Politics

Romney Says He‘ll Do ’Opposite’ on Israel

QUAKERTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Standing in front of his campaign tour bus, Mitt Romney on Saturday told religious conservatives he would do “the opposite” of what President Barack Obama has done on Israel.

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney shakes hands during a campaign stop at Weatherly Casting Company in Weatherly, Pa., Saturday, June 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney shakes hands during a campaign stop at Weatherly Casting Company in Weatherly, Pa., Saturday, June 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Romney spent most of the day appealing to voters in Pennsylvania, a battleground state he said he would win in the fall, although Democrats succeeded in pushing his bus tour through the state off of its original itinerary.

“I am going to win Pennsylvania,” Romney told a cheering crowd in Cornwall, a small town in the center of the state, as his campaign bus rolled through on the second day of a five-day, six-state tour.

Romney took some time out of his tour to address religious conservatives at the Faith and Freedom Coalition in Washington via video uplink, telling the crowd he believes the president is more concerned about Israel attacking Iran than he is about Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. His hawkish speech was the first time he’s discussed policy toward Israel at length since becoming the likely Republican presidential nominee.

“I think, by and large, you can just look at the things the president has done and do the opposite,” Romney said when asked about Israel. He spoke to the gathering of religious conservatives from Weatherly, Pa., via video uplink with his campaign bus in the background.

Of Iran, Romney said: “He‘s almost sounded like he’s more frightened that Israel might take military action than he’s concerned that Iran might become nuclear.”

Democrats accused Romney of distorting Obama’s record on Israel. Spokesman Ben LaBolt said Obama has given Israel more security assistance than any other administration and has stood with Israel at the United Nations.

After his address, Romney’s bus continued on to Quakertown, where Democratic protests forced him to take a detour. Romney rerouted his tour after former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell and several other Democratic officials held a press conference outside the Wawa gas station where the former Massachusetts governor had planned an early afternoon stop. Protestors gathered outside the store.

So Romney decided to visit a different Wawa store instead.

“Why we’re at this Wawa, instead of the other Wawa?” Romney said as he paid for a meatball hoagie. “I understand I had a surrogate over there already, so we decided to pick a different place. My surrogate is former Gov. Rendell, who said we could win Pennsylvania.”

Instead of making prepared remarks to the crowd gathered outside the first location – Romney’s advance team had set up a microphone – the Republican’s bus went instead to the second Quakertown Wawa and made a quick tour through the store.

The detour threw Romney off the jobs-and-economy message he had been pushing earlier in the day.

“I think we have to have a very careful review of who’s giving a fair shot to the American people,” Romney told a crowd of several hundred packed into a warehouse at Weatherly Casting and Machine Co., next to the train tracks that run through Weatherly, Pa., about 90 miles northwest of Philadelphia.

That stop was the first of three appearances in small towns in this state with 20 electoral votes that Obama won in 2008 with 54 percent. No Republican presidential nominee has carried the state since 1988.

Romney appeared with former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a possible running mate, who told the Weatherly crowd, “Mitt Romney’s message is: It will be better.”

The tour is intended to challenge Obama in states where he’s strong. Romney is targeting smaller cities and towns through the state’s more conservative midsection. Weatherly is in Carbon County, which Obama narrowly carried in 2008.

Romney also stopped Quakertown, in Bucks County, as well as at Cornwall Iron Furnace, a national historic landmark. That’s in Lebanon County, which GOP nominee John McCain won in 2008.

Romney also took time to do an interview for CBS News’ “Face the Nation” program. Sunday will mark the first time he has appeared on a weekend political talk show since becoming the presumptive Republican nominee.

Romney told host Bob Schieffer that the president’s decision to allow some young illegal immigrants to stay in the country instead of deporting them was a largely political move.

“If (Obama) really wanted to make a solution that dealt with these kids or illegal immigration in America, than this is something he would have taken up in his first three and a half years, not in his last few months,” Romney said.

Romney is on a bus tour, but he planned to fly each night to the next state and ride from town to town during the day. It’s his first traditional campaign swing since the primary and is aimed at undecided voters in six pivotal states won by Obama four years ago: New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan and Iowa.

The tour represents a new mode for Romney in the general election. During the primary, Romney sometimes ran into trouble in less-scripted environments, and the bus tour probably will test him again. He also has long faced questions about his ability to connect with average people.

His efforts to connect were clearly on display Saturday, when he was careful to learn the Pennsylvania word for submarine sandwiches – hoagies – and noted the intra-state rivalry between Wawa, which is popular in eastern Pennsylvania, and Sheetz, another convenience store that’s the favorite in the western part of the state.

“By the way, where do you get your hoagies here?” Romney asked the crowd in Cornwall. “Do you get them at Wawa’s, is that where you get them? No? Do you get them at Sheetz?”

Unfortunately, Romney chose the town closest to the state’s geographic center – Cornwall is near Harrisburg – and the crowd was split.

“Well, I went to a place today called Wawa’s, you ever been to Wawa’s, anyone’s ever been?” he continued.

And then: “I’m sorry, I know there’s a very big state divide.”

Comments (13)

  • Individualism
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 1:31pm

    Iran is not a threat, they have never attacked another country in 200 years, they have been attacked many times and US foreign policy is scaring them into wanting a nuke and just because they have it, don’t mean they will use it, look at pakistan they have them never used it, look at the USSR the we will bury you speech from their leader and they never did. though these countries don’t like America, they don’t want to risk their own annihilation to attack America. they already know America is destroying itself through its reckless spending abroad and domestically and there sitting back laughing at us, Osama is laughing in his grave right now cause American is financially destroying itself like him and his group said.

