Video – Mitt Romney Michigan Victory Speech

Below is the video of Mitt Romney’s victory speech in Michigan.  The full text of the speech is also provided below the video.  Once again, congrats to Mitt Romney, his campaign, supporters, voters, and Michigan!  Now it is time to seal the nomination and start focusing on helping Mitt win Michigan in the general election.  MICHIGAN STANDS WITH MITT!!

And here is the full text of Mitt Romney’s Michigan victory speech:

“Thank you, Michigan. And thank you, Arizona! A week ago the pundits and the pollsters were ready to count us out. But across Michigan and Arizona I kept meeting moms and dads, students and grandparents, all concerned about what was happening to this great country. I was confident that we would come together today and take a giant step toward a brighter future.  Tonight, their efforts have brought our cause a great victory.

Tonight is all the more special because we’re celebrating in the state where I was born, surrounded by Michiganders we consider family. Ann and I want to thank all of you who knocked on doors, made calls, and went to the polls.

And in Arizona, we want to thank Governor Brewer and Senator McCain who are celebrating with our two sons, Craig and Matt.

Our campaign is about restoring the promise of America. Last week, I unveiled a bold economic plan that will jumpstart this economy and help get Michiganders and Americans back to work.

Americans are crying out for more jobs, less debt, and smaller government – and I will deliver.

You know, a lot of people say that if you’re running for office, you can’t speak honestly with the American people.  Well, I did – and I will – because this is a decisive moment that requires real leadership.

Times are tough. And we need leaders who will live with integrity, who have the courage to tell the truth, and who have the experience to get our economy back on track. That’s the kind of leader I am. And that’s the kind of President I will be.

Our campaign is about more than replacing a President. It’s about restoring America’s promise.

From generation to generation, Americans have always known that the future would be brighter and better.  Americans have always believed in a tomorrow full of possibility and prosperity.

That’s what it means to be a land of opportunity. In America, if you work hard, you can build a better life. If you teach your kids the right values and help them make the right choices, you know their future will be prosperous and secure.

That deep confidence in a better tomorrow is the basic promise of America. Today, that promise is being threatened by a faltering economy and a failed presidency.

Four years ago, we warned that the Presidency was no place for on-the-job training. Today, we have an economy to prove it.

This President likes to remind us that he inherited an economic crisis. But he never mentions that he also inherited a Democratic Congress. With majorities in the House and Senate, President Obama was free to pursue any policy he pleased.

Did he fix the economy? Did he tackle the housing crisis? Did he get Americans back to work?  No. He put us on a path toward debt, deficits, and decline. It is time to get off that path and get back on the path to prosperity.

These days, when he’s not spending our money or infringing upon our rights, President Obama is busy running for re-election. He believes he ranks among the top four presidents in history.

He thinks he deserves a second term. He keeps saying, “We can’t wait.” To which I say, “Yes, we can.”

Today, we’re $15 trillion in debt. Real employment stands at 15%.

You’ve heard the saying, “I need a vacation from this vacation?” Well, we need to recover from this so-called “recovery.”

Americans survived a Great Depression. We weathered two world wars. We’ve made it through tough times before.  And we have not come all this way to give up now.

We still believe in the hope, the dream, and the promise of America. We know our future is better and brighter than these troubled times.

That unwavering conviction guides our campaign. It has rallied millions of Americans to our cause. And it’s the message we will take to every corner of this country – from Ohio and Idaho to Georgia and Tennessee.

We’ve seen enough of this President over the last three years to know that we don’t need another four. President Obama believes he is unchecked by our Constitution. He is unresponsive to the will of our people. In a second term, he would be unrestrained by the demands of re-election. If there is one thing we cannot afford, it is four years of Barack Obama with nothing to answer to.

His budget foreshadows what lies ahead. Runaway spending and record debt were just the warm-up act.  For an encore, he wants to raise taxes on job creators and small businesses and families. We will not let him!

In this campaign, I am offering a real choice and a new direction. I have a plan that will restore America’s promise through more jobs, less debt, and smaller government.

President Obama is making the federal government bigger, burdensome, and bloated. I will make it simpler, smaller, and smarter.

He raised the national debt. I will cut, cap, and balance the budget.

He passed Obamacare. I’ll repeal it.

He lost our AAA credit rating; I’ll restore it.

He rejected the Keystone Pipeline. I’ll approve it. I will open up our lands for development, so we can finally get the energy we need at a price we can afford.

When it comes to the economy, my highest priority will be worrying about your job, not saving my own.

President Obama wants to raise your taxes. I will cut them. That starts with an across-the-board, 20% rate cut for every American. I will repeal the Alternative Minimum Tax and abolish the death tax.

He’s proposed tax increases on small businesses and job creators. I will lower the corporate tax rate to 25%. I will make the R&D tax credit permanent to foster innovation. And I will end the repatriation tax to return investment to our shores. Let’s finally have a tax plan that puts people to work.

