Candidates for Paul Ryan’s seat are MIA

In the late 1800s, Mark Twain was fascinated by the hypocrisy of American voters.

“Look at the candidates whom we loathe, one year, and are afraid to vote against the next,” said Twain, commenting on politicians “whom we cover with unimaginable filth, one year, and fall down on the public platform and worship, the next.” He mocked the voters who “keep on doing it until the habitual shutting of our eyes to last year’s evidences brings us presently to a sincere and stupid belief in this year’s.”

Since America’s founding, deriding elected officials as greedy, incompetent oafs has been a common theme in our political rhetoric. Members of Congress are an ongoing punchline in our political sitcom.

But even with the jibes and vitriol, politicians have typically come back again and again. After all, holding elected office was always a pretty good gig — the pay is decent, the public visibility can be flattering, and the ability to affect change in peoples’ lives is rewarding.

That is why, just a year ago, a potential primary for House Speaker Paul Ryan’s seat in Congress seemed like an embarrassment of riches for Republicans. As speculation spread about how long Ryan could continue in his thankless job as speaker, at least a half-dozen plausible names bubbled up as possible successors if Ryan were to step down.

Last week, that scenario became reality, and yet despite the seat being solidly Republican, virtually every serious potential GOP candidate has fled the race as if they were wanted for murder.

That leaves businessman and University of Wisconsin Regent Bryan Steil as the only notable name left in the race to represent traditional Republicans.

The Democrats haven’t fared much better. In showering money on Randy “Iron Stache” Bryce, they’ve been backing a three-time local campaign loser who believes his primary qualification is his ability to grow hair on his upper lip.

So why are the most qualified candidates bailing? Contrary to Twain’s era, perhaps the scorn heaped on elected officials in modern times is simply too much for anyone to bear. Being a Republican member of Congress these days means walking out and embarrassing yourself on a daily basis as you try to explain away the incoherent ramblings of your party’s leader, then being filleted by malcontents on social media.

Further, a number of those who bowed out cited the desire to spend more time with their families. This is certainly a noble goal, and their sincerity shouldn’t be doubted — but it’s pretty coincidental that, all of a sudden, every politician’s child suddenly needed to go on a fishing trip.

Perhaps the internal polls looked terrible for Republican candidates, and they decided it wasn’t worth the effort. But the district still tilts toward the GOP, and even in a recent Supreme Court election in which the conservative lost the state by 12 percentage points, he still won the 1st Congressional District by five points.

If Iron Stache were to actually win, all the GOP candidates who dropped out will have their decision to drop out on their consciences.