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Statements & Endorsements
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| A NATIONAL ENDORSEMENT - 2008 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY |
"Romney is an intelligent, articulate, and accomplished former businessman and governor. At a time when voters yearn for competence and have soured on Washington because too often the Bush administration has not demonstrated it, Romney offers proven executive skill. He has demonstrated it in everything he has done in his professional life, and his tightly organized, disciplined campaign is no exception. He himself has shown impressive focus and energy.
"It is true that he has less foreign-policy experience than Thompson and (especially) McCain, but he has more executive experience than both. Since almost all of the candidates have the same foreign-policy principles, what matters most is which candidate has the skills to execute that vision. . .
"His conservative accomplishments as governor showed that he can work with, and resist, a Democratic legislature. He knows that not every feature of the health-care plan he enacted in Massachusetts should be replicated nationally, but he can also speak with more authority than any of the other Republican candidates about this pressing issue. . .
"In 1994, when he tried to unseat Ted Kennedy, he ran against higher taxes and government-run health care, and for school choice, a balanced budget amendment, welfare reform, and ''tougher measures to stop illegal immigration.'' He was no Rockefeller Republican even then.
"We believe that Romney is a natural ally of social conservatives. He speaks often about the toll of fatherlessness in this country. He may not have thought deeply about the political dimensions of social issues until, as governor, he was confronted with the cutting edge of social liberalism. No other Republican governor had to deal with both human cloning and court-imposed same-sex marriage. He was on the right side of both issues, . . ."
The National Review was founded over 50 years ago by William F. Buckley Jr. The online edition has 1.5 million unique visitors per month.
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| SOUTHERN, EASTERN STATES ENDORSEMENTS - 2008 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY |
"The qualities needed now in the Oval Office are business knowledge and experience, an understanding of economies and the imperatives of those who manage them around the world, an ability to problem-solve and to assess talent and to assemble the right team to accomplish a mission. What's needed, too, is a strong grounding in principle and steadfastness in the face of pressure and panic, but with the adaptability and flexibility to adjust to changing circumstances...
"The Republican who best exemplifies all the qualities needed in a president is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, a successful CEO...
"For Republicans, it's time to be realistic. And the reality is that the next president could be handed a Congress controlled by Democrats, as George W. Bush was in 2006. That demands a leader with experience in working with the opposition party...
"In addition to a pragmatism toward the opposition, another practical concern for Republicans is electability. To win the White House, Republicans need a nominee who can be competitive in states drifting Democratic — Ohio or Colorado, among others.
"Romney can. On policy matters, the great differences are between the two parties — not, frankly, the serious contenders in either field.
"It is for that reason that purists should recognize that the crucial test is which of these candidates can win in November. In all respects, Romney looks, sounds and acts presidential, projecting competence and the intelligence to deal comfortably with policy nuance and complexity. In a perilous world, whether the peril is terrorism, global competition or a tanking economy, Mitt Romney is the Republican who inspires confidence in his ability to lead.
" "I will not need briefings on how the economy works; I know how it works," Romney said last week in Florida. "I've been there. I think it's time to have a president who understands the economy, understands jobs, understands why jobs come and go."
"That should be an appealing argument to Republicans."
"The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Georgia's largest newspaper, is endorsing former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney in the Republican race for the White House."
"The newspaper said in an editorial published in its Sunday newspaper that it believes Romney best exemplifies the qualities needed in a president, including business knowledge and experience and the ability to perform under pressure."
"The Republican governor led the fight to control sprawl and bring more affordable housing to the Bay State with groundbreaking laws and a dramatic reorganization of state agencies. In 2003, he combined transportation, housing, environmental and energy agencies into a super-agency, charged it with stopping runaway suburban growth, then appointed a Democrat environmentalist to run it. By comparison, Connecticut is still nibbling around the edges of smart growth.
"The former venture-capital company CEO and rescuer of the 2002 Winter Olympics also worked with the Democratic legislature to stop job losses and reduce a projected $3 billion budget shortfall. He managed to balance his state's budget without sales or income tax or gas increases. And he streamlined other government agencies — all while maintaining the state's huge accomplishments from a decade of education reforms that put Massachusetts ahead of Connecticut on many academic achievement scores...
