Paul Ryan isn’t a culture warrior: ‘I’m worried about a debt crisis’
Julia Johnson
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Former Republican Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is not a culture warrior.
Asked about some of the legislation to target inappropriate content for children and other “anti-woke” causes, Ryan said, “I’m not a culture war guy.”
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“I think it’s really polarizing,” he said on CBS This Morning.
The former Wisconsin representative conceded that “I will side with the anti-woke crowd” on some topics. However, he emphasized that “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,” the former speaker said.
He added that larger policy debates are going to be “unresolved or made worse by Joe Biden.”
“That’s why I want to win this election, so we can actually fix these big policy problems,” Ryan said.
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He admitted that “culture war politics” are effective in primary election cycles, such as the one 2024 Republican candidates are currently in. But he warned that “it’s very divisive.”
“I’m an old Jack Kemp guy. I believe in inclusive, aspirational politics. Solve problems — we have huge problems,” he said. “We’ve got a debt crisis coming up.”
On the debt crisis Ryan foreshadowed, he said that “neither Biden or Trump are good on this issue.”
Former President Donald Trump notably oversaw the addition of $8 trillion to the federal deficit during his tenure.
Ryan did not criticize him by name, but 2024 presidential candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is often thought to be associated with the terms “anti-woke” and “culture war” due to his emphasis on cultural issues in the Sunshine State.
The Florida governor has passed laws throughout his term to restrict inappropriate content from schools and libraries as well as strengthening parental rights when it comes to the changes schools are making to their children’s care, such as socially transitioning a child and using different pronouns for them.
He has also banned doctors from performing gender transition procedures on minors in the state or prescribing hormone therapy and puberty-blocking drugs to them.
In recent comments on the subject, DeSantis said: “We know what woke is. It’s a form of cultural Marxism. It’s about putting merit and achievement behind identity politics, and it’s basically a war on the truth.”
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“And as that has infected institutions, it has corrupted a lot of institutions. You’ve got to be willing to fight the woke. We’ve done it in Florida, and we proudly consider ourselves to state where woke goes to die,” he said.
DeSantis is polling in second place at 19% among potential Republican primary voters, while Trump leads the pack at 59%, per Morning Consult.