Category Archives: Family and Social Issues

Romney Has the Right Stuff – Newsmax 2008 Article Still Rings True Today

Posted on by joemich4mitt

An excellent comprehensive look at Mitt Romney as a Presidential candidate back in 2008 still rings true today.  Ronald Keesler posted an exhaustive article making a strong case for Mitt Romney back in 2008 and it is worth a review by Michigan voters before we all head to the polls tomorrow.  The bottom line is the article makes the same case that Michigan for Mitt blog has been making — Mitt Romney is a full-spectrum conservative leader uniquely experienced and prepared to restore American greatness while earning broad support from republicans, independents and some democrats in Reaganesque fashion.

First he addressed Mitt Romney’s character and core by telling us about the rescue efforts the Michigan for Mitt blog reviewed yesterday.

Then he moved on to talk about Romney’s Reaganesque demeanor:

“The fact that Massachusetts, where only 13 percent of registered voters are Republicans, could elect Romney governor by a five-point margin (50 percent versus 45 percent for his Democratic opponent) underscores his popularity among Republicans and Democrats alike.

“In an hour-long Newsmax interview at Romney’s Boston headquarters, the candidate is Reaganesque: a man with a sunny, positive disposition. On his desk he has a desk plate that states “America Is Never Stuck.”

“Romney speaks with the effortless delivery of the best news anchors…”

Next he addressed the misconceptions about Mitt’s familial fortunes:

“If the family was financially set, it had little impact on Mitt’s upbringing. Like most other kids, he had summer jobs. His sister Jane, an actress in Beverly Hills, remembers that she was allowed to buy only one new dress a year.

“I always hated the word ‘privileged’ and I never thought we were,” she says. “My dad grew up with nothing. His father went bankrupt twice when my father was a kid.”

Then he touched on values & religion:

“George Romney [Mitt's father] died on July 26, 1995, at the age of 88. He imparted deep values to his family, values that the Mormon Church emphasizes – strong families, honesty, giving to charity, respect for human life, hard work, and clean living.

…

“…In 1994, gay marriage had not yet become a serious issue. But in 2003, when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in a 4-3 decision, ruled that marriage in the commonwealth would no longer be limited to unions between men and women, Romney pushed for an amendment to the state constitution that would outlaw gay marriage.

“In a recent interview in his corner office at his campaign headquarters, Romney sticks by his position condemning discrimination against gays and lesbians.

“I can tell you this, which is I believe gay individuals should enjoy tolerance and respect,” Romney says. “They should have equal opportunities in housing and employment. We shouldn’t discriminate against people based upon their sexual preference or orientation.

“At the same time, I believe that marriage should be reserved for a relationship between one man and one woman. For me, that’s not a matter of discrimination,” Romney adds.

…

“He feels passionately that the value of human life begins at conception,” says South Carolina state Sen. Jim DeMint, a Republican who supports Romney. “The idea that he might have changed his mind [on Roe v. Wade] is very appealing to me, because we’re not going to win that debate unless people change their minds and think it through.”

“Romney has vetoed bills that authorized embryo farming, therapeutic cloning, and access to emergency contraception without parental consent. He is a critic of liberal judges who legislate from the bench, and he says he would like to see the court return the abortion issue to the people to decide.

Next was Romney’s success in saving the 2002 Olympics, an issue which I personally reflected on last week:

“In 1998, Utah state leaders approached Romney about taking over the scandal-ridden 2002 Winter Olympics. More than $1 million in bribes had been paid to members of the International Olympic Committee organizers. Before the scandal erupted, the Salt Lake Olympics Organizing Committee (SLOC) had a projected shortfall of $397 million.

“Romney accepted the position and asked Fraser Bullock, one of the seven original partners of Bain Capital, to become his chief operating officer.

“Romney traveled all over the world to gather support, as he cut back on SLOC expenses…

“With Romney at the helm, the games ended with a surplus of $56 million. The surplus money went to fund future Olympics.”

Then it was on to review another one of Mitt’s successes, saving the state of Massachusetts from its financial peril:

“With the Olympics success under his belt, Romney ran for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 on a platform of fiscal conservatism, promising to erase the state’s $3 billion deficit.

“As the new governor, Romney consolidated state agencies, cut employees, and closed what he called loopholes in the corporate tax code. He also tackled the most difficult public policy issue of all, health insurance.

“With input from the Heritage Foundation, Romney came up with a way to provide universal health insurance…

“Romney’s bottom line in Massachusetts: He erased the budget deficit he inherited when he took over, just as he’d done with the Olympics.

“When Romney left office on Jan. 4, 2006, the Bay State had a balanced budget plus a “rainy day fund” – all without ever raising taxes.”

