Former Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, spoke to hundreds of religious conservatives Saturday about his dissaproval for the last months of what he described as the Obama administration’s failed policies. Romney focused on the stimulus plan, stating that it has not created jobs and has ultimately hurt the economy. (1:00)
By Travis Martinez
University of New Mexico- Talk Radio News Service
Mitt Romney doesn’t think the last eight months of Barack Obama’s presidency have been successful. In an hour-long speech to hundreds of Republicans last Saturday, Romney said that Obama has failed with healthcare reform, economic redevelopment, stimulus funding and foreign relations.
What President Obama has done these past eight months [stimulus and bailout packages]… has not strengthened America,” said Romney at the 2009 Family Research Council Values Voter Summit in Washington, D.C. “To strengthen the economy and create jobs the President has to stop trying to borrow the country out of a debt problem… don’t repeat the stimulus, repair the stimulus.”
Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and 2008 presidential candidate, criticized Obama’s approach to foreign policy. Last week, the Obama Administration made headlines when it was announced that the U.S. will scrap the 2007 European missile defense program. Romney called the decision “alarming, and dangerous… We should never cut corners in our military and intelligence agencies,” he said.
With healthcare, Romney said that reform would make a healthier and a stronger nation, but without a public option and less government control. He cited successful reform in Massachusetts that was implemented without a public option. “The right answer for health care is not more government, it’s less government,” said Romney. “As a Republican, I worked very hard to reform health care in my own state… It does teach an important lesson that you can get everyone insured without a public option.”
Romney did not talk about his future career in politics, but said: “The voters are going to make their intentions clear in the 2010 elections.”
By Courtney Ann Jackson- Talk Radio News
Since World War II, the success of American soldiers in actions abroad has preserved freedom for millions of people, according to former Republican Massachussetts Governor Mitt Romney. At a Heritage Foundation event Monday, Romney noted the upcoming 65th anniversary of D-Day and said American soldiers have shouldered the burden of defending freedom since World War II. The event was meant to commemorate those who served and to criticize the Obama administration for cutting funding from the Defense Department budget.
“Because of what America did in the 20th century, there are hundreds of millions of people around the world who now live in freedom-who, but for the price paid by the United States, would have lived in despair. I know of no other such example of national selfishness in the history of mankind. That is why America is the hope of the earth.”
The broad military plans of the Obama administration are also troubling to Romney, who was a 2008 presidential candidate. He is concerned that Obama will look to the military budget for the largest cuts in the process of reforming the financial system.
“ The right way to scale America’s defense budget is to add up the requirements for each of our missions, beginning with strategic defense,” he said.
He laid out other defense missions that he felt the U.S. should be focusing on such as: fighting and winning land wars and counter-insurgencies and providing counter-insurgency support for nations under threat from Jihadists.
“We cannot allow the economic crisis to conceal the very real threats to our nation’s security. We cannot ignore the intentions of competitors who would replace America’s leadership with their own, and set back the cause of freedom,” Romney said.
The demands of all U.S. defense missions involving U.S. soldiers are not covered in Obama’s planned cuts for the department, Romney said, do not equal budget cuts. He believes a $50 billion increase in the modernization budget is needed. He noted that Admiral Michael Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has also repeatedly said that is a necessary increase.
He concluded by saying, “Providence has blessed us and trusted us to safeguard liberty; in a time of confusion at home and challenge abroad, let ours be the voice of clarity and good sense-confident in our cause, and faithful in the care of freedom.”
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) held a conference call to announce the launch of its new website, www.TheNextCheney.com. Brad Woodhouse, DNC Senior Communications Director, said the website highlights Senator John McCain’s (R-Ariz.) potential vice-presidential picks, aiming to illustrate that a combination of McCain and any of the choices only means “more of the same.”
The website lists Governor Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota, Governor Charlie Crist of Florida, Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, Senator John Thune (R-SD), Carly Fiorina, Fred Smith, and Congressman Eric Cantor (R-Va.) as McCain’s roster of potential vice presidents, but Woodhouse said the DNC may add more to the list. Woodhouse said any McCain ticket means only “more of the same” seen from the Bush-Cheney administration. Mike Gehreke, DNC Research Director, said McCain will have a very hard time picking a running make who can differentiate him from the negative legacy of the Bush administration.
Romney threw his support behind McCain today at a rally in Boston, Massachusetts where McCain just arrived to accept the endorsement.
It was his first joint appearance with McCain since his withdrawal from the race last week. He asked his 286 delegates to support McCain and said that McCain’s “caliber” of a man was “apparent.” He also commended his service in Vietnam saying that his suffering showed his loyalty to the country. He said that the Democrats are “skilled at striking heroic poses.”
McCain spoke next thanking Romney for the “hard, intensive, honorable, [and] fine” campaign that he ran for his party’s nomination. He said he is grateful to Romney for running his campaign because it helped him become a better candidate. He said that there will be stark differences between the Republicans and Democrats in the presidential race and that he is “very honored” to have Romney and Romney’s supporters by his side.
Talk Radio News Service’s Meredith MacKenzie speaks with Bay Buchanan, former Treasurer of the United States under Reagan, and conservative spokeswoman, about Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and the runup to Super Tuesday.
Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney at the Radio Row
Mitt Romney answers questions from radio reporters in Manchester, New Hampshire as New Hampshire votes in the first presidential primary.
After coming in second behind Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney addresses supporters in West Des Moines, Iowa.
After coming in second behind Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Ann Romney addresses supporters in West Des Moines, Iowa.