President Obama’s budget raises taxes on savings and investment. I will help America’s middle class families save and invest tax-free.

President Obama has yet to offer a single serious proposal for saving Medicare or Social Security. I have a plan to save both – and, unlike him, I have the courage to put my plan on the table.

My plans will help create jobs and raise wages. They will strengthen entitlement programs for future generations.  And they will not add to our deficit – they will abolish it.

I have a plan to get our citizens back to work – and I have the experience to get our economy back on track. I spent 25 years in business.  I have been the steward of an Olympics and the leader of a state.  I’ve cut taxes 19 times.  I’ve turned a budget shortfall into a windfall.  I know how government kills jobs – and, yes, how it can help.  And I stand ready to lead our Party to victory – and our nation to prosperity.

This is our time for choosing – and this is a choice we must get right. I have said it before – and I firmly believe – that this campaign is about saving the soul of America.

This election will come down to two very different visions for our future.

It’s a choice between becoming a nation of and by Washington … and remaining a nation of and by a free people.

A choice between an entitlement society … and a land of opportunity.

A choice between squandering America’s promise … and restoring that promise for future generations.

If you want to make this election about restoring American greatness, then I hope you will join us.

If you believe the disappointments of the last few years are a detour, not our destiny, then I need your support.

I’m asking you to get out and vote. I’m asking you to go to mittromney.com and pledge your support.  I’m asking you to join in the fight for our freedom – and ensure that tomorrow will be better than today.

This election, let’s restore America’s promise. Let’s fight for the country we love.

Thank you. And God bless America.”

Mitt Romney Wins Michigan!!

Mitt Romney Michigan victory speech. Photo credit: CNN

Michigan has spoken and with a loud, clear voice Michigan has nominated Michigan native Mitt Romney to be the next President of the United States of America!!!  

To all Michigan Mitt supporters, volunteers, campaigners, and most importantly Michigan voters, thank you for your votes and hard work!  This is a great victory for Gov. Romney and his campaign to restore American prosperity and greatness. 

After all the events, talking with friends and family, phone calls, sacrifices of hard-earned money and sacrifices in time, and other campaign work we have all put into this primary, this is one sweet victory for us all to enjoy. 

Not only are we celebrating victory here in Michigan, but also in Arizona where Mitt won the winner-take-all primary, and also a running lead continuing in the ongoing Wyoming caucus!

Time to do what we can to help Gov. Romney seal the nomination and win in the general election, but first we celebrate tonight!  Enjoy the moment and feeling.  Remember what this is like, because just imagine how incredble it will be to be celebrating a Mitt Romney victory in the general election a few months from now, and witnessing a President Romney being sworn into office in just under a year from now.  WAY TO GO MITT ROMNEY AND THE WHOLE CAMPAIGN!  MICHIGAN STANDS WITH MITT!!

Video – Mitt Romney Town Hall in Kalamazoo

Here it is!  Full video of Mitt Romney’s town hall meeting in Kalamazoo, Michigan held on the campus of Western Michigan University.

Mitt Romney Video – Growing Up

Mitt Romney talks about growing up in Michigan and his commitment to helping Michigan become stronger:

Mitt Romney Says Taxpayers Should Get GM Shares’ Proceeds

Mitt Romney in Maine. Photo Credit: Robert F. Bukaty / Associated Press

Michigan native Mitt Romney penned an op-ed in the Detroit News this morning that is an absolute must-read for all Michiganders who care about our auto industry and who care about Detroit.  Summarizing or sharing excerpts just won’t do this one any justice.  I highly recommend reading this one in full – “Romney op-ed: Taxpayers should get GM share’s proceeds” 

In this op-ed, Mitt first reflected on some of his Michigan roots:

“I am a son of Detroit. I was born in Harper Hospital and lived in the city until my family moved to Oakland County.

I grew up drinking Vernors and watching ballgames at Michigan & Trumbull. Cars got in my bones early. And not just any cars, American cars.

When the president of American Motors died suddenly in 1954, my dad, George Romney, was asked to take his place. I was 7 and got my love of cars and chrome and fins and roaring motors from him. I grew up around the industry and watched it flourish. Years later, I watched with sadness as it floundered.”

All of us in Michigan can certainly relate.  First, Vernors and cars do rule, of course!  And anyone that knows their Michigan history well knows that Mitt’s Dad was a fantastic advocate of the US automaker industry.  Indeed we were all saddened by the industry’s recent struggles, to say the least.  Many of us were directly affected.  What is comforting, however, is to know that this Presidential candidate has such a detailed, fluent and intuitive understanding about the current situation of the industry and Michigan’s economy.

To those who are looking for what Mitt’s position on the auto industry bailouts has been, several of his comments offered a good insight and reminder (bolded emphasis is mine):

“Three years ago, in the midst of an economic crisis, a newly elected President Barack Obama stepped in with a bailout for the auto industry. The indisputable good news is that Chrysler and General Motors are still in business. The equally indisputable bad news is that all the defects in President Obama’s management of the American economy are evident in what he did.

