Mitt Romney Quotes
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Willard Mitt Romney is an American businessman and politician who served as the 70th Governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 and was the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 election.

Raised in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan by his parents George and Lenore Romney, he spent 2½ years in France as a Mormon missionary, starting in 1966. He married Ann Davies in 1969, and they have five sons. By 1971, he had participated in the political campaigns of both parents. He earned a BA from Brigham Young University in 1971 and a joint JD–MBA from Harvard University in 1975. Romney became a management consultant and in 1977 secured a position at Bain & Company. Later serving as Bain's chief executive officer , he helped lead the company out of a financial crisis. In 1984, he co-founded and led the spin-off company Bain Capital, a highly profitable private equity investment firm that became one of the largest of its kind in the nation. Active in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints throughout his adult life, he served as the bishop of his ward and then as stake president near Boston.

After stepping down from Bain Capital and his local leadership role in the LDS Church, Romney ran as the Republican candidate in the 1994 Massachusetts election for U.S. Senate. After losing to longtime incumbent Ted Kennedy, he resumed his position at Bain Capital. Years later, a successful stint as President and CEO of the then-struggling Salt Lake Organizing Committee for the 2002 Winter Olympics led to a relaunch of his political career. Elected Governor of Massachusetts in 2002, Romney helped develop and then signed into law the Massachusetts health care reform legislation, the first of its kind in the nation. It provided near-universal health insurance access through state-level subsidies and individual mandates to purchase insurance. He also presided over the elimination of a projected $1.2–1.5 billion deficit through a combination of spending cuts, increased fees, and closing corporate tax loopholes. He did not seek re-election in 2006, instead focusing on his campaign for the Republican nomination in the 2008 U.S. presidential election. Though he won several primaries and caucuses, the eventual nominee was Senator John McCain. Romney's considerable net worth, estimated in 2012 at $190–250 million, helped finance his political campaigns prior to 2012.

Romney was the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2012 election. He won the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, becoming the first Mormon to be the presidential nominee of a major party. He was defeated by incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 2012 general election, losing the electoral college by 332–206. The popular vote between the two major-party nominees was 51%–47% in Obama's favor. Romney kept a low profile for a while after the election, but later became more visible politically. In February 2018, Romney announced his candidacy for the 2018 Senate election in Utah.

✵ 12. March 1947
Mitt Romney photo
Mitt Romney: 128   quotes 0   likes

Mitt Romney Quotes

“George Stephanopoulos: Is $100,000 middle income?

Mitt Romney: No, middle income is $200,000 to $250,000 and less.”

Good Morning America http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2012/09/full-transcript-george-stephanopoulos-and-mitt-romney/,
2012

“Not as closely as some of the most ardent fans. But I have some great friends that are NASCAR team owners.”

at Daytona 500, , quoted in [2012-02-26, Mitt Romney at Daytona 500: ‘I have some great friends that are NASCAR team owners’, Philip, Rucker, Election 2012, The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/mitt-romney-trades-campaign-trail-for-daytona-500/2012/02/26/gIQAMsHpcR_blog.html, 2012-07-03, ,] and * 2012-02-27
The Daily Show
Comedy Central
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-february-27-2012/indecision-2012---how-is-it-that-mitt-romney-hasn-t-crushed-this-guy-already-
2012-07-03
asked whether he follows NASCAR
2012

“Rick Perry: But, you know, I'm just saying, you were for individual mandates, my friend.
Mitt Romney: You know what, you've raised that before, Rick, uh, and you're still wrong.
Rick Penny: It was true then. And it's true now.
Mitt Romney: Rick, I'll tell you what, 10,000 bucks? $10,000 bet?”

ABC News Republican Debate, , quoted in [2011-12-10, Perry To Romney: "You Were For Individual Mandates, My Friend", Real Clear Politics, http://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2011/12/10/perry_to_romney_you_were_for_individual_mandates_my_friend.html, 2012-10-03]
2011

“America has greatness ahead. This is a time for choosing.”

2016, Remarks on Donald Trump and the 2016 race

“I'm not a big-game hunter. I've made that very clear. I've always been a rodent and rabbit hunter. Small varmints, if you will. I began when I was 15 or so and I have hunted those kinds of varmints since then. More than two times.”

, quoted in * 2012-01-17
Has Romney been hunting since 2008 "small varmints" gaffe?
Christine Delargy
CBS News
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-57359904-503544/has-romney-been-hunting-since-2008-small-varmints-gaffe/
2007 campaign for Republican nomination for United States President

“I am in favor of stem cell research. I am not in favor of creating new human embryos through cloning.”

