I have a friend from high school, that I think the world of, who recently asked me what Mitt Romney would do for the middle class. I'll answer it shortly. First, though, I need to point out that Mitt Romney isn't a Democrat, so he isn't trying to compete in the games of "let's see who can promise the most." If you play that game against Democrats, you'll always loose. Not only will you never be able (in good conscience) to promise more than they (because they are far more comfortable with saying what they will do with other people's money). But you will also lose eventually in your pocketbook too. That money has to come from somewhere.

While there are populists in the Republican party (nod to Mike Huckabee), the heart of conservativism is not to tell the people whatever they want to hear, nor to play to the little guy (the "have-nots") and engage in class warfare rhetoric. For example, when John McCain says that her served for patriotism, not for profit, he is taking a jab at Mitt Romney's success in private business--and at the rest of the business class that supports our economy. While it is a cheap way to get support from those don't see themselves as "have's," it shows a fundamental lack of understanding about what runs this economy. Specifically, for-profit market forces. And it is also deeply dishonest, since John McCain benefited from his father-in-law's for-profit business sense when he married his second [trophy] wife.

The heart of conservativism is to stand by principles (not go with where the wind is blowing or what the people demand) and lead through sound policy, including sound monetary policy. That means not spending more than you have (something George W. Bush did not do well), but instead building the economy when you want to improve the lot of the average citizen. This is called supply-side economics, and its something Ronald Reagan did well (hence the term Reaganomics), and recently Republicans have done not so well.

That said (so there isn't misunderstanding of what the goals are--not to give us as much as possible, but to actually make the economy and nation run better), here is what I see Mitt Romney offering the middle class:

1. He will fight to defeat radical Islamic jihadists.
Mitt Romney understands the enemy that we are against, and he understands why this conflict is so critical to win. He understands that these enemies do not want us to just come home and leave them alone, and that they don't want to make peace with us. He understands that surrendering in Iraq, or anywhere else, would only embolden them, just as did the defeat of the Soviet Union in Aftghanistan, and the retreat of American forces in Somalia. He understands that if we leave the Middle East, our enemies will seek us here. He understands that they will not even stop when they have destroyed our way of life--their goal is nothing short of a worldwide Islamic Caliphate. He understands that this is even a more serious threat than Nazism was in the last century. He will bring together nations who share our goals to help counter these enemies, and he will seek to avoid war where possible. He isn't a war hawk like John McCain, and he won't throw us needlessly or precipitously into armed conflict.

How does this help the middle class? We don't get our country taken away from us. If we fail in this conflict, little else matters.

2. He will fight to preserve our families, the sanctity of life, and the moral principles that make America great.
Mitt Romney is firmly pro-life, he came down on the side of life in every decision that faced him as governor of Massachusetts, and he will seek to win hearts and minds for the sanctity of life. He opposes judicial activism, and has vowed to nominate judges who will strictly interpret the Constitution. This will mean an overturning of Roe v. Wade, which will send the question of abortion back to the states. Currently we don't have enough votes to pass a Sanctity of Life amendment to the Constitution. He recognizes that--even if we did have enough votes, it would be years for the process of getting the measure through the state legislatures before it could be ratified. But he supports such an amendment, and will work to get America to support such an measure.

In Massachusetts he lead the fight to preserve traditional marriage. He supports a Defense of Marriage amendment, and would work to get it passed. He opposes the proliferation of pornography, violence, and filth on the internet and in public places, where it is easily accessed by children. He has lived a life of decency and integrity, and will bring sound moral principles to his governance.

How does this help the middle class? It gives us a decent country to live in, and preserves the foundations of civilized society. If we don't have that foundation, the state of the economy matters little.

3. He will grow the economy.
Mitt Romney understands the economy. After his clean, decent character, this is probably his strongest suit. Mitt Romney is a turnaround artist--he understands what makes organizations fail, what makes jobs come and go, what policies help to build confidence and growth. When he came to Massachusetts they faced a $3billion budget shortfall. He turned it around without raising taxes. He eliminated waste and redundancy, and tightened economic policy. He did a complete audit of the state's financials, the same as he has done when he has taken on a turnaround job with a business. And he vows to do the same thing in Washington.

Mitt has made economic proposals that would directly benefit the middle class. A couple include making the Bush tax cuts permanent, eliminating the death tax, and eliminating investment and savings taxes for people with incomes under $200,000. If you're a middle-class American, you probably understand that investment is one of the main differences between the us and the upper class. If we want to move up, it is usually going to have to be by saving more money than we make, and by putting that money to work through investments. Mitt Romney wants to encourage that, and in his America, the middle-class would be able to grow their retirement savings faster and grow their portfolios faster.

