The Republican Hope?

There are 11 weeks until the presidential elections of the United States, and only days until the Republican National Convention, which will take place in Tampa, Florida at the Tampa Bay Times Forum (from August 27-31). The Republicans will try every measure possible to return their presidential ticket to the White House.

The conventionalists will approve of a coherent and progressive platform for their candidates Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to present to the electorate in November. Among them is the charismatic governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, who will articulate the inaugural address, where he will express “some very direct and hard truths.” During the four-day program there will be various speakers: former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez and former Republican presidential candidate John McCain. How about that?

Among the former presidential candidates expected to say a few words will be Senator Rick Santorum. As well as governors Rick Scott (Florida) and John Kasich (Ohio), who can forget the former governor of Arkansas and former presidential candidate, Rev. Mike Huckabee. Among those absent until now at the podium of the “elephant party” are former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, former President George W. Bush and former Vice President Dick Cheney.

The climax of this partisan convention will be when Republican Florida Senator Dr. Marco Rubio officially presents Romney before the delegates as the Republican presidential candidate. And for the finale, Romney and Ryan will be close, surrounded by family, showing unity among the factions of Republicanism and, above all, projecting solutions to short- and medium-term issues at independent voters.

This is the first time that Republicans have not chosen Protestant Christian presidential candidates. Romney is Mormon. Ryan is Roman Catholic and pro-life. Furthermore, neither has military experience — something not seen since 1932, when Republicans went with President Herbert C. Hoover and Vice President Charles Curtis to face the challenge of former Democratic Governor of New York, Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The big question after the convention must be: What will the representative of Wisconsin and current chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee bring to the Republican team? For many political scientists, Ryan put back on the table the famous and controversial phrase “voodoo economics,” a thought coined by former President George H. Bush in his fight against former President Ronald Reagan for the Republican nomination in 1980. It is a derogatory term, wielded to punctuate the financial process, known as “supply-side economics.” It is also a complex procedure, which wields tax cuts as an incentive for saving and expanding the workforce.

Others believe that Ryan will offset Romney’s weak spots — so far he is about 3.5 percent behind President Barack Obama in the national surveys, according to Real Clear Politics (47.3 percent for Obama and 43.8 percent for Romney). In the decisive electoral votes Obama continues his lead with 237; Romney’s at 191, and there are 110 that are still undecided in nine states (270 votes are needed to win). Those states are: Florida (29), Ohio (18), North Carolina (15), Virginia (13), and Ryan’s own state, Wisconsin (10). The rest are Colorado (nine), Iowa and Nevada (six each) and New Hampshire (four). Both candidates face different issues, because neither is a good speaker, but Ryan is notorious for being a good negotiator in Congress for his proposals.

Finally, Ryan can be a good instrument for votes in the vital states of the middle industrial belt — the Midwest and Northern Mexico — in addition to helping win Wisconsin, which has elected only Democrats since Reagan’s re-election in 1984. He also has strong support among conservative Republicans and Independents. His youth is crucial in this campaign, being 13 years younger than Romney. Finally, he can motivate not only voters aged 18-39, but also the tea party movement, which has numerous auxiliary supporters and two small states that remain on the fence, with six electoral votes, plus New Hampshire with four.

Financial donations have arrived en masse since the announcement of Ryan, and the support of former President Bush and former candidate McCain have strengthened the foundation, citing “the strongest team to return America to prosperity,” and a “strong pick.” On the other hand, Ryan has difficulty explaining his austerity plans, welfare cuts, social security privatization and Medicare modifications. As a result, research shows a strong rejection from elderly voters. Meanwhile, as an incentive for the presidential search, the numbers show that the approval of the senators and representatives in the Capitol is low; only 14.3 percent approve and 78.5 percent disapprove. With such thunder who can sleep!