E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSS
PALM BEACH, Fla. — Mitt Romney went well beyond his standard stump speech at a closed-door fundraiser on Sunday evening, and offered some of the most specific details to date about the policies he would pursue if elected.
Karen Bleier / AFP - Getty Images
GOP presidential hopeful Mitt Romney floated the idea of eliminating the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the cabinet-level agency once led by the candidate's father.
In a speech to donors in the backyard of a private home here, the former Massachusetts governor and presumptive GOP presidential nominee outlined his plans to potentially eliminate or consolidate federal agencies, win back Latino voters and reform the nation's tax code.
And even Ann Romney, the subject of a national debate last week over the role of women in the workplace, was more direct than usual. She sounded like a political tactician when she described a Democratic consultant's criticism of her decision to be a stay-at-home mom as "an early birthday gift."
Romney went into a level of detail not usually seen by the public in the speech, which was overheard by reporters on a sidewalk below. One possibility floated by Romney included the elimination of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Cabinet-level agency once led by Romney's father, George.
"I'm going to take a lot of departments in Washington, and agencies, and combine them. Some eliminate, but I'm probably not going to lay out just exactly which ones are going to go," Romney said. "Things like Housing and Urban Development, which my dad was head of, that might not be around later. But I'm not going to actually go through these one by one. What I can tell you is, we've got far too many bureaucrats. I will send a lot of what happens in Washington back to the states."
Asked about the fate of the Department of Education in a potential Romney administration, the former governor suggested it would also face a dramatic restructuring.
"The Department of Education: I will either consolidate with another agency, or perhaps make it a heck of a lot smaller. I'm not going to get rid of it entirely," Romney said, explaining that part of his reasoning behind preserving the agency was to maintain a federal role in pushing back against teachers' unions. Romney added that he learned in his 1994 campaign for Senate that proposing to eliminate the agency was politically volatile.
At that time, Sen. Ted Kennedy ran ads against Romney — then a political neophyte — accusing him of being uncaring for saying he wished to eliminate the agency.
Romney told the audience here tonight (along with the Weekly Standard in an interview in early April) that that experience remains fresh in his mind. It's contributed to his caution in publicly naming federal agencies and programs he would eliminate or dramatically curtail.
Romney's wife Ann also spoke briefly, where she described her role in a controversy over women in the workplace and Republicans' efforts to make inroads with female voters.
Mrs. Romney acknowledged Republicans' deficit at present with female voters, and urged the women in attendance to talk to their friends, particularly about the economy. She also discussed the criticism she faced this week, and her pride in her role as a mother.
"It was my early birthday present for someone to be critical of me as a mother, and that was really a defining moment, and I loved it," Mrs. Romney said.
Gov. Romney went further in engaging the so-called "war on moms" that followed in the media — upon which his campaign has been aggressively fundraising — calling it a "gift" that allowed his campaign to show contrast with Democrats in the general election's first week.
Romney also went into greater detail than he has on the campaign trail in describing how he would maintain the progressive structure in the tax code after implementing his 20 percent across-the-board tax cut.
Democrats have argued that Romney's tax proposals would disproportionately help the wealthy, but on Sunday, Romney identified specific loopholes and deductions for the wealthy that he would eliminate in order to both finance his tax cut, and ensure that the nation's top earners face the same tax burden they do today.
"I'm going to probably eliminate for high income people the second home mortgage deduction," Romney said, adding that he would also likely eliminate deductions for state income and property taxes as well.
"By virtue of doing that, we'll get the same tax revenue, but we'll have lower rates," Romney explained. "The nice thing about lower rates is that small businesses not get to keep a larger share of what they're earning and plow it back in to hire more people and expand their business."
Romney covered much of the ground he does in his standard stump speech before a crowd of several dozen donors, who were gathered to contribute to his new general election "Victory Fund." But Romney also offered, over fried chicken and snapper, a simpler way of understanding his economic policies.
"I'm asked — how do you boil it down, how do you encapsulate this into a campaign message: Two things, jobs and kids," Romney said, explaining that restarting job growth and preserving a better future for the next generation were the campaign's guiding principles.
Though the general election campaign has only begun in earnest — and the policy proposals floated by Romney on Sunday evening were far from formal platform items — the former governor's remarks marked the campaign's acute sense of what awaits them in the coming months.
