Romney Vows to Carry on With Campaign

By GLEN JOHNSON

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Republican Mitt Romney, his family and supporters vowed to carry his campaign into the vote-rich Super Tuesday contests next week after narrowly losing Florida’s primary to rival John McCain.

In his concession speech Tuesday night, Romney issued a call to arms to conservatives to support him, vowing to cut federal spending, end illegal immigration and teach children “that before they have babies, they should get married.”

But it was his wife, Ann, who took the microphone after Romney delivered nine minutes of prepared remarks, who explained the reasons for continuing.

“We feel as though the conservatives are starting to rally around Mitt,” she said, as her husband stood beside her. “This is just a send-off point; this is not an end. It’s another beginning. We have 22 more states to go after, and we will be able to do that.”

It was the contrast in backgrounds that Romney highlighted in a concession speech that otherwise echoed familiar themes from the trail, as if the loss presented no jeopardy to the future of his campaign.

“At a time like this, America needs a president in the White House who has actually had a job in the real economy,” Romney said, adding that “at a time like this, knowing how America works is more important than knowing how Washington works.”

As the audience cheered, he declared: “Washington is fundamentally broken, and we’re not going to change Washington by sending the same people back, just to sit in different chairs. I think it’s time for the politicians to leave Washington and for the citizens to take over.

David McIntosh

Today, former U.S. Congressman David McIntosh (R-IN) endorsed Governor Mitt Romney and his candidacy for President of the United States.  McIntosh most recently served as a senior policy adviser to former Republican presidential candidate Senator Fred Thompson.  He is a co-founder of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy  Studies.

“I am proud to make today’s endorsement.  Governor Romney has the vision to bring true conservative change to Washington and strengthen our economy.  As President, he will advance a pro-growth agenda that strengthens our economy, encourages innovation and creates jobs.  From business and the Olympics to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Governor Romney is the proven leader we need in Washington today.  I also am convinced that Governor Romney will appoint judges who will exercise judicial restraint, respect the rule of law and appreciate the Constitution as written,” said David McIntosh.

McIntosh will serve as a Co-Chair of the Romney for President Advisory Committee on the Constitution and the Courts with Professor Douglas W. Kmiec, former constitutional legal counsel to President Ronald Reagan.  He replaces Professor Mary Ann Glendon who was recently appointed to be U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See.

Liz Cheney

Today, Governor Mitt Romney announced that Elizabeth “Liz” Cheney will be joining the Romney for President campaign.  Having most recently worked at the U.S. State Department handling Middle East policy, Cheney will serve as a senior foreign policy adviser to Governor Romney. Note that Cheney served as a National Campaign Co-Chair for the Fred Thompson presidential campaign.

“I am proud to support Governor Romney.  Throughout this campaign, he has distinguished himself as a leader who can guide our country with a clear vision for overcoming the threats we face today.  Dedicated to the success of our missions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Governor Romney is the only candidate who has outlined a comprehensive strategy for defeating the global Jihadist threat.  I look forward to working with Governor Romney, because he is the leader our country needs,” said Liz Cheney.

Making today’s announcement, Governor Romney said, “Liz Cheney brings to our campaign years of experience helping to formulate America’s foreign policy and to advance democracy and reform in the Middle East.  She understands that to defeat this global Jihadist threat we have to help Muslim nations reject the violent extreme.  I am honored that she will be joining our team.”

Fred Thompson Legal Team makes the move to Mitt

Today, Governor Mitt Romney announced new additions to the Romney for President Advisory Committee on the Constitution and the Courts.  This group, chaired by Professor Douglas W. Kmiec, former constitutional legal counsel to President Ronald Reagan, has been advising Governor Romney on the important legal issues confronting the country today.

Joining Romney for President after having served as National Co-Chair of Lawyers for Fred Thompson, Victoria Toensing said, “Appointing strong judges is one of our President’s most important responsibilities.  The next President will make a number of appointments, and I am confident Governor Romney will nominate judges in the mold of President Bush’s nominees, Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito.  I am proud to work with Governor Romney and this outstanding group of legal minds.”

Also joining the Advisory committee from Lawyers for Fred Thompson are Lizette D. Benedi, Rachel L. Brand, Reginald Brown, Charles J. Cooper, Joseph E. diGenova, Michael R. Dimino, Viet D. Dinh, Noel J. Francisco and Eileen J. O’Connor.

Eugene Scalia, who served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush, has also joined the committee.  “Governor Romney has the ability, experience, and values to serve as an exceptional President,” he said.   “He appreciates the role of the courts and rule of law in our society.”

Making today’s announcement, Governor Romney said, “It is an honor to have the counsel of so many distinguished men and women.  Together, they represent years of experience in the legal field and their help to this campaign will be invaluable.”

Governor Romney also announced that Victoria Toensing and Joseph diGenova will serve on the Steering Committee of Lawyers for Romney in addition to their roles on the Advisory Committee.