Instead of doing the right thing and standing up to union bosses,Obama rewarded them.

A labor union that had contributed millions to Democrats and his election campaign was granted an ownership share of Chrysler and a major stake in GM, two flagships of the industry.The U.S. Department of Treasury — American taxpayers — was asked to become a majority stockholder of GM. And a politically connected and ethically challenged Obama-campaign contributor, the financier Steven Rattner, was asked to preside over all this as auto czar.

This was crony capitalism on a grand scale. The president tells us that without his intervention things in Detroit would be worse. I believe that without his intervention things there would be better.

My view at the time — and I set it out plainly in an op-ed in the New York Times — was that “the American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing.” Instead of a bailout, I favored “managed bankruptcy” as the way forward.

Managed bankruptcy may sound like a death knell. But in fact, it is a way for a troubled company to restructure itself rapidly, entering and leaving the courtroom sometimes in weeks or months instead of years, and then returning to profitable operation.

…

Shorn of [excess] costs, and shorn of the bungling management that had driven them into a deep rut, they could re-emerge as vibrant and competitive companies. Ultimately, that is what happened. The course I recommended was eventually followed. GM entered managed bankruptcy in June 2009 and exited it a month later in July.

Later in the op-ed he points out the injustice American taxpayers and many auto workers suffered from President Obama’s bailouts of the auto industry (bolded emphasis is mine):

“The outcome of the managed bankruptcy proceedings was dictated by the terms of the bailout. Chrysler’s “secured creditors,” who in the normal course of affairs should have been first in line for compensation, were given short shrift, while at the same time, the UAWs’ union-boss-controlled trust fund received a 55 percent stake in the firm.

The pensions of union workers and retirees at Delphi, GM’s parts supplier, were left untouched, while some 21,000 non-union salaried employees saw their pensions slashed and lost their life and health insurance. And so on and so forth across the industry.

While a lot of workers and investors got the short end of the stick, Obama’s union allies — and his major campaign contributors — reaped reward upon reward, all on the taxpayer’s dime.

…

American taxpayers have been left on the hook for billions to benefit unions and the union bosses who contributed millions to Barack Obama’s election campaign. Such a state of affairs is intolerable, and as president I would not tolerate it. The Obama administration needs to act now to divest itself of its ownership position in GM.

The shares need to be sold in a responsible fashion and the proceeds turned over to the nation’s taxpayers.”

His conclusion is compelling:

“We should not be back on a road like the one that brought us Freddie Mac and the housing crisis. It is a road with endless hazards. It is not the American way of making cars.

The dream of the Motor City is and always has been one of ideas, innovation, enterprise, and opportunity. It started with Henry Ford and continued with visionaries like William Durant, Walter Chrysler, and the Dodge Brothers. These giants never envisioned a role for government in their business, but relied on the hard work and commitment of private individuals.

Their dream is alive in all of us who have ever called Detroit home. And with a Detroiter in the White House, that dream can be realized once again.“

Let’s keep that dream of a thriving Motor City alive be voting for Mitt Romney in the Michigan Primary two weeks from now on Feb 28th!

Again, I can’t stress enough that this is op-ed is most appreciated by reading in full.

Romney Selects Kid Rock’s ‘Born Free’ as Campaign Theme

Kid Rock’s “Born Free” will be Mitt Romney’s campaign theme song per reports from the Detroit News and www.rightspeak.net today!  Special thanks to Doug NYC GOP for the post that made all of us Michigan Mittsters aware of this.

Michigan’s Kid Rock has been a powerful force for Michigan and Detroit causes.  This is a great pick.  Here is a video of Kid Rock performing ‘Born Free’ at Ford Field in Detroit in the Lions half-time show during last year’s Thanksgiving Day football game:

Here is an excerpt from the Detroit News article about the song pick:

“Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has picked a Kid Rock anthem as his campaign theme song.

Romney, a Detroit native who grew up in southeast Michigan and was the son of former Michigan Gov. George Romney, is using Kid Rock’s “Born Free.”

Ryan Williams, a Romney campaign spokesman, confirmed the move.

Kid Rock, whose real name is Bob Ritchie, was born in Romeo and has been a supporter of the Republican party and George W. Bush. Kid Rock is a big booster of Michigan and Detroit causes…

“I just started to think about no matter where somebody was born in this world, how lucky you are, just be the grace of God to be born free,” Kid Rock told MTV in 2010.”

The full Detroit News article is available here.

