After Walker bombed out in spectacular fashion, they decided that they would settle for any presidential candidate that they could control, as long as it wasn't Donald Trump.
When that planned failed, it was time to push for a brokered convention so that the Republican establishment could simply anoint the candidate of their choice.
After Trump clinched the nomination, Ryan quietly caved and endorsed Trump.
It took only a day before Ryan to start waffling and trashing Trump:
House Speaker Paul Ryan says he hopes his endorsement of Donald Trump — and next week's unveiling of a wide-ranging conservative agenda — will be a turning point in the 2016 race.
But in the same interview, just one day after he endorsed Trump, Ryan disavowed the presumptive Republican presidential nominee's accusations of bias against a judge because of his "Mexican heritage."
"We shouldn't be speaking to fellow citizens in ways that divide us," Ryan told the Journal Sentinel on Friday. "I think the comments about the Mexican-American judge are not called for, and I don't even understand the line of thinking behind it."
But have no fears, Republicans, Ryan is coming to save the day with his new agenda, "A Better Way," which is nothing more then the same agenda he's been pushing for the last umpteen years. Y'know, starving grandma, denying healthcare to the poor and giving away even more tax breaks and corporate welfare to the wealthy:
Ryan has been working to shift the 2016 presidential race away from a personality contest to one focused on ideas. Those efforts have so far been unsuccessful, but the Janesville Republican is hoping the new GOP agenda, dubbed "A Better Way," will change that.
"Yes, this has been more of a personality contest election. Until now, that is, as far as we're concerned," Ryan said. "We believe — we being House Republicans — we believe we can add some substance to this conversation."
Last month, Ryan made it clear he was not ready to endorse Trump, saying the real estate mogul first needed to unify the GOP and show a commitment to conservative principles.
I'm sure that will be a hot seller, just like it was four years ago when he helped dragged Mittens Rmoney down in that race.
