Every time Gov. Scott Walker was name-checked in the convention hall Tuesday, he got huge applause. Perhaps an unlikely new star when he started his term in the swing state, the Wisconsin governor earned his cheers the hard way— in a two-year fight with everything organized labor, the activist Left, and the Democratic Party could throw at him.

He came through standing, with a state unemployment rate well under the national average and an approval rating over 50 percent after a gut-wrenching recall win. His message tonight: Wisconsin had the same choice you have before you now, America, and it chose correctly. My state and its people are proof:

On June 5th, voters in Wisconsin were asked to choose between going backwards to the days of
double-digit tax increases, billion dollar budget deficits and record job losses

Or moving forward with reforms that lowered the tax burden, balanced the budget and helped
small businesses create more jobs.

On June 5th, voters in my swing state were asked to decide if they wanted elected officials who
measure success by how many people are dependent on the government

OR if they wanted leaders who believe success is measured by how many people are not
dependent on the government, because they control their own destiny in the private sector.

On June 5th, voters in Wisconsin got to determine who was in charge – was it the big
government special interests in Washington… or the hard-working tax payers of our state.

The good news is that – on June 5th – the hard-working taxpayers won.

He told the story of one such taxpayer, Sandy Breth, part of a company that Walker said is expanding because the governor’s reforms gave its owner confidence in the state’s direction.

If the pick of Paul Ryan wasn’t indication enough, Walker’s speech made explicit tonight that the Romney campaign is running as a reform effort, not just a referendum:

Then, with the announcement of Paul Ryan as his running mate, Governor Romney not only
showed that he has the experience and the skill needed to become president, he showed he has
the courage and the passion to be an exceptional president.

With this pick he showed us that the “R” next to his name doesn’t just stand for Republican, it
stands for Reformer.

Now, more than ever, we need reformers: leaders who think more about the next generation than
just the next election.

That’s what you get from Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan.

With Romney and Ryan, he said, you get “men and women of courage who think more about the future of their children and grandchildren” than their careers.