What Mitt Romney Left Behind: The People Who Bought His House Tell Their Story

Buying a house is usually an impersonal transaction. The buyer sees a scrubbed version of the home, artfully “staged,” possibly with a fresh coat of paint and flowers on the table. Once a purchase price has been negotiated, the buyer and the seller sign legal papers in triplicate, and the new owner gets a set of keys and – if lucky – an extra garage door opener. So, when Hal and Corinne Prewitt decided to buy Mitt and Ann Romney’s Park City, Utah home in spring of 2009, they figured they were in for another paperwork hassle. What they got, however, was a great house, interesting interactions with the man who’d just lost a bid to be the previous election’s GOP nominee, and some insight into the character of the possible next President. In fact, their interaction with Romney was so different than what the Prewitts expected, Hal decided to write down his experience in a Google document which has since been downloaded over 100,000 times.

First of all, the Prewitts were impressed – and a little shocked — when Mitt Romney met them at the property on moving day. There were no brokers or anyone there at the house – just the former governor walking around the house to make sure the new owners were comfortable and familiar with their purchase. “He spent as much time as we needed showing us around, answering our questions and explaining how to use and service the home’s equipment,” Hal wrote. “And when he was done, he gave us his direct contact information should we have problems.

Secondly, the Prewitts were fascinated by the way Governor Romney – worth, by some calculations, hundreds of millions of dollars – decided to move his things. Some people hire professional movers to pack their things, others hire them to transport them, and others prefer a do-it-yourself approach. Governor Romney fit into the last category. He went to Home Depot, bought wood, and built the necessary containers to transport his possession from the house. Then, he asked a friend and some family to help him pack his family photos, mementos, and grandchildren’s toys. Then, they carried his things into a U-Haul, which he drove to his new home in California.

The home, according to the Prewitts, was built with a focus on their family, even though it had “no swimming pool, tennis court or movie theater. There are no maid, butler or nanny quarters. Clearly Ann and Mitt raised their kids. No gold faucets, no fancy silverware. The kitchen was simple and typical of an average three bedroom home, very much like those in which we were raised.” Because the Prewitts bought much of the home’s contents, they also got to see the way the family really lived in their home: the linens didn’t have the highest thread count, the master bedroom pillows had tags from a discount store, and almost everything — the art, furniture and drapes — were American made.

Plus, there were lots of toys for the grandchildren. Also, in the Romney’s former mud room, Hal and Corinne found the former governor’s ski gloves with holes in the fingers. Apparently, one of Mitt’s sons had suggested he replace the gloves, but Gov. Romney, whom his sons have described as “frugal” and even “cheap,” thought he could salvage them. When Hal and Corinne found the gloves, they’d been altered.

“Mitt had gone to the garage tool box and wrapped them with duct tape. Thrifty? Yes, and the repair provided an immediate practical solution rather than traveling to the store to buy a new pair,” Hal wrote. “His indifference to appearance demonstrated his confidence, true character and priorities. Good qualities, but easily misunderstood because they are quite different from those displayed by many famous people and certainly politicians, who highly protect and prize their appearance.”

In the Romney’s master bedroom, was a prominent painting of Jesus Christ. “Most Americans know little about Mormonism and we didn’t either,” Hal wrote. “But Mitt Romney clearly had a home of faith and family just like the rest of us.”

“One of the most interesting questions many have asked is, ‘as president will he impose his beliefs on others?’” Hal wrote. “Many claim that a President Romney would take away rights and impose his beliefs on all Americans.” However, possibly the most surprising discovery was a small stash of alcohol in the house, which – the Prewitts were told – was for guests only. Mormonism prohibits drinking alcohol, of course, and the Romneys are teetotalers. However, they kept a few drinks on hand to be good hosts and make sure their guests felt comfortable. Hal believes this stash shows the Romneys wouldn’t impose their beliefs on others from the White House, because they didn’t even impose their beliefs on others in their own house.

The Prewitts didn’t support Romney in the 2008 election. Neither Republicans nor Democrats, they knew very little about Romney, Utah, or his former Presidential bid when they looked for a winter home. However, they felt they needed to speak out, because the caricature of Romney on television is such a far cry from the real man who showed him around the house and packed his own boxes that day.

“Mitt Romney… is not aloof or out of touch. He is a man of faith, family and American values. A guy who is well-grounded. It is not beneath him to roll up his shirt-sleeves and get the job done,” Hal wrote. “The fact that he has allowed this to be kept so very private is a true testament to his character and shows how different he is from many other politicians.”

