Governor Romney today delivered the following remarks to the House Republican Conference Retreat hosted by the Congressional Institute at the Homestead in Hot Springs, Virginia.

As prepared for delivery
January 30, 2009

Thank you for the warm welcome. And thank you for the vote you took this week. You stood strong. You stood for principle. You put the best interests of the American people ahead of politics. I got some calls yesterday, after the news. They said what I feel. We want you to know that we're proud of you.

It sure feels good to be in a room full of Republicans who came out ahead on Election Day. You can be proud of your success. And don't be afraid to remind the President of this: you, too, won your election.

After my own campaign was over, Ann and I just wanted to get away from it all. We ended up in Beijing, about as far away as you can get. We went to the Olympic Games, and one of the events we attended was women's beach volleyball. I noticed a lot of people looking in our direction, pointing toward us and taking pictures. It's always nice to be recognized, and I told Ann, let's be sure to smile and look our best. Ann said, they might like us even more if we got out of the way-Kobe Bryant is standing right behind you.

A few months have passed since the election. It's enough time to consider the outcome and take stock of our party's future. I want to make clear that I'm optimistic: our ideas are good, our agenda will make America stronger, and your action this week showed that we have the kind of leaders who will stand up for what they believe in. 

I have often been asked what I think the Republican Party must do to recover. What I've said is this: My first concern isn't about our party-it's about our country. 

In fact, the two are closely related. The best way for us to advance the prospects of our party is to do what we know is right for the country. This is what the American people expect of us. And that's what we should expect of ourselves. 

This is a time of hardship and uncertainty for millions of Americans. The question is: whose leadership and ideas will turn things around. And in such a moment, it's our job to offer the clear answers, the proven solutions, and resolute leadership that will make this country strong again. 

The new President and the Congressional majority are having a difficult time doing that. After all, they have a lot of campaign rhetoric to make good on. And they've got plenty of special interests to pay back. As the opposition party, we're entirely free to do what is right for the country. There are certain advantages to that kind of freedom, and I suggest we make the most of them.  

That begins with a clear analysis of what's needed to get the economy moving again. Predictions that we are almost out of the woods, based on the length of prior recessions, are wishful thinking. Americans have lost some 11 trillion dollars in net worth. That translates into about 400 billion dollars less annual consumer spending in the economy. 

There's something else people don't talk much about: The pool of investment capital-all the money available for new investments, business start-ups, business expansions, capital expenditures, and new hiring. The size of that pool has shrunk by trillions of dollars. This was a huge loss in value, and the effect could be felt for years-in businesses that don't start up or grow, in jobs that don't get created. 

Given these extraordinary conditions, I am convinced that a stimulus is needed. 

So why not just spend and borrow with reckless abandon? Because we're in a very delicate situation that could easily get worse if Washington does the wrong thing. The package which passed the House is a huge increase in the amount of government borrowing. And we've borrowed so much already, that if we add too much more debt, or spend foolishly, we could invite an even bigger crisis. We could precipitate a worldwide crisis of confidence in America, leading to a run on the dollar ... or hyper-inflation that wipes out family savings and devastates the middle class.

We're on an economic tightrope. That's why it is so important to exercise extreme care and good judgment.

So far, the Democratic leadership hasn't shown a great deal of that. They've passed 355 billion in infrastructure spending, 60% of which won't be spent by the end of 2010. Billions for electronic medical health records-it's a fine idea, but it won't produce jobs for years and years.

Even worse are the liberal payoffs-50 million dollars for the National Endowment for the Arts, hundreds of millions of dollars to the states for STD prevention and education. Until your loud protests got it dropped from the bill, there even was 200 million dollars for the DC Mall. That might have grown some grass, but it wouldn't have grown the economy. And they're doing this when the economy is on a tightrope.

It's still early in the administration of President Obama. Like everyone who loves this country, I want him to adopt correct principles and then to succeed. He still has a chance to step in and insist on spending discipline among the members of his own party. It's his job to set priorities. I hope for America's sake that he knows that a Chief Executive can't vote "present." He can't let others run the show. He has to say yes to some things and no to a lot of others.

We need to stimulate the economy, not the government. A true stimulus package, one that respects the productivity and genius of the American people, could lift this country out of recession. And experience shows us what it should look like.