I also liked the military tribute slideshow that was set to “Born Free” here:

 

Mitt Romney Campaign Rally Speech in Troy, Michigan

Its been a busy and successful week for Romney and his campaign in Michigan, self included!  So I thought I would share a few notes before I get to my Saturday community service and football.  First, the debate performance by Gov. Romney was once again stellar.  As for the other contenders, Speaker Gingrich ripped it up again, and the others, well, not so much.  The debates are a great venue to see how our candidates perform under pressure and under a time crunch.  America should expect quick thinking and high performance under pressure from our nation’s highest leader, and it was clear once again that Mitt Romney is one who can deliver on that expectation.  I will spare dissecting the debate since anyone can watch the debate in full here.  So instead, on to the campaign rally in Troy.

Mitt Romney delivers speech to supporters in Troy, Michigan, Nov 10th, 2011. Photo credit: http://www.mittromney.com

Supporters, media and the Troy marching band greeted Mitt and Ann at the Polish American Cultural Center in Troy, Michigan.  There are several news articles and photos from the event you can check out, but I sadly forgot my own camera.  However, since I was there I can share with you some of the speech that is not being reported in the copy-and-paste media circles.  I transcribed most of it for your reading as it is a very good speech tailored for a Michigan audience that I think Michiganders will appreciate.  Bolded emphasis is mine.

Ronna Romney McDaniel, Mitt’s niece, was the first to welcome the audience.  Her son “Nash” (yes, named after the car), tells people at school how his uncle is going to be President some day.  She also rallied the crowd at the idea of sending a Michigander to the White House!

Next was Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette.  “Is everyone on duty here!?”

On stage with Ann, Mitt commented that “This is a campaign less about us, frankly, and more about you, and about the kind of America you’re going to receive…for us this is a time where we can spend time to make sure that we have an America that is strong and vibrant for you, that you can have an America that’s even more prosperous, and more secure than the America that we’ve enjoyed, and that’s really quite a high bar, and that’s what this campaign is about.”

“I love being in Michigan!  You know I come back to Michigan and the trees are the right height, the grass is the right color this time of year…it just feels right.  When Dad ran for Governor in 1962 I went in a little Ford van…and we went from county fair to county fair…I think that year we visited all 83 Michigan counties…and what a thrill to go across the state.  I love the lake, I love the Great Lakes!.. There’s something special about lakes where you don’t get salt on you after you’ve been swimming, and there’s no seaweed, [audience member yelled out ‘sharks!’], and you don’t have to worry about things eating you in the water…. So its great to be in Michigan again.  We love this state.  We love the people of this state…The thing that I love most about this state is the fact that I married the most beautiful wonderful person in the world from Michigan”

Next Ann took the mic.  “Its great to be home.  Mitt & I have shared history here.  I have family here…I love just putting up my hand and showing this is where my cottage was…Michigan was really great for us last cycle around…thank you Michigan…how grateful we are…for me and my family and all you that are here that are worried about America and are worried about the future of America…I believe in this country so completely, and recognize that America has a purpose in this world and we need to maintain that, and that’s why we’re doing this again.”

Mitt took the stage again.  “How many of you remember George Romney?..My Dad came here early in his career…He came to Michigan to get a job with the trade association, the Automobile Manufacturers Association.  That was not working with any one company, instead it was working with all the companies…shortly after taking the job to work with them, the World War broke out and my Dad was tasked with being responsible with for helping coordinate the production of the various factories in Michigan to start building aircraft.  They turned auto companies into airplane companies and they did it in a year!  That’s an extraordinary thing.  Dad then, after the war, was offered an opportunity to go over to take the reigns of a company called Studebaker-Packard.  But he was also given the chance to go to a place called Nash-Kelvinator.   That later became American Motors where they made Ramblers and then Jeeps and my Dad decided to go to the smaller company, the one that was in trouble, Nash-Kelvinator, because he thought it would have more opportunity.  I remember asking him one day, ‘Dad, we make the best cars right?’…’Yeah’…’Um, then how come they sell so few?’ [audience laughs]…’and how in the world can you in this little company called American Motors compete with General Motors’ with the 60% of the market General Motors had.  I think American Motors had like 5% or 4% or something like that.  And his answer was this, he said, ‘Mitt, there’s nothing as vulnerable as entrenched success‘.  Business, countries that become too complacent, too used to their success can sometimes fall asleep at the switch…its happened to countries around the world, it happened to businesses.

“Now we as nation have been so strong for so long that some in our nation have thought that we could just add more and more burdens on the American people and American industry and it would just be fine because this country is so strong.  But they forget that we’re in a global competition, and that we face real challenges in the world, and that we can’t just sit back and assume that everything’s just fine.  This President came in at a time when American was in crisis…

“I drove through parts of Detroit this morning.  I was over in Grosse Pointe.  It breaks my heart, I have to tell I you, to see the city the way I see it now.  I remember Detroit as the pride of the nation, great jobs!  Back in the 1950s Michigan had the highest income per person of any state in America.  What a state this has been!  We had technology, the innovation.  Ann’s Dad, he came here to work for the auto industry.   His schooling was at the General Motors Institute of Technology.  So I see what’s happening and it just tears at my heart, because I know what this city can be, and was, because I saw it then.  And I know what this country is headed towards if we take the policies that we’ve seen for the past three years and continue them time and time again…and don’t want to see the nation follow down the path that Detroit has gone down, but the same policies that you’re seeing that were so misapplied here in Detroit could well take this country in that kind of direction.

