COMMERCE — An eager, happy crowd which reportedly swelled to 9,300 greeted presidential candidate Mitt Romney during his first trip back to Michigan since selecting as his running mate.
However, a joke Romney made about his roots in Michigan made the biggest headlines from the visit.
A three-hour event at Long Family Orchard in Commerce was "rocking and rolling" from the moment doors opened at 9:30 a.m., through 85 degree-heat and steady sun which caused a few in the audience to require medical attention.
Marked by speeches from Oakland County Commissioner Christine Long, who hosted the event with husband Rob; Michigan Lt. Gov. Brian Calley; and U.S. Senate hopeful Pete Hoekstra among others, the event seemed to serve as a rally for the entirety of conservatives in southeastern Michigan.
A crowd of about 50 protesters greeted Romney on Commerce Road as his tour bus pulled up amid . Romney acknowledged the protesters, who waved signs and chanted, "Four more years!"
"I saw someone with a sign that said four more years and I said, 'You want four more years of eight-percent unemployment? You want four more years of record numbers of foreclosures?'" Romney said.
Romney derided President Barack Obama's term in office after winning a first term in 2008, saying that while Obama "has tried," he hasn't been able to solve issues at the forefront of politics in Michigan.
In what was the first official visit to the Mitten State for vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan, a U.S. Representative from Wisconsin's 1st district, points of pride for the Midwest were made clear.
Ryan remarked, "Remember about four years ago when he was talking to a bunch of donors from San Francisco and he said people from states like ours like to cling to our guns and our religion? I just have one thing to say: this Catholic deer hunter is guilty as charged and proud of it."
Romney's wife, Ann, a graduate of Kingswood School in Bloomfield Hills, expressed her pleasure to be back in the area, while Mitt shared the story of how the two began courtship as a senior at Cranbrook in the mid-1960s.
Romney made a quip which drew a quick response from the Obama campaign referencing his own background in relation to the president's:
"Ann was born in Henry Ford Hospital. I was born in Harper Hospital. No one has ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised," Romney said.
The joke grew laughter and applause from the Michigan faithful, but the Obama campaign said afterwards that Romney had referenced the "birther" movement: a group of political opponents and conspiracy theorists which have put forth since the mid-2000s that Obama's birth certificate is a forgery, among other theories.
"Throughout this campaign, Governor Romney has embraced the most strident voices in his party instead of standing up to them," wrote Obama campaign press secretary Ben LaBolt in a release to media Friday afternoon. "Governor Romney’s decision to directly enlist himself in the birther movement should give pause to any rational voter across America."
Among Romney's biggest talking points:
- Making America energy independent.
- Make sure people have the skills to succeed.
- Trade that works for America.
- Cutting deficit to zero.
- Championing small businesses.
The Republican National Convention is scheduled for Aug. 27-30 in Tampa.
Updated: 3:20 p.m., Friday, Aug. 24
More:
Unless of course their intent is to sound racist...
How on earth is this the same as releasing tax records? And I've read that in the past Romney attacked others for not releasing their tax records...it's just different when it's his I guess?
"Obama / Biden for everyone? You must mean the lazy, deadbeats, drugatics, abusers, marxist, criminals, and illeagls?"
How about the women who don't want their medical decisions legislated? The LGBT who don't want their rights legislated away? The people who don't think the rich need more tax cuts? The poor (in this economy do you really think they're all lazy deadbeats?) who aren't seeing that 'safety net' Romney talks about? The people who don't want the health care act repealed? The people who aren't impressed by his term as governor? The people who are unhappy with his outsourcing of jobs while at Bain? The people who are tired of him changing his views on things every other day? The seniors who are afraid of how much more Medicare will cost under Ryan's plan?
These voices have more clout and currency than activists like me who are often demonize by those who want to promote and market this ignorance . I know there are many silent in the GOP ranks who are offended by Mitt's race card dog whistles..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Romney_presidential_campaign,_1968
http://weaselzippers.us/2012/08/26/jennifer-granholm-says-god-shut-down-rnc/
Granholm's Twitter parody: "R convention delay due to Isaac:I guess God has ways to shut that whole thing down". Granholm speaking fact (something to which TS has shown aversion): "Money from unemployment benefits is rapidly spent in the local economy at places like the grocery store, the corner pharmacy and the gas station, all stimulating demand. It’s estimated that employment in Michigan is about 42,000 jobs greater now because of emergency and extended unemployment benefits provided over the last two years." Thanks for the reminder TS. Now, two questions: 1) how in the heck do you think your post relates to the subject at hand?, and 2) how many MORE times (beyond the 5 so far) are you going to spam Patch sites with repetitive, non-germane posts today?
