Paul Ryan's Opponent in Wisconsin Is a Union Ironworker Who Just Launched the Campaign Ad of the Year

When Speaker of the House and Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan isn't busy taking your health care away, he's trying to give rich people tax cuts while screwing over the poor. Well, it turns out he's going to have some competition for his seat in 2018 and it's as if his opponent was built in a lab from a mix of Springsteen lyrics and "I hate Democrats, but there's something about this guy I like," statements from Republicans. Randy Bryce is a union iron worker, a U.S. Army veteran, and a badass with an awesome mustache that serves as the namesake of his Twitter account: @IronStache. And now he's released an ad announcing his candidacy and it's two minutes and twenty seconds of what might be the most compelling and effective political ad I've seen in a long time.

In a statement to the Washington Post, Bryce said:

"My values are my neighbors’ values, and we know that Washington has gotten way off track. Whether it’s healthcare, jobs, national security, education, or the environment, there’s not one issue where Paul Ryan and Donald Trump are headed in the right direction. It’s time for a change in Congress.”

Now granted, Bryce has lost in previous runs for state level office, but in a post-Trump world this kind of outsider voice seems very likely to resonate. I mean how can you not be moved by a phrase like, "Let's trade places. Paul Ryan, you can come work the iron and I'll go to D.C."