Continuing an assault that began Thursday with attacks on Newt Gingrich, the Romney campaign has entered day two with a new web video and an Iowa radio spot. Both continue the strategy of bolstering Romney’s right-wing credentials by tying the candidate to congressman Paul Ryan.
In fact, the web ad doesn’t even mention Mitt Romney. Instead, it serves as a paean to Paul Ryan’s budget plan, followed by an account of Newt’s attack on the plan as “right-wing social engineering.” After first establishing how good Ryan’s budget is, the ad takes on Gingrich as someone who turned against conservatives, displaying erratic behavior, proving he is unfit to be president. It ends with Ryan’s famous line against Newt: “With allies like that, who needs the left?” The ad basically boils down Thursday’s attacks into a 30-second spot: Paul Ryan good, Newt Gingrich bad.
Romney’s radio ad pivots to talk about Romney himself, using quotes from politicians and commentators on the far right praising the candidate. These include a quote from Paul Ryan saying Romney’s budget is “getting towards a prosperity agenda that will allow the private sector to grow,” and a clip of Ann Coulter saying Romney is “the strongest candidate” to defeat Obama. Of course, the closer Romney lashes himself to Paul Ryan and the far right for the purposes of winning the primaries, the weaker he’s likely to be in a general election.
Pema Levy
Pema Levy is a News Writer at TPM covering the 2012 election. Before coming to TPM, Pema was an assistant editor at The American Prospect where she wrote about politics and the economy.
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