Romney taps U.S. congressman Paul Ryan as presidential running mate
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Yesterday, in front of the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, Virginia, presumptive Republican presidential nominee, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney selected Congressman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his running mate.
Image: Tony Atler.
After an introduction from Virginia governor Bob McDonnell, who himself had been considered a potential running mate, Romney officially made the announcement. He referred to Ryan as "an intellectual leader of the Republican Party" and initially labeled Ryan as the "next president of the United States" before correcting himself after Ryan reached the podium.
Ryan, 42, has represented Wisconsin's 1st congressional district since 1999 and serves as chairman of the House Budget Committee. Last year, he authored the budget proposal, The Path to Prosperity, which promotes reductions in federal spending of $6.2 trillion from the Obama plan through a repeal of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, a reformation of Medicare, and capping of federal discretionary spending.
During his acceptance speech, Ryan said that his "record of getting things done in Congress will be a very helpful complement to Governor Romney's executive and private sector success outside of Washington." He added that the campaign "won't duck the tough issues—we will lead" and went after the record of President Barack Obama, arguing that his policies "didn't make things better."
On the announcement, senior Obama staffers explained that Ryan's selection "makes clear that Romney would be a rubber stamp for the congressional GOP" and that the choice provides the Obama campaign with "clear advantages".
According to Reuters, Romney made the decision on August 1 after returning from his international trip. Four days later, Ryan was secretly flown to Brookline, Massachusetts to meet Romney at the home of Beth Myers, who was running the vice presidential search. Ryan was supposed to be announced on Friday in New Hampshire, but he had to return to Wisconsin to attend a memorial for victims of the 2012 Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting.
Thereafter, the campaign decided to make the announcement in Virginia, and so Ryan was once again secretly flown, this time to Elizabeth City, North Carolina near Norfolk, where he met with Romney and prepared his acceptance speech.
NBC News first announced the decision, and the Romney campaign announced the news to supporters through a phone application at seven a.m., a couple of hours before the official announcement.
Sources
- Sara Murray, Colleen McCain Nelson, Patrick O'Connor. "Romney Picks Ryan as Vice-Presidential Running Mate" — The Wall Street Journal, August 12, 2012
- Steve Holland (Reuters). "Ryan's path to Romney's No. 2 was steeped in secrecy" — Chicago Tribune, August 11, 2012
- Anna Palmer. "Paul Ryan VP pick expected to energize conservative donors" — Politico, August 11, 2012
- Dan Amira. "Mitt Romney Introduced Paul Ryan in Front of a Battleship for Some Reason" — New York (magazine), August 11, 2012
- Dylan Byers. "NBC News touts Paul Ryan VP break" — Politico, August 11, 2012
- Paul Ryan. "Transcript: Ryan Makes First Remarks As VP Choice" — NPR, August 11, 2012
- David Lawder. "UPDATE 4-Republican budget draws election contrast with Obama" — Reuters, March 20, 2012
