≡ Menu

Paul Ryan Quotes

Speaker Ryan

Paul Ryan quotes: House speaker Paul Davis Ryan Jr.’s ideas, insights, and motivational words.

“Life is short, you better make the most of it.”

“You know, you work hard but play by the rules, you can rise.  You can do well.  That’s what we’re taught.  That’s what we believe.  That’s what we think of as America.”

“Every successful individual knows that his or her achievement depends on a community of persons working together.”

“A free economy and strong communities honor the dignity of every person, rewarding effort with justice, promoting upward mobility, and building solidarity among citizens.”

“Only by taking responsibility for oneself, to the greatest extent possible, can one ever be free, and only a free person can make responsible choices – between right and wrong, saving and spending, giving or taking.”

“If you’re going to criticize, you should propose.”

“The condition of your birth doesn’t determine the outcome of your life.  This is America.”

“Free enterprise empowers entrepreneurs who have ideas and imagination, investors who take risks, and workers who hone their skills and offer their labor.”

“We want American families to feel more confident in life.  We want the next generation to know that yes, the best days of this country are still ahead of us.”

“The moral case for individual initiative in a free economy holds that people have a God-given right to use their creativity to produce things that improve our lives.”

“Behind every small business, there’s a story worth knowing.  All the corner shops in our towns and cities, the restaurants, cleaners, gyms, hair salons, hardware stores – these didn’t come out of nowhere.”

“And if small businesspeople say they made it on their own, all they are saying is that nobody else worked seven days a week in their place.  Nobody showed up in their place to open the door at five in the morning.  Nobody did their thinking and worrying and sweating for them.”

“What matters to me is that I do what I think is right and see, I’m a numbers guy, that’s my attitude.  I know we have a debt tsunami coming, we are bankrupting this country, and I’m in a position where I can actually advance ideas to prevent that from happening.  That’s exactly what I should be doing.”

“The secret to understanding me is, I’m not trying to be anybody other than who I actually am.  People want candid, refreshing leadership.  And I’ve always tried to go with solutions.  You know, I’ve always tried to say, here’s how we get our economy growing, here’s how we get our debt under control.”

“I’m a person that can get along with people.  I like people who believe passionately in things even if they’re not the things I agree with.”

“I believe in a free society, where aspiration and effort can make the difference in every life.  Where your starting point is not your destiny and where your first chance is not your only chance.”

“If we don’t make tough decisions today our children are going to have to make much, much tougher decisions tomorrow.”

“The work ahead will be hard.  These times demand the best of us – all of us, but we can do this.  Together, we can do this.  We can get this country working again.  We can get this economy growing again.  We can make the safety net safe again.  We can do this.”

“Everyone, everyone is equal.  Everyone has a place.  No one is written off because there is worth and goodness in every life.”

“Real social progress is always a widening of the circle of concern and protection.  It’s respect and empathy overtaking blindness and indifference.  It’s understanding that by the true measure, we are all neighbors and countrymen, call to each one of us to know what is right and kind and just and to go and do likewise.”

“And to me – I was influenced by certain people and mentors.  So at a young age I became very interested in the issue of poverty and in the issue of outreach.  And so what I basically saw after doing a deep-dive into just sort of the statistics of poverty and into the economics of poverty and into the policies we have, I then wanted to learn more about it on a personal level.”

“I accept the calling of my generation to give our children the America that was given to us, with opportunity for the young and security for the old – and I know that we are ready.”

“When I was waiting tables, washing dishes, or mowing lawns for money, I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life.  I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself.”

“My dad died when I was young.  He was a good and decent man.  There are a few things he would say that have just always stuck with me.  He’d say, ‘Son, you’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.'”

“Mom was 50 when my dad died.  She got on a bus every weekday for years, and rode 40 miles each morning to Madison.  She earned a new degree and learned new skills to start her small business.  It wasn’t just a new livelihood.  It was a new life.”

“And to this day, my mom is my role model.”

“Hey, I’m a Catholic deer hunter; I am happy to be clinging to my guns and my religion.”

“Politics can be a battle of ideas, not insults.  It can be about solutions.  It can be about making a difference.  It can be about always striving to do better.  That’s what it can be and what it should be.  This is the system our founders envisioned.  It’s messy.  It’s complicated.  It’s infuriating at times.  And it’s a beautiful thing too.”

“That’s what we do in this country.  That’s the American dream.  That’s freedom, and I’ll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners.”

“That’s what’s going to matter at the end of the day.  Did we improve people’s lives?  Did we solve the problems that the American people need solved?  Are we addressing the concerns of people who are tired of being tired?”

“More importantly, I don’t think anybody’s particular race in Congress is gonna hinge on whether or not Paul Ryan’s speaker of their House or not.  It’s gonna be about ideas.  It’s gonna be about visions.  It’s gonna be about choices.”

“So the point being, I have accomplished most of what I came here to do.”

Next, Newt Gingrich quotes.  Then, Dick Cheney quotes.  Cuz why not?

Cory Johnson: your momma’s neighbor’s side chick’s last Uber Eats delivery guy’s third-favorite blogger. Here’s how he makes millions of dollars blogging without being bothered.