RYAN SCOTT OTTNEY

PDT Staff Writer

Republicans weren’t the only ones gathering at Mitt Romney’s campaign stop in Chillicothe on Tuesday. Democrats, including a group from Scioto County, stood across the street from the courthouse where Romney spoke, shouting to make their own voices heard.

“Romney is going to totally take the position opposite of what (President Barack) Obama is doing to turn the country around. Part of that is the Ryan Budget bill that has passed. Now he has taken the approach that he has his own budget. Even though he supported the Ryan Budget a couple of months ago — he said he whole-heartedly supported it — not he’s taking the position that he has his own budget he’s going to introduce and pursue,” said Scioto County Democratic Party Chairman Randy Basham said.

About 7,000 people were estimated to have attended the rally in Chillicothe on Tuesday, and Basham said they mostly had one thing in common.

“You could tell by the clientele that showed up for the rally, it was not the hardcore factory worker,” he said. “A majority of them was people in Cadillacs, Continentals, and BMWs.”

He said Republican voters in November will vote for the Republican candidate and Democrat voters will vote for the Democrat candidate, and ultimately the campaign will be decided by the independents.

“The independents out-number both parties two-to-one, and in Scioto County they swing. For two (election) years in Scioto County they swung for Bill Clinton and he won. Two years in a row they swung for George W. Bush and he won. Now they did not swing for Obama four-years ago,” he said.

With Paul Ryan now firmly locked as Romney’s vice presidential running mate, Basham said the issues are clear and the contrast between the two tickets is obvious.

“Romney was a moderate Republican and you could lay him beside Obama with RomneyCare vs ObamaCare, and Romney was pro-choice in Massachusetts and now he’s pro-life. Now he’s been strapped with the Ryan Budget which attacks Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare; those issues resonated with us in (19)96 when we took the House back over because we campaigned on Medicare and those important issues. I believe the swing voters in Scioto County will swing to protect their Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and their Pell Grants,” Basham said.

While protesting Romney’s visit in Chillicothe, Basham said there were no problems with the Republican supporters who mostly just gave them a sneer and waved their hands off at them, dismissively.

Ryan Scott Ottney can be reached at 740-353-3101, ext. 235, or rottney@heartlandpublications.com.