He concluded with these points:

“Romney emphasizes four priorities if elected president: defeating the jihadists, competing with Asia, stopping runaway spending, and affirming America’s culture and values.

…

“Romney said he is “very concerned about the America that my grandkids will enjoy, and your grandkids will enjoy. It can be a stronger, more vibrant nation, or it can become the France of the 21st century – starting off as the economic superpower, military superpower, ending still a great nation, but not the world’s superpower. The choices we make today will determine whether America is a more prosperous and secure place for our grandchildren. I can help do that.”

Among former presidents, Romney admires Dwight D. Eisenhower. Besides taking on communism, “He was a person whose leadership during World War II made him someone the entire nation revered and respected,” Romney says. “And there’s nothing wrong with having heroes in positions of prominence.”

Having rescued the commonwealth of Massachusetts, the Winter Olympics, Bain & Co., and his partner’s daughter, Romney could well be talking about himself.”

I invite all Michiganders to reflect on this broad spectrum of attributes that would come with a Romney presidency in contrast to the other candidates and our current President.  As Jack Welch so emphatically stated weeks ago, we are the luckiest people to have this guy running at this time.  It couldn’t seem more clear to me that our country is in dire need of a turnaround and Mitt Romney is uniquely and expertly prepared to lead such an effort.  Michigan’s native is hands-down our best chance at restoring American prosperity and greatness, so let’s get out there and vote for Mitt in the polls tomorrow and take a car full of Mitt voters with us!  

Parade Article: A Mitt Romney You Haven’t Seen Yet

Posted on by joemich4mitt

Parade recently posted a heartfelt interview with Mitt Romney here.  Its worth reading all 6 pages.  The American citizenry would be well-served to elect a man with the kind of integrity, family values, and leadership experience in helping and serving among the less fortunate that Mitt Romney has embodied.

Here are some key excerpt from Mitt’s responses to questions from the interviewer, but I recommend reading the article in full:

First, the interviewer says:

Photo credit: Parade 2011

“I conversed with the loving family man who proudly showed me photos of himself sledding with grandsons and who lit up when his wife, Ann, walked into the room…

And here are some comments from Mitt Romney in the interview:

“My dad was a carpenter who never completed college, yet he went on to be CEO of American Motors and governor of Michigan. At home, he filled us with the conviction that life was not handed to us on a silver platter. He made sure my brother and I mowed the lawn, shoveled the driveway. When he ran for president and his tax returns were published, it was clear he could’ve hired a landscaper. But he decided we would learn to work with our hands…

“I thought I’d be a business guy. I had dreamed of being involved in the automobile industry because I loved cars and I grew up in Detroit. My hope was that I could become an executive at one of the car companies. Had I thought politics was in my future, I probably would have picked Michigan, not Massachusetts as the place to live. [laughs]…

“I was sent to live in France among the lower middle class. Each month I received $100 or $110 from home, probably equal to $500 or $600 a month today. With it, I had to pay for everything—rent, food, transportation. The toilet was in the hall, shared by a few apartments, and the shower consisted of attaching a hose to the sink faucet, standing in a plastic tub, and holding the hose over your head….I recognized my life was up to me, and what I became was a function not of what my father achieved or what my mother dreamt, but what I could accomplish on my own…

“Growing up in a Judeo-Christian religious foundation, one measures one’s life by the contributions one has made to God and to the children of God. As the fragility of life becomes more clear in one’s mind, the need and passion to help others becomes more of a daily motivation…

“I read the Bible. I read it with much more interest and attention, and that made me, I think, more fundamentally appreciative of the truths and wisdom that had been provided by our Creator…

“She [Ann] is the most wonderful woman I’ve ever known, an extraordinary mother, and a very caring person. People immediately identify her connection to and passion for others. She would be one of the great First Ladies…

Q: If you could use one word to describe yourself, what would it be?
A: “Devoted. Devoted to my family, my faith, and my country.”

Then the interview moved on to topics of his lifestyle, religion, and other values:

“My view is that the commandments of God—let’s take the Ten Commandments, the basis of all Judeo-Christian faiths—are not so much restricting as liberating. I think being faithful to one’s spouse is a wonderful source of passion and devotion in marriage and that paying tithes as suggested in the Book of Malachi makes one’s money less important…I’ve given away 10 percent of what I’ve earned, pretax…

“I had the occasion, as you know, to serve my church in a foreign place and to live with people who lived extraordinarily modestly. I’ve also served as a lay pastor in my church and counseled people with very modest means and provided welfare funds from the church to them. I’ve had the experience of watching people under very intense personal stress—financial, unemployment, family, and marital. Those heartbreaking experiences are what give me such conviction that we have to turn this country around economically and restore the prosperity which has always characterized the middle class in America…

Q: How would you describe your core? What are your passions?
A:  ”I love this country. I love the principles upon which this nation was founded. I have a deep affection for the American people. And I was raised with a conviction that I have a responsibility as an American citizen to help the country and to help my fellow citizens.