Governor Romney is a leader that brings many talents to the table. None of the current presidential candidates can touch the Governor’s corporate experience and leadership. He is known for stepping out of the box with innovative ideas and energizing concepts. His touch is like gold and he has made many companies successful. Here is a segment from his Wiki entry:

Mitt Romney Wikipedia Entry

After graduating from Harvard, Romney went to work for the The Boston Consulting Group, where he had interned during the summer of 1974.[13] From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a vice president of Bain & Company, Inc., another Boston-based management consulting firm. In 1984, Romney left Bain & Company to co-found a Bain & Company spin-off private equity investment firm called Bain Capital.[14] During the 14 years he headed the company, Bain Capital’s average annual internal rate of return on realized investments was 113 percent,[15] making money primarily through leveraged buyouts.[16] He invested in or bought many well-known companies such as Staples, Brookstone, Domino’s, Sealy Corporation and The Sports Authority.[17]

In 1990, Romney was asked to return to Bain & Company, which was facing financial collapse. As CEO, Romney managed an effort to restructure the firm’s employee stock-ownership plan, real-estate deals and bank loans, while increasing fiscal transparency. Within a year, he had led Bain & Company through a highly successful turnaround and returned the firm to profitability without layoffs or partner defections.[15]

CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee

Romney served as president and CEO of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games held in Salt Lake City. In 1999, the event was running $379 million short of its revenue benchmarks. Plans were being made to scale back the games in order to compensate for the fiscal crisis.[20] The Games were also damaged by allegations of bribery involving top officials, including then Salt Lake Olympic Committee (SLOC) President and CEO Frank Joklik. Joklik and SLOC vice president Dave Johnson were forced to resign.[21]

On February 11, 1999, Romney was hired as the new president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.[22] Romney revamped the organization’s leadership and policies, reduced budgets and boosted fundraising. He also worked to ensure the safety of the Games following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 by coordinating a $300 million security budget.[23] Despite the initial fiscal shortfall, the Games ended up clearing a profit of $100 million, not counting the $224.5 million in security costs contributed by outside sources.

Last week, Governor Romney talked about his economic vision for America. This is truly impressive and I challenge any other candidate to come up with a plausible, comprehensive, CONSERVATIVE plan. The Associated Press wrote this about Romney’s plan:

AP Article

Republican Mitt Romney says Washington must act to open more foreign markets to American products, and he wants the president to have new authority to negotiate such agreements.

The Republican presidential candidate proposes what he calls a “Reagan Zone of Economic Freedom” that would include U.S. free-trade partners such as Europe who commit to opening up markets and “playing by the rules.” Such an alliance could operate inside and outside the World Trade Organization to push for trade agreements as well as labor, environmental and other reforms.

“Governor Romney would seek to expand these efforts to include the European Union and other nations that agree to meet these standards, while challenging China and others advancing agreements that exclude America,” the plan says.

In it, Romney, who amassed a vast personal fortune as a venture capitalist, says a president who is going to expand the economy through new trade agreements needs his kind of experience. He also calls on Americans to “reject the Democrats’ policies of retreat from the world.”

“Denying America the ability to negotiate to open markets while our competitors gain advantages is no strategy,” the proposal says.

YES - he IS Pro-Life!!

It is regrettable that so many folks buy into the media soundbytes that say Governor Romney flip flopped. He did not. The Governor is not a life long politician and his positions developed as he was called on to make decisions in Massachusetts. The Life issue is clearly explained. Mitt Romney stated that his views were effectively pro-choice, having never voted on or making decisions in regard to Life. But as Governor, he closely examined issues that effected human life and his position evolved. As Governor, he took the side of Life on every issue that came before him . That IS his record.

Check out this article at HumanEvents.com :

Governor Romney’s Genuine Conversion
by Rep. Peter Hoekstra | 05/11/2007

In all my years in the pro-life movement, I have always believed that our goal was not only to change laws, but to change minds — and we have changed many minds. Ronald Reagan, Henry Hyde, and countless others who at one point supported abortion rights later came to understand that human life at its very beginning moments must be protected.

We take pride in the work of these individuals, because in their changes of heart, they proved that the mission of the pro-life community is not only sacred, but it is also capable of winning new adherents and allies.

I can think of no better example of this change of heart than Governor Mitt Romney. He has traveled down a path of discovery, and explored the philosophical and scientific basis for the pro-life position. Now, he counts himself among the millions of Americans who oppose abortion on demand and scientific experimentation with human embryos.

I have watched Governor Romney’s journey, and I believe he is sincere in his change of heart. But you don’t have to trust me on that count; you merely have to look at what Governor Romney said and did on life issues when it counted:

In 2002, during his campaign for governor, he supported Massachusetts’ parental notification laws for minor girls seeking abortions; his opponent opposed such notification laws. Thankfully, he won and those parental notification laws remain on Massachusetts’ books.

In 2005, Governor Romney vetoed a bill that would have expanded stem cell experiments involving the cloning of human embryos – a practice he called morally wrong. At the time, Romney spoke movingly of the moral issues at work: “It is wrong to allow science to take an assembly line approach to the production of human embryos,” he wrote in a letter explaining his veto.