    Report Post » Individualism  
    • ashestoashes
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 4:50pm

      @PATTYHENRY..Look in hte mirror Patty… Romney and Obama are both owned by the Banks (aka the Un Federal Reserve) Their job is to push us toward the NWO.. Was the same in Germany..they are Zionists/Communists…They have been and are moving all of the wealth to themselves..Tell me how Romney differs from Obama. They are both pro big government..health care..cap and trade..gun control..patriot act war mongering, usurpers of freedom,..So tell me Patty..How are they any different from each other. THey are not..Al lthat makes is you a libera..l Patty..and you refuse to see it. History of this entity inthe US http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USGSOViaulc
      Here they are in Germany.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw9Qm_TejCo&skipcontrinter=1
      Being that TARP went to Sharia Compliant Banks..meaning that they pay 2.5% of every investment to organizations funding terrorism and 7% for any Sharia law broken..that would indicate to me that the terrorists are payrolled by those banks. And since th War of 1812 was started by the Rothchilds to to drive us into debt to get their bank here..What would they do to progress the NWO?
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28tE0fKpISM

      Report Post »  
    • RamonPreston
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 10:00pm

      You don’t know much about Iran, do you? Iran “predicts a period of universal chaos before the return of the Mahdi (the 12th imam)” (In the Bible Iran is referred to as the King of the South.)

      http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=1f3_1300065624

      Be afraid, very afraid.

      Report Post » RamonPreston  
  • Individualism
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 1:28pm

    How about put America first and let Israel do what they want without our tax money and us telling them what to do, problem solved.

    Report Post » Individualism  
  • progoyim
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:02am

    Not one dollar not one American life for the sand pit at the eastern end of the Mediterranean
    I have not seen any thing Obama has done against Israel except maybe suggest they hold off building some more illegal settlements. Still supports them in the UN increased their aid while social programs and the military budgets are being cut.
    If none of the above were allowed nether one would be elected.
    But if Obama would put the sand pit in there place and cut the sand pits budgets I mean everybody, I.Might consider voting for him but I doubt it. It looks like Romney is some sort of a Manchurian candidate for Israel.
    Rand Paul rising 2012

    Report Post »  
    • right-wing-waco
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 9:42am

      I won’t disagree with your post. I also won’t agree with it. My point is that unless you really want a totally stacked Supreme Court in favor of progressivism….. our only “hope” at this time is Romney. We MUST get rid of Obama at any cost.

      Report Post »  
    • NoNannyState4me
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 12:35pm

      100% agree with the lead post.

      People that is fearmongering others into voting for Romney as our last chance, deserve ‘king obama’ for another 4 years.

      Black Obama or White Obama 2012, yippee what a difference…

      Report Post » NoNannyState4me  
    • progoyim
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 5:22pm

      @right wing waco

      Quit the conundrum a pro baby killing sodomite supporters who thinks nothing of the constitution or the stooge of the Knesset who will lavish 10 of billons of dollars on the sand pit while our military and social programs are cut . Plus the danger of dragging the US into another war.
      SAD over 300 million people give or take how many illegal’s or dead people vote for Obama ticket this is the best we can do

      Report Post »  
    • right-wing-waco
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 7:05pm

      progoyim
      I agree that it is sad that Romney is the “best” we can do for a response to Obama. I wanted Ron Paul but I don’t think he has much of a chance. I don’t like Romney but I like Obama even less.

      I would like to see a large number of people that want to live without big government rescind their “consent to be governed” and secede.

      Report Post »  
  • right-wing-waco
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 8:01am

    The only thing I want from Romney… will you cut the size of the federal government by 50% or more? Will you cut the number of laws by 50% or more? Will you cut the budget by 50% or more?

    If America and freedom is to survive, these things must be done.

    Report Post »  
    • NoNannyState4me
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 12:37pm

      You should know that isn’t going to happen. Spending will not decrease, debt will not slow down enough to notice and Romney would probably blame Obama 3 and 4 years into it. It will be another wash, rinse and spin cycle just like Obama is doing now.

      Report Post » NoNannyState4me  
    • right-wing-waco
      Posted on June 17, 2012 at 2:56pm

      NoNannyState4me
      You are probably correct. Romney will not cut anything on his own, but there is a chance that we, (the American people), can talk him into it. We KNOW what Obama is doing will never stop.

      Report Post »  
  • PATTY HENRY
    Posted on June 17, 2012 at 4:45am

    This is the silliest thing I’ve ever heard “Can Romney connect with the Average Man?” Gee whiz, can Bill Gates? Steven Jobs? They made a whole lot more money than Romney has. Good try you phony Obama (phony x infinity) hacks. I guess you guys have lied so long and been so sarcastic and evil that someone who is decent and plays by the rules just befuddles you. A Patriot who has worked hard and is living the American Dream, who stayed in school, stayed married, raised wonderful kids and has decent values vs a Communist/Marxist/Muslim Trojan Horse Liar and DIctator Wannabe? Gee…let’s see.

    Report Post » PATTY HENRY  

Sign In To Post Comments! Sign In

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

Glenn Beck Radio

Listen to Glenn Beck 24/7 Listen Now
Restoring Love