming weeks.
“Speaker Paul Ryan, someone I greatly admire, has a responsibility to the Party to step aside quickly — rather than making his resignation effective at the end of his term — so that the Party can head into midterm elections with a new leader, a strong message, and a deliberate political brand,” Ricchiazzi tells The Chronicle. He hopes that President Donald Trump will convey to the House Republican caucus that Stone is the experienced, skillful, and trusted partner that he would like during the next Congress.
The Constitution does not require that the Speaker of the House is a member of Congress. If Stone can secure the backing of the House Republican caucus — something that would be relatively easy to do with the President’s backing — he can plausibly assume the Speakership before the summer break.
Ricchiazzi would like to see Ryan pass the torch as soon as possible.
“Elevating Roger Stone to the Speakership helps turn the page on the phony, politically motivated witch hunt that we are all so tired of,” Ricchiazzi explains. “It also puts one of America’s most strategic political minds at the helm of House Republicans’ effort to retain the chamber.”
The contrast with Nancy Pelosi would be compelling, he argues.
Stone is well known for his Libertarian views and his relationship with a series of Republican Presidents, including Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan. He has been a personal friend of Trump since the 1980s.
Stone said last month that he expected Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller to bring contrived charges against him, and that he intends to respond with a public information campaign on the issue of prosecutorial misconduct.
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