(LifeSiteNews) –– On Tuesday, June 13, failed vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan denounced conservative efforts to prevent children from being exposed to LGBT and other sexually explicit “trans rights” material.
“I’m not a culture war guy,” Ryan stated during an appearance on CBS This Morning. “I think it’s really polarizing.”
RINO Paul Ryan says he’s ‘not a culture war guy’ when asked about protecting children from LGBT books.
‘If [America] wants to have a great 21st century’ it will have to tackle ‘big policy problems’ like China, the debt, etc. pic.twitter.com/EYK06zG0dW
— Stephen Kokx (@StephenKokx) June 13, 2023
Ryan served as the Speaker of the House of Representatives from 2015 until 2019. A Wisconsin native, he represents the establishment wing of the GOP backed by Wall Street globalists and free trade fundamentalists. He currently sits on the board of Fox News, which recently dismissed star anchor Tucker Carlson.
Protecting students from woke propaganda has been a top priority for a growing number of Republican governors in recent months, primarily because liberal activists have been passing laws and putting immense pressure on school boards, libraries, corporations, and state officials to make it easier to groom children into the transgender lifestyle.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’s War Room Twitter account assailed Ryan’s comments, which came days after Joe Biden held a party on the south lawn of the White House featuring a massive “Pride” flag. DeSantis has taken a number of steps to keep left-wing indoctrination out of classrooms.
“The Establishment can cry all they want, but there is NOTHING ‘polarizing’ about fighting the sexualization of our children,” DeSantis’ team exclaimed.
The Establishment can cry all they want, but there is NOTHING “polarizing” about fighting the sexualization of our children.@RonDeSantis will never back down from this fight. https://t.co/bsapAWvdzo
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) June 13, 2023
Former Fox News host Jedediah Bila similarly said Ryan isn’t a “culture war guy” because he’s “a uniparty guy.” There’s “no interest in fixing what’s actually broken,” she observed.
Ryan, 53, is a self-professed Catholic. He followed up his initial remarks with comments that suggest he’s indifferent to the power left-wing culture warriors have acquired in the United States.
“On some of these issues I’ll side with the anti-woke crowd,” he said, without clarifying his views. “But to me, I’m worried about a debt crisis. I’m worried about the future of our country. And China.”
“There are big policy problems that we need to tackle if we want to have a great 21st century for this country … culture war politics is good primary election politics … I believe in inclusive, aspirational politics — solve problems, we got huge problems.”
Since the 2022 midterm elections, Ryan has attempted to position himself as a voice of reason on the political right. During his appearances on friendly, anti-Trump networks like CNN, he has consistently blamed the former president for the Republican Party’s electoral woes. He has also called for the return of unpopular Bush-era policies like privatizing Social Security.
“If we nominate anybody not named Donald Trump, we’re going to beat Joe Biden,” he argued Tuesday.
Ryan first became a congressman in 1999. He unsuccessfully ran as neocon Mitt Romney’s vice president in 2012, losing to incumbent Barack Obama by a 51.1% to 47.2% margin. As Speaker, he prioritized tax cuts for corporations, opposed America First economic policies, and failed to defund Planned Parenthood. Despite touting his fiscal expertise Tuesday, the U.S. national debt rose over $2 trillion during his tenure.
In May 2021, Ryan delivered a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California that also attempted to downplay the concerns of religious Americans.
“Culture matters, absolutely, yes, but our party must be defined by more than a tussle over the latest grievance or perceived slight. We must not let them take priority over solutions – grounded in principle – to improve people’s lives,” he asserted.
Pundit Ben Demenech wrote an article for The Federalist countering Ryan’s argument.
“What good is prosperity and low capital gains taxes if it comes at a heavy cost for American families and communities?” he wondered.
“Going down the road back to green-eyeshade conservatism ignores everything we’ve learned about what [Trump] voters want: a greater priority placed on the interests of defending the nation, the family, and the worker.”