What’s more, one might say that the Republican national convention suggested that Romney was much less popular than Obama among their Party peers. Some young Republicans such as Chris Christie, Scott Walker and Nikki Haley took the stage to show their support for Romney, yet most of them simply told their own stories instead of praising him. Statistics showed that Romney’s name was mentioned less frequently than Obama’s by their Party peers at the respective national conventions.

 

In addition, Romney upset many Republicans by naming Paul Ryan as his partner. Ryan, 42, is a representative of Wisconsin’s Congress. In 2009, at only 40 years of age, he stood out among his senior colleagues and became the top Republican for the House Budget Committee. Since then, he has been busy battling against Obama’s White House. People think that his warfare does not only aim at defending Republican ideology, but also targets his Republican peers who are content with shallow criticism of the White House. He is a leader who, by holding act proposals, criticizes congressmen. He has the ability to use facts and data to oppose the President’s proposals. His act proposals, though conservative, have attracted attention and even support from conservative advisers and think tanks. Therefore, it is easy to see that a divide exists within the Republican Party between those cautious senior leaders and its sharp-minded young members who stand against the White House. Romney obviously sided against the Congress’ Republican leaders by choosing Ryan.

 

Under such circumstances, Romney is likely to face more challenges, which in turn can complicate the election race. The current situation also suggests that the Republican Party will probably undergo certain structural changes.

 

The author is now a visiting scholar with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. She is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit: http://www.ccgp-fushun.com/opinion/weihongxia.htm

(This post was written in Chinese and translated by Pang Li)

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