as donald j. trump runs for president on a platform of donald j. trump, perhaps you haven<u+2019>t heard that the rest of the republican party<u+2014>54 senators, 247 congressmen, 31 governors, the tens of hundreds of state reps who control 68 of 98 legislative chambers, the millions of rank-and-file conservatives<u+2014>have ambitions too. paul ryan gave a speech on friday afternoon detailing some of these ideas, which deserve more attention. speaking at the university of wisconsin, the house speaker conceded that 2016 has taken <u+201c>some dark<u+2014>sometimes very dark<u+2014>turns,<u+201d> but he stepped back and spoke about <u+201c>a long-running debate between two governing philosophies: one that is in keeping with our nation<u+2019>s founding principles<u+2014>like freedom and equality<u+2014>and another that seeks to replace them.<u+201d> he didn<u+2019>t mention mr. trump by name, and the businessman didn<u+2019>t come up in the q&a. instead, mr. ryan critiqued hillary clinton <u+2019>s <u+201c>arrogant, condescending and paternalistic<u+201d> faith in the power of government. he said the progressive dogmas of control, dependence and redistribution are personified in mrs. clinton, who has dedicated her adult life to displacing private markets and private social institutions with government. mr. ryan<u+2019>s implication is that he believes mrs. clinton is unlikely to be any more moderate or politically pragmatic than president obama has been in his long, hyper-partisan eight years. nor should americans upset about the lack of economic opportunity believe that mrs. clinton<u+2019>s policy program would produce results different from the status quo. as it happens, the gop has a political and policy alternative, which the house calls <u+201c>a better way.<u+201d> the consensus product of months of work by the congressional committees, the 213-page manifesto outlines smart, substantive reforms from a pro-growth tax overhaul to rebuilding the military to replacing obamacare with more robust private insurance markets and competition. a particular focus is upward mobility, alleviating poverty and lifting incomes. the u.s. will spend about $700 billion on means-tested programs in 2016, and the gop wants to maintain a safety net while changing the incentives to work and move up the income ladder. one idea is to reduce the marginal tax-rate cliffs where earning another dollar in income means losing more than a dollar in benefits. another idea is to devolve more control to the states for local experiments. republicans even want to measure programs by their outcomes rather than how much money they spend. as a governing document, the <u+201c>better way<u+201d> is more comprehensive and specific than most presidential campaigns, this unusual year<u+2019>s included. the plan is also optimistic and realistic in an election where both candidates prefer the apocalyptic and nostalgic. immigration, trade and perhaps entitlements are the major republicans divides, along with matters of tone and strategy. yet the <u+201c>better way<u+201d> plan is supported by nearly all of congress<u+2019>s gop factions, and the reforms would be far more economically consequential than a border wall or even the mistake of killing the pacific trading pact. underneath the day-to-day political storms of the presidential campaign, republicans are remarkably unified on how to restart the growth engine that used to be the american economy. one point of mr. ryan<u+2019>s speech was to remind voters that there is more to the gop than mr. trump<u+2019>s personality and character that are dominating media coverage. if mr. trump does somehow win and republicans keep control of congress, the <u+201c>better way<u+201d> would become the reform foundation of the next four years. some of the sections are already being drafted as legislative language. the <u+201c>better way<u+201d> is also an appeal to voters to return a republican house and senate to washington in 2017. the plan translates principles into tangible solutions to meet the problems of the era, but the principles will also serve as a check for whatever mrs. clinton is preparing in her pre-presidential boiler room. on the basis of the <u+201c>better way,<u+201d> voters can trust republicans will be more principled than their nominee. no one should have any illusions that white papers will decide this dispiriting election, and we sure don<u+2019>t. yet amid the campaign preoccupation with the way donald trump and bill clinton have treated women, be relieved that at least some people in washington are thinking about the well-being of the country.
<u+2018>better way<u+2019> for president - wsj
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