Former Gov. Mitt Romney, Rep. Paul Ryan
Announcement of Vice Presidential Pick
Nauticus
Museum
Norfolk,
VA
Saturday,
August
11, 2012
[PREPARED REMARKS]
Mitt Romney: Ladies and
gentlemen:
It’s
great to be back in Virginia and here in Norfolk. Your city's beauty is
only matched by its proud heritage as a defender of freedom. Today we
take another step forward in helping restore the promise of America. As
we move forward in this campaign and on to help lead the nation to
better days, it is an honor to announce my running mate and the next
Vice President of the United States: Paul Ryan.
Paul Ryan is a leader.
His
leadership begins with character and values. And Paul is a man of
tremendous character, shaped in large part by his early life.
Paul’s
father died when he was in high school. That forced him to grow up
earlier than any young man should. But Paul did, with the help of his
devoted mother, his brothers and sister, and a supportive community.
And as he did, he internalized the virtues and hard-working ethic of
the Midwest.
Paul
Ryan works in Washington – but his beliefs remain firmly rooted in
Janesville, Wisconsin. He is a person of great steadiness, whose
integrity is unquestioned and whose word is good.
Paul’s upbringing is obvious in how he has conducted himself throughout
his life, including his leadership in Washington.
In
a city that is far too often characterized by pettiness and personal
attacks, Paul Ryan is a shining exception. He does not demonize his
opponents. He understands that honorable people can have honest
differences. And he appeals to the better angels of our nature. There
are a lot of people in the other party who might disagree with Paul
Ryan; I don’t know of anyone who doesn’t respect his character and
judgment.
Paul
is in public life for all the right reasons – not to advance his
personal ambitions but to advance the ideals of freedom and justice;
and to increase opportunity and prosperity to people of every class and
faith, every age and ethnic background. A faithful Catholic, Paul
believes in the worth and dignity of every human life.
With
energy and vision, Paul Ryan has become an intellectual leader of the
Republican Party. He understands the fiscal challenges facing America:
our exploding deficits and crushing debt – and the fiscal catastrophe
that awaits us if we don’t change course.
Paul
Ryan combines a profound sense of responsibility for what we owe the
next generation with an unbounded optimism in America’s future and an
understanding of all the wonderful things the American people can do.
Paul
also combines firm principles with a practical concern for getting
things done. He has never been content to simply curse the darkness; he
would rather light candles. And throughout his legislative career he’s
shown the ability to work with members of both parties to find common
ground on some of the hardest issues confronting the American people.
Paul
and I are beginning on a journey that will take us to every corner of
America. We are offering a positive, governing agenda that will lead to
economic growth, to widespread and shared prosperity, and that will
improve the lives of our fellow citizens. Our Plan to Strengthen The
Middle Class will get America back to work and get our country back on
track.
We
offer solutions that are bold, specific, and achievable. We offer our
commitment to help create 12 million new jobs and to bring better take
home pay to middle class families.
To
strengthen the middle class, we will provide our workers and our
children with the skills to succeed. We’ll cut the deficit, have trade
that works for America, and champion small business. And finally,
we
will unleash our energy resources to achieve North American energy
independence.
We
will help care for those who cannot care for themselves, and we will
return work to welfare. As poverty has risen to historic and tragic
levels, with nearly one out of six Americans now having fallen into
poverty, we will act to bring these families into the middle class.
Unlike the current president who has cut Medicare funding by $700
billion, we will preserve and protect Medicare and Social Security.
Under the current president, healthcare has only become more
expensive. We will reform healthcare so that more Americans have
access to affordable healthcare, and we will get that started by
repealing and replacing Obamacare.
And
at a time when the President's campaign is taking American politics to
new lows, we are going to do things differently. We are going to talk
about aspirations and American ideals; about bringing people together
to solve the urgent problems facing our nation. And when that message
wins in America, it will be a victory for every American.
Today
is a good day for America. And there are better days ahead. Join me in
welcoming the next Vice President of the United States - Paul Ryan.
Rep.
