The Southern Republican Leadership Conference:
The Romney Revolution Begins!

By Nathan Burd
Director, Americans for Mitt

Governor Mitt Romney shocked the political world by coming in second place in the highly anticipated straw poll at the 2006 Southern Republican Leadership Conference in Memphis!  Romney easily defeated Senators George Allen and John McCain, proving that Romney’s message resonates in the South.

As expected, Sen. Bill Frist won the poll since the conference was held in his home state.  After all, only Al Gore is capable of losing in his own state! Despite Frist’s win in the poll, Governor Romney was the talk of Memphis and he emerges from the SRLC as the strongest contender for the GOP nomination in 2008. 

I was so excited to have the chance to attend the conference and to help generate support for Mitt.  Just prior to his speech on Friday afternoon, I was able to briefly meet the man himself (see picture above).  It was truly an honor to shake his hand and express strong support for him from the online grassroots community that we are building here at Americans for Mitt.

Romney’s speech was extremely well received and he was given multiple standing ovations from the Southern crowd. A pro-Romney buzz existed throughout the weekend and we could tell that momentum was building as straw poll voting began.  When the results were announced, all of us Romney supporters erupted in celebration and we knew that this was the beginning of the Romney Revolution!

A huge “thank you” goes out to Nancy and all of our friends at Tennesseans for Mitt for all of their amazing work during the SRLC.  They made sure that Tennessee-themed pro-Romney buttons, hats, and t-shirts were available to all who asked and they even set up a luncheon for all of the Romney supporters in attendance.

The message from the SRLC is clear: once people get to know Governor Romney, they like what they see and hear.  As more of the country becomes familiar with Mitt and his message, we are going to see massive increases in support for the expected Romney presidential candidacy. 

And here’s the really exciting part: we are a BIG part of it all!  Grassroots supporters like you and I can be extremely helpful in spreading the word about Mitt and his vision for America.  We can help to educate those who are unfamiliar with Governor Romney and we can be especially influential in laying a solid foundation of grassroots support as 2008 nears.

So encourage your family and friends to visit our site and to join our e-mail list.  Check out all of the statewide and other “for Mitt” sites that have joined in this effort.  Visit our “links” section to keep up with current Mitt news and to access various pro-Mitt resources.

We’re making a difference and the SRLC was just the beginning!

Governor Romney with Nathan & Jolene Burd

Nathan (Americans for Mitt)
Nancy (Tennesseans for Mitt)
Christine (Massachusetts for Mitt)

Kathleen and Christine sport their
"Yankee Governor, Southern Values" t-shirts

Mitt supporters gather to watch a recent speech
at the TN for Mitt luncheon

The TN for Mitt logo on display at the SRLC