"Mark Twain said about Wagner that his music “is better than it sounds.” Mr. Romney is a better leader than his perplexing campaign performance makes him out to be."
"In Case You Missed It: Governor Romney Gets First Newspaper Endorsement In Florida"
"Although the Florida primary is more than six months away, we believe it is important to get behind the candidate we feel is best suited to be the next president of the United States: Mitt Romney.
"We feel his vision and leadership are vital to providing for our national interests as well as economic stability and growth in a shrinking world market.
"Romney is not the frontrunner in the Republican Party, but he is the clear candidate of choice in looking at former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's liberal politics and Sen. John McCain's old-school Washington insider status...
"So why now? Why not wait until the primaries?
"The answer is simple.
"We've seen and heard enough from the debates to know that McCain is yesterday's news and outside of his 9/11 heroics, Giuliani doesn't have a national platform.
"Romney has a strong campaign base.
"The fact that Romney won the governorship in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the most liberal of all the states, speaks volumes about his broad appeal – his Reaganesque appeal, something this country vitally needs.
"With a war raging in Iraq, instability among the Palestinians and Israel and Iran's veiled threats and nuclear program, the nation needs to get behind the strongest candidate.
"That candidate is Mitt Romney."
(archived article — original link expired)
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| MID-WEST STATES ENDORSEMENTS - 2008 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY |
"Romney is the most conservative candidate who is running.
"Romney’s views for a strong military, limited government, lower taxes, free market principles, immigration reform, family values and high ethical standards are what make him appealing to conservative voters and to this newspaper.
"Romney has presented intriguing and worthwhile proposals for all of the key issues on health care, social security reform, immigration reform and defense similar to many of the candidates. But what distinguishes Romney from the rest of the pack in our eyes is his past performance in successfully running large enterprises...
"Romney’s keen business skills would be a welcomed change for business-as-usual in Washington. Voters have become tired of politics and nothing getting accomplished. We believe voters are searching for competence and fiscal responsibility in Washington, since too often the Bush administration has disappointed them in this area. Romney offers proven executive experience. He has met payrolls and knows how to run a giant operation. He has proven his leadership ability and business acumen in his campaign and throughout his successful professional life.
"On the personal side, he is a devoted husband and loving father. He has satisfactorily, for most Republicans, clarified his position on abortion as pro-life and gave a speech on his faith to shed light on some of the concerns and misinformation on Mormonism.
"We think Romney has all the skills it takes to be an effective leader and a good president who will be able to follow through on his vision for America."
"At a time when the challenges we face as a nation are formidable, complex, divisive, political and dangerous, America needs a leader with energy, intellect, vision, charisma and experience.
"In his party's field of presidential candidates, Mitt Romney stands out as such an individual. Today we endorse Romney as the Republican we support in the Jan. 3 Iowa Caucuses.
"Romney combines an outsider's new face with a proven track record of success as an executive in both the private and public sectors. As a businessman, the president and chief executive officer of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and governor of Massachusetts, he has demonstrated an ability to forge consensus, organize, mobilize and motivate in order to solve problems.
"Personally, he is engaging, even charming, he has shown an ability to reach across partisan divides, and he is passionate on the campaign trail. In terms of leadership qualities, he possesses "it," and the importance of "it" should not be diminished. Let's be honest, a candidate for president can prepare volumes of detailed ideas, but if he or she is a polarizing figure within the halls of Congress or devoid of the personal traits necessary to inspire Americans to listen and follow, those plans don't have a chance of success.
"In order to win his party's nomination and compete in the general election, Romney first must prove he's conservative enough, of course. Whether the subject is national defense, economics or social issues, his conservative credentials are strong. He understands the scope of the threat we face from Islamist jihadists and is committed to protecting America from them, wants to increase the size of the military by 100,000 troops and increase defense spending to 4 percent of our gross domestic product, and is committed to cutting taxes, wasteful federal spending and the size of government.
He speaks often and with conviction about families, protecting children, values and culture. He is pro-life, but he takes a pragmatic approach to the contentious issue. He believes each individual state should determine its abortion laws through the democratic process and "not have them dictated by judicial mandate." He advocates a get-tough approach toward illegal immigration and bolstering security on our southern border.