Q: How would you break the partisan gridlock in D.C.?
A:  ”By finding people who care more about the country than anything else. And I would intend not to attack the people across the aisle. When I was governor of Massachusetts, with a legislature that was 85 percent Democrat, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that if I attacked the House or Senate leaders, I’d get nothing done. I worked with the Speaker and the Senate President. We met every week in one of our three offices for an hour or two, discussed problems that the state faced, and did so off the record.”

This is exactly the kind of down-to-earth personality and leadership the people of Michigan and the rest of the country are looking for from our nation’s President.  Unwavering devotion to family, faith and country, proven over the span of his lifetime.  We find in Mitt no flipping or recent conversion to these most important foundational values that comprise the core of a moral leader.

The question is, is such unwavering devotion to these values important to republican voters?

Who gets nominated may be very telling.

Ann Romney’s Family Legacy of Sacrifice and Hard Work, Roots in GMI (Kettering)

Posted on by joemich4mitt

General Motors Institute of Technology Logo (now Kettering University)

This article reminded me of a compelling story Mitt Romney shared with the audience up at Mackinac a few weekends ago about his Father-in-Law.  Looks like he shared the same story with an audience down in Florida per this recent news article highlighting the Romney’s Flint, Michigan connection (emphasis is mine):

“From CNN transcript:

“They couldn’t afford sending four kids to college. So, the family all got together, had a family council and decided they would choose one of them, the smartest of them, and all of them would work, save their money to send that one to college,” Romney said at the town hall.

“Thankfully for me, that was my wife’s father. He got to go to college, went to General Motors Institute of Technology and was able to get a degree in engineering, started his own little engineering company after college. And started making parts for ships for steering gears of aircraft carriers, elevators that lift planes up and down an aircraft carriers, began a very successful little enterprise of his own.”

Just another example of the legacy of hard work, sacrifice and determination that seems to have been left by Mitt and Ann’s families.  Many Michigan families carry similar legacies.  I have lived in a few other states and also overseas, and one of the qualities I appreciate most about my Michigan roots is that so many Michiganders carry this type of legacy in their family, including my own.  It will be a great strength and inspiration to bring this Michigan family’s legacy to our nation’s highest office.

Sunday Series – Believe in America

Posted on by joemich4mitt

Hello Michiganders & friends!  Sundays are a special day for me when I take time off of work and focus on the issues that matter to me most, including time for faith, family and service.  In that same spirit I decided to devote a series of Sunday blog posts to issues we would consider most important and fundamental to America’s greatness.

If there is something all of us in Michigan can unite behind, it is that we all want a better future for our great state & country.  Central to Mitt Romney’s campaign is the message “Believe in America”.  The slogan has struck a chord with me as I truly believe in America’s greatness, in our potential to overcome our challenges, and in the optimism & hard work that is most certainly required of us to win the future.

The caveat is that if we want to see a better America, we can’t just sit around blaming other people for our problems, hoping that somehow our current problems will fix themselves.  We should all be taking ownership of  our destiny (we can do that here in America!) by asking ourselves, “What is America capable of?” followed by, “What can I do to make that a reality?”  …and then get to work on that!  As President Kennedy so famously put it, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Life gets busy, our schedules get tight, yet the country keeps moving in whatever direction we decide to steer it.  Hopefully we don’t all decide to just take our hands off the wheel and let it drive itself into the ditch!

“Believe in America” reminds us that there is a special strength found among our citizens and in our ideals that will help us rise from any hardship.  So while we may be going through difficult times as a state and as a country, the slogan reminds me that persistent commitment to the ideals and work ethics of this country will never fail.  America is destined for greatness so long as we are dedicated to the cause.  Indeed, as Mitt states in the below video, in America “anything is possible”.

So let’s remember to remain optimistic, to continue believing in America, and to remain persistent in our work in keeping America the greatest nation on Earth.

Key to that work is making sure we work hard to elect a new President who also believes in America’s greatness and potential, and I can’t think of a better fit than the American leader who has been the “clear & unapologetic” defender of the “Believe in America” message, and who has established for himself an exhaustive resume of restoring greatness to numerous companies, an Olympics, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  That leader is Mitt Romney and Michigan stands with him for President in 2012!