Why I Think You Should Vote For My Dad

Townhall.com ^ | April 2, 2007 | Taggart Romney

[Unmarked Package]

Like a lot of kids, I grew up thinking my Dad was Superman. And like most kids, in my teenage years, my view of him changed from Superman to Supernerd. But by age 16, I realized that my earlier view, though not totally realistic, was a lot closer to the truth. We continued to have occasional disagreements, and we still do. But I've come to realize how extraordinarily lucky I am to have Mitt Romney as my father. I also think that if elected, he would be one of our nation's most remarkable presidents.

I'll never forget one weekday sometime during July 1986 (burned in my memory as a magic year for a crazy Boston sports fan, with the Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox all making it to the championship games). I went fishing in an old row boat in Buzzard's Bay on Cape Cod. I threw the anchor overboard and dropped my fishing line. After catching a few fish, I realized I hadn't tied the anchor to the front of the boat.

I returned to the house with my fish and sheepishly informed my Dad, who had company from work at the house, that I had lost the anchor. He told me to go back out and find it. I told him something along the lines of, "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard – I can't find an anchor on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean."

Now my instinct as a parent of three would be to send my kid to his room for talking to me that way and then make him work to pay off a new anchor. His reaction was different. He excused himself from his friends, got dressed in his bathing suit, grabbed a snorkel mask, and took me down to the beach with him. For 45 minutes we rowed back and forth, putting our faces into the water to see if we could find the anchor. Amazingly, we did.

I learned three lessons that day. The first is that my Dad really is pretty frugal. There isn't much that bothers him more than wasting money. The second is that my Dad honestly believes he can overcome any challenge with enough hard work and ingenuity. And third, I learned that my Dad cares for me enough to spend his day looking for an anchor in the Atlantic Ocean. He didn't care so much about finding the anchor as he did about teaching me the first two lessons – being wise with money and not letting anything stand in my way.

I've seen that pattern repeat itself dozens of times in his life – at the Olympics, as Governor of Massachusetts, as a successful businessman, and as a father and husband.

When I vote for a Congressman or a Senator, I want someone who is going to be a strong representative for my conservative values. A thinker. A legislator.

But when I vote for President, I also want a doer. No-nonsense. Pragmatic. Proven. Someone who will be able to react quickly to any crises that arise, someone I trust to safeguard my family from threats abroad and threats from within.

I've seen my Dad in action, not just in one crisis, but in dozens. I don't think there is a person alive in whom I'm more confident in placing my trust.

Take a look back to 2002. That was the year he put on an incredible Winter Olympics with a $100M surplus (right after 9/11, and despite a major scandal that almost ruined the games before he took them over), won as a Republican Governor in an overwhelmingly Democratic state, and turned a $3B budget deficit into a surplus without raising taxes.

I recognize that all of that wouldn't matter so much if he were on the wrong side of the issues. We should want someone who not only will lead, but will lead us in the right direction.

Ask yourself who you want leading our nation over the next decade as we face the following challenges: a Jihadist enemy intent on destroying our way of life; liberal elites and activist judges attempting to break down the social values and norms that have existed for centuries; an exploding immigration problem; a serious threat to our status as economic and military superpower from Asia; a looming energy crisis; out-of-control spending in Washington.

What kind of person should we want to be leading our nation at this time of challenge and opportunity? The answer seems obvious – we want someone strong; someone who recognizes our challenges and is willing to deal with them head on; a fiscal conservative; a social conservative; someone whose personal integrity and moral values are unquestioned; someone who has been tested; someone who isn't a career politician; and someone who will get the job done.

There is only one person I believe can do all of that. There's no question that I'm biased—I love my Dad. But my love hasn't blinded me. Like Lincoln in 1860, Roosevelt in 1901, and Reagan in 1980, Mitt Romney is the right leader at the right time for our great nation. He may not be Superman. But he's close enough for me.

[WOSG]

It was obvious to the voters in 1994 and should be apparent to any objective observer that Romney was more conservative than the liberal Kennedy in that race, given their positions on *all* issues.

I guess you dont fit into either category. ;-)

[TheLion]

"I like Mitt. But a Republican Morman will not get elected President. He’ll be lucky to place third in the GOP primary."

After you see him debate, I'll wager you will change your mind!

[TheLion]

Great post!

I’m always amazed at the ignorant dim witted responses by freepers on these threads.

[TheLion]

One of the dumbest and most ignorant posts I have see around here in a long time.

[EternalVigilance]

It was obvious to the voters in 1994 and should be apparent to any objective observer that Romney was more conservative than the liberal Kennedy in that race, given their positions on *all* issues.

Watch the video.

Gays. No difference.

Guns. No difference.

Abortion. No difference.

Affirmative Action. No difference.

Actually, any differences were in embroidery around the edges only. And Romney was running from them as hard and fast as he could.

[TheLion]

How the hell is anyone going to beat Ted Kennedy in Mass?....he will die in office.

[EternalVigilance]

After you see him debate, I'll wager you will change your mind!

I've seen him debate, which is one of the reasons I'll never change my mind about Willard Mitt, and why he'll never get my vote. Ever.

Romney debates

[redgirlinabluestate]

What would have happened if Romney had vetoed the bill?

The overwhelmingly Dem legislature would have overridden his veto and Mass. gun legislation would have been far more restrictive than the compromise bill which Romney was able to work out with the Dems.

Romney learned and lived the Reagan lesson:

"I'd learned while negotiating union contracts that you seldom got everything you asked for. And I agreed with FDR, who said in 1933: 'I have no expectations of making a hit every time I come to bat. What I seek is the highest possible batting average."

"If you got seventy-five or eighty percent of what you were asking for, I say, you take it and fight for the rest later, and that's what I told these radical conservatives who never got used to it.

~~ Ronald Reagan, in his autobiography, An American Life .

[EternalVigilance]

How the hell is anyone going to beat Ted Kennedy in Mass?....he will die in office.

Right. Reelected endlessly by the exact same set of voters who elected Mitt Governor.

That should give any conservative pause.

[TheLion]

He doesn’t need your vote. BTW, who the hell are you going to vote for? I’ve never seen anyone on quite such a mission to destroy one candidate.

[TheLion]

Mitt is just fine....his family values are probably higher than yours or mine.

[TheLion]

Good post! Mind if I borrow it?

[EternalVigilance]

He doesn’t need your vote.

Is that the new Romney campaign slogan?

BTW, who the hell are you going to vote for?

A conservative.

I’ve never seen anyone on quite such a mission to destroy one candidate.

You should pay more attention. Free Republic is largely devoted to taking down liberals.

[EternalVigilance]

Mitt is just fine....his family values are probably higher than yours or mine.

Right. That's why he vehemently supported the unrestrained slaughter of the unborn for over 35 years.

[TAdams8591]

"The overwhelmingly Dem legislature would have overridden his veto and Mass. gun legislation would have been far more restrictive than the compromise bill which Romney was able to work out with the Dems."

It was a rhetorical question, I wanted EV to answer, redgirl. Of course, that' s what would have happened. And you know it EV.

[EternalVigilance]

Mitt is just fine....his family values are probably higher than yours or mine.

Right. That's why his administration in Massachusetts flooded the public schools with raw homosexual propaganda.

[EternalVigilance]

Mitt is just fine....his family values are probably higher than yours or mine.

Right. That's why his administration declared a pair of homosexuals adoptive "parents of the year."

[EternalVigilance]

It was a rhetorical question, I wanted EV to answer, redgirl. Of course, that' s what would have happened. And you know it EV.

As I told you earlier, so what? He had a constitutional duty, no matter what they were likely to do. And he, as is the norm with him, failed to do his sworm duty to the Constitution.

[TheLion]

You are either a flaming democrat in disguise or working for Guiliani. Never seen anyone on such a mission....it is actually absurd to watch the efforts you take to attack Romney.

[EternalVigilance]

You are either a flaming democrat in disguise or working for Guiliani. Never seen anyone on such a mission....it is actually absurd to watch the efforts you take to attack Romney.

Right. Posting his own words and record is so subversive, isn't it...