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Posted on 05/30/2007 7:11:30 AM PDT by Unmarked Package
Presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney had a very frank conversation with veterans this Memorial Day at the American Legions Post 72 in Alton.
Romney, met by a full house, talked with the veterans in attendance not only about veterans' affairs and military stance, but the condition of the country and where it is headed with respect to things like energy and immigration.
"These Americans that are willing to put themselves in harm's way for their country should know that their country will take care of them when they come home," Romney said.
Romney, who maintains a residence in Wolfeboro just up the road from Alton, explained that, embedded in the Veterans Administration and most other aspects of federal government there is an enormous amount of inefficiency.
"We need to take some of the efficiencies of the private sector and put them to use in Washington," said Romney.
Attesting to what the former governor was talking about was Iraq War veteran Brian Roy who told Romney that, because of some bureaucratic red tape, a broken foot has remained that way for more than a year.
Looking to such problems and those that a new generation of veterans entering the system will face, Romney said it is more important than ever to have a handle on programs for veterans.
That is a sentiment that State Senator Joseph Kenney, R-Wakefield, could not agree with or personally understand more.
Lt. Colonel Kenney, of whom Romney is a constituent, served in Iraq from September 2005 to February 2006. Based on his experience with those soon-to-become veterans, he explained that the number of veterans returning from the battlefield and the issues they face are new to the system and demand a new approach to deal with them.
"The types of injuries we see our soldiers coming out of the Middle East with [can be] horrific and require a certain level of health care," said Kenney.
Romney added that, with a two times the number of soldiers surviving injuries than in the past, thanks to combat-ready medical care, the government is faced with a blessing and a problem that will require a new look at long term care for veterans.
The presidential candidate promised, if elected in 2008, to bolster the county's military to fend off those who have waged war on the United States.
"There continue to be evil people in the world that would do us harm," said Romney.
Romney said that, by winning an economic battle — providing Middle Eastern nations with technology and education — the U.S. can do away with the extremist elements.
He criticized the Democrats in Congress for admitting defeat in Iraq by holding up funding while trying to set a withdrawal date.
Romney said there will be a successful outcome from President George W. Bush's troop surge if the Democrats would hang on for the final stage of the country's involvement in Iraq, letting the people get what he called their "sea legs."
Among the state officials attending Romney's talk was former U.S. Congressman Jeb Bradley who said he was glad to see Romney come and talk with the veterans, sharing views on issues he whole heartedly agrees with.
Bradley, along with others in the Republican party all over the state, failed to win reelection to Congress, suffering a nationwide backlash against the party that had held a majority over the past several years. He described the outreach by candidates such as Romney as a real push by the Republican party to reconnect with the political infrastructure that was lost in the past election.
A whole host of other topics that veterans brought up were answered by the former Massachusetts governor, including his stance on issues from foreign oil dependency to immigration.
With particular focus on the energy policy of this country, Romney pledged to have a plan to rid America of its foreign oil dependence by the time voters hit the ballot box in 2008. He said the biggest hope in this area is alternative energy, with funding dedicated to new energy development.
"I want to thank [all of] you for the service you've given," said Romney, keeping the day focused on those who it was meant for.
Governor Romney filed and signed into law the most significant expansion of military benefits in recent years. The new law reduced to zero the cost members of the Massachusetts National Guard must pay to attend public colleges and universities, increased twenty-fold the death benefit paid to families of members killed in the line of duty, created a new annuity benefit for Gold Star spouses and boosted the amount paid to Gold Star parents.
(Romney Signs Legislation Expanding Military Benefits, November 11, 2005)Governor Mitt Romney signed into law a measure to help state employees and their families meet their financial obligations while they are on active military duty. It provided state employees called to active military leave with the differential cost between their military and state salaries and guaranteed employees on active military duty would not lose any seniority, accrued vacation leave, sick leave, personal leave, compensation time or earned overtime.
(Romney Lends a Hand to State Employees on Military Duty, November 27, 2003)Governor Romney signed into law a bill preventing employers from discriminating against current or prospective employees who are enrolled in any of the nation’s Reserve forces including the Air and Army National Guards and the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Naval Reserves. Gov. Romney said, "The American servicemen and women of the Guard and Reserve leave their jobs, their spouses and their children to wear the uniform that defends our country. This selfless commitment should be honored by businesses across Massachusetts as we work to ensure they are treated fairly while they balance their employment responsibilities and obligations to the armed services. No business should ever put the bottom line ahead of America’s front line."
