Mitt Romney Ohio Rally Focused On Medicare And Education

Mitt Romney traveled around the important swing state of Ohio yesterday. Thousands of rural Chillicothe area residents waited in line for hours to hear Romney speak from the steps of the Ross County Courthouse. Romney’s Ohio address was in direct contrast to the headline grabbing attack ads and negative speech comments which have dotted the political landscape in recent months.The Republican presidential candidate kept his comments about the poor job he feels Barack Obama is doing short and focused instead on his plans for governance if voters send him to the White House in November.

Approximately 20 percent of the Romney rally attendees the Inquisitr spoke with considered themselves independent or Libertarian voters. Half of the non-Republican voters stated they were still undecided which presidential candidate would get their vote on election day; the other half carried Romney campaign signs. The vast number of signatures on a same-sex marriage petition circulated along the barricade which led to the metal detector scanning area, clearly illustrated the number of Romney-Ryan supporters who consider themselves fiscally conservative yet socially liberal.

An all-star Ohio GOP line-up preceded Mitt Romney to the podium in the Buckeye State’s first capital yesterday. Senate candidate Josh Mandel, Auditor of State Dave Yost, Senator Rob Portman, and Governor John Kasich all issued their support for a Romney-Ryan administration.

Shouts from approximately one dozen Obama protestors could be heard faintly from the stage area but did not appear to distract Mitt Romney or any of the Ohio Republican leaders from addressing the massive crowd. Protestor signs focused primarily on Medicare and education funding complaints, two of the main topics of the five-point plan Romney detailed at length during his Ohio visit.

“You’re worried about your families, your communities and your country. We cannot afford four more years under Barack Obama. Folks, it’s not working is it?” Senator Rob Portman stated from the podium before introducing Governor John Kasich.

The Romney campaign rally crowd in Ohio was extremely diverse and did not fit the stereotype of “old white guys” as primary GOP supporters. There were approximately equal amounts of men and women cheering the presidential candidate’s comments at the Chillicothe political event.

Although there were many senior citizen women in attendance, a significant portion of the female contingent in the crowd were in their 30s and 40s with children in tow. College students and minority voters waving Romney campaign signs comprised about 15 percent of the spectators assembled at the Republican rally.

As Governor John Kasich spoke of the economic progress which has been made in Ohio, and the path which the state must continue traveling upon to achieve sustainable prosperity; Romney shook his head in emphatic agreement in the background.

“I want the wind at our back. I want more prosperity and Mitt Romney will do it for us. We hear a lot about Mitt Romney’s past as a businessman. Don’t you think it’s time that we have a successful businessman in the White House instead of a community organizer?” Governor Kasich stated to a cheering Ohio crowd.

The Ohio governor heralded Mitt Romney’s job creation record and referenced the continued unemployment problems in America today. Governor Kasich credits Romney with creating 40,000 jobs while serving as governor in “Taxachusetts,” an accomplishment which he maintains was not an easy task. Governor Kasich also noted the slow process involved when communicating with Washington to accomplish the work necessary for progress in Ohio.

“The over-regulating and over-taxing and getting in our lives and is not allowing us to have the kind of freedom that allows us to realize our hopes and dreams,” Governor John Kasich stated before introducing Mitt Romney.

Mitt Romney jumped right into the major issues of the campaign when he stepped to the podium. He told the crowd that Obamacare would pull funds from Medicare and help bankrupt the program which seniors having been paying into their entire lives.

The GOP presidential candidate went on to detail his plan for saving Medicare and keeping the program healthy for future generations of Americans. According to the existing Ryan plan, the proposed changes will not impact the benefits of anyone over the age of 55, allowing time for new regulations to take place before middle-aged and younger Americans reach retirement age.

Education was also a major focus during Romney’s speech in Ohio. Preparing students for jobs to keep the American economy strong is a part of the Romney-Ryan campaign platform. Romney noted he will put students and teachers first and the desires of the unions in the back.

“Some people have fallen out of the middle class and now they are struggling to get back in, because the bar keeps going up and they are living paycheck to paycheck. They’re tired of being tired. And tonight I’d like to say to each of them, you have not been forgotten. We will not leave you behind. This is America, we’re Americans – it does not have to be this way. We will make sure that America works for all the people,” Mitt Romney stated during his speech in Ohio.

The Mitt Romney Ohioans experienced yesterday was a man of boldness, focused more on what comes after November 6 than continuing the partisan political banter which always hovers just above the surface during the final weeks presidential campaigns.

(All photos taken by Tara Dodrill and Brea Blair)