With Ryan, More Clout for Tea Party
Once considered a fringe movement, Romney’s choice of running mate makes clear it is now at the heart of the party.
| Posted Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, at 3:23 PM
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
When Mitt Romney announced Paul Ryan as his running mate Saturday, Tea Party activists suddenly found themselves in the position of cheering the man they had campaigned against throughout much of the primary season. That’s not to say they suddenly like Romney, but only a few days ago many were only expecting to be snubbed at the GOP convention later this month, points out the Christian Science Monitor.
“The Ryan pick gives the Tea Party a seat at the table,” an activist from South Carolina explained.
Many saw the selection as a clear sign of how the fiscally conservative movement’s influence on the Republican Party platform as a whole continues to grow, notes Reuters. As the New York Times points out, Tea Party lawmakers “are now indisputably at the core of the modern Republican Party.” And with Ryan on the presidential ticket, the movement that began as a way of protesting President Obama’s health care reform now has a figure that might be able to unite the often-disparate group.
