Paul Ryan is writing a book.
But don’t expect Game Change.
According to a source close to Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican is working with attorney Bob Barnett to release his first major book next year, and it’ll feature a mix of autobiography, political analysis, and policy prescriptions.
So far, Ryan has been doing the writing by himself. The early theme of the draft is a broad discussion of American renewal, with an emphasis on the Republican future and the party’s need to articulate what he calls the “American idea.”
Behind the scenes, Ryan is worried that the GOP is losing its connection with working Americans, and he has been writing about how the party needs to speak more to those in poverty about empowerment and economic freedom. His recent speeches at the American Enterprise Institute’s Kristol dinner and at Benedictine College have touched on this issue, and Ryan is eager to broaden the argument into chapter form.
On a personal level, the book will highlight his childhood in Janesville, Wis., his time as an aide to Jack Kemp, and his rise through the congressional ranks. Kemp, especially, will have a special place in the book, and in many ways, Ryan’s effort will likely echo Kemp’s book, An American Renaissance: A Strategy for the 1980s.
The Romney-Ryan campaign will also be part of the book, but there will only be kind words and appreciation for Mitt Romney, who put Ryan on the GOP ticket. They remain close and Ryan has assured his friends that he won’t write a tell-all memoir.
Ryan previously coauthored Young Guns, a 2010 campaign book, with his House colleagues, Kevin McCarthy and Eric Cantor.
Ryan’s allies are mum on where the book fits into the congressman’s 2016 calculus, but a presidential run, to be sure, has not been ruled out. For now, though, this still-untitled book is seen as the next step in his push to shape the national debate.