(Romney Signs Law Protecting Armed Service Members, September 23, 2004)Governor Mitt Romney signed legislation that provided disabled Massachusetts veterans with extensive tax exemptions, allowed communities to suspend real estate taxes for active duty National Guardsmen and reservists until 180 days after they return home, and provided financial relief for the families of servicemen and women killed or missing in action.
(Romney Expands Tax Benefits For Disabled Veterans, August 14, 2006)
More about Governor Mitt Romney and Veterans
((( MITT ROMNEY PING )))
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Maybe Romney will address this issue.
“AN ENORMOUS CRIME” THE DEFINITIVE ACCOUNT OF AMERICAN POWS ABANDONED IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1841841/posts
Wow. He went and talked to some veterans.
Now he’s got real foreign policy and defense credentials!
/s
Putting “Romney” and “consistently” in the same sentence is like putting “Clinton” and “fidelity” in the same sentence.
“(Romney Lends a Hand to State Employees on Military Duty, “
Actually, the tax-payers are the ones lending the hand...
EV, it would be a sad day for you if you couldn’t troll a Romney thread.
Actually, it would be a great day, because that would mean that there weren’t folks here trying to sell the liberal former Governor of Massachesetts as something he’s not.
The crypt is open. He is awake....
And if he didn’t talk to veterans, you’d slam him for that, too.
Yep. FR does that to liberals, you know.
Putting “Romney” and “consistently” in the same sentence is like putting “Clinton” and “fidelity” in the same sentence.Ah, EV you're a real gem: You say that Mitt Romney is consistent and you say that he's not consistent, depending on which assertion suits your agenda at the time. :)
I hope Fred declares soon so you’ll have something more positive to occupy yourself with.
Ironic choice for an example as of all presidential contenders on either side, Romney has the cleanest personal life and personifies fidelity. Even the FR and certainly my idol Reagan changed his position on issues life and assault weapons ban. I would hardly call Romney a flip flopper in the mode of Kerry. Who amongst us has not changed their position on certain issues based on an awakening of conscience or new information ?
The reason Romney is being trashed by the MSM is that they know he is a formidable communicator / debator / intellect who looks better the more people check him out. Kinda the reverse of Guliani and McCain who look worse the more you check them out.
Why, of course you wouldn't. Otherwise, why would you have suddenly shown up here?
If Fred declares, it'll be interesting to see just how that plays out. In a recent interview, Alan Keyes responded to a question about Fred Thompson thusly:
And he savaged Thompson, a former U.S. senator from Tennessee and "Law and Order" star, for not living up to frequent Ronald Reagan comparisons.
"They didn't put up a good guy who believes what we do," he said. "They put up an actor who can pretend to be a good guy and get away with it."
Makes me wonder if the Romney bashers will parrot the Keyes' talking points and find Thompson lacking "purity" as well.
Ignore the transient line noise. Typical for an open primary or it was here at FR in 2000.
Very sound advice, and I'm doing my best. Not always easy, I confess. :-)
I'm thinking we have two candidates of merit (Thompson and Romney) and it's time to pick one to defeat the leftwing mayor so he doesn't slip between a split conservative field and snatch the nomination.
I totally agree with your opinion about the two candidates. While there is merit in the second tier, they don't have a prayer. If Thompson declares in July, as it appears he will, it's still going to take me a little time to make up my mind. I've only seen him (via tv) giving a couple of speeches...both of which bored the snot out of me. I saw his video response to Michael Moore, and enjoyed that. But, at the end of the day, it was scripted/acted and that's what he does for a living. I've read some of his articles, all of which sound good to me, but, again, someone may excel at the written word and not be an articulate spokesman. I think difficulties with articulating his vision and reasoning to the American people are what's hurt George Bush as much as anything. So, that's an extremely important qualification for me. I look forward to seeing FT in a debate...I need to see someone who can lead and inspire with spoken words and presentation. Whether Thompson can do so remains an open question for me.
I'd hate to see the 60%-70% of the GOP who doesn't want Giuliani end up with him as the nominee because we couldn't unite around a single conservative to defeat him. Having Rudi in the race is like allowing a Democrat to run in our primary.
Yes, I do think we're in danger of that when Thompson declares. Newt is making some new noises, too. After his verbal swipe at Karl Rove yesterday, the Fox News pundits interpreted it as a clear signal that Newt's getting ready to jump in. If Thompson and/or Gingrich declare, it will require all the top tier candidates (including Mitt) to more clearly and specifically articulate their differences. That's something I'd enthusiastically welcome.
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