Monday, March 05, 2007
For President, Governor Mitt Romney
Today, I am announcing that I will be supporting former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney for President. Governor Romney will not only receive my vote when Tennessee holds its presidential primary, I have agreed to assist his campaign as it seeks to spread his message of common sense conservatism across the Volunteer State.
I'm sure many of my readers would like to know why I've chosen to sign on with the Romney for President campaign. I had originally planned to post a long pro-Romney treatise in which I would explain my reasons for supporting Romney. Instead, I'm going to tell my readers why "I'm for Mitt" in a question-and-answer format.
Readers should also take note that I've posted several Romney for President links in my toolbar. I encourage you to check them out to learn more about Governor Mitt Romney.
Governor Mitt Romney? What'd he ever do?
Mitt Romney has been widely recognized for his leadership and accomplishments in private enterprise and as a public servant.
Romney received his B.A., with Highest Honors, from Brigham Young University in 1971. In 1975, he was awarded an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was named a Baker Scholar, and a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School.
From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a vice president at Bain & Company, Inc., a leading management consulting firm. In 1984, Romney founded Bain Capital, one of the nation's most successful venture capital and investment companies. Bain Capital helped launch hundreds of companies on a successful course, including Staples, Domino's Pizza, and The Sports Authority. He was later asked to return to Bain & Company as CEO in order to lead a financial restructuring of the organization. Today, Bain & Company employs more than 2,000 people in 25 offices worldwide.
In 1994, Romney led a gutsy campaign against Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, garnering 41 percent of the vote to Kennedy's 58 percent. The 17-percentage point winning margin was the smallest in Kennedy's nine election contests for the U.S. Senate.
Romney first gained national recognition for his role in turning around the 2002 Winter Olympics. With the 2002 Games mired in controversy and financial crisis, Romney left behind a successful career as an entrepreneur to take over as President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. In his three years at the helm in Salt Lake, Romney erased a $379 million operating deficit, organized 23,000 volunteers, galvanized community spirit and oversaw an unprecedented security mobilization just months after the September 11 attacks.
On January 2, 2003, Mitt Romney was sworn in as the 70th Governor of Massachusetts. During his four years in office, Governor Romney presided over a period of sustained economic expansion. Without raising taxes or increasing debt, Governor Romney balanced the budget every year of his administration, closing a $3 billion budget gap inherited when he took office. By eliminating waste and enacting comprehensive economic reforms to stimulate growth in Massachusetts, Romney got the economy moving again and transformed deficits into surpluses.
One of Governor Romney's top priorities was reforming Massachusetts' education system. In 2004, he established the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program to reward the top 25 percent of Massachusetts high school students with a tuition-free scholarship to any Massachusetts public college or university. He also championed a package of education reforms, including merit pay for teachers, an emphasis on math and science instruction, and English immersion for foreign-speaking students.
Governor Romney was elected Chairman of the Republican Governors Association for the 2006 election cycle, and raised a record $27 million for candidates running in gubernatorial contests around the country.
You do know that Romney's a Mormon, right?
Yes, I do.
Someone told me that Mormon's aren't Christians. Is this true?
It's difficult to argue that someone who belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints isn't a Christian.
Mormons believe some pretty strange things, don't they?
I do indeed disagree with some of the LDS's theological constructs. However, what they believe is no more "strange" to me than such extra-Biblical concepts as the Rapture and Tribulation, which many of my fellow Protestants have latched onto with great conviction.
Romney ran as a pro-choice Republican during his campaign against Ted Kennedy. He now claims to be pro-life. How can you support someone who flip-flops on an issue so near and dear to your heart?
I support Romney just like I supported Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, both of whom adopted pro-life positions late in their respective political careers.
That being said, Mitt Romney consistently pursued pro-life policies as Governor of Massachusetts: he vetoed a bill providing state funding for embryonic stem cell research; he vetoed a bill that provided for the "morning after pill" to be sold without a prescription; he vetoed legislation which would have redefined Massachusetts' long-standing definition of the beginning of human life from fertilization to implantation; and he fought to promote abstinence education in high school classrooms. Romney's actions as Governor have lead important pro-life groups in Massachusetts - including the Massachusetts Family Institute, Massachusetts Citizens for Life, and the Knights of Columbus - to announce that he not only shares their values, he is also determined to protect them.
While we're on the subject of the Gipper, do you really think Mitt Romney is a worthy successor to Ronald Reagan?
Here's Romney on Reagan Conservatism:
You promote supply-side economic theory with the zeal of a missionary. What's so great about Mitt Romney, economically speaking?
As I discussed earlier, Governor Romney balanced four budgets in a state dominated by tax-happy Democrats. (How many of his GOP rivals can lay claim to a similarly successful fiscal record?) He did so without raising taxes or increasing Massachusetts' debt burden. Romney's stated that keeping taxes low and simplifying the tax code "will grow the economy and enhance our competitiveness." I couldn't have said it better myself.
Finally, you flirted with the idea of supporting former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich for President. What changed your mind?
I'll let Governor Romney answer this question: "If ever there was a time when innovation and transformation were needed in government, it is now. I do not believe Washington can be transformed from within by a lifelong politician."