If Romney wins in November, he’ll be faced with yet another move. Will the new President show up at the White House in a U-Haul? With $16 trillion of national debt, it just might be a move in the right direction.

h/t to Patheos.com

Mitt – A Big Hearted Caring and Decent Guy… Who Can Fix the Economy

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Hal Pruitt: The Mitt Romney we know - Insight into the man & his family

In testimonials, Romney’s faith and selflessness takes spotlight

Olympians endorse Romney and address 2012 Republican Convention

Democrat Jane Edmonds, Former Secretary of the Massachusetts Department of Workforce Development, addresses the 2012 Republican National Convention

Mitt Romney: What I Learned at Bain Capital

Mitt Romney Tells the Truth, Media Recoils in Horror

FNC’s Democrat Kirsten Powers Slams ‘Utterly Insane’ Media ‘Obsession’ With Attacking Romney

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Fact Check: Romney’s worked mostly without salary

About Mitt Romney

Multiple Sclerosis-Afflicted Neil Cavuto Slams MSNBC’s Attacks on Ann Romney: ‘Horse’s Asses’…

Pro-Mitt Argument of the Day

The Choice: Mitt Romney or Barack Obama

Progressive NBC Media Anchorman Brian Williams Evokes Romney’s Sense of Humor

Our Future Vice President

Romney outlines $500 billion in annual pay, workforce, program cuts

If you think you still need to know more about Mitt Romney here are a few reading suggestions: The Real Romney, No Apology, Turnaround: Crisis, Leadership, and the Olympic Games, The Mormon Way of Doing Business: How Nine Western Boys Reached the Top of Corporate America And check out his detailed plan at: http://www.mittromney.com/

Technorati Tags: Mitt Romney,the Romney's,Ann Romney,President Romney,Election 2012,The Choice,2012 Election,Romney-Ryan,Paul Ryan,wake-up America,vote Romney-Ryan,Mitt Romney in 2012,integrity,businessman,economics,strength,|budget,saving America

New Romney Ad Hits Obama for Failing American Workers

Since President Obama took office, the United States has lost over half a million manufacturing jobs, while China has seen a 25 percent increase in manufacturing. Seven times President Obama could have stopped China, and seven times he did nothing to bring about change. This passive, unfeeling stance is failing American workers and further damaging our economy.

Video:  Falling American Workers

Summary: Mitt Romney on the Economy

• The private sector is where real job growth takes place, not government bureaucracies.
• Unleashing the power of free markets is key to our economic prosperity.
• Taxes should be lower for ALL Americans.
• The death tax should be eliminated and Bush tax cuts made permanent.
• Our corporate tax rate needs to be more competitive and business friendly.
• The capital gains tax rate should be reduced to encourage investment.
• A level-playing field for American products in foreign markets is necessary.

Technorati Tags: jobs,jobs report,manufacturing jobs,manufacturing in America,taxes,saving America,Romney-Ryan,Business know how,private sector jobs,free market Capitalism,time for real change,Mitt Romney,Mitt Romney in 2012,China

TECH ENTREPRENEURS TAKE CAUTION WITH OBAMA’S NEW PATENT LAW

Earlier this month, President Obama signed the America Invents Act into law after it past in the House and Senate with strong support on both sides. This is the first major step in patent reform, according to some, since 1952.

The most notable reform is a change from “first to invent” system to a “first to file” system. This is the system that most of the world operates on, according to CNN, that prevents “investors from coming out of the woodwork and laying claim to a patent.” Obama and others tout that this new system will spur jobs. Business Insider guest writer Henry Nothhaft says it will do the opposite:

This will shift the advantage to large, deep-pocketed companies who, with their legions of lawyers and many millions of dollars in resources, can now swamp the USPTO’s inboxes with a tsunami of applications. Independent inventors and small start-ups who do not have the equivalent legal and financial resources to compete, meanwhile, will be forced to the back of line at the patent office.

He notes entrepreneurs saying in the 2008 Berkeley Patent Survey that getting a patent is the first set to getting financial backing. Without this patent, they will not be able to get the financing. Nothhaft also brings up the fact that 100 percent of job growth in the past 35 years, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau, was from start-up companies, without which the country would have experienced negative job growth:

“These findings imply that America should be thinking differently about the standard employment policy paradigm,” said Robert E. Litan, vice president of Research and Policy at the Kauffman Foundation. “Policymakers tend to focus on changes in the national or state unemployment rate, or on layoffs by existing companies. But the data from this report suggest that growth would be best boosted by supporting start-up firms.”

