About 1,700 people packed into the NASCAR Technical Institute in Mooresville yesterday for what was billed as a victory rally for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and running mate Paul Ryan.
Tim Conway of Harrisburg waited outside with his 16-year-old daughter, hoping to get in. He said the choice of Ryan for a running mate makes for a perfect 1-2 punch. He likes that Ryan has experience as chairman of the House Budget Committee.
"I think it's like being a chief operating officer. Mitt's going to be the CEO, and now we've got a guy who knows the nuts and bolts, put a budget together, and get some things done."
Inside, the crowd was enthusiastic when Ryan spoke out against laws he says burden small businesses, such as the new health care law. He said that small businesses, entrepreneurs and families are the nucleus of society.
"We know what this country was built on. We understand it's principles. Our rights, they come from nature and God, not government," Ryan said to applause.
Romney raised similar themes of the government being the problem, not the solution.
"When the founders helped craft this country by writing the Declaration of Independence, they chose their words carefully," Romney said. "They said our rights came not from government, but from our creator, and among themare life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
Several hundred people were turned away from the 10 a.m. event because the building was at capacity. The Romney campaign also stopped in High Point before heading to Ryan's home state of Wisconsin.