Full Transcript: MittRomneyCentral.com Interview

Two weeks ago we linked to an interview I did with conservative blogger Tim Knight of Jumping in Pools. After giving time for it to be read there I am posting it here in it’s entirety since some may not have clicked through to it and because I’d like to preserve it here on our site as well.

Below are the questions from the interview. Click any of them to jump to that question.
1. What would be the difference between a President Romney and a President Obama?
2. What is the purpose of Mitt Romney Central, and what do you hope to achieve?
3. What can you tell us about Mr.Romney’s just-released book?
4. According to some recent polling data, Romney would win in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Florida if the 2012 Republican Primaries were held today, what is your reaction?
5. Would a “Mitt Romney” campaign fracture the Republican base as much as some Cultural Conservatives predict it will?
6. Give me three reasons to support Romney for the Republican nomination in 2012.

From Jumping in Pools:

Tim Knight – Mr.Gunderson, what would be the difference between a President Romney and a President Obama?

Nate Gunderson – Well the differences would be vast and numerous. Perhaps the two most noticeable differences are their approaches to foreign policy and to the economy. Obama’s policy with foreign nations is to kiss-up to our enemies while snubbing our allies. Just this last weekend he snubbed Israel’s Prime Minister, fortunately he received a bipartisan rebuke from congress for doing so. He’s full of concessions and appeasements for our enemies, actions that have not been reciprocated, and all the while he offers our friends a stiff arm. Romney on the other hand believes in peace through strength. He often quotes Reagan when he says that of all the wars that came about in his lifetime, none of them were because the U.S. was too strong. Romney believes that our nation’s interests and the safety of our children depend on having a strong military and he suggests raising our annual output for military spending to 4% of our GDP, as he has outlined in his new book No Apology. That’s a great read by the way, if you haven’t read it. I’m two-thirds through it.

Anyway, the other item of difference is the economy. You can be certain that if Romney were President now our domestic agenda would be entirely different. This health care debacle certainly would not have passed. We wouldn’t be entertaining ill-conceived ideas like Cap and Trade, Cash for Clunkers, and government control of the auto industry. We would not have utter misuse and lack of accountability with the TARP funds and stimulus money. A stimulus package under a Romney administration would be designed to bring short-term, instant stimulus to the economy through creating incentives for employers to hire. The current stimulus is nothing more than a big payback to those who supported Obama in his run to the White House and is drawn over many years. It has virtually nothing to with jobs, just vast amounts of pork-barrel spending. Romney criticizes Obama for trying to do too much, when he should be focusing on the economy. With millions of people out of jobs and millions of families suffering because of it, I’m certain a President Romney would have done much better to focus on the economy and his policies would have been wiser and better implemented.

Sorry such a long answer on that one but your question hit a hot spot for me.

Tim Knight – Mr.Gunderson, what is the purpose of Mitt Romney Central, and what do you hope to achieve?

Nate Gunderson – MittRomneyCentral.com is a grassroots website designed to promote Mitt Romney for President in 2012, and we’ll certainly promote a lot of conservative candidates and causes along the way. Our goal is to inform the masses, via the internet, regarding Governor Romney and his potential run for the White House. We are currently a team of about 10 people, each with roles to help develop the site in one way or another, whether it be through promoting the site through social-networking websites, or writing page content, or blogging. We launched just six months ago so we are rather new. We currently have about 1000 daily visitors to our site and are growing very rapidly. Very soon we hope to gather some who are quite dedicated to Romney in 2012 and we’ll do training to make a coordinated on-line effort to promote Romney, and to work on correcting much of the misinformation there is out there about him.

Let me add too, just for clarification, that we have absolutely no ties to Romney or his PAC. I’ve shaken Romney’s hand five times, but I’ve never talked to him. We are strictly grassroots and are not supported nor approved by his PAC in anyway.

Tim Knight – Mr.Gunderson, what can you tell us about Mr.Romney’s just-released book?

