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Why I Voted For Romney
13 years ago
Last night was admittedly a tough night and a tough loss for the 58 million Americans who voted for Governor Romney. Americans like myself. Unlike 2008, this was not a tough decision for me. When it was clear that the former Massachusetts Governor was going to secure the Republican nomination, it was an easy decision for me come November (even though I voted early in October.) But even though Governor Romney lost by 78 or 126 electoral votes, depending on how Florida goes, I do not regret casting my vote for who I thought was best suited to lead this great nation for the next 4 years.
This isn't going to be an entry in which I spend the entire time bashing President Obama. His actions during his first 4 years weren't incompetent, but they were far from great. Admittedly, Obama came into office with a very tough economy and two wars being waged in the Middle East. During that time, he has scaled back our footprint in Afghanistan without compromising our mission there. His greatest achievement was the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by Navy SEALs in 2011.
That being said, there were several shortcomings associated with his time in office. The most notable was the painfully slow recovery we've dealt with since the recession of 2008. Unemployment finally fell below 8% in the past two months. There are a record number of families on food stamps, something the President bragged about. But something that has affected me personally, job placement among college graduates has been at historic lows for the past three graduating classes. I haven't even gotten to the Benghazi attack and PPACA, aka Obamacare, which failed to address the skyrocketing costs of healthcare in America.
In fairness, I didn't think then-Senator Obama was the right man for the job in 2008. He ran on an appealing platform of "change" at a time when the approval ratings of Bush and Congress were flirting with the teens. Ironically enough, Americans decided to run two candidates from the Senate which received those low approval ratings. On top of that, Americans picked two men with little to no economic background. McCain was a war veteran who jumped straight into politics after Vietnam and Obama had spent his entire life in education, then politics. When McCain lost in November 2008, I honestly did not care. It gave me hope that the Republicans could run someone with a great economic mind if needed in 2012. That person was needed.
Mitt Romney was one of the most qualified men to run for the Presidency in decades. Romney had 25 years of experience in the private sector as the cofounder of Bain Capital. This is where Mr. Romney made his well-documented fortune. Romney was trusted with the turnaround of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and delivered with exceptional results, turning a $300 million shortfall into a $100 million profit. This doesn't even mention the public relations disaster that occured before Romney took charge. On top of that, Romney was elected Governor of Massachusetts, running as a fiscally conservative and acting as one when he took office. So, when he ran for the Presidency, Mitt Romney had a combination of private business experience, that would serve him well to deal with the economic crisis facing this country, plus executive branch experience as the Massachusetts Governor.
Governor Romney was far from an ideologue. Unlike President Bush, Romney appeared to approach problems from a "whatever works" standpoint. But because of this, Romney came off to many as a flip-flopper or vague in his ideas, especially when it comes to social issues. However, he held a few key beliefs that guided him. He believes that overregulation and taxes result in limited economic growth in the private sector. He understands that an "all of the above" energy policy sets America up well for the future in the same way diversified portfolio sets the American worker up for a comfortable retirement. But he also understands that governments can help in hard economic times with well focused, increased spending. All of these characteristics appeal to me.
I'm a fiscal conservative. That's not a surprise to anybody reading this. I don't hide my political beliefs from those seeking them. I believe that lower taxes result in more jobs. I believe in the strength of supply side economics; Just look at Reagan's recovery compared to Obama's. I believe that personal economic success should be praised, not villified. I believe in free trade with nations that share our human rights record, not with nations that gain an economic advantage with sweatshops and immoral child labor. I believe that the first responsibility of a government is to defend its people from international threats. I believe that insurance companies should not be obligated to cover anything more than what is agreed upon between their agents and their costumers. But I am not a blind Republican.
I believe that a strong public education system is vital to continue to the economic strength of America. I agree with the Democrats that the government should give aid to college students needing financial help (primarily in the form of loans, not grants.) I believe that marriage is a privilege that should be extended to any two consenting adults, regardless of gender or relationship. I believe the government can do more to encourage more environmentally friendly behavior through tax credits. I believe that labor unions are the result of a capitalist system, not an agent against it.
