Paul Ryan: We Need to ‘Steer Clear’ of Obama’s ‘Identity Politics’
RUSH TRANSCRIPT:
BRZEZINSKI: "What would be the party’s responsibility in this? What can you do to change, especially given the political landscape, the campaign that’s happening, that seems to have taken off in a direction of its own?"
RYAN: "I’m a Jack Kemp, Ronald Reagan conservative. I believe we need to be inspirational and inclusive and see how our policies apply to everybody. That’s something in primaries you don’t get an opportunity to do. The other part is we’re in a bit of a panic attack. We’re high anxiety because the left has had a pretty good run. Barack Obama got elected twice. He was able steam roll things through now that that he had control of Congress. Now we see the economy weak, the future uncertain, panic, frustration, anger. The way I look at this is opportunity. There’s opportunity here. There’s opportunity that if you take these principles and go apply them to these problems, we can make a difference and we should not be following the Democrats and playing identity politics. Identity politics is one of the reasons why we’re so polarized and so bitter. I’m a conservative, I’m going to hit the left. The president played identity politics with devastating effect. That’s not the only reason why we’re polarized but it’s one of the reasons and there’s a temptation to follow suit with our own version of that. We should steer clear and get back to the Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp morning in American — let’s not talk to people in ways that separate them from other people. Let’s talk to ways that talk to people that combine us, that are universal, that are unique to America’s founding. That’s what people are yearning and hungry for. That is the essence, the guts of the Republican party."
SCARBOROUGH: "Still relevant in 2016. Do you have think he’s practiced yet? Do you think he stands in front of the mirror and practiced?"
BRZEZINSKI: "I don’t know. He just took the beard off."
RYAN: "You didn’t like my beard?"
BRZEZINSKI: "I liked it."
RYAN: "No one made a comment about it when I had it for deer season last year."
SCARBOROUGH: "You weren’t speaker last year."
BRZEZINSKI: "You are speaker now. Are you enjoying it?"
RYAN: "For the most part."
BRZEZINSKI: "You’ll be behind the president for the state of the union."
RYAN: "That’s what my wife said. Because I’m not a real poker face guy. I grimace, I wince. I need to get the poker face thing down. I need to be real stoic."
