Romney stumps for father
:hHn hLs IDWhHU’s FDPpaign team asked him to get involved, crisscrossing WhH FRunWUy IRU sSHDkLnJ Hngagements as Election Day looms closer, Tagg Romney said he was initially reluctant when he learned the time and travel it would require.
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comed to the family this spring.
But it was his wife who convinced him the time away would be well worth it. As he relays the story, she told him, “There’s nothing more important you can do for our kids’ future than getting your dad elected.”
And America’s future — what it could look like under both a new Romney administration and under four more years of an Obama presidency — was the key topic when Tagg Romney addressed a crowd in Fort Washington Sunday, Sept. 30.
Romney campaigned for his father at a meet-and-greet event before a room full of dOP faithful in the Upper Dublin Township building Sunday afternoon, touting his father as both an experienced business leader and a compassionate man looking to improve America’s future.
Romney pointed to his father’s 2R years in the private sector. He also recalled his father’s work in Salt Lake CLWy, FRPLnJ LnWR D FLWy wLWK D GHfiFLW before the 2002 Winter Olympics and leaving it with a A100 million surplus.
“HH NnRw KRw WR fi[ WKLnJV,” Romney said. “He knows how to get things done.”
The eldest Romney son also discussed his father’s gubernatorial victory in the overwhelmingly Democratic state of Massachusetts in 2002.
“My dad said, ‘ko, we’re not going to raise taxes. We’re going to cut taxes.’ ... He cut taxes 19 times and they cut spending,” Romney said, noting KLV IDWKHU DJDLn LnKHULWHG D GHfiFLW DnG left with a surplus.
Romney pointed to the state of the economy and the unemployment rate under Obama, hitting on a point that resonated with the audience.
“It’s a travesty,” he said of the current lack of jobs. “xMy fatherz knows what he’s doing. He’s always solved big problems before; he’ll do it again.”
Much like he and his brothers have done throughout the campaign, Romney also looked to paint his father as not just a CEO but a likeable person and a family man.
“In addition to being really compeWHnW DnG TuDOLfiHG, KH’V DOVR D UHDOOy good person,” Romney said.
Acknowledging some of the prom- inent claims by the opposing campaign — that the dOP nominee is out of touch with the American people — Romney said his father was raised not to brag about how he has helped people. But as his son, Romney said he was willing to brag.
Romney shared with the crowd the story of how his father, upon learning his business partner’s daughter had gone missing in kew vork City, shut down the business and took all his employees to kew vork City where WKHy VHW RuW WR finG KHU. TKHy FDnvassed the city, offered a reward and GLVWULEuWHG flLHUV, wKLFK OHG WKH SROLFH to a tip that allowed them to recover the kidnapped girl safely.
Romney’s speech ended with him asking the crowd, “Are we going to win in Pennsylvania?” to which there was a resounding yes and applause from his supporters.
Before the nominee’s son took to the stage, Montgomery County Republican Committee Chairman Robert herns and state Reps. Todd Stephens, R-1R1, Tom Murt, R-1R2, and hate Harper, R-61, all addressed the crowd, continually pointing to the economy as the election’s key issue and Romney’s readiness to be the nation’s new “CEO.”
“We can move towards more government, more government dependency and more government programs, or we can move to empower people, to ensure people can lift themselves up out of poverty ...” Stephens said. “That’s what this election’s going to be about: J-O-B-S jobs.”
“This is not what real recovery looks like,” Murt said. “Americans are desperate for a real recovery that will improve the quality of life for working Americans and lift millions out of poverty by making jobs available again.”
Harper said the biggest “women’s issue” this election is the economy.
“This economy is killing us, it’s killing our families and we can’t take four more years of it,” she said. “Here’s what we’re going to do: we’re going to elect a new CEO for America.”
After his speech Romney stuck around, with people crowding the stage area for autographs, to shake his hand and to get in a quick word.
The enthusiastic crowd said Romney conveyed a message that reso- nated with them — that the country needs a change and that his father is the one who can do it.
“vou can tell he and his family are genuine people, that he’s speaking from the heart,” herry didley, of Maple dlen, said. “They’ve proven what they can do in the private sector, and I think that’s what we need now for America.”
“It’s good to see them in person,” Joel Leon, of Huntingdon salley, said, noting the appearance served to “solidify” his vote for the elder Romney. “He’s going to help the economy, be better than President Obama’s policy. He’s going to be a better president.”
.HV LuNDV, RI 6SULnJfiHOG, VDLG KH came out “to be among people who thought the same.”
“I’m very enthusiastic that we’re going to win, and I think xTagg Romneyz brought that here — that Mitt Romney has what it takes to be a great president,” his wife, Joyce, said.
After the event as he prepared to leave, Romney told The Ambler dazette he was excited about the energy he saw in the crowd.
“It was awesome — a very enthusiastic, huge crowd. And we’re feel- ing this everywhere we’re going,” he said.
Romney said the top issue he’s been hearing from people on campaign stops is the current lack of jobs.
“So many of them are hurting, out of work or stuck in jobs that they’ve got skills that exceed what the job requires. They want to see this economy moving again,“said Romney, who began his day with a stop at West Chester University and wrapped up the weekend with a stop in Upper Black Eddy, Bucks County.
“I think people are going to realize the difference in visions and choices,” he said. “We have one president who I think is well-intentioned but doesn’t know how to get the job done and his instincts are to grow the size of government. vou have someone else who knows wKDW LW WDNHV WR fi[ WKH HFRnRPy DnG has the experience to get it done and the vision to get it done. I think people are going to realize the difference between the two.”
As he headed out the building, 5RPnHy H[uGHG FRnfiGHnFH DERuW KLV father’s bid for the White House.
“I’ve been involved in winning campaigns and losing campaigns, and this feels like a winning one,” he said.