The history books

sometimes you see the lesser villains of this current political period hit with “you’re gonna look bad in the history books!”

This seems very silly to me.  Paul Ryan’s not gonna be in the history books!  Not any popular ones anyway.  He might be deep in the more exhaustive ones, but who cares?  Who was the Speaker of the House during the Civil War?  World War II? (“You’re legacy will be as controversial as Galusha Grow’s and Schuyler Colfax’s!“)

Maybe he longed for the history books once, but it feels to me that Paul Ryan made a choice to whimper away to what he imagines will be a high paying lobbying life.

Wouldn’t it be better to say, “during your lifetime your face will remind us of embarrassment and cowardice and no one will pay you to talk.”

I do respect the earnest, history buff energy of the taunt “you’re gonna be real ashamed when you read the history books, pal.”

I just think it gives too much respect to Paul Ryan’s motivations.