Romney Campaign Press Release - Alaska Lt. Gov. Meade Treadwell: Why I Support Mitt Romney"

Alaska Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell today wrote an open letter to Alaska voters on why he is supporting Mitt Romney. The full letter is below:

Why I Support Mitt Romney

By Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell

We live under the boot of a liberty-quashing, power hungry, financially undisciplined, morally ambivalent, over-reaching national government. America needs a turnaround. To win less government, more freedom, and a stronger America in the world, we need the right candidate at the top of the 2012 GOP ticket.

Alaska Republicans cast our ballots on Super Tuesday, March 6. I urge us to pick a Presidential candidate who believes in liberty and the sanctity of life. We need a candidate whose experience — in business and in government — demonstrates he can turn things around. In saving the Salt Lake Olympics and building a string of American companies, Mitt Romney has proved leadership skills head and shoulders above our current President. And Romney's compass points in the right direction: he has the love of freedom, the support for families, the reverence for life and the personal energy to make America strong again.

After a successful campaign in Alaska four years ago, Mitt has stayed in touch with Alaskans, and his son, Josh has been here several times. In a letter to Alaska Republicans this month, Romney recognizes Alaska's potential to contribute to America's economic and military strength. He understands our pipeline is running just one third full. He knows that the Obama Administration's slowpoke approach to development here is putting Alaska jobs — and the nation's energy security — in danger.

As a former governor, Romney also spoke to the power of states. "The federal government should be an ally in the effort to develop more of our nation's resources," he said, "not an obstacle. We will respect the rights Alaska gained with Statehood — including control of Alaska lands, waters, and wildlife." He spoke to the Bill of Rights' "guarantee that states, not the federal government, are where power should be based, as stated in the Tenth Amendment."

(The Tenth Amendment, by the way, says simply this: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." It has been ignored, as government has run like a flooding river, over its banks. Without a President who believes in the Founders' vision, we may never get our liberty back.)

"Government," said Romney, "exists to protect your freedoms, not to take them away." 

"I believe our Founders' recognition that our Creator gave us the right to life should stand for all living Americans —from the unborn to the old and frail. I believe the Bill of Rights is fundamental," he added, with his strong support for First and Second Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech, religion, and the right to bear arms.

"You live in a state with huge potential to help America address its problems," Romney told us.

"Alaska's energy is abundant. Your strategic location is vital to the nation's defense, and to global sea, air and space transportation. Rare earth minerals found in Alaska can help free our country from monopolies abroad. Your fisheries, which account for over half the value of wild fish caught in the United States, help feed our people and the world. And Alaska's natural beauty and wildlife inspire and beckon visitors from around the world.

"Alaska can't reach its potential when America's president doesn't believe in opportunity or the ingenuity of Alaskans to develop resources and protect the environment. President Obama's miserable record of joblessness throughout America is exemplified by decisions he has made, again and again, to thwart job creation in Alaska."

Last month, I had the chance to visit with Mitt Romney after his primary victory in New Hampshire. I know he's determined to win here, and I think he will win, because his approach fits what Alaska needs. 

Alaska's future depends on getting big things done — a gas pipeline, restoring flow in an oil pipeline, running the biggest forest and fisheries in the country, manning crucial defenses of our nation. Our freedom depends on limits to government, and recognition of the appropriate role of the states.

Republicans are known for standing up — for economic and military strength, for free markets, limited government, individual liberty, and for life. Advocates within our party have made a name leading for each of these principles. Mitt Romney is the one candidate whose conviction and record brings them together for us all.