According to The New York Times, Mitt Romney has chosen Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan to be his vice presidential candidate. The campaign has said they will officially announce this Saturday August 11 in Norfolk, Virginia, which will be the beginning of a four-day tour through swing states.
The announcement was surprisingly enough discovered through the campaign's mobile app just after 7am. The app said "Mitt's choice for VP is Paul Ryan. Spread the word about America's Comeback Team #RomneyRyan2012." Many began putting the pieces together last night when it was announced that Romney would use his upcoming bus tour to announce his vice presidential candidate, because it was released that Rep. Ryan was also going to Virginia, and the website RomneyRyan.com was redirecting visitors to the original campaign site.
This decision surprised many, not because Paul Ryan is not a strong conservative, but because the fiscal conservatism Paul Ryan has demonstrated through his budget proposals has the possibility of alienating the independent and undecided voters that Mitt Romney could have appealed to.
The public perception about Romney, whether it's because he was perceived as a 'flip-flopper' or because he was a republican governor of a fairly progressive state, is that he is not really as conservative as his campaign rhetoric would suggest. In contrast, there are very few people who actively follow politics who have any difficultly believing that Paul Ryan is just as conservative as he appears to be.
The decision to pick Paul Ryan has a massive risk, because of his desire to partially privatize social security and shred the rest of the social safety net, but it could also have a massive reward by re-energizing the conservative base, and potentially converting a few libertarians who planned on voting for Gary Johnson.
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Comments: 13
Unfortunately, I think Ryan will help the ticket.
I was surprised that he accepted the post. I had thought that his gravitas, in the House, would keep him there as one of the strongest, if not the strongest, conservative voices with vision and conviction.
Now, you and I may disagree with Ryan's voice and his vision.
But by choosing Ryan (and by Ryan accepting), it not only convinces the Conservative base that Romney is somewhat more than a quasi-Conservative (not that he actually is a garden-variety Conservative).
But it will also energize the Republican voting bloc in general--who will now see Romney as less of an Etch-a-Sketch politician.
This choice will move the Romney campaign in the direction of clinching "the get out to vote" strategy that Karl Rove used to get Bush II reelected.
I know that you likely believe that Romney still has an uphill battle--but if the unemployment rate is high in October, it could be a long first Tuesday in November.
Interesting that your comment was posted at 9:11. [Not that I'm a supernaturalist, or anything.]
Overall Romney choosing a fiscal conservative will help his run because folks are tired of the failing economical policies of both bush and Obama. We are tired of choosing between food to eat and wearing shoes without holes in them. Obama has no new idea's and is offering more of the same failed policies. We need someone to promote the tough choices and fresh idea's that will turn the economy around. Enter Paul Ryan. Over all a good choice.