That sense was represented in Ann and Mitt Romney's discussion of how they might win back women. The former governor also addressed how he might make strides toward winning back Hispanic voters, another crucial voting bloc with whom he and other Republicans lag, according to recent polls.
Predicting that immigration would become a much larger issue in the fall campaign, Romney told his audience, "We have to get Hispanic voters to vote for our party," warning that recent polling showing Hispanics breaking in huge percentages for President Obama "spells doom for us."
Romney said the GOP must offer its own policies to woo Hispanics, including a "Republican DREAM Act," referring to the legislative proposal favored by Democrats that would offer illegal immigrants a limited path to citizenship, to give Hispanic voters a real choice between parties.
Romney nonetheless predicted that, by November, the economy would trump immigration as a driving issue for Hispanic voters, and he vowed also to remind the Hispanic community that, despite promises of comprehensive immigration reform by Obama, Democrats ultimately fell short in passing legislation in their two years in control of Congress and the White House at the start of the president's term.
Romney also described his media strategy going forward, including his views on so-called "earned media," and how the campaign might pair surrogates with complimentary news outlets.
He said his campaign had been well-covered by Fox News, but that Fox was watched by "the true believers," and that he knew he would have to reach out to a broader audience in order to win over independents and women voters that will decide the election in November. He painted a picture of a media landscape in which liberal voices won out on television, but conservatives were strongest online.
"We are behind when it comes to commentators on TV. They tend to be liberal," Romney said. "Where we are ahead or even is on twitter and on the Internet."
Leave a Comment:
You have to laugh at Romney's statement that under his plan, the rich will no longer be able to deduct interest expense on their second mansion.
Wow, is he tough!
The people in this country need to realize they aren't voting for a Romney Plan they are voting for a Karl Rove Plan,A Koch bros Plan,this plan they have does not include the working men and women, they have already made that very clear in every statement they make, the republican state governments have made it very clear that they will diminish the rights of women and destroy the middle class.
If certain segments of our society want to live in povert and live on meager wages hunting alligators for food that is good for them.The blanket model they have for the country does not fit all.
Romney's checklist.
Nuff said.
I believe what Hillary Rosen meant was that Ann Romney was fortunate enough to have the financial resources so she did not have to look for a second job to supplement her families income. My question is did she raise her children by herself or did she have help? If she had help were they legally in the United States and how were they paid?
Details? In a few short quotes Willard used the word 'probably" twice and 'perhaps' once. He is still vary vague as to what he would do. It is in essence; "elect me and then you will find out what I intend to do". Romney never mentioned congress. Does he not know that he can't do any of the things that he said he would 'probably' or 'perhaps' do, without getting it through the congress?
This man is a disingenuous disaster waiting to happen.
America, do you really want a corporate raider as your president?
Right on the money, Thermon. As ususal. Keep those great posts coming.
Edication...check
Urban development...check
Post Office...check
Arts Couyncil...check
psssssttt...he hasn't even hit 1% of the budget yet...
and, are you ready for this....8 trillion in borrowed tax cuts
Nada about the behemouths in the budget that will continue to growq...defense, medicare, social security...
Good thing mittens started off as a millionaire or he wouldn't have made it on his own...
Random pennsylvanian Unless you spoke with a large majority of PA residents, you cannot "know for a fact" that PA will definitely vote for Mr. Romney. It is your opinion, yes, and you are entitled to it. It may even be a probability, but not a fact. My state is a blue state and there's no guarantee here, either.
I am from Pa and i strongly doubt that he will win a lottery ticket let alone the state in the election. People in Pa. are more intellegent than say Texas
I am sure he has look at the cost of what he proposes and has researched everything well.HAHA! He can always change his mind again if it doesn't work.
No you wont shrink federal agencies because you will never be president. You Mormon underwear lunatic.
Romney's plan is simple:
1. Roll back all the safeguards so we can have another mortgage meltdown so he and his buddies can get RICH(ER)
2. Get involved in wars all over the world so he buddies can get nice fat government contracts (anyone remember Halliburton?)
3. Ship all legal and illegal Latinos back where they or their ancestors came from.
4. Parade your wife as a woman who understands other women's plight in economics.
Need I go on?
