Little-Acorn
08-28-2012, 02:10 PM
Someone got hold of Mitt Romney's speech for the Republican National Convention, that he will give this week to formally accept the nomination for President. And they put it on the internet. Here it is:
Thank you very much.
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice-President-to-be, this convention, my fellow citizens of this great nation:
With a deep awareness of the responsibility conferred by your trust, I accept your nomination for the Presidency of the United States.
I do so with deep gratitude. And I think also I might interject on behalf of all of us our thanks to Tampa and the people of Florida and to this city for the warm hospitality that we've enjoyed. And I thank you for your whole-hearted response to my recommendation in regard to Paul Ryan as the candidate for Vice President.
I'm very proud of our Party tonight. This convention has shown to all America a party united, with positive programs for solving the nation's problems, a party ready to build a new consensus with all those across the land who share a community of values embodied in these words: family, work, neighborhood, peace, and freedom.
More than anything else, I want my candidacy to unify our country, to renew the American spirit and sense of purpose. I want to carry our message to every American, regardless of party affiliation, who is a member of this community of shared values.
The head of a government which has utterly refused to live within its means and which has, in the last few days, told us that this coming year's deficit will be another trillion dollars, dares to point the finger of blame at business and labor, both of which have been engaged in a losing struggle just trying to stay even.
High taxes, we are told, are somehow good for us, as if, when government spends our money it isn't inflationary, but when we spend it, it is.
Those who preside over energy tell us to use less, so that we will run out of oil, gasoline, and natural gas a little more slowly. Well, now, conservation is desirable, of course. We mustn't waste energy. But conservation is not the sole answer to our energy needs. America must get to work producing more energy.
The Republican program for solving economic problems is based on growth and productivity. Large amounts of oil and natural gas lay beneath our land and off our shores, untouched because the present Administration seems to believe the American people would rather see more regulation, more taxes, and more controls than more energy.
Now, make no mistake. We will not permit the safety of our people or our environmental heritage to be jeopardized, but we are going to reaffirm that the economic prosperity of our people is a fundamental part of our environment.
Our problems are both acute and chronic, yet all we hear from those in positions of leadership are the same tired proposals for more Government tinkering, more meddling, and more control -- all of which led us to this sorry state in the first place.
Can anyone look at the record of this Administration and say, "Well done"?
Can anyone compare the state of our economy when the Obama administration took office with where we are today and say, "Keep up the good work"?
Can anyone look at our reduced standing in the world today and say, "Let's have four more years of this"?
I believe the American people are going to answer these questions in the first week in November and their answer will be, "No -- we've had enough."
And then -- And then it will be up to us, beginning next January 20th, to offer an administration and congressional leadership of competence and more than a little courage. We must have the clarity of vision to see the difference between what is essential and what is merely desirable, and then the courage to bring our government back under control.
When those in leadership give us tax increases and tell us we must also do with less, have they thought about those who've always had less -- especially the minorities? This is like telling them that just as they step on that first rung of the ladder of opportunity, the ladder is being pulled out from under them. That may be the Democratic leadership's message to the minorities, but it won't be our message.
Thanks to the economic policies of the Democratic Party, millions of Americans find themselves out of work. Millions more have never even had a fair chance to learn new skills, hold a decent job, or secure for themselves and their families a -- a share in the prosperity of this nation.
It's time to put America back to work, to make our cities and towns -- make our cities and towns resound with the confident voices of men and women of all races, nationalities, and faiths, bringing home to their families a paycheck they can cash for honest money.
For those without skills, we'll find a way to help them get new skills. For those without job opportunities we'll stimulate new opportunities, particularly in the inner cities where they live.
For those who've abandoned hope, we'll restore hope and we'll welcome them into a great national crusade to make America great again.
When we move from domestic affairs and cast our eyes abroad, we see an equally sorry chapter in the record of the present Administration. Our European allies, looking nervously at the growing menace from the Middle East, turn to us for leadership and fail to find it. Adversaries large and small, whether rogue nations or terrorist groups, test our will and seek to confound our resolve, but we are given weakness when we need strength, vacillation when the times demand firmness.
