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Paul Ryan Appeals to Montrose for Last-Minute Votes

by KREX News Room
by Cori Coffin

Story Created: Nov 2, 2012 at 7:08 PM MDT

Story Updated: Nov 3, 2012 at 6:22 AM MDT

MONTROSE, Colo.- With just four days left in the race, Wisconsin congressman and vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan spoke in Montrose Friday.

It's the second stop he has made on the Western Slope in two weeks. The first visit was in Grand Junction on Oct. 22.

"Four more days and we can get this on the right track," yelled Ryan over a chanting crowd.

With Election Day drawing near, Ryan did his best to sway voters inside a hangar at the Black Canyon Jet Center.

"Colorado, are you going to help us get this right?" asked Ryan through the waiving flags.

Not only is Colorado a battleground area, so is Mesa County.

"[I want to know] what his economic plan is, and what he is going to do to get our economy going again," explained local voter Brad Hughes.

"The outcome is going to impact [my son] a lot more than it's going to impact people my age," explained voter Michael Thorpe, who brought his 17-year-old son.

"We don't want to lose health care; we want to keep things going," added voter Justine Kelley.

Mesa County has 45,000 registered Republican voters and 22,000 registered Democratic voters, but 35,000 unaffiliated voters are up for grabs.

"If borrowing, spending, money printing, regulating and taxing worked, we would have known by now," said Ryan when talking about stimulating the economy.

He capitalized on the newest unemployment statistics that came out on Friday. The national rate rose slightly to 7.9 percent in October from 7.8 percent in September.

"The unemployment rate is higher than the day that President Obama came into office," added Ryan.

Rural areas feel that national number is not reflective of what they are going through.

"If you look at the true unemployment in my area you're in around the 20 percent range," said Rep. Don Coram.

"Things are just not moving quick enough, and the government can't make that happen; it's private investment and private industry that makes it go forward," said Rep. Ray Scott.

"People are sitting on the sidelines not hiring anyone, and there's no demand until we get a final settling on this election," added John Justman, a Republican candidate for Mesa County Commissioner, District 1.

Ryan played to the crowd and balanced his sharp tone with some humor about the area's cattle industry.

"I can smell success right now," he said laughing.

This candid moment revealed to voters a side of the Romney-Ryan ticket they say can work across partisan lines.

"It's not going to be easy, but you've got Governor Romney, who worked in a state where 87 percent of his legislature were Democrats," explained Sen. Steve King.

About 1,200 people attended Friday's event; Ryan flew next to Iowa.

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shipdog7 said on Saturday, Nov 3 at 5:14 AM

Paul Ryan: "I can smell success right now." And it ain't pretty. That is roadkill. The GOP carcass!

Anonymous said on Sunday, Nov 4 at 3:13 AM

God help us all if Obama gets re-elected.

One Reason said on Sunday, Nov 4 at 5:55 PM

One reason that I will never vote democrat is the nastiness consistently displayed by party members. Disagreement is fine, but nasty comments and character assassination are never OK. Politics should never become your religion.

Disgusted said on Sunday, Nov 4 at 10:46 PM

Just one reason? I can think of at least a dozen! #1. The Benghazi cover up. #2. The passing of Obummercare on Christmas Eve, 2009. #3. The "Fast and Furious" gun running scandal. #4. The executive pardon of the A.G. from having to answer for the "Fast and Furious" scandal. #5. "You didn't build that!" #6. Cap and Trade. #7. The war against coal and fracking as a result of Cap and Trade. #8. Saddling our children and grandchildren with 16 Trillion dollars of debt. #9. The great America apology tour. #10. Banning off shore drilling after the Supreme Court told them to allow it. #11. Toilets that don't properly flush #12. Light bulbs that fill our landfills full of mercury. #13 "Too big to fail."

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