Mitt Romney in 2007 Des Moines Register Republican debate
On Abortion:
Was pro-choice, now proudly pro-life
I was effectively pro-choice when I ran for office. When I became governor of Massachusetts, the first time a bill came to my life that dealt with life, I simply could not side with--with taking a life, and I came on the side of life.
Every bill that came to my desk, every issue that related to protecting the sanctity of life, I came down on the side of life. I’m pro-life. I’m not going to apologize for becoming pro-life. I’m proud to be pro-life.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican Debate
Dec 12, 2007
On Budget & Economy:
Economic strength comes from people, not from Washington
Q: Does our country’s financial situation creates a security risk?A: This is, indeed, a time of extraordinary challenges in this country, and the overspending in Washington and the overpromises that we’ve made are certainly among those challenges.
But this is not a time for us to wring our hands and think that the future is bleak. In fact, the future is bright. We need leadership to rein in excessive spending, and to help America grow. The best answer for our economic woes is to make sure we have
good jobs for our citizens, good schools for our kids, good health care for everyone, and that we have policies that promote the growth of the nation. We can have a level playing field around the world, get ourselves off of foreign oil, reduce the
excessive spending in Washington, and have a bright future for our kids. This is based upon the strength of the American people. If you want to see a strong America, you don’t look to Washington; you look to ways to strengthen the American people.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican debate
Dec 12, 2007
On Budget & Economy:
Cut deficit via waste, like 342 different economic programs
Q: Are there programs that are so important that you’d be willing to run a deficit to pay for them?A: Well, we don’t have to run a deficit to pay for the things that are most important because we can eliminate the things that aren’t critical.
We have, in the federal government, 342 different economic development programs, often administered by different departments. We don’t need 342. We probably need a lot fewer than 100 of those. We have 40 different programs for workforce training.
There are probably 5 or 6 that are really working. We can get rid of some of those. And so what anyone in the private sector’s learned how to do is to focus their resources on those things that have the biggest impact, that are most important.
Surely, protecting our country and our defense of our military is critical [as are healthcare and schools]. And the sacrifice we need from the American people, it’s this: it’s saying let the programs that don’t work go. Don’t lobby for them forever.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican debate
Dec 12, 2007
On Education:
Education is not just the teachers’ union
Education is not just the teachers’ union. They’ve been the biggest obstacle to change in education and choice. It’s teachers, parents, the state, the federal government. It’s all levels coming together and working together for the benefit of our kids.
We face right now an education challenge that’s really unusual. We’re behind. America’s behind in education. Our kids score in the bottom 10 or 25 percent in exams around the world among major industrial nations.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican Debate
Dec 12, 2007
On Education:
Bush was right on No Child Left Behind
Bush was right to fight for No Child Left Behind, because we allow states now to test our kids and see how well they’re doing, particularly in math and English. We’ve made the same effort in our state, actually before No Child Left Behind was passed. We
test our kids; we have high standards. We teach them in English, English immersion. We also put in place incentives for kids to do well. For those that take the graduation exam, which you have to take to get out of high school, we say that you’re going
to get, if you score in the top 25 percent on the test, a four-year tuition-free scholarship to a Massachusetts institution of higher learning. The federal government insists on those tests and those standards. We have to have higher pay for better
teachers. And people who are not good teachers ought to find a different career. We need more parental involvement. School choice, better pay for better teachers, high standards, scholarships for the best kids, English immersion: These principles work.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican Debate
Dec 12, 2007
On Education:
FactCheck: US scores at 50% internationally, not 10%-25%
Romney exaggerated the extent to which the US lags behind other industrial nations in education. He said, “Our kids score in the bottom 10% or 25% in exams around the world among major industrial nations.” That’s not so. Actually, the US ranked closer
to the 50th percentile than the bottom quarter, according to the most recent rankings by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), an internationally standardized study administered to15-year-old schoolchildren in 57 countries.
Students in several nations were tested in 2006. In science, the US ranked 29th out of 57 (49th %ile). And in math, the US ranked 35th out of 57 (39th %ile). In 2003 US students again landed near the middle, scoring 15th out of 29 (48th %ile).
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Romney campaign aide said the candidate was referring to a much earlier study in which the US finished 19th out of 21 nations in math and 16th out of 21 nations in science. But that study, the Third International Math & Science Study (TIMSS) is from 1998
Source: FactCheck on 2007 Des Moines Register Republican debate
Dec 12, 2007
On Education:
FactCheck: MA 1st in test scores, but was 1st before Romney
Governors Huckabee & Romney both claimed to have the most impressive record on education. Romney claimed, “The kids in our state scored number one in all four measures on the national exams, and they did that because of Republican principles.”It’s tru
that Massachusetts school children scored first in the nation in the most recent NAEP tests, scoring a clean sweep among both 4th-graders and 8th-graders in math & reading. But MA also had ranked at or near the top before Romney took office, so he’s
straining the facts to attribute the success entirely to “Republican principles” and his leadership.
