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This past Saturday presidential hopeful Mitt Romney introduced his vice presidential running mate Paul Ryan. Ryan, a seven-term Wisconsin congressman, was embraced by a crowd of 3,000 amidst the fitting background of the USS Wisconsin in Norfolk, Va.
Faculty and students at UVa have reacted to Romney’s VP nomination as the count down to November’s election continues to unfold. Department of Politics member, John York, praised Romney’s decision, “Ryan’s addition to the ticket will certainly energize the Republican base. He is regarded by conservatives as being a serious and careful study of the budget and a sober analyst of the nation’s financial future.”
Rory Stolzenburg, a rising 3rd year and 1st vice chairman of the College Republican Federation of Virginia, expressed similar satisfaction in Romney’s decision, “Ryan, more than anyone else in Congress, understands the dire fiscal straits this country is headed towards and has already demonstrated the boldness necessary to reverse course.”
However the Republican duo still face an uphill battle as election day looms, “The key for Ryan and Romney will be convincing the country that their economic plans, seen as extreme by some, are necessitated by the grave state of an economy that may realize even sharper declines in the years to come,” stated York.
University Democrats president and rising 4th year, James Schwab pointed out flaws in Romney’s VP decision, “ Mitt Romney’s choice of Paul Ryan as his running mate demonstrates his continued alliance with the interests of millionaires and billionaires in America, rather than recognizing the needs of America’s seniors, middle class, and students.” Furthermore, “Paul Ryan has not been a bipartisan leader in Congress, but a conservative ideologue who has proposed only two bills that have passed into law. The choice of Paul Ryan will only invigorate supporters of President Obama,” stated Schwab.
Romney and Ryan will continue their campaign to the White House as Ryan takes Iowa and Romney travels to Florida. While the two separately embark on the long stretch before November, the push for the Presidential seat still looms, “for them [Romney and Ryan],” York remarked, “it will be key to clarify in understandable terms why the sputtering economy should not be seen as an uneven recovery but a period of relative calm before an even more fateful storm.”