"Having earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, founded his own venture capital and investment company, managed the Olympic Games and run a state in which the Legislature is some 85 percent Democratic, Romney understands economic principles, the intricacies of reform in areas such as education and health care, and the essential need to work with the other side. It's reasonable to say the economy and budget of Massachusetts were in dramatically better shape when he left office than when he entered, that the once-troubled 2002 Winter Olympics were transformed into a profitable success under his watch...
"Finally, the 60-year-old Romney - son of the late George Romney, a three-term governor of Michigan and secretary of Housing and Urban Development in Richard Nixon's first term - is a man of decency and integrity. Likability cannot be discounted as an attribute important in a candidate for public office.
"Among all the Republican candidates this year, Romney best taps into what we believe Americans seek - a different look, a fresh vision, a return to America's goodness and greatness. He has earned the privilege to emerge from this field as his party's nominee and carry his message of "strong military, strong economy, strong families" into next year's general election campaign."
"Our Position: Romney excels over all other Republican candidates.
"At no time in recent memory has this nation faced a greater array of formidable, complex and potentially dangerous challenges. The very nature of those complex challenges and the potential means of addressing them is a recipe for divisiveness. As Americans continue their search for a new commander-in-chief, they should search for an individual with vision, intellect and experience.
"In a Republican presidential field that boasts a host of candidates who bring a wide range of talents and experience to the table, we think former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney rises to the top as the best choice to lead his party toward the 2008 election...
"While all experiences point to what we feel would be a successful term in the White House, Romney's four years as governor of Massachusetts, a solidly Democratic state, underscore his potential for leading this nation. Those four years demonstrate his understanding of economic principles, the intricacies of reform and, most of all, his understanding of the need to work with those on the other side of the political aisle.
"Both the economy and the budget in Massachusetts were in better shape at the end of Romney's term than at the beginning, and the state had made significant strides in the areas of education and health care.
"Those results were not Romney's alone, but they were, in our view, the result of his vision and his leadership.
"Republicans need to think not only about a candidate who can win but also about a candidate who has the ability – the track record – to actually run the country if they win.
"That person is, in our opinion, Mitt Romney."
(For the full text of the article, see the following link)
"Mitt Romney certainly has the credentials to run the country. He is a former Massachusetts governor who turned that state's economy around and proved to be a more than able leader...
"Equally critical, Romney knows how to get a state out of debt and, being from Michigan, he certainly has an empathy for the state that the other candidates, both GOP and Democratic, don't have.
"With Michigan's horrible economy and other problems, we need as much clout in Washington as possible and Romney promises to give us that.
"We don't know who the Democratic candidate will be because only one of three front-runners will be on Tuesday's ballot. It's difficult, if not impossible, to endorse one at this time.
"But there's no doubt whom state Republicans should vote for - Mitt Romney."
"Among Republicans on the ballot in Tuesday's presidential primary, two candidates would offer solid leadership, Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. However, when it comes to Michigan's challenges and needs, the passion and knowledge of Mr. Romney tip the scales in his favor. During a visit with Press editors this week, Mr. Romney vowed, "I will not sleep until Michigan is strong and active and vibrant again." Because of that focus, MITT ROMNEY has our vote in the Republican presidential primary. We do so in the context of the current president, who has paid only cursory attention to the Detroit Three auto makers and Michigan's manufacturing woes....
"Mr. Romney first came to the national stage as the turnaround man for the scandal-plagued 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah. His deft handling of the bribery mess and deficit is a case study in successful management. He served as governor of Massachusetts for one term, ending in 2006. There, he worked with the Legislature to enact a law that required every citizen of the state to have health insurance, and provided state aid for those who couldn't afford it. As president, he said he would push states to enact their own health care solutions. He would aggressively pursue alternative energy and energy efficiency. He supports merit pay for teachers and more educational choices for parents and children, ideas that deserve furtherance in Washington.
The next president will need to transcend the stunting polarities that bedevil Washington. As the Republican leader of a Democratic state, Mr. Romney had to reach across partisan boundaries. Mr. Romney's father, George Romney, served as governor of Michigan in the 1960s, a tie that strengthens his understanding of Michigan. He knows that this state's job losses and struggle to find a new economic footing are the "canary in the mine," as he rightly put it, for the nation as a whole."
"Two large Michigan newspapers endorsed native son Mitt Romney today as the Republican Party's nominee for president of the United States.
