In ex-GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan‘s first interview since losing to President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, Ryan made some dubious claims about how the Democratic ticket pulled out a solid win, according to WISC-TV.
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Speaking with Wisconsin CBS affiliate WISC-TV about the election, Ryan admitted that he was “surprised” by the President’s decisive win last week, “We were surprised at the outcome. We knew this was gonna be a close race. We thought we had a very good chance of winning it. I’m very fortunate to have had this experience, but losing never feels good.”
When broached about what “surprised” him, though, Ryan responded:
“The surprise was some of the turnout, some of the turnout especially in urban areas, which gave President Obama the big margin to win this race. When we watched Virginia and Ohio coming in, and those ones coming in as tight as they were, and looking like we were going to lose them, that’s when it became clear we weren’t going to win.”
While one has to wonder why anyone is interested in hearing what Ryan thinks about anything at this point, Ryan’s inability or straight-out refusal to acknowledge the entire picture may be one of the very reasons he is still sitting in Wisconsin today.“The surprise was some of the turnout, some of the turnout especially in urban areas, which gave President Obama the big margin to win this race. When we watched Virginia and Ohio coming in, and those ones coming in as tight as they were, and looking like we were going to lose them, that’s when it became clear we weren’t going to win.”
By saying that he is “surprised” that urban areas (read: Black and Latino) voted, he implies that the GOP ticket somehow thought that “minorities” wouldn’t show up on Election Day. Maybe that’s because Republicans, who seemed to be nursing on a healthful diet of FOX News throughout the campaign, allowed themselves to believe that a so-called “enthusiasm gap” would keep Blacks, in particular, home.
But obviously, that wouldn’t be the only falsehood they would digest throughout the election. Republicans also allowed themselves to believe that the only people worth campaigning to were old White males. Whether it was Todd Akin foolish assertion that women’s bodies can prevent pregnancy from “legitimate rape,” Romney’s claim that he would build a 2,000-mile fence to keep out illegals or his other claim that students “should borrow money from their parents” for college, Republicans managed to insult a number of groups and classes across the country.
And while Romney attempted to move to the center in the final stages of his presidential campaign, the majority of Americans weren’t fooled.
As NewsOne reported earlier, minorities more than showed up on Election Day — and we weren’t alone. Young White voters, Latinos, and women showed up too.
Obama Campaign Manager Jim Messina laid out the numbers last Thursday quite succinctly:
Total minority votes increased to 28 percent. Our coalition turned out in massive numbers with massive support, women made up about the same portion of the electorate as in 2008. And our support remains strong. We’ve got 55 percent of women voters. Youth actually increased as a percentage of the electorate. So for lots of reporting about youth, they turned out again and continue to take control of their future. We won them again at historic margins over 3 to 2.So you see, while it may make Ryan sleep better at night to tell himself that the “urban” among us are the only reason Obama is President, the stats tell a more comprehensive story.
His failure at seeing the larger picture corresponds directly to his campaign’s failure to win both the electoral and popular vote. But hey, just because you refute the facts, doesn’t mean that your fantasy will one day become reality.
Don’t believe me?
Rewatch Election Obama’s taking of Ohio. It’s unforgettable:
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