Mitt Romney Rocks Tent at Bakersfield Business Conference, Endorsement & Fundraiser for Tony Strickland

Bakersfield Business Conference, Bakersfield, CA Oct 9, 2010: "Mitt was incredibly polished. He also got some of the biggest applause of the day."

Photo and quote from Verum Serum blog

Amid thousands of United States flags, cavernous white canvas tents, food vendors, a ferris wheel, and striped umbrella tables, the Bakersfield Business Conference in Bakersfield, CA, was the site for over 40 nationally–renown speakers, leaders, and entertainers. Lending political power to the line-up on the single-day event on Saturday, Oct 9th, was Governor Mitt Romney:

Bakersfield.com

Past and possibly future Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney was preaching to the 10,000-member choir Saturday as he blasted the Obama administration at the Bakersfield Business Conference.

The stimulus created government jobs, but not employment in the private sector, Romney charged, causing the loss of 2.4 million jobs.

Obama Care “scared the dickens” out of business owners, causing them to pull back and put a hold on hiring because of the uncertainty, Romney told the enthusiastic crowd.

“Who’d have thought we’d look back at the Jimmy Carter years as the good old days?” Romney said to roars of laughter.

The former governor of Massachusetts lauded the nation’s founders, but said he’s concerned that Washington, D.C., has gotten so big it is smothering the spirit of those founding fathers. Democrats and Republicans are to blame, he said.

Romney added that he was terribly dismayed to see President Obama going around “apologizing for America.”

“There is no reason to apologize for the United States of America,” he asserted to loud applause.
[...]

As his voice rose to a climax, like a fiery preacher in a pulpit, the audience rose to its feet as Romney declared that “America is and always will be the hope of the world.”

Professional negotiator Herb Cohen humorously spoke off the cuff about Romney’s appearance and his biggest problem:

“Want to know the biggest problem Mitt Romney has?” Cohen riffed. “He looks too good. The problem is the average guy can’t relate to him. He needs to grow a huge zit on his face.“

A tweet sums up Romney’s speech:

ewephoric: @MittRomney Tremendous job at the Bakersfield Conference Oct 9th! Mitt is someone to watch for 2012! EXTREMELY IMPRESSIVE- EXCITING #patriot
Sun Oct 10 – 10:35:58 am

More than 10,000 people attended the ‘patriotic playground’ event, hosted by CAL State University Bakersfield. Besides Romney, those who spoke were: Vice President Dick Cheney, Dr. Lynne Cheney, Former First Lady Laura Bush, Karl Rove, Rudy Giuliani, Newt Gingrich, Michael Steele, Bay Buchanan, Sarah Palin, and others. The surprise speaker at the end of the evening was U.S. Airways pilot, Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger who safely crash-landed Flight 1549 in the Hudson River.

Just a portion of the crowd in the Main Tent at BBC Bakersfield, CA, Oct 9, 2010 (Photo from Verum Serum blog)

In his speech for the day, Nevada politician John Chachas hit the nail on the head when he said: “No one knows better how to improve the economy than business executives.” Of the potential presidential candidates speaking that day, no one knows more about improving the economy and job creation than Mitt Romney.

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Governor Romney also endorsed Californian Tony Strickland for State Controller and hosted a fundraiser for him on October 7th:

Thousand Oaks, CA – The Tony Strickland for State Controller campaign today announced that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has endorsed Tony Strickland’s candidacy for California State Controller. Governor Romney will be hosting a fundraiser in support of Tony this afternoon in Los Angeles.

“Tony Strickland is the kind of leader who can help get California back on track,” said Governor Romney. “State government is too big and bloated and far too expensive to be sustainable. Leaders like Tony Strickland are what we need to cut the waste and restore fiscal sanity. I am proud to support Tony Strickland as the next Controller of the State of California.”

“Over the last seven months since I announced my candidacy for State Controller, I have been profoundly blessed to have the support of thousands of Californians from across the state who realize we need a complete reinvention of Sacramento,” said Tony Strickland. “We will continue to deliver no-nonsense solutions to the excessive bureaucracy that has plagued our state and resulted in billions of dollars of government waste. I am honored to have the support of Governor Romney as we fight to bring these changes to Sacramento on November 2nd.”

The Strickland for Controller campaign also announced that they have over $925,000 cash on hand in advance of today’s event. The San Jose Mercury News said yesterday that: “State Sen. Tony Strickland is just $109,000 behind Controller John Chiang, thanks to more robust fundraising results in the quarter and since the year began.”