VERO BEACH – Former Massachusetts Governor and possible 2012 presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke to two sold out audiences at Riverside Theatre Monday, taking on issues of health care reform, education needs, and what’s in store for America.
Shortly before his first lecture to about 800 people, Romney received a Key to the City from Vero Beach Mayor Kevin Sawnick. “I know you’re trying to do good things for the country,” Mayor Sawnick told Romney, and wished the governor luck in his endeavors.
Romney accepted the oversized silver key and marveled at the weather – not too hot, not too cold and lots of palm trees.
During the lecture, Romney told the audience that he knew from experience that many of them were originally from the Midwest.
“It feels like coming home,” he said during his lecture promoting his book, “No Apology: The Case for American Greatness.”
The 2008 presidential hopeful then spent the next 45 minutes discussing his views on where the country currently stands and where it should go from here, and took issue with President Barack Obama’s policies and decisions.
“We are being made weaker and weaker,” he said, by the choices those in Washington, D.C, are making.
He spoke of various characteristics that make up America – one of which being patriotism.
“We are a patriotic people,” Romney said. “I was a little angry when our president went around the world, apologizing for America.”
Romney faulted Obama for saying that the country had “dictated” to others in the world and explained that it was America that freed many of those under dictatorship.
The former governor took questions from the audience, one of which touched on health care and the system he helped devise while in Massachusetts.
Under Massachusetts’ comprehensive health care plan, he said, 98 percent of the state’s people have insurance and it costs the commonwealth 1.5 percent of its budget.
Instead of forcing insurance companies to provide certain services at certain prices, Massachusetts helps those who can’t afford insurance to buy it. Those who can afford insurance must either buy insurance or are left on their own to pay their medical bills.
He said the issue of health insurance should have been left up to the states to decide for themselves how to tackle the issue, rather than the federal government getting involved.
When asked whether the Tea Party would help or split the Republican Party, Romney said he does not believe the group would split the Republicans. Instead, he expects Republicans to unite – as they did in the election of U.S. Senator Scott Brown, a pro-choice Republican who won the late Democratic Sen. Ted Kennedy’s seat.
“I think we’ll come together,” Romney said, noting that the people decided a pro-choice Republican would better represent them than a pro-choice Democrat.
As for the 2012 presidential race, Romney told the audience he has not made his decision, and wouldn’t until after the November elections.
Instead, he wants to dedicate his time to helping strong Republican candidates win seats in Congress in November to “stop the mayhem” going on in Washington, Romney said.
While he might not yet have decided whether to give the presidential race another try, he threw names out there of people who might run.
Those names included Sarah Palin, Mike Huchabee, Mitch Daniels and Newt Gingrinch, to name a few.
He predicts 10 candidates on stage vying for the presidential nomination.