Indeed.
I'm sure many of my readers would like to know why I've chosen to sign on with the Romney for President campaign. I had originally planned to post a long pro-Romney treatise in which I would explain my reasons for supporting Romney. Instead, I'm going to tell my readers why "I'm for Mitt" in a question-and-answer format.
Readers should also take note that I've posted several Romney for President links in my toolbar. I encourage you to check them out to learn more about Governor Mitt Romney.
Governor Mitt Romney? What'd he ever do?
Mitt Romney has been widely recognized for his leadership and accomplishments in private enterprise and as a public servant.
Romney received his B.A., with Highest Honors, from Brigham Young University in 1971. In 1975, he was awarded an MBA from Harvard Business School, where he was named a Baker Scholar, and a J.D., cum laude, from Harvard Law School.
From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a vice president at Bain & Company, Inc., a leading management consulting firm. In 1984, Romney founded Bain Capital, one of the nation's most successful venture capital and investment companies. Bain Capital helped launch hundreds of companies on a successful course, including Staples, Domino's Pizza, and The Sports Authority. He was later asked to return to Bain & Company as CEO in order to lead a financial restructuring of the organization. Today, Bain & Company employs more than 2,000 people in 25 offices worldwide.
In 1994, Romney led a gutsy campaign against Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy, garnering 41 percent of the vote to Kennedy's 58 percent. The 17-percentage point winning margin was the smallest in Kennedy's nine election contests for the U.S. Senate.
Romney first gained national recognition for his role in turning around the 2002 Winter Olympics. With the 2002 Games mired in controversy and financial crisis, Romney left behind a successful career as an entrepreneur to take over as President and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. In his three years at the helm in Salt Lake, Romney erased a $379 million operating deficit, organized 23,000 volunteers, galvanized community spirit and oversaw an unprecedented security mobilization just months after the September 11 attacks.
On January 2, 2003, Mitt Romney was sworn in as the 70th Governor of Massachusetts. During his four years in office, Governor Romney presided over a period of sustained economic expansion. Without raising taxes or increasing debt, Governor Romney balanced the budget every year of his administration, closing a $3 billion budget gap inherited when he took office. By eliminating waste and enacting comprehensive economic reforms to stimulate growth in Massachusetts, Romney got the economy moving again and transformed deficits into surpluses.
One of Governor Romney's top priorities was reforming Massachusetts' education system. In 2004, he established the John and Abigail Adams Scholarship Program to reward the top 25 percent of Massachusetts high school students with a tuition-free scholarship to any Massachusetts public college or university. He also championed a package of education reforms, including merit pay for teachers, an emphasis on math and science instruction, and English immersion for foreign-speaking students.
Governor Romney was elected Chairman of the Republican Governors Association for the 2006 election cycle, and raised a record $27 million for candidates running in gubernatorial contests around the country.
You do know that Romney's a Mormon, right?
Yes, I do.
Someone told me that Mormon's aren't Christians. Is this true?
It's difficult to argue that someone who belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints isn't a Christian.
Mormons believe some pretty strange things, don't they?
I do indeed disagree with some of the LDS's theological constructs. However, what they believe is no more "strange" to me than such extra-Biblical concepts as the Rapture and Tribulation, which many of my fellow Protestants have latched onto with great conviction.
Romney ran as a pro-choice Republican during his campaign against Ted Kennedy. He now claims to be pro-life. How can you support someone who flip-flops on an issue so near and dear to your heart?
I support Romney just like I supported Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush, both of whom adopted pro-life positions late in their respective political careers.
That being said, Mitt Romney consistently pursued pro-life policies as Governor of Massachusetts: he vetoed a bill providing state funding for embryonic stem cell research; he vetoed a bill that provided for the "morning after pill" to be sold without a prescription; he vetoed legislation which would have redefined Massachusetts' long-standing definition of the beginning of human life from fertilization to implantation; and he fought to promote abstinence education in high school classrooms. Romney's actions as Governor have lead important pro-life groups in Massachusetts - including the Massachusetts Family Institute, Massachusetts Citizens for Life, and the Knights of Columbus - to announce that he not only shares their values, he is also determined to protect them.
While we're on the subject of the Gipper, do you really think Mitt Romney is a worthy successor to Ronald Reagan?
Here's Romney on Reagan Conservatism:
You promote supply-side economic theory with the zeal of a missionary. What's so great about Mitt Romney, economically speaking?
As I discussed earlier, Governor Romney balanced four budgets in a state dominated by tax-happy Democrats. (How many of his GOP rivals can lay claim to a similarly successful fiscal record?) He did so without raising taxes or increasing Massachusetts' debt burden. Romney's stated that keeping taxes low and simplifying the tax code "will grow the economy and enhance our competitiveness." I couldn't have said it better myself.
Finally, you flirted with the idea of supporting former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich for President. What changed your mind?
I'll let Governor Romney answer this question: "If ever there was a time when innovation and transformation were needed in government, it is now. I do not believe Washington can be transformed from within by a lifelong politician."
Indeed.
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Monday, March 05, 2007 
