Mitt Romney hammers Obama at Republican Jewish Coalition candidates forum
WASHINGTON — Mitt Romney, touting himself as an unwavering supporter of Israel and a family man committed to his faith, spent most of his speech to the Republican Jewish Coalition today hammering President Obama for his foreign and domestic policies.
“For the last three years, we’ve had a lot of change. We just haven’t had much hope,’’ Romney said to applause and laughter.
Romney criticized the president for weakening America’s military and world standing by what he called bowing to foreign dictators and withdrawing troops. He also chastised Obama for not finding the time in his diplomatic travels to visit Israel, “our allies, our friends.’’
“He rushed to apologize for America, but he’s hesitated to speak out for democracy and freedom,’’ said Romney, promising to make Israel his first foreign trip if elected president.
“I will reaffirm as a vital national interest Israel’s existence as a Jewish state,’’ Romney said. “I want the world to know that the bonds between Israel and the United States are unshakable.’’
Romney was one of six GOP contenders scheduled to appear today at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s presidential candidates forum at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington. Rick Santorum, Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich, Rick Perry, and Michele Bachmann are also on the docket. Each spoke and took audience questions for about 30 to 45 minutes. Texas Congressman Ron Paul was not invited.
Romney said what sets him apart from the rest of the GOP field is his experience, perspective and judgment. “I’ve spent 25 years in business, and have signed the front and the back of a paycheck.’’
He said he’s defined by the 42-year marriage to his wife, Ann, and his Mormon faith, though he did not mention the word “Mormon.’’
“My family, my faith, freedom — these are the enduring truths in my life,’’ Romney said. “My commitments are firm. They don’t falter.’’
He then continued down a litany of what he called Obama’s failings, accusing the president of replacing the country’s merit-based society with an entitlement society in which everyone receives the same rewards regardless of the educational opportunities they pursue or the risks they take in life.
“In an entitlement society, the invigorating pursuit of happiness is replaced by the deadening reality that there is no prospect of a better tomorrow,’’ Romney said. It is a society, he warned, that would result in large government bureaucracy and a nation that stagnates, declines and can no longer defend itself.
Romney also faulted Obama for adopting what he called an appeasement foreign policy strategy because Obama offered to engage with the world’s dictators.
“The course of appeasement has long been the path chosen by the weak and by the timid,’’ Romney said. “It’s a path the nation chooses at its own peril.’’
As president, Romney vowed not to meet with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying that the Iranian president should be excluded from diplomatic society and indicted for genocide. Under his watch, Romney promised, Iran’s ayatollahs will not be permitted to obtain nuclear weapons.
“A nuclear armed Iran is not only a threat to Israel, it’s a threat to the entire world,’’ he said.
Domestically, Romney said he would halt all regulations put in place during Obama’s administration that hurt jobs and the economy. He said he would direct the secretary of energy to provide licenses to companies that want to drill for oil and gas. And he would issue an executive order that no longer requires union construction crews on federal government projects. He would slash the number of federal employees and grant waivers from the federal health insurance mandate to all 50 states.
“The list goes on and on,’’ Romney said.
He also hinted at a possible post for someone the likes of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani in his administration.
“We’ve wandered, we’ve drifted. I will lead us to a better place,’’ he said.
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