Alabama GOP leaders praise Romney's VP pick

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Vice presidential running mate Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis, gives the thumbs-up at a welcome home rally Sunday in Waukesha, Wis. AP Photo/Jeffrey Phelps

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August 14, 2012

Alabama GOP leaders praise Romney's VP pick

By Adam Smith adam@athensnews-courier.com The News Courier Tue Aug 14, 2012, 02:00 AM CDT

— Local and state Republican leaders reacted with optimism this week over presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s decision Saturday to name Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate.

The 42-year-old Ryan, who hails from a traditionally left-leaning state, is in his seventh term in the U.S. House. Political analysts describe the fiscal conservative as not only a strong player in the Republican Party, but also the burgeoning tea party movement.

Mitt Romney, who erroneously introduced Ryan as “the next president of the United States” while at a campaign stop in Ashland, Va., later corrected his gaffe.

“I’m known to make a mistake every once in a while,” Romney told an enthusiastic crowd. “I didn’t make a mistake with this guy.”

Ryan came to national prominence through drafting and promoting an alternative to President Barack Obama’s 2011 budget, “The Path to Prosperity: Restoring America’s Promise.” The Ryan plan was passed by the House in April by a margin of 235-193, with all Alabama’s House members, including Congressman Mo Brooks, R-5th, voting in favor.

Ryan’s plan offered sweeping changes to federal entitlement programs like Medicare, while critics argued the plan would have provided tax cuts for the nation’s wealthiest Americans. The U.S. Senate ultimately voted to kill Ryan’s bill.

Despite the defeat, Ryan’s efforts have seemingly endeared him to fiscal conservatives nationally and closer to home. Brooks said he was “ecstatic” about Romney’s decision and said Ryan would bring intellect, integrity, charisma and solutions to the ticket. He said despite Democrats’ early attacks on Ryan, the Wisconsin congressman brings no weaknesses to the ticket.

“The Democratic attacks don’t go beyond 15- and 30-second sound bites,” Brooks said. “If he has the opportunity to address the positions he has taken, the public will agree with Paul Ryan.”

The combination of Romney, the private-sector business magnate, and Ryan, the fiscal conservative firebrand, will force the Obama team to talk about the economy, Brooks said, adding the president has worked hard to divert attention from the subject.

“(Democrats) will have to focus on economic challenges and how Obama’s solutions have failed, thereby putting us in a position to offer solutions that will work,” he said.

Ronnie Coffman, president of the Limestone County Republican Executive Committee, said he believes Romney made a “great choice” with Ryan, and added it would likely galvanize the Republican base in November.

“Now, the Republicans will be excited to vote,” he said, adding that Ryan’s plan would have helped get the nation’s deficit under control. “(Romney and Ryan) will carry the South pretty much, except Florida, probably. That will be a toss-up like Ohio.”

Coffman said the true test of Republican victory this fall will be economic conditions, namely unemployment and gasoline prices. He believes if the economy continues to falter, there’s little chance Obama would be re-elected.

“I’m hoping it will be just like it was in 1980,” he said, referring to the election between incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. “All the polls showed Carter was ahead and Reagan beat him by a landslide.”

With Ryan, Coffman said, there are two pro-business candidates on the ticket, which he believes is what it will take to turn the country around economically.

“America’s like the Titanic,” he said. “It’s not going to be turned around easily; it’s going to take a while.”

Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley also expressed his enthusiasm over Romney’s “excellent” choice, which echoed Coffman’s comments regarding fiscal responsibility in federal government.

“We cannot continue to spend more money than we have,” Bentley said. “Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan will help right-size government while preserving the American dream. I look forward to working with their team and seeing them elected this November.”

In his Monday newsletter, Alabama Republican Party Chairman Bill Armistead described Ryan as “a grown-up” who understands the need for pro-growth economic policies.

“ … There will be difficult decisions to make in the coming months and years, but these issues must be addressed if we are going to keep this nation great and leave something for future generations,” Armistead said.

Efforts to obtain reaction to the Ryan announcement from local and state Democratic leaders were unsuccessful Monday.

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