“I watched our President come in at a time of crisis.  And you know he had no experience.  He’d never run anything in his life.  He’d never worked in the private sector.  And he came in and put in place a whole series of policies…and almost everything he did made it harder for this economy to turn around, in part because he didn’t know how to run an economy.  I think to create jobs it helps to have had a job.  You look up a list of things he did and ask yourself, ‘Did this help get our economy going?”  Did threatening to raise taxes on businesses help get this economy going? [Audience responds ‘No!’].  Did Obamacare with a massive federal takeover of health care, did that help get the economy going? [Audience shouts ‘No!’]  Did Dodd-Frank with all sorts of financial regulations help get banks to get more loans? [Audience shouts ‘No!’]  How about the threat of cap and trade, saying we’re going to raise the cost of energy, did that encourage people to invest in America? [Audience shouts’No!’]   And then deficits, let’s see, about $1.6 trillion $1.5 trillion in the first year, $1.2 or $1.3 trillion this year.  Do you think people are more interested in investing in the future in America because of those deficits? [Audience  shouts ‘No!’] …I think you guys are right!  The things he did, almost without exception, made it harder for this economy to turn around.

“And the one I stopped with there was deficits.  Do you realize if we keep spending a trillion dollars or more a year more than we take in that at some point we’re going to reach Greece, or at some we reach Italy.  I don’t know whether that’s two years, or five years or ten years, but anywhere down the road is unacceptable to me.  We can’t keep spending more money than we take in.  We’ve got to cut federal spending, cap it, and make sure we balance our budget, and I will get that job done!  [Audience cheers].

“Now every four years, you listen to politicians in both parties tell you that they’re committed to balancing the budget, and then they get into office and something very different happens.  Its frustrating.  And I don’t know whether it’s because they spent too long in politics and there’s such a big gap between their promises and their deliverables, but I do know this: I have very specific plan that will balance our budget, I’m going to cut spending, and I’m going to cut about $500 billion a year, I’m going to make sure to get spending as a percentage of the economy from 25 that it is today down to 20, and how do I do that?  Three big ways.

“Number one, I’m going to cut programs.  [Applause].  Now there are some that are easy to cut by the way.  The easiest is Obamacare, I’m going to get rid of Obamacare.  [Loud applause].  But by the way, there some programs I like, and that you like, that I’m going to cut.  And you might say, ‘Why cut programs that you like?’  Well the question goes back to these guys with the uniforms on [pointing at the Troy High School marching band], which is I’m going to ask this, for each program we have in the government, I’m going to ask ‘Is this program so essential, so critical, that its worth borrowing money from the Chinese to pay for it, knowing that we’ll never pay it back in our generation but they [referencing the Troy high schoolers again] will have to pay it back?  Is it that important?’  So for instance, I like the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, Amtrak, and the list goes on and on.  I like these things.  But I’m not willing for me to borrow money from someone else and make them pay for it to have those programs.  I’m going to cut those programs out.

“Now there are programs I think we have to have, but I think they’re better run at the state level than at the federal level…Do you know how many workforce training programs we have at the federal government level?  47 different programs and they report to nine different federal agencies and departments.  I’m going to take all of those, take the money that comes from it, think of the overhead that goes with it, all this overhead…I’m going to take that pot of money and all those programs and I’m going to return that money to the states and tell the states you can craft one program that works for your own people, and we can save all the overhead and all the government bureaucrats that are trying to run it from Washington, and let the people in Michigan to have their own program and job training that trains people for jobs that Michigan needs.  Get programs back in the states.  [Applause].

“And the third thing is I’m going make the government that stays in Washington more efficient, more productive…

“Now finally, I’m asked from time to time, ‘How is it that you think President Obama has made so many mistakes?’  How could it be that what he’s done on the economy has failed on almost every dimension, and in fact right now he’s asking if he can do some more of the same?  He wants to borrow another almost $500 billion for another stimulus.  That first one didn’t work, why do the same thing again?

“I’m convinced that he takes his political inspiration, if you will, from the social democrats of Europe that believes that rather than free people choosing their course in life, that what you want is a government guiding the economy and guiding people’s lives.  That smart people at the capital know better than the American people how to live.  Now I don’t think Europe is working in Europe!  I sure as heck don’t think its going to work in America!  I believe in America.  I believe that we got it right and they got it wrong.  [Audience cheers].

“I hope you recognize the extraordinary brilliance and inspiration of the founders of this country.  They gave us something which was revolutionary.  The idea that instead of the government being sovereign, or the king being the sovereign, that the citizen would be sovereign.  That concept, the idea that every individual was endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights.  These ideas changed the world.  They gave us political freedom.  They also gave us something known as economic freedom.  Not just that we choose who would represent us in Lansing and in Washington, but also our right to choose our course in life.  We’re free to do what we want to do with our lives.  We’re given opportunity to reach for our dreams.  And those two freedoms brought people from all over the world here.