Arkansas consistently scored below the national average before Huckabee came along, and on most tests it still does. But on all four NAEP tests,
AR’s scores moved closer to the average during Huckabee’s time in office. Coming from below average to not-so-much-below average is significant. Whether that constitutes the “most impressive” record among GOP candidates, we’ll leave others to judge.
Source: FactCheck on 2007 Des Moines Register Republican debate
Dec 12, 2007
On Energy & Oil:
Invest in new technologies to get us off of foreign oil
Confronting climate change is going to help our economy because we’re going to invest in new technologies to get ourselves off of foreign oil, and as we get ourselves off of foreign oil, we also dramatically reduce our CO2 emissions.
That’s good for the environment; it’s also good for our economy. Because $300 to $400 billion worth of oil a year from other people who use it against us, that’s bad for our economy, it’s also bad for the environment. We can do these things in a way that
help both the environment and the economy and national security. Is global warming an issue for the world? Absolutely. Is it something we can deal with by becoming energy independent and energy secure? We sure can. At the same time, we call it global
warming, not America warming. So let’s not put a burden on us alone and have the rest of the world skate by without having to participate in this effort. It’s a global effort, but our independence is something we can do unilaterally.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican Debate
Dec 12, 2007
On Families & Children:
FactCheck: Teenage birth rate declined from 1991 to 2005
Romney also said federal programs to combat teen pregnancy are “obviously not working real well.” Actually, the teenage birth rate declined consistently from 1991 to 2005, dropping 45% for 15-17-year-olds, and 26% for 18-19-year-old.
It’s true that the most recent report shows the birth rates for these age groups increased in 2006, but the change was small: a 3% increase for 15-17-year-olds and a 4% increase for 18-19-year-olds. There was a 14% decrease for 10-14-year-olds.
Source: FactCheck on 2007 Des Moines Register Republican debate
Dec 12, 2007
On Free Trade:
Re-negotiate trade deals with China and other countries
I understand why jobs come and why jobs go. I’ve done business in over 20 countries around the world, and I understand how we can build more strength in our own economy and that’s by investing in education, investing in technology and innovation, getting
ourselves off of foreign oil, and making sure that the playing field we play on around the world is level. It’s not right now. We’re going to have to re-negotiate deals with people like those in
China that manipulate their currency to put their products in advantage over ours. We want to make sure that we do not have a circumstance where people close down their markets to our goods because we can compete anywhere in the world.
One out of three agricultural acres is planted to go off-shore, so don’t put up barriers to keep us from being able to trade. The US can compete anywhere in the world, and to remain a superpower, we must compete around the world.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican Debate
Dec 12, 2007
On Government Reform:
Focus on global Jihad, immigration, tax cut, and healthcare
I want to establish a strategy to help us overwhelm global Jihad and keep the world safe. I want to end illegal immigration. I want to end the expansion of entitlements, rein them in. I want to end the extraordinary growth in federal spending and keep
our tax burden down and reduce our tax burden on middle-income families. I want to get us on a track to become energy-independent. I want to get our schools on a track so they can become competitive globally, and get health insurance for every citizen.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican Debate
Dec 12, 2007
On Principles & Values:
Draw upon the strengths of the conservative principles
We’re not going to get the White House nor strengthen the US unless we can pull together the coalition of conservatives & conservative thought that has made us successful as a party. That’s social, economic, and foreign policy and defense conservatives.
Those three together allowed Reagan to get elected and our party to have strength over the last several decades. I’m going to continue to draw, as many of the states try and do, upon those strengths by virtue of those conservative principles.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican Debate
Dec 12, 2007
On Tax Reform:
Reduce the tax burden on middle-income families
I don’t stay awake at night worrying about the taxes that rich people are paying. I’m concerned about the taxes that middle class families are paying. They’re under a lot of pressure. Gasoline’s expensive. Home heating oil, particularly in the
Northeast, is very difficult for folks. Health care costs are going through the roof. Education costs and higher education are overwhelming. And as a result, we need to reduce the burden on middle-income families in this country.
Source: 2007 Des Moines Register Republican Debate
Dec 12, 2007
Page last updated: Nov 30, 2018