Subject: RE: Video Request: Paul Ryan Town Hall
From: "Crystal, Andy" <[email-masked]>
To: Comm_D <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2016 13:26:08 -0700

-          Ryan: Why support Republicans?

o   The America that you want is the America that we want. Open, diverse, dynamic. Where the condition of your birth does not determine the outcome of your life.

-          Ryan: How do we open opportunity for everyone in this country? And what is the role in government in doing this?

o   My Democratic friends are good people who love this country. But there are real disagreements between us.

o   Many policies in Washington are pushing young Americans out of the economy.

o   The point in having rules is to open up society, not to shut it off. Give the people information they need so they can take action.

o   All for helping people pay for health insurance but the ACA outlaws millions of plans that people liked and now millions are struggling to pay for their premiums.

o   Student debt is now bigger than credit card debt. We should break up the college cartel and give students more options.

o   Republicans are working on a policy agenda to address these challenges. We owe the country an alternative because we do not like the direction the country is heading in.

o   At the DNC in 2012 they showed a video that said "government is the thing we all belong to." They got it backwards. Should be "government is the only thing that belongs to all of us."

-          S.E. Cupp Question: Young voters have similar complaints. Over the years, Dems have pandered to young voters and Republicans have ignored them altogether. Why should young millennials trust you to do anything different?

o   Need to find out who is a conviction person and who is not. Want someone who actually means what they say.

o   Are candidates for office all about fluff or are they actually going to fight for ideas when elected? You will develop a pretty good BS meter.

-          Student Question: Clinton and Sanders have repeatedly discussed college affordability with specific proposals. Not sure we have heard the same level of detail and commitment from Republicans. What are Rs going to do to address this problem?

o   Would be wary of empty promises that aren't paid for.

o   We have a third party payment system where we are insulating the consumer from the price.

o   When the government pumps money into the system, the college ends up increasing the price and sticking students with debt.

o   Need more transparency. Am I getting value for my education and ultimately getting the jobs I want? Have a competition based on choice, quality, price, and outcome. We need to do this in healthcare too.

o   Should not have nationalized the student loan industry in 2010 and we are now on the hook as taxpayers for $1 trillion in debt. Need more competition in student lending, among colleges.

-          Student Question: recently Candice Miller had all state flags removed from the Capitol Tunnel due to some confederate flag symbols. Can you comment on this renewed Northern Republican Reconstruction  and the ostracization of southern voters by the GOP?

o   I supported this and thought it was the right thing to do.

o   Here is the issue: I think Nikki Haley did the right thing. The confederate flag does more to divide than to unify this country. As a state's rights person, it is up to the state's to decide these things. But in the Capitol we are going to have symbols that unify people, not divide.

-          Student Question: What prompted you to reconsider your previous statements as poor people as takers?

o   I was just wrong. I never meant to offend. I believe in limited government and upward mobility and opportunity. But there are people that get knocked down in life and need help, and government has an important role to play in that. Lumping everyone in the takers category is wrong and hurtful.

-          Student Question: Been very dismayed by this year's election. He will never support Trump. Ted Cruz does very little to appeal to him as a young voter. What advice or reasons for optimism could you offer to young Republicans who find it very difficult to support the two leading candidates for the nomination?

o   Unfortunately, this is not the first time I have had this question.

o   Look at the ideas and look at the platform that is being advanced. Look at the House Agenda Project we are trying to advance. Five things in the agenda: look at the policy, not the person. Grow the economy, patient centered healthcare, fix entitlement programs - if we don't, this young generation will receive a mountain of debt, fight poverty, improve our national security, restore the constitution and Article I. The laws that we live under should be written by our elected representatives. Not just Obama's fault but he has taken it to another level.

-          Student Question: We have seen some of your ideas put to the test in the states but Kansas Republicans are not seeing the economy grow and Arizona teachers are leaving the state. How can I vote for these policies you present if they aren't working in the states?

o   He won't get into state specifics.

o   We are taxing our small businesses at a much higher rate than overseas. Command and control economies do not work.

o   Because we believe in limited government, doesn't mean we believe in no government.

-          Student Question: Many young people worry about climate change, yet many Americans also worry about the negative economic consequences from climate change related policies. How do your reconcile that?

o   Do we have to be forced into a trade off between the two? I don't think so.

o   The old way of burning coal was dirty but now we have clean coal technologies. While we do that, let's invest in basic scientific research.

o   Cap and trade harms our economy and makes our manufacturers so much less competitive and our jobs go overseas.

o   Natural gas is an incredible bridge fuel.

-          Twitter Question: the 2013 GOP autopsy demanded outreach to Latino voters. Why did you promise not to work on immigration for this Congress?

o   Because the President poisoned the well here.

o   We asked the President to not pass illegal executive amnesty and we wanted him to work with us. But he decided not to and threw us into a court battle.

o   This will have to wait until the next President because Obama went around congress and tried to unilaterally write laws.

-          Mo Question: There are a lot of people with families that are worried about being deported. Speak to those people.

o   Need to solve the root cause of the problem. Our system is broken. We need a solution for the undocumented that does not involve mass deportations.

o   The fears that families will be broken up will be solved if we fix the root cause of these problems.

-          Student Question: Republicans have talked about wanting to repeal the ACA and replace it. ACA has eliminated pre-existing conditions. If you repeal the ACA, will the new Republican policy continue this?

o   The solution that is in this law did not work because it is making other people needlessly pay for health insurance that is far too expensive for them and paying for products that they do not need or want.

o   The smarter way is that we as a society make a decision at the government level that we will subsidize people with preexisting conditions. For under 65 population, less than 10% have preexisting conditions. We should fund risk pools at the state level to subsidize their coverage so they can afford it.

o   We are taking the insurance industry and turning it into a government corporation. We are taking away competition and choice.

-          S.E. Cupp: Why should tax reform matter to this generation?

o   One of the worst manifestations of the federal government and political influence is the tax code.

o   Right now the code is full of different provisions that are put there by the well connected and interest groups.

-          Student Question: what do you see back home on the ground in Wisconsin rather than here in DC that you believe is the root cause of our political divisions and what can young people do to fix the problem?

o   One of the sources of the problem is what is referred to as identity politics. It is a successful political strategy to pray on a person's identity and speak to them in a way that divides them with other people.

o   Leaders need to fix this but we haven't had this kind of leadership lately. Need leaders that say here are my principles, here are my solutions, and let's be aspirational and not divisive.

-          Student Question: Why is the national debt no longer a big topic in the election?

o   This is your generations big fight. If we don't get this under control, this generation is going to have a lower quality of life.

o   Need to reform entitlement programs, mandatory spending.

o   We need to get on this now so we don't have to make real time cuts in the future that would significantly hurt people.

o   Progressives are not interested in the kind of budget solutions you have to have to fix this problem.

From: Crystal, Andy
Sent: Wednesday, April 27, 2016 1:31 PM
To: Comm_D
Subject: Video Request: Paul Ryan Town Hall

Should start around 2pm. Will be here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvD-sSUUiXw

Thanks!