Politics

Paul Ryan Quotes ‘Braveheart,’ Says It’s Time To ‘Unite The Clans’

(REUTERS/Gary Cameron)

Alexa Santry Contributor
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WASHINGTON — House Speaker [crscore]Paul Ryan[/crscore] called for divided Republican “clans” to unite around a conservative agenda in a speech at the Heritage Foundation’s Conservative Policy Summit Wednesday.

“To quote William Wallace in ‘Braveheart,’ we have to unite the clans,” Ryan said.

The speaker called for implementing a “Reagan conservative” agenda and said that “the stakes are even higher” than they were during Reagan’s day.

“We are one presidency from losing control of the situation,” he said. “We need a clarifying election.”

Ryan said the Republican Party of 2016 will be a “party of ideas,” and that its agenda will focus on five key issues: national security, jobs and economic growth, health care, poverty and a restoration of the Constitution.

Ryan said he worries about the American dream disappearing and that this may be the first generation in history to leave the next generation worse off than the current one.

Ryan explained that for many Americans, the idea that the condition of one’s birth does not determine the outcome of their life is no longer true.

“A lot of people are hurting in America right now,” he said.

To restore the American dream, Ryan said he hopes to channel Reagan’s vision.

He suggested that the only way to “conserve our country’s promise” is if the party unites around its “core principles” and applies them to current problems.

Speaking on the restoration of the Constitution, Ryan noted that President Barack Obama’s overreach has “damaged the people’s trust” in the Constitution and government.

“The left is intellectually exhausted and their ideas have utterly failed,” he said.