Opinion: GOP has good reason to worry about Paul Ryan on presidential ticket
By Juan Williams - 08/20/12 05:00 AM ET
No one wants to say it out loud. But the political professionals are saying quietly that Mitt Romney conceded the presidential race by putting Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on his ticket.
The muzzle is on for good reason.
GOP strategist Mark McKinnon was hammered when he said out loud Romney’s pick of Ryan means the GOP ticket will “probably lose – Maybe big.”
.....
Ryan simply comes with too much political baggage for a successful national presidential campaign.
He does not help Romney to win Ohio, Florida or Virginia. His focus on budget cutting is out of step with the voters’ focus on creating jobs.
All of this is hurting Romney’s effort to win core constituencies, particularly senior citizens – but also moderate women and the large middle of the American electorate, independents.
The best that can be said about the pick is that Ryan is extremely popular with the activist right-wing base.
True believers who doubted Romney as a Massachusetts moderate are thrilled by Ryan’s presence on the ticket.
What those conservatives do not seem to fully appreciate is that there is a whole other world outside of the House GOP caucus, the talk radio universe and the conservative blogosphere.
And in that wider world – where the election will be decided – Ryan does not help Romney win a single vote that he did not already have locked up.
That is why the GOP ticket did not get a bounce from the Ryan announcement.
more:
http://thehill.com/opinion/columnists/juan-williams/244301-opinion-gop-has-good-reason-to-worry-about-paul-ryan-on-presidential-ticket
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