Romney talk may change El Paso minds

Many people who came to the El Paso County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner on Wednesday had not made up their minds on Mitt Romney.

Sure, the former Massachusetts governor and GOP presidential candidate gained national fame by salvaging the scandal-ridden 2002 Winter Olympics next door in Utah. But his East Coast political career and Mormon religion left some questions in the crowd of Western, largely mainstream Christians.

Romney, however, seemed to dispel many of those doubts during a 35-minute address to a 700-person crowd at The Broadmoor hotel.

Several notable Republicans said afterward they were surprised or pleased by his humor and straightforwardness. More importantly, a number of attendees, including some backers of others in the GOP field, said Romney’s message will play well in El Paso County and throughout Colorado.

“God, he sounds like Ronald Reagan,” former state Sen. Ed Jones said. “I really like what I hear, and right now I’m just going to be listening and watching.”

Romney, who has held several fundraisers in Colorado, is the only top-tier Republican presidential hopeful to visit the state, Colorado GOP Chairman Dick Wadhams said. With both parties having the opportunity to move their caucuses to Feb. 5, the state could play a larger role in next year’s primaries than in the past.

In attempting to win over the crowd, Romney invoked iconic former President Reagan, citing a desire to cut spending and continue tax breaks. In contrast to top Democrats, he said the solution to America’s health care crisis lies in the private sector rather than in government.

He also did something seen less often on the campaign trail — praise President Bush. “This president has kept America safe,” Romney said.

Romney backed the Patriot Act, wire-tapping and military prisoner interrogations, and he vowed to add troops and increase military spending.

Romney also emphasized the need for family culture. He promised to crack down on retailers who sell adult video games to kids, enforce obscenity laws and require sexual predators convicted of luring kids on the Internet to wear a lifelong electronic tracking ankle bracelet.

“Instead of teaching sex education to 5-year-olds, let’s clean up the ocean of filth our kids are swimming in,” he said, mocking a suggestion by Sen. Barack Obama to teach age-appropriate sex education in kindergarten.

Attorney General John Suthers, one of Romney’s state co-chairmen, dismissed concerns about his religion and said Coloradans would be attracted to him because he has better conservative credentials than Rudy Giuliani or John McCain. And, he said, Romney’s background as a business leader should be attractive to the state’s entrepreneurial spirit.

“The word’s going to get out tomorrow: ‘This guy is very articulate, he is a conservative,’” Suthers said. “I think he’s going to play very well in El Paso County.”

In what was almost an acknowledgment of Romney’s co-frontrunner status, state Democrats took a shot at him, blasting him in a news release for changing his past stances for abortion rights and gay marriage. No such releases went out when candidate Mike Huckabee visited the area earlier this year.

Other candidates had supporters represented Wednesday. Former county GOP chairman Chuck Broerman is working to bring Fred Thompson here, and Giuliani backers asked unsuccessfully to set up a table outside the dining area.

One contender whose fan base was notably absent, though, was Denver-area Congressman Tom Tancredo. Said Colorado Springs City Councilman Tom Gallagher: “I’m not sure he knows about life south of Palmer Divide.”

Romney, however, appeared to get a jump on the competition, at least in Colorado’s most Republican county. Broerman noted that an event like this can lock down at least some undecideds, and Suthers said a local fundraiser before the speech went well.

“I am confident in our future. I am optimistic about our future,” said Romney. He was speaking about the country but could have been talking about his campaign as well.