I reply to my own post with the admission I did not know the political leanings of Ryan's bishop. 

The assumption was that the bishop was a man of Christian charity as defined in the beatitudes, the works of mercy, and the two great commandments.

That he is not, and that other bishops are like him, is a crying Catholic shame.

But I still hold the opinion that clerics of all religions and ranks should march through the halls of congress and confront the lawmakers who are derelict in their charitable actions. Petitions and letters are not adequate substitutes for face-to-face interaction.