Looking at his economics stimulus package proposal also reveals how well he understands the economy. The proposals are more than the "rebate" checks proposed by the Congress--they are more detailed, and better targeted to the areas of the economy that would promote growth. Here's a link: Romney Economic Stimulus Package

How does all this help the middle class? Rather than just giving us handouts (which would add to the deficit without promoting as much growth), Mitt's plans for the economy would help it to grow larger, making it more secure for the future and giving more for everyone.

This is just a sampling of what makes Mitt the better candidate. I haven't talked about his success in bringing private health insurance to all citizens of Massachusetts, what he would do to improve our energy policies to bring down those costs, what he would do to strengthen the dollar so that oil and other imports are less expensive, etc. There is a lot to love about Mitt, and the more you learn about him, the more you like him. Unlike other candidates (I'm thinking especially of Rudy Guilliani) who got less support the more the electorate got to know him, Mitt's support tends to soar the more time he spends in a state, and the more people read up on who he is and what he has to offer.

This is a man who made hundreds of millions in the private sector. He could have made over a billion when he sold his interests in Bain Capital, but instead accepted a smaller pricetag (estimated to be 1/4 of its value) so that he would leave behind a company that was strong and would be able to continue to grow. He is a builder, not a taker. He understands profit, but he isn't in this (or anything else) for the money. He could be making his first billion right now instead of running for office, but he loves this country and wants to help it be the greatest nation on earth. He brings smarts and talent to the office of President unheard-of in recent elections, and we would be fools not to take full advantage of the opportunity to elect the best candidate for our highest office.

I encourage you to learn more about him, and make an informed choice. Besides the mittromney.com website, I would also recommend mymanmitt.com , evangelicalsformitt.com , and nyformitt.blogspot.com .

On this Super Tuesday, man the best Republican win.

I have to admit, after seeing the obvious media stacking against Romney's wins in Michigan and Nevada (discounting both to say that they don't really mean much) and the obvious media stacking in favor of McCain and Huckabee gearing up for South Carolina and Florida, I just didn't have much of a desire to blog for the last two weeks.

Florida was a bit of a cliff-hanger, and I really thought the win might come through--until the panhandle returns started coming in. But that night I wasn't listening to my radio like I wanted to be doing. Instead, I was helping to clean the LDS Nauvoo Temple. And I'm glad I did, because it was a unique and meaningful experience, that put a lot into perspective for me. As I walked through the halls with my vaccuum backpack (I was assigned to do the hardwood floors and the stairs), I kept feeling as I walked into room after room, the enormous weight and importance of what goes on inside those rooms. I think I felt it most in the offices, like the Temple President's office and the Recorder's office, and the Celestial Room, where I found five (5!) bits of lint on the strip of hardwood ringing the room. There was nobody there to say, this way, move along. I just got to linger, and feel the weight of that sacred building.

Recently a couple from our branch was sealed in the large sealing room on the 5th floor,and I noticed the spiral stairscase going up into the bell tower. So when I got assigned to do stairs, I joked to the supervisor, "Does this mean I get to do the bell tower?" He didn't say anything. But as I worked my way up from the baptistry, my thoughts often went back to that spiral staircase. When I was almost done, I finished on that floor, and I still had 15 more minutes to go on my shift.

The supervisor had told us to snoop around (yes, those are their exact words) and look for things to clean, saying that anywhere we weren't supposed to go would be locked. I was thrilled to get to go into the Bride's room and the Children's Waiting Room. Along with the Celestial room, those were my favorite rooms in the Jordan River Temple when I went through its open house as a young boy. I have to say, they had an antique looking doll in the kid's waiting room that looked very breakable. And mega blocks. It's a very neat room. So yes, I did snoop around, and I think I took a look into every room that wasn't locked--except the one at the top of that spiral staircase.

I noted that it not only had stairs (my jurisdiction), but that the stairs were hardwood (also my jurisdiction!). I thought about going up them and looking for lint, but something said no. As I headed for the northwest corner stairs to go down, I thought again about going up the belltower stairs, but again the feeling came to me, No. So I went down, checking the hole way for bits of lint I had missed, and finding a few.

When I got down to the basement again, I was met by the nice lady who had given us our assignments, Sister Alberts. "Tom (the supervisor) was looking for you," she said. "He's going to show you the bell tower."