Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., has been able to count on his Facebook page for stalwart support during his long-running battle with the House Republican leadership, including a successful effort to oust House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.
"Keep up the great work," read a comment posted last week. "We the people thank you for ridding us of John Boehner!"
But in recent days, the tone of the comments on Meadows' page, and those of the other members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, has changed significantly.
"You truly should be ashamed," one commenter wrote on Thursday. "The people in the caucus will be held responsible come election day."
"You should all be replaced," a critic told Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga. Another called Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Idaho, one of the most persistent thorns in Boehner's side, "a RINO establishment lap dog," using an acronym that means "Republican in name only," and "another go-along to get along phony who will GLADLY step on the throats of the Conservative electorate."
After most of the Freedom Caucus' members moved last week to support Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as the next House speaker, they appear not to be conservative enough for some in the party.
The groundswell of support from some conservative voters that emboldened the group as it battled Boehner and the GOP establishment seemed to subside for the first time in months. That has put its members in the unfamiliar position of defending their right flank.
"Look, I imagine that there's theoretically a chance that [we] all went from being radical extremist crazies to Washington sellouts in 12 hours," said Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., a Freedom Caucus leader. "But maybe a more likely narrative is that we really think that this is a good step for the conservative movement. And it's up to us to try to explain that to people, and that's what we've been doing."
The anger over Ryan's ascent has been fueled by voices across the conservative media landscape. On the Internet, sites such as Breitbart.com and the Drudge Report have published stories casting doubt on Ryan's record, while such prominent commentators as Erick Erickson, Ann Coulter and Mickey Kaus have urged conservatives to contact lawmakers and tell them to spurn Ryan.
Radio host Laura Ingraham called Ryan "basically John Boehner with better abs" and featured segments attacking Ryan's positions on trade and immigration.
Another host, Mark Levin, lambasted Ryan as a creature of the establishment elite. "I think it's time, ladies and gentlemen, to choose a speaker from outside the House of Representatives," he told his audience Wednesday. "This is the best the Republican establishment can do; it's just not good enough."
Rush Limbaugh on Thursday called Ryan a favorite of the Republican "donor class" and "the new Cantor" -- a reference to former House majority leader Eric Cantor, who was ousted last year in a GOP primary.
Meanwhile, the man who did the ousting -- Rep. Dave Brat, R-Va. -- counts himself among the roughly 70 percent of Freedom Caucus members who said they are willing to support Ryan.
That tally fell short of the group's standard of an 80 percent majority to take an official position. But it was good enough for Ryan to feel as though he had the support to move forward.
"When they make decisions, it's not in haste," Brat said of the caucus. "And so I would ask the American people: Hold your fire. Wait till you see exactly what our group is doing, and I think you'll see that it's coherent, it makes sense."
One problem for Brat and his Freedom Caucus colleagues is that Ryan has remained mum for the most part on his intentions. When he spoke to the House Republican Conference on Tuesday, Ryan set out conditions for agreeing to serve as speaker, including an end to the House rule allowing a speaker to be ousted by a simple majority.
Ryan appeared to soften on that point in meetings with lawmakers later in the week, and Freedom Caucus members say Ryan privately discussed other concessions, including a restructuring of the House Republican steering committee and adherence to the "Hastert rule" requiring a majority of Republicans to support any measure put on the floor.
But Ryan mentioned none of those items in the letter he sent to colleagues on Thursday agreeing to try for the job. He opted instead for generalities: "We can make the House a more open and inclusive body -- one where every member can contribute to the legislative process. We can rally House Republicans around a bold agenda that will tackle the country's problems head on. And we can show the country what a common-sense conservative agenda looks like."
That has left a cadre of tea party conservatives, most elected no more than five years ago, in the position of defending their willingness to trust a 17-year incumbent with a long record of negotiating spending deals with Democrats and backing immigration-overhaul measures that are deeply unpopular on the right.
Without the numbers to block Ryan on the House floor, and seeking not to destroy their group, the founders sought unity. "Our goal has always been to keep the group together," Labrador said.
Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., another founding member, said there were Freedom Caucus "members with reservations about Paul who understood that the statement was the best way to proceed."
Meadows said Thursday that he and like-minded members were more concerned that Ryan might have made contradictory pledges to different groups while courting support last week. And he suggested that Ryan might be at risk of fraying the House GOP anew if he doesn't make a clearer statement before Thursday's speaker vote.
"It's important that a down payment be made in order to keep that supermajority intact," he said.
The reality is, caucus members said in different interviews, Ryan could have always been speaker if he wanted to. And, if anything, they've gained some credibility with the conference.
"You got to play the cards you're dealt," said Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla., one of the founding members.
Several House conservatives remain proudly outside the pro-Ryan camp; most continue to back Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., who has emphasized procedural changes.
"I don't know what they're thinking, really," Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., a Webster backer, said of the Freedom Caucus.
"If you've got problems with a man today, and the man tells you, 'Tomorrow, I'll be a different person' -- it doesn't happen," said Rep. Walter Jones, R-N.C., who said he has received more than 100 calls over two days from constituents opposing Ryan.
But others say they are willing to take the heat from the base. Commentators and activists might be exercised about Ryan's immigration positions, they say, but lawmakers are more focused on how he'll run the House.
Rep. Matt Salmon, R-Ariz., noted that Webster, whom the Freedom Caucus had previously endorsed for speaker, is not considered to be particularly conservative.
"It never was about the most perfect guy with the most perfect voting record; it's about the person that's willing to govern in a way that allows conservative ideas to at least come to the forefront, which he has said he is willing to do," Salmon said.
Fiscal deadlines loom
If Ryan is elected speaker, he will have little time to settle in because of some fast-approaching fiscal deadlines. Congressional leaders must find a way in coming weeks to avoid a debt default and then see if they can strike a long-term budget deal.
But it is unclear how President Barack Obama and Ryan will resolve fundamental differences, including defense and domestic spending caps. House Republicans want any year-end budget deal to boost defense spending; the president is holding firm that he will sign such a plan only if it includes an equal domestic spending increase.
Many lawmakers and experts point to the budget deal Ryan struck with Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., in 2013 as an example of his ability to work with Obama. While he didn't negotiate that plan directly with the president, Obama blessed it and signed it into law.
Several lawmakers, Republican and Democratic, also pointed to efforts Ryan made on an immigration overhaul in 2013 and a trade package Obama pushed through earlier this year as examples of cases in which the two have worked together.
On the trade legislation, Deputy House Republican Whip Tom Cole of Oklahoma said, "Not only did [Ryan] do it, he did that after being an opponent of the president. I thought it spoke highly of both of them, particularly Paul."
Even senior Democrats have said the speaker-in-waiting has the kind of get-things-done makeup and deal-minded approach to find some common ground with Obama and their caucus.
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., called Ryan "a serious player."
"I think he's smart enough to know what he needs to do, and it sounds to me like he's trying to ensure ... he can get some things done," Becerra said.
Vice President Joe Biden said, "We can make some real progress, particularly with Paul Ryan, who is a good guy."
Ryan "knows you cannot function -- this government can't function -- without reaching some consensus, and he wants to do that," said Biden.
Information for this article was contributed by Mike DeBonis and David Weigel of The Washington Post; by Matt Fuller and John T. Bennett of CQ-Roll Call; and by Andrew Mayeda of Bloomberg News.
A Section on 10/26/2015