"Both The Grand Rapids Press and The Oakland Press of Pontiac put their support behind Romney, a former Massachusetts governor with ties to Michigan."
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| WESTERN STATES ENDORSEMENTS - 2008 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY |
"In few election years have Republicans enjoyed the diverse and impressive selection of presidential candidates they do in 2008. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney stands out among these elite talents as a proven administrator, the candidate with the best understanding of the U.S. economy, and the contender most likely to stem illegal immigration. The Sacramento Union therefore endorses Willard Mitt Romney as Republican nominee for the U.S. presidency.
"Romney possesses perhaps the strongest managerial resume and record of anyone who has ever sought the U.S. presidency. He holds joint JD/MBA degrees from Harvard Law School, where he graduated cum laude, and Harvard Business School, where he made the top 5 percent of his class.
"No other candidate, Republican or Democratic, has Romney’s ground-level experience and success in the U.S. economy. He began his business career as a vice president for Bain & Company, a Boston management consulting firm, before founding and heading Bain Capital, a spin-off, private investment company. Under Romney’s 14-year leadership, Bain Capital’s internal rate of return on realized investments was 113 percent. In 1990, he returned to Bain & Company, then near bankruptcy. Within a year, he rescued the company from the red without lay-offs, and today, it employs more than 2,000 people in 25 offices around the world.
"Romney later became CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games, where he again demonstrated the kind of managerial talents the White House demands. When Romney took the helm, the event was foundering, $379 million short of its revenue benchmarks. The games were plagued, too, by allegations of bribery against Romney’s predecessors. Romney staunched the event’s deficit spending, increased fundraising, organized 23,000 volunteers, and ended the games with a $100 million profit despite spending $224.5 million to ensure security following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
"In 2002 Romney showed his ability to appeal to a broad crosssection of voters when he was elected, as a conservative, to the governorship of notoriously leftleaning, high-tax Massachusetts. There, he inherited a $1.2 billion state budget deficit but orchestrated a magnificent turnaround. He balanced the state budget every year of his administration without raising taxes and recorded a $700 million surplus in 2006. During his last year, Romney tried to control costs by vetoing 250 items in the state budget, all of which were overturned by the free-spending state legislature. This more than suggests that Romney has the fortitude to fight the pork barrel expenditures he will inevitably encounter in Washington, D.C.
"With the U.S. either on the cusp of an economic recession or already in its throes, Romney is best equipped among the GOP presidential contestants to achieve yet another turnaround by reviving the nation’s capacity to generate jobs and business. When he became governor, Massachusetts was shedding thousands of jobs per month. But at the close of his administration, the state had attracted hundreds of new companies and added 60,000 new jobs.
"Romney is a Reagan-style supply-sider. He knows that lower taxes invigorate the economy by increasing investment in new plants and jobs. Unlike other candidates, he has taken the no-tax pledge advanced by Americans for Tax Reform. He supported the 2003 Bush tax cuts and will work to make them permanent. What is more, he would eliminate capital gains taxes on middle-class taxpayers and do away with the “death tax” (inheritance tax) for all taxpayers.
"We also believe that Romney will do what is necessary to preserve America’s sovereignty and security in the face of 12 to 20 million illegal aliens residing in the U.S. He opposed last year’s McCain-Kennedy amnesty bill, favors implementation of “a mandatory biometrically-enabled and tamper-proof documentation and employment-verification system,” supports development of “a wall or fence or electronic surveillance” along America’s porous borders, and has pushed for broader enforcement of U.S. immigration laws by state and local police. Gov. Romney signed an agreement in 2006 to allow Massachusetts state troopers to enforce federal immigration laws. He also vetoed in-state tuition for illegals, fought efforts to weaken the state’s English language immersion law, and opposed legislation to grant driver’s licenses to illegals.
"He is right on the immigration issue as he is on most others. But the issue that will count most this election year is the economy. With polls showing that voters are increasingly worried about the housing and debt meltdown, Romney appears to be the right man at the right time. While other candidates have been hard pressed to offer quick fixes to these economic woes, Romney alone boasts a record of financial crisis management. No other candidate possesses his grasp of marketplace dynamics. And none have resuscitated a budget the size of Massachusetts’. He is a proven turnaround specialist, just what is needed if the country is to achieve four more years of economic prosperity."
