COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney took swipes at Democratic opponents Wednesday and praised President Bush for keeping America safe during the war on terror, even while saying change is needed.
In his fourth trip to Colorado in the last nine months, Romney criticized Democrats for not talking about terrorism.
“There is war being waged by terrorists and so long as there’s a Republican president there will be a war waged on terrorists,” Romney said.
Romney spoke at the 2007 Lincoln Day Dinner, the El Paso County Republican Party’s annual fundraiser attended by more than 700 people.
“There are more Republicans here than I have in my state,” Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, quipped.
Earlier, Romney attended fundraisers in Aspen, Denver and Colorado Springs that raised more than $150,000, said Eric Fehrnstrom, a spokesman for Romney. Before his visit, Romney was leading GOP candidates in fundraising in Colorado, having raised $495,408.
Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani was second with $272,861 raised so far.
Romney said the strength of America depends on a strong military, strong economy and strong families.
He drew applause when he spoke of increasing military spending, cracking down on online predators, and strengthening marriage.
Republicans see the strength of America in its people, while Democrats see the strength coming from a strong government, Romney said, adding that Democrats are for “big government, big spending, big taxes and big brother.”
“No matter which one of them is elected, your taxes are going to go up—by a lot,” he said.
He specifically targeted the two Democratic front-runners, criticizing Sen. Hillary Clinton for saying it was time to reject an “on your own” society and slammed Sen. Barack Obama for speaking of age appropriate sex education for kindergartners.
“How much sex education is age appropriate for a 5-year-old? In my mind, zero is the right number,” he said.
On marriage, he said Massachusetts courts erred on same-sex rulings and said children deserve the benefit of a mom and dad. Echoing his recent campaign ads, he said it was time to clean up “the cesspool of filth in which American children are swimming.”
He proposed cracking down on retailers who sell adult video games to children and enforcing obscenity laws.
He also proposed a “one strike and you’re ours” policy for those who use the Internet to solicit children, with violators having to wear a tracking device for life.
Before the speech, network engineer Ken Cain, 53, of Colorado Springs said he hadn’t decided whom to back for president but that he appreciated Romney’s business background.
“I’d like to see that kind of attitude in a governmental position,” said Cain.