Nate Gunderson – It’s great. I read his first book “Turnaround”, which I loved, but this one is still much better. As I mentioned already I’m two-thirds through “No Apology”. I just read the chapter today about education and I found it very insightful and well-written. In the book Romney takes on a number of issues and with each one he discusses how its affects America. He has a process how he analyzes each policy and decides whether it will strengthen America or hurt America. The beginning is heavy on foreign policy, but makes one extremely proud to be an American at the same time. He talks about how to create environments for innovation and productivity to flourish in free markets. He discusses the backwards policies we have in regards to immigration. He dedicated a chapter to education and our failing schools. And not least important is his chapter on health care. There is so much to be understood on this subject, especially with the passage of ObamaCare and everyone trying to link it to Romney and Massachusetts. If everyone could read this chapter on health care they would see the great difference between Obama and Romney in solving the problem.

In all, the book is well written, every bit written by the Governor himself. He may not say it, but I certainly will: this is a campaign platform for 2012. If you want to know what Romney is all about, it is in the book. It’s much more informative than 30 second TV spots and 140 character Twitter encapsulations.

Tim Knight – Mr.Gunderson, according to some recent polling data, Romney would win in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Florida if the 2012 Republican Primaries were held today, what is your reaction?

Nate Gunderson – Polls are fun, especially when they bring good news. I’ll be the first to admit that they mean very little this far out. But I must say that I’m very pleased with the results of the Florida poll. That’s a very good sign.

Tim Knight – Mr.Gunderson, would a “Mitt Romney” campaign fracture the Republican base as much as some Cultural Conservatives predict it will?

Nate Gunderson – My opinion is that no it won’t. People may be divided, even passionately in a primary, but no matter who wins I have a feeling we will quickly band together for the good of the party, and ultimately for the good of the nation as we make ousting President Obama a top priority. Romney was an excellent example of this kind of unifying quality as he full-heartedly and quickly endorsed, campaigned for, and otherwise promoted McCain,even after a brutal primary. Even so, I think the candidates will have learned a lesson from 2008, even Romney. I expect the debate to be a lot more calm and civil as we all have a common target.

Tim Knight – Mr.Gunderson, give me three reasons to support Romney for the Republican nomination in 2012.

Nate Gunderson – One, economy. No matter what point the economy is at in 2012, it can and could have been better under a President Romney. Romney has advised, operated, consulted, managed, and launched hundreds of businesses. These include businesses from all sectors of the economy from manufacturers, food chains, retailers, pharmaceuticals, hospitals, hotels… you name it – not to mention the 2002 Winter Olympics. He understands why jobs and businesses come and go. He knows the great impact, both positive and negative, that policies have on businesses. And he knows all too well that businesses make jobs and stimulate the economy, not government.

Two, size of government and government waste. There is so much waste in our government. We have far too many agencies that perform the exact same tasks. So much of government intrudes into our liberties and wastes our hard-earned tax dollars. We have extremely burdensome and unfunded liabilities in our entitlement programs. We have a congress that spends like a runaway train. Romney points out very clearly in his book that if these habits don’t change, if our entitlements are not reformed, if fiscal sanity is not returned to Washington, we are on a steady course for disaster. It will take more than a “good person with their heart in the right place” in the presidency to change these enormous and complex problems. Romney is the turnaround champion. He has on numerous occasions jumped into imminent disasters, rallied the troops, wrought great change, and brought hope and competency to the respective institution. Did I just use the words “change” and “hope” in the same sentence?

Three, he is in it for the right reasons. No one who reads Romney’s book can doubt his patriotism. He loves his country and he loves his children and grandchildren. Romney’s foray into politics has nothing to do with money due to his successful career in business. In fact he hasn’t taken a paycheck since he left Bain Capitol in 1999 to become CEO of the Olympics. He donated his salary from the Olympics to charity, he did not take a salary as Governor, he is donated all his proceeds from his book to charity, as well as his speaking fees, and in 2008 had promised he would do the same as president. Romney has no ties to special interest groups or lobbyists – no one to pay back favors from the White House. His only motivation is to help make America a better place because it is the land he loves and he wants to leave it well intact for his grandchildren. He feels he has the skills and the know-how to effectuate meaningful change in Washington, and so do I.

About Nate Gunderson:

Nate owns and manages a small souvenir manufacturing business. He and his wife of 12 years have 2 children. Nate has been blogging for Mitt Romney since late 2006 and is co-founder and editor of MittRomneyCentral.com.
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