"Over the last month, we have provided our endorsements, but left two races open-ended as we debated them internally: the Republican presidential nomination, and the Indian gaming propositions.
"Knowing that voters must do the same, we have made up our minds. It wasn't easy. There was more internal debate about the candidates and issues than there has been in years - and that's a good thing.
"Our endorsements.. Republican: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Although Arizona Sen. John McCain's maverick streak appeals to some of us, Romney has proved that an intelligent, conservative businessman can effectively lead the nation's most liberal state, stage a fantastic Winter Olympics and create wealth and jobs in the private sector."
"Arizona Sen. John McCain, now the frontrunner, is an American hero, a foreign-policy expert and a veteran of the Washington trenches. But with a volatile economy overtaking Iraq as a chief concern among voters, we believe that Mitt Romney is the best choice for Colorado Republicans.
"As a governor of Massachusetts, a skilled businessman and the savior of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Romney possesses the executive acumen necessary to implement policies that produce results. Wouldn't that be a strange change in Washington?
"In a recent phone interview with The Post's editorial board, Romney impressed us with his broad range of knowledge, his grasp of economic policy and his understanding of issues important to Western voters.
"Washington Republicans have strayed far from the fiscal conservatism their party has traditionally championed. So while we applaud McCain's stand against wasteful spending, we're even more impressed with Romney's real-world experience in running lean budgets and bringing financial competency to companies.
"We believe his economic growth plan — eliminating taxes on capital gains and interest and dividends for middle-class households — will help spur capital investment and the economy.
"But the best example of Romney's ability to create the type of bipartisan solutions so desperately needed inside the Beltway is his health care record. Romney forged a plan with Democrats in the Massachusetts legislature to help insure as many as 400,000 citizens while still preserving market competition and choice.
"Romney has stressed that his Massachusetts plan is not the answer for every state. But it's a promising start and inspired Democratic Sen. Hillary Clinton's own health insurance plan...
"Romney has the resume and executive experience to be not only an effective president, but a problem-solver in a world full of problems."
"Mr. Romney's economic agenda includes several pro-growth policies, including a plan to eliminate taxes on capital gains, interest and dividends for any household earning less than $200,000 a year. He backs a line-item veto, favors making the Bush tax cuts permanent and understands that imposing higher taxes as a means of fixing Social Security will only make the problem worse.
"He's supportive of free trade, rejects protectionism, backs tort reform, supports school choice and accountability, and while governor was even able to successfully push a handful of spending reforms through Massachusetts' overwhelmingly Democratic legislature. Mr. Romney vows to exercise his veto power if Congress doesn't embrace spending restraint and understands the drag that excessive federal regulation imposes on the innovation and the economy." (The newspaper's endorsement and editorial on Mitt Romney shortly before the Nevada Caucuses.)
"On the Republican side, we support Romney because of his strong executive background and his ability to achieve results in a state that is dominated by members of the opposite party.
"His “strategy for a stronger America” promises to lower taxes while improving education and making our nation more competitive in the global marketplace. He also understands the threat America faces from jihadists in the Middle East, and proposes a “Marshall Plan” to unify moderate Muslims against terrorism at its source."
"The best candidate — and the one who would give the party its strongest chance in the fall — is former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.
"Romney is a successful businessman who showed his ability to get voters to cross party lines when he won the governor's office in Massachusetts, home of the Kennedys, Michael Dukakis and John Kerry. He left that office with his reputation and his relationships intact.
"Romney's most remarkable feat, however, was his stewardship of the Salt Lake City Olympics. He showed that he could bring disparate groups together, clean up a mess left by his predecessor and put on possibly the most successful games ever...
"Republicans need a candidate who represents conservative values, builds bipartisan support and signals change for a restless electorate.
"Romney is that candidate."
"When Americans go to the polls in November, they will be electing a chief executive of the United States. As we survey the Republican field of presidential aspirants in Utah's Feb. 5 primary, one candidate stands above the others as a talented chief executive: Mitt Romney.
"Utahns learned about Romney up close when the state's governor at the time, Mike Leavitt, tapped him in 1999 to rescue the scandal-plagued committee that was organizing the 2002 Winter Olympic..."
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