Log Cabin Republicans: 'Addition of Paul Ryan to GOP ticket helps Republicans up and down the ballot'

R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the pro-LGBT Log Cabin Republicans, said Romney choosing Ryan "is a choice that all Republicans can be excited about."

R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans. (Associated Press File Photo)

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Mitt Romney names Paul Ryan his vice presidential running mate

Mitt Romney tapped Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as his vice presidential running mate on Saturday, turning to the architect of a conservative and intensely controversial long-term budget plan to remake Medicare and cut trillions in federal spending.

• Elizabeth Warren: 'Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are a demolition team that will wreck our economy'
• Gov. Deval Patrick says Ryan budget 'would decimate education funding and end Medicare'
• Republican Richard Tisei: 'I don't agree with Paul Ryan on every single issue'

R. Clarke Cooper, executive director of the pro-LGBT Log Cabin Republicans, released the following statement after Mitt Romney, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, announced that U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, is his running mate.

"Congressman Paul Ryan is a strong choice for vice president, and his addition to the GOP ticket will help Republican candidates up and down the ballot. As chairman of the House Budget Committee and author of the Republican 'path to prosperity' that provided the blueprint for serious spending cuts in this Congress, nobody is more qualified to articulate a conservative economic vision to restore the American economy and stimulate job creation.

At the same time, Congressman Ryan's 2007 vote in favor of the Employment Nondiscrimination Act and his consistent willingness to engage with Log Cabin on a range of issues speaks to his record as a fair-minded policymaker. Overall, while Log Cabin Republicans have not completed the endorsement process for the 2012 presidential election, this is a choice that all Republicans can be excited about, and which sends a good message about the kind of campaign Governor Romney wants to run, and the kind of president Governor Romney wants to be."

Romney selected the 42-year-old Ryan, a seven-term congressman, from a short list that included Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell.

Ryan is the architect of a conservative and intensely controversial long-term budget plan to remake Medicare and cut trillions in federal spending.

His selection immediately thrusts those budget plans into the forefront of the presidential contest.