In regard to the fact that the rest of the world operates on a similar first to file system, Nothhaft writes:

[...] less than 1 percent of patents are filed by job-creating small businesses and independent inventors compared to 28 percent in the U.S. [...] Our patent system is a big reason why almost every major technological breakthrough of the last 100 years — from autos and airplanes to semiconductors and PCs — originated in America rather than Europe or someplace else.

On a similar note, Forbes guest writer Gary Lauder reports several examples of how Europe is discontent with its own system:

In May, the U.K.’s Small Medium-sized Entity Innovation Alliance sent a letter to their prime minister complaining that they “know only too well the failure of the patent system and have given up.”  Two years ago, a European research organization published a study titled “Lost property: The European patent system and why it doesn’t work.”  In February, the EU declared an “innovation emergency” due to how far behind us they are falling in innovation and in R&D investments.

Some in the gaming industry also have misgivings over the law. Gaming Bus reports that the new patent system for this industry will result in favoritism of larger companies that file patents for everything they invent, while small businesses selectively choose patents they apply for due to cost.

Source:  the Blaze

Sample Comments:

CONVOYUSA  -  Posted on September 29, 2011 at 2:13pm

As a small biz start up and being involved in patent development and filing THERE IS NO UPSIDE TO THIS BILL. What the hell was the House thinking??? 2012 cannot come soon enough to get rid of these moron’s who are not looking at the consequences of their decisions. Has it dawned on anyone that WHATEVER Obama puts forth is INTENDED to destroy this country?

Who is to say that the crony capitalists will not have a heads up from the patent office (and predate their filing) so they could end-run a patent filed by an independent that may have put years of sacrifice into their research? If they want to dry up innovation, then I guess they are on the right track.

DAMAGE6  -  Posted on September 30, 2011 at 7:03am

Gee Thanks Mr. President / Congress! In 2008 you crashed my small defense related R&D consulting business with 5 of 5 clients bailing on me citing your policies as the reason they were cutting back on R&D expenditures. Since then I’ve been killing myself doing manual labor and taking every menial job I can find to save my house while I rethought my business plan and spent thousands of hours inventing some really cutting edge new products. Since I‘m barely keeping my nose above water financially there’s no way I can afford the $7 to 10k per item it costs to secure a patent and now you virtually guarantee that any big company I show them to in order to try and get some backing can simply steal my designs instead. REALLY WHY DON’T YOU JUST COME TO MY HOUSE AND KICK ME IN THE B@!!$ WHILE YOU’RE AT IT. As if you haven’t made starting a business hard enough as it is. Unless you want to make solar panels that couldn't‘t possibly turn a profit it’s damn near impossible to get a manufacturing start up off the ground in Obamerica.

BEEALERT  -  Posted on September 30, 2011 at 11:13am

I think that all we have to do to discern the intent of any Obama legislation is to tack the word “destroy” onto the front of it. As in “Destroy American Jobs Act”, “Destroy America’s Inventors Act”, etc

Man of the Hour – Herman Cain

Herman Cain delivered ‘shock and awe‘ not only at the Republican debate, but by winning the Florida straw poll decisively. In fact, he didn’t just leave the other candidates in the dust, he left them several states over. Just how ‘decisively’ you ask? Well, let me enlighten you:

· Herman Cain: 37 percent

· Rick Perry: 15 percent

· Mitt Romney: 14 percent

· Rick Santorum: 10.9 percent

· Ron Paul: 10.4 percent

· Newt Gingrich: 8.4 percent

· Jon Huntsman: 2.3 percent

· Michelle Bachmann: 1.5 percent

· Gary Johnson (not on ballot)

That, ladies and gentlemen, was a good ole’ fashioned political stomping. Well done, sir… And I can’t think of anything that would tickle me more than a Tea Party candidate knocking the crap out of RINOs and Progressives on the right. So, even though it is still very, very early in the race, I want to take a few moments to bask in the win for Herman Cain and let our readers get to know him better.

Herman Cain is the ex-CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. He brought them back from the brink of financial ruin, he can do the same for America. Contrast that with Obama, who has not only taken America to the brink of the financial Armageddon cliff, but is doing his damnedest to sling us off said cliff. Cain was the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City – I’m willing to overlook that one. I truly believe he is a good and honorable man.

