Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney reflects conservatives' growing confidence when he taunts Democrats, saying "I'll bet you never dreamed you'd look back at Jimmy Carter as the good old days."Republicans at the Values Voter Summit Saturday talked of a growing political rebellion in the country, even as they acknowledged Democrats currently have the upper hand.
Romney recalled the euphoria among Democrats at the time President Barack Obama was elected.
"A year ago, there were quite a few people who were ready to write off this movement. They were enthralled by Barack Obama's promise of near-Biblical transformations," Romney said in comments prepared for Saturday's meeting. "Well, he can still spin a speech, but he can't spin his record."
Romney said Obama's spending and borrowing have weakened the nation, noting that Obama's plans will greatly increase the deficit. The deficits combined with coming problems for the country's entitlement programs will cause more severe economic problems, he said. Romney's reference to Carter recalled the economic and international troubles at the time Carter lost his bid for re-election to Ronald Reagan.
House Republican leader John Boehner says nationwide protests known as "tea parties" are the result of resistance against Democrats' spending. Boehner says his Democratic colleagues are "bankrupting" the country.
People are demonstrating and attending town hall meetings because, Boehner says, "we're in the midst of a political rebellion in America."
And Texas Gov. Rick Perry told the group that Republicans could be considered a threatened species because they went to Washington and started spending like liberals. But Perry said because of groups like the people gathered for the Values Voter Summit, conservatives are returning to the principles of personal freedom and cautious spending that have made them successful in the past.
A straw vote suggests former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is a favorite among religious conservatives to be president in 2012. About one-third of the 1,800 registered attendees cast ballots indicating their preference among potential GOP candidates. Huckabee was tops with 28 percent of the vote, which the group calls a straw poll. Four people tied for second, each with about 12 percent of the vote. They were Romney, Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind.