Romney Campaign Press Release - Romney For President Launches New Radio Ad, "Stop Spending"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Kevin Madden (857) 288-6390

Boston, MA – Today, Romney for President launched its newest radio ad, "Stop Spending." The ad features Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC), a leading voice for fiscal discipline, addressing the need for leadership that will change Washington and "end the earmark favor factory." That leadership can only come from Governor Mitt Romney who has a record of fiscal leadership from outside of Washington.

The ad will begin airing as part of the campaign's rotation today in South Carolina. Script and viewing links are below.

Script For "Stop Spending" (Radio:60):

SENATOR JIM DEMINT: "Washington politicians call it earmarking, but Americans just call it wasteful pork barrel spending, and taxpayers are sick of it.

"This is Senator Jim DeMint, leading the fight to stop wasteful government spending. That's why I need your help to elect a President next year who will force Congress to end the earmark favor factory. We need a leader who has the courage and the strength to take on entrenched Washington politicians.

"I believe that leader is Mitt Romney. Mitt is a successful businessman. He's turned around hundreds of companies by cutting waste and leading with new ideas.

"He used his business skills as Governor of Massachusetts – issuing over 800 vetoes of wasteful spending and eliminating a $3 billion debt.

"Mitt Romney is the kind of leader America desperately needs. Please go to MittRomney.com and help change Washington."

GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY: "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message."

ANNOUNCER: "Paid for by Romney for President, MittRomney.com."

To listen to "Stop Spending," please see: www.mittromney.com/Audio/DeMint.mp3

AD FACTS: Script For "Stop Spending" (Radio:60):

SENATOR JIM DEMINT: "Washington politicians call it earmarking, but Americans just call it wasteful pork barrel spending, and taxpayers are sick of it. This is Senator Jim DeMint, leading the fight to stop wasteful government spending. That's why I need your help to elect a President next year who will force Congress to end the earmark favor factory. We need a leader who has the courage and the strength to take on entrenched Washington politicians. I believe that leader is Mitt Romney."

- Governor Romney Will Veto Appropriations Bills That Exceed Spending Targets. He will veto any non-defense appropriations bill that grows spending at a rate greater than inflation minus one percent (CPI-1%). This should be considered the minimum amount of spending reductions. This will save $300 billion over 10 years. (Romney For President, "Strategy For A Stronger America: A Conservative Blueprint To Strengthen The Economy," Press Release, 10/9/07)

- Governor Romney Believes The President Needs The Line-Item Veto Power. As Governor, he had line-item authority, and often used it to trim or eliminate individual appropriations. Giving the President this power would allow us to make tremendous strides in eliminating earmarks and cutting inefficient programs. (Romney For President, "Strategy For A Stronger America: A Conservative Blueprint To Strengthen The Economy," Press Release, 10/9/07)

- Governor Romney Will Lead An Effort To Review And Reevaluate All Federal Spending Programs. His administration will undertake an exhaustive review of each individual federal program with the goal to eliminate and consolidate programs that are no longer useful or are bureaucratic and unwieldy. Federal spending programs do not have a right to immortality, and should not enjoy automatic increases year after year. (Romney For President, "Strategy For A Stronger America: A Conservative Blueprint To Strengthen The Economy," Press Release, 10/9/07)

SENATOR JIM DEMINT: "Mitt is a successful businessman. He's turned around hundreds of companies by cutting waste and leading with new ideas."

- Governor Romney Has "A Solid Reputation In The Business Community For Turning Companies Around." CNN's RHONDA SCHAFFLER: "Romney had a solid reputation in the business community for turning companies around, like Staples, Domino's Pizza and the Sports Authority." (CNN's "Business Unusual," 1/27/02)

- Boston Business Journal: Romney "Made His Name As A Turnaround Man." "Bain & Co. was a crowning victory for Romney, 47, who has made his name as a turnaround man. As chief executive of Bain Capital Inc., the venture group he was picked to launch back in 1984, he has backed and helped repair more than 50 companies. With an initial $14 million invested by the partners of Bain & Co., Bain Capital has since raised $500 million in four funds, pouring dollars into companies like Staples Inc., Brookstone and The Sports Authority." (Beth Healy, "Romney Puts Skills In Business To Test," Boston Business Journal, 6/10/94)