Pat, Mitt will do nothing with illegal immigration just as Washington in general does. They talk alot about it but nothing substantive gets all that much done. Corporations need their dirt cheap labor and Mitt knows this.
They need the farm workers white people aren't going to do it . The morons in Alabama proved that
Wall Street banker. Secret policy meetings. No complete tax returns. Who wouldn't want this guy?
(He's the political dead man walking.)
He would HAVE to outline his plan to break up the United States and sell off the pieces in private. If he announced that in public, he'd be tarred and feathered.
Hey, now Teapotties,yeah all you at the back of the room,this is an example of the NORTH EAST LIBERAL that kicked the asses of all YOUR candidates.Cry me a river you fools, Mitty has the nomination in the BAG and he still will not commit to a FIRM set of POLICY IDEAS.Candidate Obama at least tried to inform the American people of his intentions. Mitty has promised YOU TEABAG a Prize in a poke. Guess what that turns out to be? Bag of Same !Give me your money and support but please keep your TeaTarded ideas for your next CANDIDATE. Maybe Sad SARAH will jump in FOR REAL next time!!! LOL,YEE-HAW-!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is nothing new: every Republican contender for Prez has offered these agency cuts
Nowhere was this said more in the early to mid 1990s when Repubs had both the house and senate.
Guess what,they're still here.
He's been running for President for six years and still can't get it right. Declare war on woman and you hand the election to Obama (which is not a bad thing).My husband did not understand how Romney has declared war on woman. When I started to explain how women's health is once more at rick, he understood. A lifelong Republican is now going to vote Democrat this fall.
And even Ann Romney, the subject of a national debate last week over the role of women in the workplace, was more direct than usual. She sounded like a political tactician when she described a Democratic consultant's criticism of her decision to be a stay-at-home mom as "an early birthday gift."
Yes, it would have been a gift, but the comment that caused such an uproar was taken way out of context. Romneycare always says how he listens to Ann about how women feel, and the consultant was just pointing out that Ann has zero experience in the workplace. Now, if Romneycare wants her opinions on driving Cadillacs, or decorating any of their five houses, that would be legitimate advice, but Ann Romneycare doesn't know her butt from a hatband when it comes to the workplace that almost all women know, because she has never worked for an employer a day in her life. If this upsets Romneycare or anyone else, too bad.
Starderup,the news media just will not explain the full context of the remarks made by Ms,Rosen, but it is no wonder the TEAtarded just can't figure out the shoe tying process,so the ROMNEY-SCARE party has an issue for a day or two,I would like Ms. MONEY to explain her REAL Life out of HOME work experience!!! Can she give some details,has she ever started her day at 5:00 am and then had the pleasure of ending her day at maybe 11:00 PM all the while making Mitty a satisfied husband?The Money Lady has some life experiences ,but are they comparable to the average working MOM?
He should eliminate the Dept of Education entirely. We have no need for DC's involvement in what had always been a state and local concern. HUD should go as should the Department of Energy. We have a Dept of Energy that employs something like 36,000 people yet we have NO national energy policy. What are those people doing except guaranteeing loans to companies such as Solyndra.
President Carter vowed that from the date of his speech on the subject that we would not import one additional drop of oil from. Over forty years later that promise has yet to be fulfilled. Forty years is enough for a failed and directionless agency.
Eliminating the department of education would give the power back to the parents and teachers more so than the unions (which are losing rights at the state level anyways). Would the money used to fight the union's power, be more or less than letting it go? Long term? short term?
Still voting Ron Paul. Dr. Ron Paul beat Obama in the last Ras poll while Romney only tied him. Ron Paul always had a plan. Romney is scared to release his plans because he could lose votes.
Mike, while you may be right there is no evidence that you are, at least that I am aware of.
I see Romney's statement on Dept of Education as right wing rhetoric, not a serious policy proposal grounded in fact or experience.
Mike - how do you explain the fact that the bottom 5 states that do not have teacher's unions are the ones that have the lowest state test scores and the states with the highest state test scores are teacher union states - (9 of the top 10)?
Frankly - I don't think Unions have one thing to do with either the high or low test scores.
I'm all for trimming down the Dept. of Education - but that's not going to solve our education problem.
AFTER the CON-JOBS and THE SHYSTING or BRAINWASHING of Americans with all the DECEPTION TACTICS FOR THE VOTE and CANDIDATE.
