WESTLAKE, Ohio – Governor Mitt Romney’s running mate was back in Northeast Ohio on Tuesday for a rally at the Westlake Recreation Center where Congressman Paul Ryan addressed a crowd of approximately 2,200 people.
“John Kasich, of all people, taught me this lesson, we have got to stop spending money we don’t have, we gotta cut spending,” said Congressman Ryan. “[We] gotta cut spending, get this deficit under control and we need to champion small businesses.”
During a one-on-one interview with FOX 8’s Mark Zinni, the 42-year-old congressman from Wisconsin said he was in Ohio to keep voters and sway others back to his party.
“Absolutely, we’re focusing on every voter! What voters are asking us is, ‘where are the jobs?’ That’s what we’re lacking in this country. We want to maintain the good jobs we have and create jobs that haven’t been created.”
More than one-third of the registered voters in Westlake are non-partisan and Rocky River and Bay Village went for President Obama last time.
“I believed in what he said, he was going to change the country and bring it back on track and he did not do that,” said Linda Diedrich from Avon Lake.
“We need to prevent a debt crisis from happening. The President– for four years–has kicked the can down the road and that means were closer to a European kind of debt crisis, we need to avoid that,” said Rep. Ryan. “This is gonna be a big campaign about big ideas because America has a very clear contrast in the choice of two futures we have to make.”
Ella Johnson from Bay Village likes the fiscal and economic messages of the republican campaign.
“We’re all there, we’re on board, we understand. If my budget at home doesn’t work, we can’t keep spending money, so the same with our country.”
The Romney campaign is asking voters if they’re better off now than four-years ago. In Ohio, the auto industry has improved, businesses are reinvesting and unemployment is down. Congressman Ryan gives all the credit to Ohio Governor John Kasich.
“Look, I really think that the leadership you’ve had in the State of Ohio is impressive, imagine how many more jobs we could keep and create if we fix the mess in Washington,” said Ryan.
When the president was elected in November 2008, Ohio’s unemployment rate was 7.3 percent. By January 2009, when he took the oath of office, Ohio’s unemployment rate had risen to 8.8 percent. Currently, it stands at 7.2 percent in July, unchanged from June, according to data released by the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.
“I’m a friend of John Kasich’s,” said Congressman Ryan, “I think John Kasich is a tremendous leader. He’s a man who makes executive decisions, who leads and you have benefited in Ohio because of his leadership. Imagine how many more jobs we can create – how much more prosperity – if we clean up the mess in Washington.”
From Ohio, Ryan headed to Iowa for an afternoon rally with supporters. The campaigning will continue in Ohio on Wednesday, when Ann Romney holds a Women for Mitt rally at the Winebrenner Auditorium in Findlay.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