- Bloomberg's Heidi Pryzbyla: "Romney's business record is unmatched by the current crop of leading candidates." (Heidi Pryzbyla, "Romney Finds Classmate Bush's Management Lapses Unlikely Hurdle," Bloomberg, 7/1/07)

- Fortune's Marcia Vickers: "He is, after all, the most serious major-party presidential candidate to come out of the business world since ... well, since his father, George Romney, onetime CEO of American Motors, who ran in 1968." (Marcia Vickers, "The Republicans' Mr. Fix-It," Fortune Magazine, 6/27/07)

- The Boston Globe's Robert Gavin And Sacha Pfeiffer: "In time, Romney would lead the shaky start-up from a staff of seven people managing $37 million to 115 people managing $4 billion in assets. During Romney's 15-year tenure, Bain Capital would post an astonishing record, on average doubling its return on realized investments every year." (Robert Gavin and Sacha Pfeiffer, "Reaping Profit In Study, Sweat," The Boston Globe, 6/26/07)

SENATOR JIM DEMINT: "He used his business skills as Governor of Massachusetts – issuing over 800 vetoes of wasteful spending and eliminating a $3 billion debt."

- For All Four Of The Fiscal-Year Budgets That Crossed His Desk, Governor Romney Used The Line-Item Veto Power More Than 800 Times. Over the course of four budgets, Governor Romney made over 300 line-item reductions, 350 line-item eliminations and struck language 150 times. (Chapter 26 Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Acts Of 2003, Governor's Veto Message, 6/30/03; Chapter 149 Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Acts Of 2004, Governor's Veto Message, 6/25/04; Chapter 45 Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts Acts Of 2005, Governor's Veto Message, 6/30/05; Governor Mitt Romney, Memo To The Senate And House Of Representatives Of The Commonwealth Of Massachusetts; Fiscal Year 2007 General Appropriations Act Veto Items: Line Item Accounts, 7/8/06)

- Beacon Hill Institute Executive Director David Terck: "He Vetoed Hundreds Of Millions Of Dollars In Spending." (Fox News' "Journal Editorial Report," 3/31/07)

- Governor Romney Closed The Nearly $3 Billion Shortfall Without Tax Increases. "When Mitt Romney became governor of Massachusetts in 2003, the state had a budget gap of almost $3 billion and was losing thousands of jobs a month. In Mr. Romney's four-year tenure, the deficit was eliminated without raising the sales tax or the income tax, and since the labor slump hit bottom in December 2003, the state has gained 81,000 jobs." (Pam Belluck, "Romney Candidacy Puts Massachusetts Economy In Spotlight," The New York Times, 3/16/07)

- To Close The Budget Gap, Governor Romney Forced The Legislature To Pass "Tremendous Spending Cuts." "Governor Romney receives credit for actual spending in FY 2003, even though he entered office halfway into the fiscal year, because of the tremendous spending cuts he forced down the Legislature's throat in January of 2003. Facing a $650 million deficit he inherited from the previous administration, Romney convinced the unfriendly State Legislature to grant him unilateral power to make budget cuts and unveiled $343 million in cuts to cities, healthcare, and state agencies. This fiscal discipline continued in 2004, in which Romney continued to slash 'nearly every part of state government' to close a $3 billion deficit." (The Club For Growth, "Mitt Romney's Record On Economic Issues," Press Release, 8/21/07)

- The Club For Growth: Governor Romney "Imposed Some Much-Needed Fiscal Discipline On A Very Liberal Massachusetts Legislature." (The Club For Growth, "Mitt Romney's Record On Economic Issues," Press Release, 8/21/07)

SENATOR JIM DEMINT: "Mitt Romney is the kind of leader America desperately needs. Please go to MittRomney.com and help change Washington." GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY: "I'm Mitt Romney and I approved this message." ANNOUNCER: "Paid for by Romney for President, MittRomney.com."

To listen to "Stop Spending," please see: www.mittromney.com/Audio/DeMint.mp3