The Obama Administration lives in a world of make-believe -- every day, drawing up a response to that day's problems -- troubles, regardless of what happened yesterday and what'll happen tomorrow.
But you and I live in a real world, where disasters are overtaking our nation without any real response from Washington. This is make-believe, self-deceit and, above all, transparent hypocrisy.
It is the responsibility of the President of the United States, in working for peace, to insure that the safety of our people cannot successfully be threatened by a hostile foreign power. As president, fulfilling that responsibility will be my number one priority.
We're not a warlike people. Quite the opposite. We always seek to live in peace. We resort to force infrequently and with great reluctance, and only after we've determined that it's absolutely necessary.
Four times in my lifetime America has gone to war, bleeding the lives of its young men into the sands of island beachheads, the fields of Europe, and the jungles and rice paddies of Asia. We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong; it is when they are weak that tyrants are tempted.
We have to do the practical things, the down-to-earth things such as creating policies that will stimulate our economy, increase productivity, and put America back to work. The time is now to limit federal spending, to insist on a stable monetary reform and to free ourselves from imported oil.
And, the time is now to redeem promises once made to the American people by another candidate, in another time, and another place. He said:
"For three long years I have been going up and down this country preaching that government -- federal, state, and local -- costs too much. I shall not stop that preaching. As an immediate program of action, we must abolish useful -- useless offices. We must eliminate unnecessary functions of government. We must consolidate subdivisions of government and, like the private citizen, give up luxuries which we can no longer afford."
And then he said, "I propose to you, my friends, and through you that government of all kinds, big and little be made solvent and that the example be set by the President of the United States and his Cabinet." End of quote.
That was Franklin Delano Roosevelt's words as he accepted the Democratic nomination for President in 1932.
Isn't it time that we, the people, carry out those un-kept promises? That we pledge to each other and to all America on this August day -- 80 years later -- that now we intend to do just that.
God bless America.
Thank you.
It's a pretty hard-hitting speech, that directly addresses a lot of the issues we have today. And it sounds a lot like some of Romney's recent speeches, where he points out that the American people are willing and able to make things better, by their own efforts.
It's a far cry from the "You didn't build that, somebody else made that happen" attitude we've gotten from certain other politicians recently.
Thank you very much.
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice-President-to-be, this convention, my fellow citizens of this great nation:
With a deep awareness of the responsibility conferred by your trust, I accept your nomination for the Presidency of the United States.
I do so with deep gratitude. And I think also I might interject on behalf of all of us our thanks to Tampa and the people of Florida and to this city for the warm hospitality that we've enjoyed. And I thank you for your whole-hearted response to my recommendation in regard to Paul Ryan as the candidate for Vice President.
I'm very proud of our Party tonight. This convention has shown to all America a party united, with positive programs for solving the nation's problems, a party ready to build a new consensus with all those across the land who share a community of values embodied in these words: family, work, neighborhood, peace, and freedom.
More than anything else, I want my candidacy to unify our country, to renew the American spirit and sense of purpose. I want to carry our message to every American, regardless of party affiliation, who is a member of this community of shared values.
The head of a government which has utterly refused to live within its means and which has, in the last few days, told us that this coming year's deficit will be another trillion dollars, dares to point the finger of blame at business and labor, both of which have been engaged in a losing struggle just trying to stay even.
High taxes, we are told, are somehow good for us, as if, when government spends our money it isn't inflationary, but when we spend it, it is.
Those who preside over energy tell us to use less, so that we will run out of oil, gasoline, and natural gas a little more slowly. Well, now, conservation is desirable, of course. We mustn't waste energy. But conservation is not the sole answer to our energy needs. America must get to work producing more energy.
The Republican program for solving economic problems is based on growth and productivity. Large amounts of oil and natural gas lay beneath our land and off our shores, untouched because the present Administration seems to believe the American people would rather see more regulation, more taxes, and more controls than more energy.
Now, make no mistake. We will not permit the safety of our people or our environmental heritage to be jeopardized, but we are going to reaffirm that the economic prosperity of our people is a fundamental part of our environment.
Our problems are both acute and chronic, yet all we hear from those in positions of leadership are the same tired proposals for more Government tinkering, more meddling, and more control -- all of which led us to this sorry state in the first place.