“We’re in the Polish American Center, what an extraordinary facility this is.  [Audience applause].  You are most, your parents or their parents, we’re brought here because of freedom.  Political freedom.  Economic freedom.  [Audience member says ‘The American Dream’].  The American Dream.  The American Dream is built upon freedom.  Economic and political.  I love America, I love American freedom, I love America’s opportunity, I love our constitution.  I love the fact that states get to compete with each other, and learn from one another…

“When I was a kid, my Mom read to us from a book.  It was called Men to Match my Mountains.  It was stories about men and women who had built this great country.  The title of the book was taken from a poem written by a New Jersey poet.  I read the first four lines, and even I can learn four lines.  [Audience laughter].  It goes like this, it says:

‘Bring me men to match my mountains,

bring me men to match my plains,

men with empires in their purpose,

and new eras in their brains.’

“Empires in their purpose.  When Ann’s Dad went to General Motors Institute of Technology, his idea was he’s start his own company some day.  He had an empire in his purpose.  When your moms and dads came from all over the world to this place they came with empires in their purpose and new eras in their brains.  They had a new life, a new civilization…

“I had a chance, just a few months ago in England, I saw some leaders in the country there, the former Prime Minister, current Prime Minister, other leaders.   One of them said, ‘Mitt, if you’re lucky enough to be elected President of the United States, and you go from nation to nation, there will inevitably be people who are critical of America.  But don’t ever forget this: The one thing we all fear the most is a weak America.  American strength is the best ally peace has ever known.’

“We need a strong America.  I will make America strong again, keep America strong and the hope of the Earth, God Bless America, God Bless the people of Michigan, thank you so much!”  [Loud audience applause and cheering].

Mitt Romney in Michigan for Debate Night, Campaigning and Michigan Op-Ed

Welcome home Gov. Romney!  Tonight is debate night in Michigan at Oakland University and Mitt Romney is here.  Don’t forget to watch the debate tonight at 8 p.m. broadcast on CNBC.  The Detroit Free Press has posted some notes on how you can watch the debate.  Options are CNBC or WDIV Channel 4 at 8 p.m., and it will be rebroadcast at 1:35 a.m. Thursday.

On Thursday afternoon Mitt Romney will be holding a campaign rally at the Polish Cultural Center in Troy and he has invited supporters to come.  Check out the following event page on Facebook for more details and to RSVP:  Rally with Mitt Romney

Gov. Romney penned an op-ed today addressing the struggling economy and stating that President Obama has failed Michigan.  The following are some key excerpts:

On Wednesday night, Republican presidential candidates will gather in Michigan for another debate. All of us taking part are acutely aware that unemployment there remains over 11 percent. In Detroit, the city of my birth, far higher joblessness has brought a great city to the edge of ruin. There will be no one on that stage this week more pained by Michigan’s struggles than I am.

Michigan is not alone. In eight other states, unemployment is over 10 percent. In Florida the unemployment rate is 10.6 percent. In Nevada it is 13.4 percent. At the national level, joblessness has been stuck over 8 percent for 33 consecutive months, the longest such spell since the Great Depression.

This is not the way things should be. Tens of millions of Americans should not be out of work, worrying about paying their bills and losing their homes. We should not have to talk about our 21st century economy—the economy of advanced manufacturing, life sciences, and information technology—in the same breath as the soup kitchens of the 1930s.

President Obama inherited an economy in crisis. He proceeded to make it worse. He recently put forward yet another jobs plan, or at least a jobs plan is what he calls his proposal. In fact, it’s just another budget-busting stimulus bill. Even members of his own party won’t back it…

I’ve spent 25 years in business. I led an international consulting firm through difficult times to growth and success, led a financial services business from start-up to prominence, and led the turnaround of a Winter Olympics to world acclaim. I know what it means to meet a payroll. I know why businesses hire people, and why they become forced to lay them off.

Fixing our national problems promises to be a far more difficult challenge than any I have encountered. But we have no choice than to move in the direction of making government simpler, smaller, and smarter. We certainly cannot continue on a path that has loudly promised hope and change but has delivered only grim comparisons with the 1930s.

You can read the full op-ed here.  The “simpler, smaller and smarter” approach Gov. Romney proposes includes tax reforms, government spending cuts, regulatory reforms, and implementing policies that bolster American competitiveness in the global market.  These details can be read in full in his business plan for American jobs and the economy.

