Representative Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin on Monday blamed Democratic turnout in “urban areas†for the loss by the Republican presidential ticket last week, saying he was surprised that he and Mitt Romney did not do better in the nation's big cities.
“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,†Mr. Ryan said in an interview with WISC-TV. “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.â€
The remarks prompted scorn from some liberals who viewed Mr. Ryan as blaming inner-city minorities for the Republican defeat.
“Paul Ryan emerged from dustbin of n othingness 2 blame his & Romney's defeat on “urban†vote,†one person tweeted. “These 2 losers continue 2 demean minorities.â€
Another tweeted that “Urban vote†= minorities. Paul Ryan is saying he lost because minorities actually went out and voted. SHOCKER. MINORITIES HAVE RIGHTS, TOO.â€
Several people pointed out that Mr. Romney and Mr. Ryan also lost some largely rural states with few minorities, like New Hampshire and Iowa. Those losses cannot be explained away by focusing on urban voters, they noted.
In the interview with the television station, Mr. Ryan said he did not think that the nation's voters had rejected his long-standing ideas for how to restructure the nation's budget and cut spending.
“I don't think we lost it on those budget issues, especially on Medicare - we clearly didn't lose it on those issues,†he said.
Follow Michael D. Shear on Twitter at @shearm.
