Republican support for the Export-Import Bank is a perfect illustration of the utter misunderstanding about what it means to be “pro-market.” (Hint: It doesn’t mean being “pro-business.”) As a result, Republicans have eagerly supported export subsidies, farm programs, auto bailouts, tax credits to some industries, as well as every loan-guarantee program and subsidy you can dream up.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned the shameful behavior of some Republican lawmakers who have gone to great lengths to bring the Ex-Im Bank back from its current zombie status. They did so by violating the commitment made by Speaker Paul Ryan that, under his leadership, the rules of the House would be respected. As I explained:

In order to restore full subsidy powers to Ex-Im, a group of Republicans have attached an amendment to a spending bill to allow the Bank to back big deals with only two board members:
“Lawmakers in the House of Representatives, including Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, moved Tuesday to assist the embattled federally charted bank for U.S. exporters. The House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to a funding bill that effectively will enable the bank to approve loans of more than $10 million again. The bank board, with only two members, has been unable to get a quorum of three members out of five positions — as required by its charter — in order to approve large loans.”
The amendment in question was introduced by Representative Charles Dent of Pennsylvania and, worst of all, the rule was adopted by the full committee. . . .
What? Speaker Ryan, call your office! Seriously, in the last month, with great fanfare, Paul Ryan told us that the old way of doing business by violating the House rules and allowing problematic provisions to be snuck through without a vote and attached to a funding bill was over. In fact, in a document called “A Better Way,” the House claimed it would commit to “not business as usual” and to abiding by the rules and by this little document called the Constitution of the United States.”

It is shameful. Unfortunately, this incident may yet be another sign that Republicans’ weak connection to the free market may be as loose as ever, even in the face of the party’s incredible problems.

It doesn’t have to be this way, as Freedom Partners’ president Mark Holden explained in a letter to Speaker Ryan. It gets to the core of the issue and urges Ryan to not let this “blatant” violation go on.

On behalf of Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce, I am writing to thank you for your past opposition to the Export-Import Bank and to urge you to oppose recent efforts to change Export-Import Bank requirements for approving high-dollar financing deals.
As you know, the Ex-Im Bank currently has just two of the three board members necessary to authorize financing deals worth more than $10 million. An amendment recently adopted by the House Appropriations Committee, however, seeks to change the law to allow the bank to approve financing deals exceeding $10 million without a quorum.
The amendment is a blatant attempt to expand taxpayer-funded corporate welfare. If enacted into law, it would overwhelmingly benefit some of the largest and most politically connected companies in the world at the expense of America’s small businesses, which have historically received a smaller share of Ex-Im Bank financing. In fiscal year 2015, for example, only 11 percent of financing for deals worth more than $10 million directly benefited small businesses.
Everything about the amendment — subsidies to big corporations; the way it was bundled into a larger, unrelated bill in violation of House Rule XXI; and the special interests lobbying behind the scenes — is exactly why Americans are frustrated and angry with Washington.

So now, with our eyes on Ryan, we wait. What will he do? Allow the cronies to win? Or start a new era where the Republicans stand for free markets rather than cronyism?

There is hope. In the last few weeks, Ryan has been quite explicit about how he wants the party to evolve. The Washington Post, for example, reports that “House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) warned Monday that Republicans were engaged in a ‘fight for the soul of our party’ when it comes to championing free-market principles and combating the influence of special interests.”

The LA Times notes that Speaker Ryan calls for Republicans to be “a pro-market party and not a pro-business party” and challenged Republicans to rethink their relationship to corporations, charging the party’s cozy relationship to business sometimes leads it astray from small-government principles.”

Yes! He is correct. But the question remains: What will Ryan do about it? Change has to come at the top.

We will be watching.