Romney’s visit to Michigan was greeted by Democrats alleging Romney turned his back on the auto industry and would have let Detroit fail if he were President because he called on the President to implement a managed bankruptcy process for the automakers.  That’s a strange accusation to make against someone like Romney.  Last time I checked it was Romney’s father who was the one who saved a Detroit auto company and served as the spokesperson for the American automobile industry, Mitt drives cars from Detroit because of his loyalty to American automakers, and President Obama actually took Mitt Romney’s advice to rescue GM and Chrysler by conducting a managed bankruptcy instead of continuing on with government handouts (of course the President won’t admit this).  Had President Obama listened to Mitt Romney from the start, we taxpayers would have billions more dollars in our collective fund *and* the American auto companies would have been further ahead in their recovery process.  These accusations coming from some Democrats are typical of the kind of opportunistic gaming in politics that all voters should shun.  The Romney family, Mitt included, have been some of the most loyal, vocal and supportive people to the US automaker’s cause.

It would seem that if the people of Michigan wanted our President to be someone who would support Michigan and our American automakers, they would opt for someone born in Detroit, who grew up with the example of a father who rescued American Motors and worked tirelessly for Michigan’s growth, who is a proven leader in the business world having rescued numerous companies and the Olympics in the past, and who has effective plans for making American manufacturers competitive in the global market.  The other option is someone from Chicago, who has never led an organization as an executive ever in his life, and who has been largely responsible for implementing policies that have perpetuated Michigan’s unemployment while breaking his administrations promise to keep unemployment below 8% (still in double digits in Michigan today) if we followed his lead (and we did and look where we’re at).  It would seem that we wouldn’t opt for a President who has already failed Michigan.

Job Losses Courtesy of China Counterfeit, Obama Isn’t Working, Romney Trade Team Announcement

Camilla Herron, an expert counterfeit investigator, weighs in on the “epidemic” problem of counterfeit.  According to the US Chamber of Commerce, 750,000 to 1,000,000 jobs in the United States are lost to counterfeit problems every year, mostly due to Chinese counterfeit.  “Currently I don’t see President Obama doing anything about this issue”, she says.  Michiganders don’t see it either, Camilla. Michigan is hurting for a new President of the United States who will stand up for our own domestic companies and our economy.   That’s one of many reasons why we stand with Mitt.

Also, the Romney campaign announced today the addition of new experts to Mitt’s trade team, including Carlos Gutierrez.  Mr Gutierrez made his way up from being a truck driver and sales rep to becoming CEO of Battle Creek, Michigan’s own Kellogg Company, and also served as the United States Secretary of Commerce.  Here is the rest of the announcement:

Today, Mitt Romney announced that Secretary Carlos Gutierrez will serve as chair, and Rod Hunter and John Herrmann as co-chairs, of his Trade Policy Advisory Group. The group will help Romney formulate pro-growth trade policies that open markets around the world for American goods and services while ensuring that trading partners play by the rules and welcome robust competition. Romney will discuss his vision for American trade policy, and its role in economic growth and job creation, today at Microsoft’s headquarters in Redmond, WA.

“Free trade is essential to restoring robust economic growth and creating jobs,” said Mitt Romney. “American businesses and workers are unparalleled in their productivity and ingenuity, and when we are given the opportunity to compete we have shown we can win.  My Trade Policy Advisory Group has been instrumental in shaping the policies that I presented last month in my economic plan, Believe in America, which will reverse the stagnation brought about by the Obama administration’s neglect of our trading interests.  I look forward to working with this team on a strategy for international trade that will produce the right environment for economic growth and job creation.”

“Mitt Romney has the right combination of private sector experience, conservative principles, and leadership to address the enormous challenges that the United States faces in the international economy,” said former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez.  “His trade agenda is unique in its steadfast commitment to free trade coupled with a willingness to confront nations that betray principles of free enterprise to exploit our own open market. This approach is necessary to restore a pro-growth business environment that will create jobs.”

Background On The Chair And Co-Chairs Of The Trade Policy Advisory Group:

• Carlos Gutierrez Served As Secretary Of Commerce From 2005 To 2009. Gutierrez also served as Co-Chair of the U.S. Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba.  Prior to entering government service, Gutierrez was the President and CEO of the Kellogg Company.

• Rod Hunter Served On The National Security Council Staff From 2003 To 2007. Hunter was a Special Assistant to the President and NSC Senior Director for International Trade, Energy, and Environment.  Prior to the NSC, Hunter served as Special Counsel in the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

• John Herrmann Served On The National Security Council Staff From 2005 To 2009. Herrmann was NSC Director for International Trade and Investment, and then served as a Special Assistant to the President and NSC Senior Director for International Trade, Energy, and Environment.

Mackinac Conference Update 2, Mitt Speaks and Wins Straw Poll

What a day on Saturday!  It started with street campaigning and ended with a fantastic speech by Mitt Romney.  As promised in my Friday night update from the Mackinac Republican Leadership Conference, I took some photos of some of the signs on Mackinac Island that greeted conservatives upon their arrival and posted them here. 

