Romney’s choice of extreme conservative VP Paul Ryan delights the Tea Party

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s choice of vice president in Paul Ryan has ignited positive reaction from the Tea Party.

Many Tea Party activists had feared of a snub at the GOP convention in Tampa, Florida later this month, but appointment of Ryan is expected to boost their involvement whilst simultaneously increasing the support for Mitt Romney, especially from the right.

Several Tea Party members voiced their enthusiasm at the pick with TeaParty.net leader Todd Cefaratti stating his organization was “extremely happy”.

Speaking to Newsmax, he said: “Not only is Congressman Ryan one of the most intelligent members of Congress, he is also in touch with the grassroots…Ryan said ‘We must re-apply our founding principles.’ That is exactly what the party movement is all about.”

Tea Party Express chairman, Amy Kremer said: “I’m very excited. I think it is a bold move; the boldest thing that the party or Mitt Romney has done for this entire campaign, or for the past couple of years actually.”

“And I think to get us back on the path to prosperity, it’s going to take bold, tough decisions. Paul Ryan not only knows what needs to be done, but he is bold enough to go out there and do it, and tell the American people the cold hard facts that aren’t pretty, that nobody wants to talk about…I think that’s what we need.”

Ryan is seen as the perfect pick by many conservatives with many of them urging Mitt Romney to pick the young congressman as his VP, via opinions and editorial pieces. 

Paul Ryan has proposed several alternative fiscal plans that have gained support from the conservatives, but have horrified the Democrats. In 2011, he unveiled the “Ryan Plan”, a radical set of proposals to cut the federal budget by $6 trillion in a decade. 

Rajeeb Gurung