That all being said, I saw greatness in Governor Mitt Romney. I saw a man with proven leadership through his time at Bain, his work with the Winter Olympics, and his tenure as the Governor of Massachusetts. I saw a man with a strong economic background who understood how jobs are created and who would make that knowledge work for the United States. I saw a man who understood that one size does not fit all problems, but that each issue should be examined, and the best solution be found for each one. Bain Capital didn't approach Staples with the same strategy as they approached Dunkin Donuts, Steel Dynamics with the same strategy as Burlington Coat. He could've been great.
I believe the American people missed on this one. That being said, I pray that President Obama and Congress can work together to push through this economic downturn. I want nothing but the best for the United States. And I want the United States to be a better country in 2016 than it is in 2012. God bless her.
This isn't going to be an entry in which I spend the entire time bashing President Obama. His actions during his first 4 years weren't incompetent, but they were far from great. Admittedly, Obama came into office with a very tough economy and two wars being waged in the Middle East. During that time, he has scaled back our footprint in Afghanistan without compromising our mission there. His greatest achievement was the killing of Osama bin Laden in Pakistan by Navy SEALs in 2011.
That being said, there were several shortcomings associated with his time in office. The most notable was the painfully slow recovery we've dealt with since the recession of 2008. Unemployment finally fell below 8% in the past two months. There are a record number of families on food stamps, something the President bragged about. But something that has affected me personally, job placement among college graduates has been at historic lows for the past three graduating classes. I haven't even gotten to the Benghazi attack and PPACA, aka Obamacare, which failed to address the skyrocketing costs of healthcare in America.
In fairness, I didn't think then-Senator Obama was the right man for the job in 2008. He ran on an appealing platform of "change" at a time when the approval ratings of Bush and Congress were flirting with the teens. Ironically enough, Americans decided to run two candidates from the Senate which received those low approval ratings. On top of that, Americans picked two men with little to no economic background. McCain was a war veteran who jumped straight into politics after Vietnam and Obama had spent his entire life in education, then politics. When McCain lost in November 2008, I honestly did not care. It gave me hope that the Republicans could run someone with a great economic mind if needed in 2012. That person was needed.
Mitt Romney was one of the most qualified men to run for the Presidency in decades. Romney had 25 years of experience in the private sector as the cofounder of Bain Capital. This is where Mr. Romney made his well-documented fortune. Romney was trusted with the turnaround of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and delivered with exceptional results, turning a $300 million shortfall into a $100 million profit. This doesn't even mention the public relations disaster that occured before Romney took charge. On top of that, Romney was elected Governor of Massachusetts, running as a fiscally conservative and acting as one when he took office. So, when he ran for the Presidency, Mitt Romney had a combination of private business experience, that would serve him well to deal with the economic crisis facing this country, plus executive branch experience as the Massachusetts Governor.
Governor Romney was far from an ideologue. Unlike President Bush, Romney appeared to approach problems from a "whatever works" standpoint. But because of this, Romney came off to many as a flip-flopper or vague in his ideas, especially when it comes to social issues. However, he held a few key beliefs that guided him. He believes that overregulation and taxes result in limited economic growth in the private sector. He understands that an "all of the above" energy policy sets America up well for the future in the same way diversified portfolio sets the American worker up for a comfortable retirement. But he also understands that governments can help in hard economic times with well focused, increased spending. All of these characteristics appeal to me.
I'm a fiscal conservative. That's not a surprise to anybody reading this. I don't hide my political beliefs from those seeking them. I believe that lower taxes result in more jobs. I believe in the strength of supply side economics; Just look at Reagan's recovery compared to Obama's. I believe that personal economic success should be praised, not villified. I believe in free trade with nations that share our human rights record, not with nations that gain an economic advantage with sweatshops and immoral child labor. I believe that the first responsibility of a government is to defend its people from international threats. I believe that insurance companies should not be obligated to cover anything more than what is agreed upon between their agents and their costumers. But I am not a blind Republican.
I believe that a strong public education system is vital to continue to the economic strength of America. I agree with the Democrats that the government should give aid to college students needing financial help (primarily in the form of loans, not grants.) I believe that marriage is a privilege that should be extended to any two consenting adults, regardless of gender or relationship. I believe the government can do more to encourage more environmentally friendly behavior through tax credits. I believe that labor unions are the result of a capitalist system, not an agent against it.
