Ryan defends campaign strategy, says conservative pundits like to ‘complain’

Republican vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan looked to brush off criticism from some prominent conservatives about the strategy of Mitt Romney’s campaign, saying in an interview Monday that conservative pundits were prone to “complain.”

Ryan was asked whether the Republican ticket needed to respond to calls from some allies that they be more bold in an interview with his hometown Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

“A, we still have a ways to go. We still have a lot left that we’re planning on doing,” Ryan said. “B, I think that’s just what conservatives do by nature. I think that’s just the nature of conservative punditry is to do that — to kind of complain — about any imperfection they might see.”

{mosads}Ryan also rejected criticism from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who said last week that “pushback from some of the folks in the national campaign” was limiting Ryan.

“I was enthused when Mitt Romney picked Paul Ryan because I thought that was a signal that this guy was getting serious, he was getting bold,” Walker told WTMJ. “I just haven’t seen that kind of passion I know that Paul has transferred over to our nominee.”

On Monday, Ryan denied that the Romney campaign had in any way limited his messaging.

“Look, Scott’s my friend. He’s just an advocate. He’s just always going to be going to bat for me like that,” Ryan told the Journal-Sentinel. “Never once has the (Romney) campaign asked me to stop something or do something differently or not do anything.”

Ryan also expressed confidence in the Republican ticket’s ability to bounce back in the polls.

“We’re going to beat him,” Ryan said of President Obama. “But it’s never easy to beat an incumbent, especially one who’s such a gifted politician.”