Paul Ryan: Thank you Governor Romney, Ann. I am
deeply honored and excited to join you as your running mate.
Mitt
Romney is a leader with the skills, the background and the character
that our country needs at a crucial time in its history. Following four
years of failed leadership, the hopes of our country, which have
inspired the world, are growing dim; and they need someone to revive
them. Governor Romney is the man for this moment; and he and I share
one commitment: we will restore the dreams and greatness of this
country.
I want you to meet my family. My wife Janna, our daughter
Liza, and our sons, Charlie and Sam.
I am surrounded by the people I love, and I have been asked by Governor
Romney to serve the country I love.
Janesville, Wisconsin is where I was born and raised, and I never
really left it. It’s our home now.
For
the last 14 years, I have proudly represented Wisconsin in
Congress. There, I have focused on solving the problems that
confront
our country, and turning ideas into action; and action into
solutions.
I
am committed, in heart and mind, to putting that experience to work in
a Romney Administration. This is a crucial moment in the life of our
nation; and it is absolutely vital that we select the right man to lead
America back to prosperity and greatness.
That man is standing next to me. His name is Mitt Romney. And he will
be the next president of the United States
My
dad died when I was young. He was a good and decent man. I still
remember a couple of things he would say that have really stuck with
me. "Son you are either part of the problem or part of the
solution."
Regrettably, President Obama has become part of the problem,...and Mitt
Romney is the solution.
The
other thing my dad would say is that every generation of Americans
leaves their children better off. That's the American legacy.
Sadly,
for the first time in our history, we are on a path which will undo
that legacy. That is why we need new leadership to become part of the
solution – new leadership to restore prosperity, economic growth, and
jobs.
It is our duty to save the American Dream for our children, and theirs.
And
I believe there is no person in America who is better prepared –
because of his experience; because of the principles he holds; and
because of his achievements and excellence in so many different arenas
– to lead America at this point in its history.
Let
me say a word about the man Mitt Romney will replace. No one disputes
President Obama inherited a difficult situation. And, in his
first 2
years, with his party in complete control of Washington, he passed
nearly every item on his agenda. But that didn’t make things
better.
In fact, we find ourselves in a nation facing debt, doubt and despair.
- This
is
the
worst economic recovery in 70 years. Unemployment has been above
8 percent for more than three years, the longest run since the Great
Depression. Families are hurting.
- We
have
the largest deficits and the biggest federal government since
WWII.
- Nearly
1
out of 6 Americans are in poverty--the worst rate in a
generation. Moms and dads are struggling to make ends meet.
- Household
incomes
have dropped by more than $4,000 over the past four years.
Whatever the explanations, whatever the excuses, this is a record of
failure.
President
Obama, and too many like him in Washington, have refused to make
difficult decisions because they are more worried about their next
election than they are about the next generation. We might have
been
able to get away with that before, but not now. We’re in a different,
and dangerous, moment. We're running out of time -- and we can't afford
4 more years of this.
Politicians
from both parties have made empty promises which will soon become
broken promises--with painful consequences--if we fail to act now.
I
represent a part of America that includes inner cities, rural areas,
suburbs and factory towns. Over the years I have seen and
heard from a
lot from families, from those running small businesses, and from people
who are in need. But what I have heard lately troubles me
the
most. There is something different in their voice and in
their words.
What I hear from them are diminished dreams, lowered expectations,
uncertain futures.
I hear some people say that this is just "the new normal." High
unemployment, declining incomes and crushing debt is not
a new normal. It's the result of misguided policies. And
next
January, our economy will begin a comeback with the Romney Plan for a
Stronger Middle Class that will lead to more jobs and more take home
pay for working Americans.
America
is on the wrong track; but Mitt Romney and I will take the right steps,
in the right time, to get us back on the right track!
I
believe my record of getting things done in Congress will be a very
helpful complement to Governor Romney’s executive and private sector
success outside Washington. I have worked closely with Republicans as
well as Democrats to advance an agenda of economic growth, fiscal
discipline, and job creation.