NOW HE COMES OUT WITH SOME POLICIES> BOY THAT MAKES ME FEEL ASSURED THAT HE IS AN HONEST PERSON FOR PRESIDENT!@#$%^
F''''HIM is all this DEVIL IDEOLOGIST and all THE REPUKES & TEASHYSTERS SHOULD GET !!!!
Gist of Mr. Romney's policy speech. "we'll be rich, rich I say" Or at least rich-er
If the day ever comes that a politician says they are going to do what the majority of the American people want them to do instead what they dream up, there will be dancing in the streets. But first, they will have to be concerned enough to really ask. Not likely.
What SCUM BAGS they are They only THINK ABOUT THEIR OWN and SELFISH WAYS of POWER AND MONEY !!!
They should all be CRUCIFIED !!!!!
More same-ol-same-ol! This guy wants to completely destroy government agencies that people rely on. Good show, Rummey! He wants to slash and burn many more jobs. Remember, he likes to fire people. This tax reform, yeah, i see it too, more for the rich! Everything for his buddies, and screw everyone else.
He sure had one thing right tho, FAUX news is really for the true believers! If you can believe Rummey BULL@!$%#, then you can truely believe his BULL@!$%#! I have never see a republican so against people in my whole 53 years on this planet! Who does he really think he's foolin? I dont even see how these so called "true believers" can believe him? Its no wonder his eyes are brown? He's full of @!$%#!
And for Ann? What can i say? Rich B--ch Snob! Sorry ladies, but she has never worked a day in her life! Had nanny's raise the kids. Maids to wash their little behinds for them. She has never had to lift a finger for anything she ever wanted. She bought love and affection for her own kids. She disgusts me! I'm surprised she hasn't paid someone to accompany her husband, and pretend to be her? That way, she could spend all of her days at the spa she loves so well. You know the one? The one you have to earn a living at, pampering her pampered ass!
The only plan Rummey has for the latino vote, call out Obama's failure to do anything? That will backfire on your dumbass! It was YOUR party of NO, HELL NO, that failed the latino's! I hope you use that one, you idiot!
RUMMEY=NOT GOOD FOR ANYONE BUT THE FILTHY RICH!!!
It was Republican policies fostered by Friedman and Greenspan that created the economic disaster. That and an endless appetite for war based on phony pretenses. The economy is recovering in spite of Republican attempts to derail it. If you recall, it was the Republicans who caused the Great Depression and the 2008 economic collapse. The facts are there for all to see. If the middle class fails then the US will certainly become a third world nation. Romney just doesn't understand that the wealthy don't create the middle class and he never will.
Every time you down size an agency, people, real people (who vote) lose jobs.
And every time you continue to maintain an agency that is ineffective if not actually totally worthless you consume the money of productive taxpayers (who also vote) in the process. Government can create jobs only so long as the taxpayers can and will continue to pay the freight since government does not create wealth. It only redistributes the resources of others - the general populace.
Lets see how well medicare, social security, the DOD, FEMA, the VA and Homeland Security work when they don't have enough staff to do their missions.
Yes. Good idea. Let's strip them down to bare bones and then, and only then, increase staffing and better technology as is required. Right now, none of those agencies are even close to being under-staffed or under-funded.
When was the last time you tried to get any paperwork through the DOD or get any questions answered by a human in Social Security or Medi-care?
I don't really have those problems. I can read, write, answer and pose questions in an understandable fashion. Here is one for you. Just what has the Dept of Energy done of a positive and productive nature in the 40 plus years it has been in existence?
all these anti romeny comments are so ridiculous heads buried in the sand all the way to china
if obama is reelected I hope we are all rich like romeny because the cost of everything will be so high compared to what the poor,lower middle class,middle class to upper middle class is use to living on that the quality of american lifestyle will plummet. In comparison romeny is truly a quality businessman you is looking out for the well being of America. Obamas record proves his intentions are to do what ever he wants despite what america wants
plstop, For you sake I hope Romney does Not get rid of the department of education!! Your Spelling and Grammar is horrible. Are you from Mississippi or Alabama??
Hey Dumb Azz, his name is Romney, Not Romeny!!! You spelled it wrong multiple times!!
Romney has said that he doesn't care about the poor. How is he going to help them?
"How is he going to help them?"
Indentured servitude.