And Ryan is viewed as someone principally focused on fiscal and budget issues, when in fact, he remains an aggressive culture warrior.

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) argued in a speech to activists Thursday night that robust opposition to abortion rights is crucial to the GOP’s political chances.

Ryan’s remarks to the Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List gala were his most extended on abortion since the 2012 election cycle, when several GOP candidates lost following controversial remarks on abortion and rape.

Ryan, the former GOP vice presidential nominee, acknowledged that a “careless remark or an ugly sign” can damage the cause against abortion rights “in an instant.” But he challenged the view that Republicans should soften their approach in order to attract centrist or female voters, who favored President Obama by more than 10 points in November.

“Our critics say we should abandon our pro-life beliefs. But that would only demoralize our voters,” Ryan told the right-wing organization. “It’s an odd strategy, I think: the cynical ploy followed by the thumping defeat.” The congressman added, “We don’t want a country where abortion is simply outlawed. We want a country where it isn’t even considered.”

No one should be surprised by this. Ryan’s social-issues agenda is often overlooked, but it’s as right-wing as nearly any member of Congress.

As we talked about several months ago, Ryan has, in recent years, fought against contraception access; he worked with Todd Akin to redefine rape; he said the government should force women impregnated by rape or incest to carry their pregnancies to term; he co-sponsored a “Personhood” measure that would ban in-vitro fertilization and some forms of birth control; and he twice voted for a constitutional amendment to prevent marriage equality.

More: Ryan: GOP Must Not ‘Abandon’ Far-Right Line on Reproductive Rights - the Maddow Blog