That all being said, I saw greatness in Governor Mitt Romney. I saw a man with proven leadership through his time at Bain, his work with the Winter Olympics, and his tenure as the Governor of Massachusetts. I saw a man with a strong economic background who understood how jobs are created and who would make that knowledge work for the United States. I saw a man who understood that one size does not fit all problems, but that each issue should be examined, and the best solution be found for each one. Bain Capital didn't approach Staples with the same strategy as they approached Dunkin Donuts, Steel Dynamics with the same strategy as Burlington Coat. He could've been great.
I believe the American people missed on this one. That being said, I pray that President Obama and Congress can work together to push through this economic downturn. I want nothing but the best for the United States. And I want the United States to be a better country in 2016 than it is in 2012. God bless her.
If a state absolutley hates someone that was in charge of them for a long time, then that says something.
I would also point out that Obama has faced the most grid-locked congress in history. The republicans cleary and unabashedly stated that they would never work with the president, on anything, and they didn't. Now that he was re-elected, how could they justify that strategy? I think you'll see a lot more get done.
That's not just a good sign for Republicans and Democrats, that's a good sign for America.
Anyways, everyone has their own criteria, and its obvious you have a passion for politics so I know you've done your research & made an educated decision. No one can blame you for that
Can you enlighten me on this because I'm not seeing it?
On top of that, 15% of Medicare Plan A providers would become unprofitable within the next 10 years (Congressman Ryan mentioned this in the VP Debate last month, but worded it poorly.)
http://thehill.com/images/stories/w.....%20enacted.pdf
That said, I think his party's greatest success and the Dem's most egregious failure has simply been marketing...Obama has *done* much of what he set out to do, arguably in spite of being stonewalled and sabotaged by an increasingly extremist and out of touch conservative party. Recovery hasn't been the meteoric Reagan or Clinton bubble that many have unrealistically hoped for, but it's historically consistent with genuine recovery, and it's been pretty steady the last four years. I think what we're forgetting is that rapid recovery like we've seen in recent history is usually artificial, and it's a trend that many are relieved to NOT see repeated.
It may have been Obama himself, setting our hopes too high, creating expectations on the campaign trail in '08 that no one could have met, at least without putting us on collision course with more economic calamity. It might have been the opposing party who swore to ensure he was a one-term president, the interests of Americans in a functional, coopertive, bi-partisan government be damned. It may have been the most successful misinformation campaign ever mounted. It may have been America's willingness to react with emotions instead of reason amid *the* worst economic collapse most of us can even recall, but likely it was all three.
I'm not an Obama apologist, I very nearly didn't vote (and lest anyone make a fool of themselves by telling me I have to vote or I have no 'right' to an opinion, let me remind them that not voting IS still a vote - it's a vote of no confidence), but in the end I think the scope is much broader than economic recovery, and he hasn't done a *terrible* job at that, even. Romney frightened me less than his party, but still he frightened me in that he was willing to cave to their rhetoric and positions, he gave me no such confidence in his ability to wrangle conservatives and actually lead his own party, to say nothing of the country itself, once elected.
In any case, I have to admit I was curious after reading some of your tweets, glad to have read this, and wouldn't mind a conversation outside the 140-char constraint!
But the Republicans again failed to reach out to Hispanics which really made their vote heard this time. And again they turned a blind eye to and foolishly mocked immigration, women and Gay rights.
But, I love this. Obama can't do anything about the unemployment rate because the President can't really create jobs. But, Bush is the reason that we have a piss poor economy and nearly 8% unemployment.
Seriously though, grow up. Learn about the world around you. If you don't want to open your mind, that's fine, but stay out of the intelligent conversation section of FA. Thank you.
Mitt Romney, I'm sorry, but he changed his colors more than a chameleon in heat. Not only that but every fact check after every debate had Romney and Ryan both just making shit up as they went along. I still remember Obama asking Romney about his tax plan that Romney had been running on the entire campaign and Romney completely denied it and came up with something entirely different.
I voted for Johnson anyway. I truly believe his plan was the best out of anyone and was more than willing to work with both sides and both sides would have worked with him.