GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan is responding to people who think he isn’t conservative enough.
During an exclusive interview with WTAQ’s Jerry Bader, the Wisconsin Republican countered claims by some that call him a “RINO” or “Republican in Name Only”.
“If you look at all the metrics used to measure a person’s conservatism, I’m the most conservative Speaker,” said Ryan. “More so than Newt Gingrich, Denny Hastert or John Boehner.”
The Janesville-native says much of this talk is anger fueled by Internet critics.
“That’s the problem with the Internet these days, you can just put urban legends out there and go crazy,” Ryan said. “There is such a huge temptation among conservatives to just form a circular firing squad and just shoot away.”
Ryan added that the only way to save America and win elections is to unify.
“The smarter thing to do as conservatives is to unify, calm down and go out and win converts so that we can win an election and save this country from the very dangerous path it’s on,” said Ryan.
IMPROVING THE PROCESS
Speaker Ryan says he wants to improve the climate of the U.S. House, while at the same time demonstrating the importance of getting a Republican president elected in November.
“They (Freedom Caucus) don’t want a Congress that bottles up the process or a leadership that concentrates power, predetermines the outcome of everything and does not give them a fair chance at legislating,” Ryan said. “I’m doing that, and opening up the process. Maybe they won’t win the day, but at least they have a fair chance. This is what members of the Freedom Caucus were yearning for.”
Ryan also answered critics of allowing the Omnibus spending bill to get through.
“With this Congress we can get a repeal of Obamacare and a defunding of Planned Parenthood on the President’s desk,” said Ryan. “So we have demonstrated that even with the filibuster as it is, we can get around that and we’ve used the tool of reconciliation, a budget, so all we need is a Republican President. That to me is an accomplishment, that’s not nothing.”
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