Press conference, May 2005 http://www.heartland.org/publications/health%20care/article/16862/Massachusetts_Governor_Battles_Harvard_and_Legislature_on_Stem_Cell_Research.html
2003–2007 Governor of Massachusetts

“Bain Capital is an investment partnership which was formed to invest in startup companies and ongoing companies, then to take an active hand in managing them and hopefully, five to eight years later, to harvest them at a significant profit.”

CD-ROM marking 25th anniversary of Bain & Company, quoted in * 2012-09-27
Corn
David
w:David Corn
New Romney Video: In 1985, He Said Bain Would "Harvest" Companies for Profits
Mother Jones
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/09/1985-romney-bain-harvest-firms-profits-video
2012-10-03
1985

“I believe the family is the foundation of America -- and that we must fight to protect and strengthen it. I believe in the sanctity of human life. I believe that people and their elected representatives should make our laws, not unelected judges.”

Press Conference: Announcing Candidacy for Presidency, 2007-02-13 http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/02/13/romney.announce/index.html
2007 campaign for Republican nomination for United States President

“I'm not familiar precisely with what I said, but I'll stand by what I said, whatever it was.”

2012-05-17
Mitt Romney stands by invocation of Rev. Wright
Greg
Sargent
The Plum Line
The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/i-stand-by-what-i-said-whatever-it-was/2012/05/17/gIQADnyhWU_blog.html
2012-10-03
posed question: "When you did an interview with Sean Hannity in February, you said that you believed that Obama is trying to make America a less Christian nation. It was responding to quote that he had just played for you on the radio. Do you stand by that?"
regarding Romney saying "And I'm not sure which is worse, him listening to Reverend Wright or him saying that we must be a less Christian nation.", referring to Obama's 2006 statement, "Whatever we once were, we are no longer a Christian nation — at least, not just. We are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, and a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers."
2012

“Barack Obama is facing a financial emergency on a grander scale. Yet his approach has been to engage in one of the biggest peacetime spending binges in American history.”

[2011-04-25, Mitt Romney: Obama isn't serious about America's financial health, New Hampshire Union Leader, http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Mitt+Romney:+Obama+isn't+serious+about+America's+financial+health&articleId=b7883ad5-32f6-4d62-871c-d967005bb838, 2011-04-26]
At his writing, the United States had troops fighting in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Libya.
2011

“The one by L. Ron Hubbard…I'm not in favor of his religion by any means, but he wrote a book called Battlefield Earth that was a very fun science fiction book.”

Fox News interview, , quoted in [2007-04-30, Romney Favors Hubbard Novel, Jim Rutenberg, The Caucus, The New York Times, http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/04/30/romney-favors-hubbard-novel/]
asked his favorite novel
2007 campaign for Republican nomination for United States President

“I actually think it will be interesting to listen to the President tonight. What I'd like him to do is report on his promises but there are forgotten promises and forgotten people. Over the last four years, the President has said that he was going to create jobs for the American people and that hasn't happened. He said he would cut the deficit in half and that hasn't happened. He said that incomes would rise and instead incomes have gone down. And I think this is a time not for him not to start restating new promises but to report on the promises he made. I think he wants a promises reset. We want a report on the promises he made. And that means let's hear some numbers. Let's hear 16. Sixteen trillion dollars of debt. This is very different than the promise he made. Let's hear the number 47. 47 million people in this country on food stamps. When he took office, 33 million people were on food stamps. Let's understand why it was he's been unsuccessful in helping alleviate poverty in this country. Why so many people have fallen from the middle class into poverty under this president. Let's have him explain to the American people the 50% number. Why 50% of college graduates can't find work or work that is consistent with their college degree. The President needs to report tonight on his promises rather than try and reset a whole series of new promises that he also won't be able to keep.”

2012-09-06
http://mittromneycentral.com/2012/09/06/romney-on-obamas-speech-tonight-americans-want-a-report-on-presidents-promises/
Romney on Obama’s Speech Tonight: Americans Want A Report On President’s Promises
Mitt Romney Central
2012

“As to what to do for the housing industry specifically and are there things that you can do to encourage housing: One is, don't try to stop the foreclosure process. Let it run its course and hit the bottom.”

[2011-10-18, Romney says foreclosures should "hit the bottom", Kasie, Hunt, AP/Boston.com, http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2011/10/18/romney_says_foreclosures_should_hit_the_bottom/]
2011

“I believe in an America where millions of Americans believe in an America that's the America millions of Americans believe in. That's the America I love.”

2012 stump speech, quoted in [2012-1-22, Steyn, Mark, The Man Who Gave Us Newt, National Review, http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/288873/man-who-gave-us-newt-mark-steyn, 2012-02-02]
2012

“The idea to say that Steve Jobs didn't build Apple, that Henry Ford didn't build Ford Motor, that Papa John didn't build Papa John Pizza, that Ray Kroc didn't build McDonald's, that Bill Gates didn't build Microsoft, you go on the list, that Joe and his colleagues didn't build this enterprise, to say something like that is not just foolishness, it is insulting to every entrepreneur, every innovator in America and it's wrong.”

2012-07-17
http://hotair.com/archives/2012/07/17/videos-romney-on-the-attack-after-obamas-you-didnt-build-that-remark/
Videos: Romney on the attack after Obama’s “You didn’t build that” remark
Hot Air
referring to Barack Obama's statement, "Somebody invested in roads and bridges — if you've got a business, you didn't build that; somebody else made that happen."
2012

“We believe in a nation under God, a nation indivisible, a nation united, a nation with justice and liberty for all. And for that to happen, we're going to have to have a new president that will commit to getting America working again; that will commit to a strong military; that will commit to a nation under God that recognizes that we the American people were given our rights not by government, but by God himself.”

campaign speech at Military Aviation Museum, Virginia Beach, , quoted in [2012-09-08, Ashley, Parker, In Romney’s Hands, Pledge of Allegiance Is Framework for Criticism, The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/09/us/politics/romney-uses-pledge-of-allegiance-to-criticize-obama.html, 2012-09-18]
quoting and paraphrasing the Pledge of Allegiance
regarding a draft of the Democratic Party's national platform replacing the phrase "God-given potential" with "talent and drive"
2012

“I see an America where poverty is defeated by opportunity, not enabled by a government check.”

2012-03-20
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/03/20/mitt_romneys_illinois_victory_speech_113565.html
Mitt Romney's Illinois Victory Speech
RealClearPolitics
2012

“Corporations are people, my friend … course they are!”

Speech in Iowa, August 2011, quoted in [2011-08-12, ‘Corporations Are People,’ Romney Tells Iowa Hecklers Angry Over His Tax Policy, New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/12/us/politics/12romney.html]
2011

“As a result of [my campaign's] discussions and other interactions with gay and lesbian voters across the state, I am more convinced than ever that as we seek to establish full equality for America's gay and lesbian citizens, I will provide more effective leadership than Ted Kennedy.”

Letter to Log Cabin Republicans Club, 1994 http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2012/01/08/400048/marriage-equality-opponent-mitt-romney-to-gay-people-i-dont-discriminate
1994 United States Senate campaign

“I am convinced that unless America changes course, we will become the France of the 21st Century - still a great nation, but no longer the leader of the world.”

[2008-02-08, Romney suspends White House bid, BBC News, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7233537.stm]
2008

“Now, I love being home, in this place where Ann and I were raised, where both of us were born. Ann was born in Henry Ford Hospital, I was born at Harper Hospital. No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate; they know that this is the place that we were born and raised.”

On the campaign trail in his home state Michigan, at a rally near Detroit.
2012-08-24
Mitt Romney makes birth certificate quip at Michigan rally
Ewen
MacAskill
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/aug/24/mitt-romney-birth-certificate-quip?newsfeed=true
2012-08-25
2012-08-24
Romney stirs 'birther' controversy, Akin to stay in Senate race
CNN
http://edition.cnn.com/2012/08/24/politics/rnc-campaign-wrap/index.html
2012

“[M]any Tea Party folks are going to find me, I believe, to be the ideal candidate.”

Town hall event in Charleston, South Carolina, December 17, 2011, quoted in [2011-12-17, Haake, Garrett, Weinberg, Ali, Romney says he could be Tea Party's 'Ideal Candidate', msnbc.com, http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/17/9519302-romney-says-he-could-be-tea-partys-ideal-candidate?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter, 2011-12-18]
2011

“Like other presidents before him, Barack Obama inherited a recession. But unlike them, he has made it worse, not better.”

[2009-12-03, Mr. President, here's how to lift our economy, USA Today, http://www.usatoday.com/NEWS/usaedition/2009-12-03-column03_ST2_U.htm]
2009