Cain has no political experience, which I consider a plus. In fact, it endears him to not only me, but the Tea Party movement. He’s not sullied with political grime on his hands.

Cain hates taxes. Glory freaking hallelujah! His 999 plan is one that even I can get behind. Check it out. The plan is simple and elegant, plus Cain supports the Fair Tax. My kind of guy.

The 999 Plan

· A 9% tax on Corporate Profits

· A 9% Personal Flat Tax Rate

· A 9% National Sales Tax

Yeah baby… If 10% is good enough for God, then 9% should be plenty good enough for the US government. I love this guy!!! Actually, I have liked Herman Cain since the first time I heard him speak.

Cain is also no slouch in the brains department. He has a Bachelors in Mathematics and a Masters in Computer Science from Purdue. A degree in the hard sciences… Imagine that, a leader who can actually ‘do’ as opposed to ‘organize.’ And I’ll bet there’s not a communistic cell in his American veins. They wouldn’t dare.

Herman Cain was also a ballistics expert in the Navy. He is a strong proponent of the 2nd Amendment. In other words, he’s sane and wants Americans to be able to protect themselves, not get slaughtered by a bunch of violent, Progressive anarchists. Go Herman, go Herman!

Cain is the author of four books on leadership. And a leader the man truly is. He’s also a survivor of colon cancer and he HATES Obamacare. Better and better and better.

Herman Cain is also a Christian. He contributes his talents at his church near Atlanta, Georgia. And he is staunchly anti-radical Islam. Don’t listen to the left on that one. I know for a fact that Cain is for vetting everyone that works in the White House. That would mean firing EVERYONE currently there. No Progressives, no communists, no socialists, no Marxists, no radicals, no apocalyptic Jihadists and no Israel haters. They would never even get through the front door, much less slink out the back.

He wants to increase our military defense and that is very, very comforting. Peace through strength should always be the way. Cain is a strong Constitutionalist and knows American history. He is not a globalist and that folks should make all of America sigh with relief. Cain is also for securing our borders and for promoting a legal path to citizenship. I could just about hug the guy. And for desert, he wants to get rid of the regulation monster. Is that Cass Sunstein I hear screaming and pulling out his hair? Sucks to be a Marxist if Cain wins.

But, best of all, Herman Cain is an American, not a Progressive elitist. He’s a Tea Party member, he’s one of us. Herman Cain has lived a real life and can lead a real recovery in America.

Right now, today, Herman Cain would have my vote. He is my current favorite. Welcome Herman Cain, the man of the hour and Citizen Cain may just become President Cain.

By: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton  at the NoisyRoom

Related: 

Cain on Tea Party, Freeman and 9 9 9

‘NOT UP TO PRIMETIME’: HERMAN CAIN BLASTS PERRY’S PERFORMANCE AT GOP DEBATE

President Trump? What If?

What if Donald Trump were President? What would he do?

As a guest on Greta Van Susteren’s show, on Fox News tonight, Donald Trump said that OPEC is laughing at us and the banks aren’t lending… and both are killing us financially!

He said that there is oil sitting in tankers everywhere and OPEC will dump it rather than sell it to us at a decent rate. HMMMM… so much for Obama’s cow-towing (and bowing) to the Arabs having any positive effect for America… in any arena!!

When Greta asked Donald Trump what he’d do if he were President he said he would force the banks to loan the stimulus money that we, the taxpayers, have given them. He said no matter how wealthy you are, you cannot go out and get a loan. The banks are just sitting on that money, covering their bottom-line.

Then Trump added that he would get the smartest and toughest guy he knew… a businessman, not a politician, to get over to the Middle East to negotiate, as well as splitting up OPEC. OPEC is a monopoly that would be illegal by the standards of most countries and they have destroyed many countries in the process by their greed. Trump said that OPEC has taken advantage of us for years; oil should be $20 a barrel, not $70.

There is an old blog post online from 2005 where Trump was saying these same things. Amazing how we don’t listen to people who know how to make and how to manage money?!? It is like the old adage: Those that can… do. Those that can’t… teach. The same goes for government: Those that can… do. Those that can’t… go into government service; just take a look at the Obama Administration.

Trump said that some of the smartest people he knows say if oil costs more than $20 to $30 a barrel, you have a problem. Last year OPEC pushed oil over a $100 a barrel, now it is at $70, and America can't afford it! He closed by saying, "Very few people, except me, are telling you that or trying to do anything about it". Perhaps you need to ask yourself why?!?

Ask Marion – Knowledge Creates Power