Romney stresses family values

JASON SPENCER, Staff Writer
Published February 23, 2007

People, not government, are the source of America's strength, Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney told a crowded room in Spartanburg late Thursday.

"There is no place that is more important to the future strength of America than the American home," Romney told a crowd of more than 600 people at the Spartanburg County Republican Party's annual Presidents Day Banquet.

"The work that goes on within the walls of a home is the most important work that is ever done in America. … And if we want to strengthen America, we need to strengthen the American family."

Romney's speech stressed family values, the need to cut off investments in businesses linked to the Iranian regime and the Republican belief in less government.

The former Massachusetts governor graced the stage at the downtown Marriott with his usual charisma, though his speech -- which was unscripted -- wasn't tied to a single theme as it has been at past Spartanburg engagements.

Romney admitted the United States didn't have enough planning and preparation, or enough troops, to handle Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussein. But he stressed that over the next decade, America will need to concern itself more with Iran.

Romney sent a letter Thursday to

the New York state comptroller urging him to pull pension investments out of companies linked to Iran: "We want to squeeze pressure on that country and get them on the right track."

He criticized Democratic presidential hopefuls Hilary Clinton and John Edwards for wanting to engage and negotiate with Iran, saying that such a stance showed "a lack of understanding, and a certain timidity in dealing with someone who is doing something very, very bad. You don't want to reward bad behavior."

Romney talked about securing the U.S. border, energy independence and making sure "people get married before they have babies."

Romney talked about faith and values, but not his faith. He is a Mormon, which some Christians consider to be a cult.

It's unclear how Romney's personal beliefs will affect his performance in South Carolina.

"I'm here to find out who he is, what he believes in," the Rev. Chuck Bridges, pastor of Washington Avenue Baptist Church in Greenville, said beforehand.

"If people are looking at his moral stance, and not for him to be pastor for the country… If he has conviction, and moral fiber, and stands up for what's right, I could support him."

Bridges was at a table of 10 Upstate pastors, compliments of Greenville activist Dee Benedict, an evangelical who is active in GOP politics.

"He's probably the least flawed" of all the Republican presidential candidates, said Spartanburg County GOP Treasurer Bill May, who until this week had not decided on which man to get behind.

"If he can get past the Mormonism, I think he can carry it across the board. The Mormon religion is not well respected across the Bible Belt -- and you're talking to a Catholic here. But he's the one I'm going to support.

"I disagree with Mormonism, and I disagree with Baptists, too. But we're all brothers and sisters in Christ."

Romney's strategy has been to emphasize that he is a person of faith and that he shares the belief with Christians that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of that faith.

In an interview with the Herald-Journal on Thursday, he said that people want a leader who is a person of faith, but that those people won't distinguish between different brands of faith.

It's enough for some.

"He's a true conservative, an innovative thinker, a visionary," said Celia Anderson Crosby, of Spartanburg.

But not everyone was sold on Romney.

"He's OK. His Mormonism doesn't bother me. But (Rudy) Giuliani looks like a much more credible candidate," said Allen Rawley of Spartanburg.

"Am I betraying my pro-life position by voting for Giuliani? No. It's a matter of saving our country. Yes, abortion is a top issue for me, but we've got to save our country or else it's a moot point."

U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., introduced Romney. He praised Romney, whose candidacy he has endorsed, as someone who could manage this country's "huge, wasteful federal government."

"Washington is full of talk," DeMint said.

"But … talk makes no sense when you're not getting anything done. We need someone who understands that it's the results we're after. And we need a president who understands that the strength of America is not in Washington, D.C. -- it's in our people, it's in our churches, it's in our businesses. It's in thousands of volunteer associations all across this country that make our country better every day, and if our government could just get out of the way, America all by itself would just become greater and greater."

The night was centered on Romney, complete with Olympic music and a South Carolina-themed pillow presented to his wife, Ann, as a housewarming gift for their new home on Pennsylvania Avenue. Ann Romney spoke briefly about how she and Mitt were high school sweethearts and that "even then, I saw great things in him."

June Bond, a top aide in the Spartanburg County Republican Party and one of Romney's two county point people, emceed the event, which raised about $10,000 for the local GOP.

"This is a good crowd," said state Republican Party Chairman Katon Dawson, just before dinner. "Team Spartanburg up here knows how to treat candidates. And right now, Spartanburg has been the gateway to presidential politics in South Carolina."

Jason Spencer can be reached at 562-7214, or jason.spencer@shj.com