It goes like this: Obama lived in Indonesia, where he attended school, as a Muslim. During this time, his mother obtained the required Indonesian citizenship for him, which was NEVER revoked or reverted to US citizenship. Stay with me here kids. When Obama applied for college in the US, he used foreign citizenship to get a favorable grant to support his studies and/or drug usage. THAT is why he can't allow his real college transcripts to be made public. They will show him as being a foreign-born student. Phony transcripts, like the phony Hawaiian birth certificates. Throw in the different names, and the faux SSN, and you've got the makings of a fraud. It's a bit of a trip down the road, but adds up. If we had more real journalists like Geraldo Rivera, we'd get to the bottom of it, and properly vet the man. Fact is, you can't vet him because he was never a veterinarian, or a veteran. He has a love-hate relationship with teleprompters, and entrepreneurs. OK, enough birther nonsense. We need new leadership, and the reason is simple. The current administration thinks that debt, and expecting our grandkids to pay for this mess is just fine. It's a big party paid for Obama's vaporcash stash. Most Americans don't agree. They were taught that they pay their own bills, and live within their means. It's what grownups do.
Wrong administration, Laura. Bush Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill tried to warn Vice President Dick Cheney that growing budget deficits posed a threat to the economy. Cheney's response: "You know, Paul, Reagan proved deficits don’t matter. We won the midterms. This is our due." No Democratic politician has ever declared "deficits don't matter". Oh, and GOP Representative and current VP candidate Paul Ryan voted to add a grand total of $6.8 trillion to the federal debt during his time in Congress, voting for at least 65 bills that either reduced revenue or increased spending. http://goo.gl/lt13v So, get the politics/economics right: Democratic Presidents manage our economy better - http://goo.gl/3FJyG , and the current GOP candidates have demostrated hype and hocum towards deficit reduction. Let's keep it real, reject the Romney fantasy, and keep the country on the path to recovery. In fact, to accelerate that recovery, let's send representatives dedicated to making government work for us all.
All the deregulation Clinton (a democrat, in case you forgot) signed into law has had a spectacular outcome years later. Talk about financial responsibility...that's it. You realize Clinton signed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act as well as the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. He also rewrote the Community Reinvestment Act. Talk about some stellar Democratic management of our economy. Let's see, give everybody a house, even if they can't afford it. Push banks to lend to those less worthy. Deregulate Credit Default Swaps. Remove barriers between banks, securities and insurance. That about sums up the Democratic run economy....care to object to that?
you hit the nail right on the head! this country is headed for another civil war and Linda Johnson is too busy with Michelle Obama's grades to see.
On the national level, job creation has under Obama has barely kept pace with population growth, which is why the percentage of the population employed today is stagnant and well below where it was when Obama took office. http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS12300000. Yes, Obama has failed miserably.
In Linda's world, a rapist is innocent if he knocks up his victim because God would not allow an egg to be fertilized if the woman was raped against her will ("hey God, hows about ignoring my eggs for a moment and stopping this thug from raping me? Thanks God!"). How crazy must people be who think this? Clinically mentally insane. And you can bet your life a right wing, ultra conservative Republican would change their mind in a split second if their child was impregnated after a brutal rape (especially if the rapist was black or ethinc).
A powerful movie and the truth about Barack Obama that has never been exposed to the public. The government does not want you to watch this movie! http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/08/22/a_powerful_movie_115175.html
I appreciate how Michigan Patch, like network cousins nationwide, encourages lively, open dialogue -- a great idea in theory, but a opening for maddeningly repetitive loops on political topics. And because regional-interest articles such as this are on all 29 Southeast Michigan sites, readers interested in at-a-glance local comments about their communities see only rabid partisanship, over and over and . . . When discussion of a Friday event exceeds 130 comments three days later, though this thread is far shorter than some two-week Patch reader "debates," it may be apt to decide all relevant points have been voiced and all interested parties have been heard. At some point, which is for editors to determine, debate becomes diatribe and an e-forum becomes hijacked.
Put the debate on a side bar and let local news dominate the home page.
I think commenter Alan Stamm might have said it best: "...It may be apt to decide all relevant points have been voiced and all interested parties have been heard." Thank you for participating!