Can anyone look at the record of this Administration and say, "Well done"?
Can anyone compare the state of our economy when the Obama administration took office with where we are today and say, "Keep up the good work"?
Can anyone look at our reduced standing in the world today and say, "Let's have four more years of this"?
I believe the American people are going to answer these questions in the first week in November and their answer will be, "No -- we've had enough."
And then -- And then it will be up to us, beginning next January 20th, to offer an administration and congressional leadership of competence and more than a little courage. We must have the clarity of vision to see the difference between what is essential and what is merely desirable, and then the courage to bring our government back under control.
When those in leadership give us tax increases and tell us we must also do with less, have they thought about those who've always had less -- especially the minorities? This is like telling them that just as they step on that first rung of the ladder of opportunity, the ladder is being pulled out from under them. That may be the Democratic leadership's message to the minorities, but it won't be our message.
Thanks to the economic policies of the Democratic Party, millions of Americans find themselves out of work. Millions more have never even had a fair chance to learn new skills, hold a decent job, or secure for themselves and their families a -- a share in the prosperity of this nation.
It's time to put America back to work, to make our cities and towns -- make our cities and towns resound with the confident voices of men and women of all races, nationalities, and faiths, bringing home to their families a paycheck they can cash for honest money.
For those without skills, we'll find a way to help them get new skills. For those without job opportunities we'll stimulate new opportunities, particularly in the inner cities where they live.
For those who've abandoned hope, we'll restore hope and we'll welcome them into a great national crusade to make America great again.
When we move from domestic affairs and cast our eyes abroad, we see an equally sorry chapter in the record of the present Administration. Our European allies, looking nervously at the growing menace from the Middle East, turn to us for leadership and fail to find it. Adversaries large and small, whether rogue nations or terrorist groups, test our will and seek to confound our resolve, but we are given weakness when we need strength, vacillation when the times demand firmness.
The Obama Administration lives in a world of make-believe -- every day, drawing up a response to that day's problems -- troubles, regardless of what happened yesterday and what'll happen tomorrow.
But you and I live in a real world, where disasters are overtaking our nation without any real response from Washington. This is make-believe, self-deceit and, above all, transparent hypocrisy.
It is the responsibility of the President of the United States, in working for peace, to insure that the safety of our people cannot successfully be threatened by a hostile foreign power. As president, fulfilling that responsibility will be my number one priority.
We're not a warlike people. Quite the opposite. We always seek to live in peace. We resort to force infrequently and with great reluctance, and only after we've determined that it's absolutely necessary.
Four times in my lifetime America has gone to war, bleeding the lives of its young men into the sands of island beachheads, the fields of Europe, and the jungles and rice paddies of Asia. We know only too well that war comes not when the forces of freedom are strong; it is when they are weak that tyrants are tempted.
We have to do the practical things, the down-to-earth things such as creating policies that will stimulate our economy, increase productivity, and put America back to work. The time is now to limit federal spending, to insist on a stable monetary reform and to free ourselves from imported oil.
And, the time is now to redeem promises once made to the American people by another candidate, in another time, and another place. He said:
"For three long years I have been going up and down this country preaching that government -- federal, state, and local -- costs too much. I shall not stop that preaching. As an immediate program of action, we must abolish useful -- useless offices. We must eliminate unnecessary functions of government. We must consolidate subdivisions of government and, like the private citizen, give up luxuries which we can no longer afford."
And then he said, "I propose to you, my friends, and through you that government of all kinds, big and little be made solvent and that the example be set by the President of the United States and his Cabinet." End of quote.
That was Franklin Delano Roosevelt's words as he accepted the Democratic nomination for President in 1932.
Isn't it time that we, the people, carry out those un-kept promises? That we pledge to each other and to all America on this August day -- 80 years later -- that now we intend to do just that.
God bless America.
Thank you.
It's a pretty hard-hitting speech, that directly addresses a lot of the issues we have today. And it sounds a lot like some of Romney's recent speeches, where he points out that the American people are willing and able to make things better, by their own efforts.
It's a far cry from the "You didn't build that, somebody else made that happen" attitude we've gotten from certain other politicians recently.