That same year, he vetoed legislation that would have allowed the “morning after pill” to be purchased without a prescription. He also vetoed legislation that would have redefined a human life as an implanted embryo, rather than a fertilized embryo. The legislation would have allowed scientists to experiment freely on fertilized embryos before destroying them — treating the fertilized embryo as nothing more than what some scientists call a “clump of cells.”

In 2006, he announced that the state would sponsor abstinence education programs in its middle schools, the first time Massachusetts agreed to spend federal abstinence education funds on in-school programs.

Read the entire article here.

Ah… a few sweet moments ago Fox News called the victory for Mitt Romney. Already it’s being played down… disgusting! He is the clear front-runner. He will take the nomination. He will be our next President. The media can spin this whatever way they want. Americans know better.

From tonight’s speech:

Governor Mitt Romney: “Well, tonight, tonight marks the beginning of a comeback, a comeback for America . Only a week ago, a win looked like it was impossible, but then you got out and told America what they needed to hear. You said we would fight for every job. You said that we would fight to get health care for all Americans. You said we’d fight to secure our border. You said you’d fight for us to be able to get lower taxes for middle-income Americans, and Michigan heard, and Michigan voted tonight. Congratulations!

“Tonight proves that you can’t tell an American that there’s something that they just can’t do because Americans can do whatever they set their hearts on. Tonight is a victory of optimism over Washington-style pessimism. Tonight, we are celebrating here in Michigan , I’ve got to tell you that. Guess what they’re doing in Washington ? They’re worrying, because they realize, the lobbyists and the politicians realize, that America now understands that Washington is broken, and we’re going to do something about it.

” America understands that Washington has promised that they’d secure our borders, but they haven’t. Washington told us that they would live by high ethical standards, but they haven’t. Washington told us that they’d fix Social Security, but they haven’t. Washington told us they’d get us better health care and better education, but they haven’t. Washington told us they’d get us a tax break for middle income Americans, but they haven’t. Washington told us that they’d cut back on the earmarks and the pork-barrel spending, but they haven’t. And Washington told us they’d reduce our dependence on foreign oil, but they haven’t. And who’s going to get the job done? We are!

“Guys, it was not very far from right here that Ann and I and our family behind us began our campaign at the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation. Wow that’s powerful, I’ll tell you. At the Museum of Innovation , we said that we’re going to take innovation and change to Washington , recognizing that there’s no way that an insider in Washington is going to turn Washington inside out. But we’re going to do that. American voters said that knowing how America works is more important than knowing how Washington works.

“And what we’re going to see in the next few days is Democrats saying that they’re the party of change. You’re going to hear Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and John Edwards saying that they’re the party of change. And I think they would bring change to America , just not the kind we want. I think they take their inspiration from the Europe of old: big government, big brother, big taxes. They fundamentally in their hearts believe that America is great because we have a great government, and we do have a great government, but that’s not what makes us the best nation, the strongest nation, the greatest nation on Earth. What makes us such a great nation is the American people. I take my inspiration from Ronald Reagan and George Herbert Walker Bush, who took their inspiration from the American people – hard-working American people, people who believed in opportunity, who loved education, God-fearing people, people who also love their families, people deeply patriotic. It is that characteristic of the American people that makes us the most powerful nation on Earth. Ronald Reagan, George Herbert Walker Bush said we are a great and good people, it’s exactly what we are. It’s why we will always be the most powerful nation on Earth.”

Romney’s wife stumps in LV
By: Paul Harasim | Las Vegas Review-Journal | Thursday, Jan 17, 2008

“If you’re Ann Romney, you can go to bed at 1 a.m. after a primary election victory party, sleep four hours, take a 41/2-hour flight from Michigan to Las Vegas, and then appear ready to pose for Town & Country magazine as you talk to Nevada supporters about your husband Mitt’s presidential candidacy.

“Not bad for anyone, let alone someone who was diagnosed in 1998 with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative neurological disease that often leaves those afflicted in wheelchairs.

“‘I’m in remission,’ the 58-year-old grandmother said in Summerlin, her wide smile evidence of the exuberance still lingering after her husband’s resounding win Tuesday in the Michigan primary.”
…
“Speaking to about 50 supporters in the home of Dr. Gregory Bigler and his wife Sally, Romney seemed confident that her husband would win Nevada’s Republican presidential caucuses Saturday.

“‘We’re organized,’ she told the women, who are responsible for getting out the Romney vote throughout Las Vegas. ‘I thank you for that.’
…
“The Las Vegas Valley residents who listened Wednesday to the woman who married her high school sweetheart 38 years ago are impressed with Mitt Romney’s commitment to family and the fact he headed a financial firm before becoming governor of Massachusetts.

“Elaine Fish, 82, who still works in the family business, John Fish Jewelers, said Mitt Romney’s business experience is what the country needs. ‘He knows how to get things done,’ she said. ‘And he stresses the closeness of a family.’

“Betty Rumford, 70, said she is impressed with Romney’s ability to bring people together. ‘He did it in Massachusetts and got a health plan together for all the people that worked.’

“Julie Hereford, 65, said, ‘Most candidates can talk a good game but they’ve never had to run a business the way he has. He understands how to strengthen the economy. That’s what we need right now.’”