Although I spent most of the day doing campaign work through my College Republicans chapter, I had a chance to sit down for a nice dinner at the Grand Hotel and listen to Mitt Romney’s speech.  I’ve listened to numerous speeches from Mitt over the years dating back to my work at the Olympics in 2002, and I have to say the speech he gave at the Mackinac Conference dinner on Saturday night was one of his best!  After a tiring weekend I’m finding it difficult to recall everything that I was wanting to share, so I’ll just leave you with a few that I had during the day.

First, Ann is going to be an incredible first lady.  Her story about her family’s legacy and what it means to be an American earned an ovation. 

Mitt’s speech started off with a few humorous Michigan insider lines, including his satisfaction with coming here to a place where people know what Vernors is, and whose people show their hand when they are asked where they’re from.  Being a Detroit car fan from a family w/ several auto workers, my favorite Michigan line was the following:

“I also like being in a place where you see more Fords and Chevys and Dodges than you see Kias and Nissans and Toyotas.”

Apparently it was also a crowd favorite as well since it received an immediate thunderous applause! 

My second major impression of the night was that there is no doubt in my mind that if Mitt wins the Republican nomination he will be the next President of the United States.  I found it terribly difficult to doubt this while listening to his speech.  I felt a strong sense of history unfolding before my eyes.  He spoke so comfortably, fluidly, and convincingly about his love for freedom and opportunity, and what he will do to fix the economy and preserve American greatness, that I couldn’t imagine Americans choosing a different path when it comes time to decide between Gov. Romney and our current President.  The more American citizens hear from Mitt, the more they will like him, I am convinced.  What Americans want most right now seems to be competence and positive confidence.  Mitt bleeds both.

Mitt contrasted his own beliefs and vision for America with that of President Obama’s.  One of the most memorable quotes of the night was when he said that back in 2008, “Michigan seemed to be enduring a one-stage recession…President Obama said he’d change that — and he has. Now all the states are in a recession.”  The main message to this differentiation is that Mitt essentially believes the President is simply in over his head and doesn’t understand how to get the economy going again.  That the President continues to “throw some gas on the fire”, but what should be done is to fundamentally restructure the American economy.  Mitt laid out several steps he would take to rebuild the American economy.  Instead of rehearsing these, I will simply point you to his fully detailed plans here.  He earned some laughs from the audience when he pointed out that shortly after President Obama was inaugurated he said “if I can’t get the economy turned around I’ll be looking at a one-term proposition”, to which Romney then said “I’m here to collect on that!”

Photo: WXYZ News

He also spoke about his love for America and the hope for its future, citing the 1894 poem “Men to Match my Mountains” by Samuel Walter Foss.  The poem is written as if American herself is speaking to us today just as she was back then:

“Bring me men to match my mountains, Bring me men to match my plains, Men with empires in their purpose, And new eras in their brains.”

Gov Romney closed his comments on that note, taking issue with critics of America both abroad and domestically.  He recalled how during a trip overseas a foreign official commented that:

“What the world fears most is a weak America…the world needs a strong America and there has been no ally for peace like a strong America.” 

On that note he received an emotionally charged standing ovation.  So ended the highlight of the Mackinac Conference.  If I can find video or full text of the speech it will definitely get posted here at Michigan for Mitt. 

After the speech he made his way around the room shaking hands with fellow Republicans and I had the brief opportunity to greet him for the first time while he was passing by on his way out of the dining room.  Not knowing what to say in a rush and also not wanting to be a bother between he and the exit, I simply said “Hey Sir”, shook hands, and if I heard correctly in all the hustle & bustle he said “thank you for wearing my button“, and we both moved on.  I just hope thousands if not millions more can have similar opportunities as I had tonight to hear from and greet this dynamic American leader.  (ps – the buttons go w/ me everywhere all over the country pinned to my backpack!  You can purchase them at the official gear store here. 

Conference attendees voted in a straw poll and favored Mitt in 1st place at about 50% to Perry in 2nd place with about 17%. 

My final impression from the conference is that being a part of the political process can be fun.  I know many are terrified to do street campaigning.  I admit it requires you to find within yourself a bit of extraversion, but at the same time it provides an opportunity to meet new people, hear new perspectives, and learn new things.  I met people from all over the country and had some very memorable conversations by bringing out some of that extraversion.  Even made some new friends and contacts!  Mackinac Island also happened to have numerous parties, tailgates, and other social and eating functions for the duration of the conference.  I felt I left the experience a better person, and this is only a beginning.  There will be a lot more campaigning to do as we press forward towards the 2012 election and there will probably be a growing need for all of the extraversion we can offer, both offline and online.  So to all readers I would encourage you to take advantage of opportunities to campaign, and to make sure you don’t miss the next Mackinac conference!

Below are more pictures from the Mackinac weekend as added flavor. 

Grand Hotel and Mackinac Island

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Mackinac Bridge connecting the upper and lower penninsulas of Michigan.

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Ferry dock on Mackinac Island

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Campaign signs at Mackinac Island

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