I’m
proud to stand with a man who understands what it takes to foster job
creation in our economy, someone who knows from experience, that if you
have a small business—you did build that.
At
Bain Capital, he launched new businesses and he turned around failing
ones – companies like Staples, Bright Horizons and Sports Authority,
just to name a few. Mitt Romney created jobs and showed he knows how a
free economy works.
At the Olympics, he took a failing enterprise and made it the pride of
our entire nation.
As
governor of Massachusetts, he worked with Democrats and Republicans to
balance budgets with no tax increases, lower unemployment, increase
income and improve people’s lives.
In all of these things, Mitt Romney has shown himself to be a man of
achievement, excellence and integrity.
Janna and I tell Liza, Charlie and Sam that America is a place where,
if you work hard and play by the rules, you can get ahead.
We
Americans look at one another's success with pride, not resentment,
because we know, as more Americans work hard, take risks, and succeed,
more people will prosper, our communities will benefit, and individual
lives will be improved and uplifted.
But
America is more than just a place...it's an idea. It's the
only
country founded on an idea. Our rights come from nature and
God, not
government. We promise equal opportunity, not equal outcomes.
This
idea is founded on the principles of liberty, freedom, free enterprise,
self-determination and government by consent of the
governed.
This idea is under assault. So, we have a critical decision to
make as a nation.
We are on an unsustainable path that is robbing America of our freedom
and security. It doesn't have to be this way.
The commitment Mitt Romney and I make to you is this:
We won't duck the tough issues...we will lead!
We won't blame others...we will take responsibility!
We won't replace our founding principles...we will reapply them!
We will honor you, our fellow citizens, by giving you the right and
opportunity to make the choice:
- What
kind
of country do we want to have?
- What
kind
of people do we want to be?
We
can turn this thing around. Real solutions can be
delivered. But, it
will take leadership. And the courage to tell you the truth.
Mitt
Romney is this kind of leader. I'm excited for what lies ahead
and I'm
thrilled to be a part of America's Comeback Team. And together, we will
unite America and get this done.
Thank you.
###
FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
|
CONTACT: Romney Press Office
|
August 11, 2012
|
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MITT ROMNEY & PAUL RYAN: AMERICA’S
COMEBACK TEAM
Boston, MA – Mitt
Romney today announced Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan as his Vice
Presidential running mate. Below is Congressman Ryan’s biography:
U.S.
Rep. Paul Ryan is in his seventh term in Congress representing
Wisconsin’s First Congressional District. He is Chairman of the
House
Budget Committee, where he has worked tirelessly leading the effort to
reign in federal spending and increase accountability to taxpayers. He
also serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, where he has focused
on simplifying the tax code and making health care more affordable and
accessible.
In
January 2010, Ryan gained attention nationwide after unveiling his
“Roadmap for America’s Future,” a proposal to eliminate the federal
deficit, reform the tax code, and preserve entitlements for future
generations.
Representative
Ryan was born in Janesville, Wisconsin on January 29, 1970. A
fifth-generation Wisconsin native, Ryan was the youngest of four
children born to Paul Ryan Sr., who worked as an attorney, and Betty, a
stay-at-home mom.
In
April 2000, Ryan proposed to Janna Little, a native Oklahoman, at one
of his favorite fishing spots, Big St. Germain Lake in Wisconsin. Later
that year, the two were married in Oklahoma City.
The
Ryans reside in Janesville with their three children, Liza, Charlie and
Sam. The family are parishioners at St. John Vianney Catholic Church.
Upon
entering Congress in January of 1999, Ryan was the youngest member of
the freshmen class at the age of 28. Prior to running for Congress,
Ryan served as an aide to Republican Senators Robert Kasten Jr. and Sam
Brownback, former U.S. Rep. and Vice Presidential Candidate Jack Kemp,
and as a speechwriter for Education Secretary William Bennett.
Ryan
is a graduate of Joseph A. Craig High School in Janesville and earned
degrees in economics and political science from Miami University in
Ohio. He is an avid outdoorsman and is a member is of his local
archery association, the Janesville Bowmen.
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