Voter's View: Clif Curry on His Candidate, Mitt Romney

Attorney and Brandon High graduate Clif Curry, a former president of the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce and a recipient of the group’s Key Citizen Award, said he was asked to be one of the local co-chairs for Mitt Romney’s campaign in Hillsborough County just a few weeks ago.

“I had not endorsed any candidate until then because I wanted to watch and see how things played out,” Curry said. “It became very apparent to me that the candidate who had the ability to beat the president is Mr. Romney and that’s why I decided to support him and agreed to be one of his co-chairmen.”

Curry said he isn’t surprised that the campaign turned negative in its waning hours.

“(Newt) Gingrich has thrown everything that he can think of, every piece of garbage that he could find, at Mitt Romney, as bad or worse as anything Obama could throw, and it hasn’t worked,” Curry said. “When [Gingrich] got to the point where he was down and losing, that’s what he resorted to.”

THE WEALTH ISSUE

That Romney’s wealth amounts to some $40 million is not an issue for Curry at all.

“Not at all, doesn’t bother me at all,” he said. “It shows that he has been personally successful and I would want someone who knows how to make money and do things on a positive basis [to be elected]. I don’t want a president, like Gingrich, who hasn’t ever run a business.”

THE RELIGION ISSUE

As for Romney being a Mormon, Curry said that, too, is a non-issue for him.

“Whether you’re Catholic or Mormon or whatever form of religion you have, I don’t see that as an issue anymore,” Curry said. “As long as you believe in God, and have that ultimate being in view, I don’t think it’s that big an issue.”

WHAT'S AT STAKE, THEN AND NOW

Curry said the issue at hand is which Republican candidate “could best bring the country back to greatness.”

His vote, of course, is for Romney — but it hasn’t always been.

“I did not support Romney in 2008,” Curry said. “Not in the beginning of the race, not in the middle, not in the end. I supported John McCain in 2008.”

But times have changed, Curry said.

“It’s a very different time,” he said. “Ultimately, what we need now is somebody who can fix our economy. There’s a perception that the economy is okay, but all you have to do is drive around the strip centers and small businesses in town like Brandon and see how many people are unemployed, who were running their own businesses a few years ago, and who have taken menial jobs just to make something to support their families. You drive from Tampa to Tallahassee on U.S. 19 and you see in every one of those little towns all the mom- and-pop restaurants that have been there for 50 years now closed. The  people in those towns can’t afford $6 or $7 for lunch, $8 or $10 for dinner. That’s the backbone of our economy. The backbone of our economy is not Wall Street or investment bankers. For America to be successful the middle class has to be able to support themselves and not go on welfare and that’s the basis Romney runs on and that’s the basis of the Republican Party.”

THE BOTTOM LINE (IT'S THE ECONOMY, STUPID — STILL)

Curry said he believes Romney’s experience “in turning around major companies that do business in the United States” will put him in good stead to help turn around the country’s business.

The economy, he added, is the key issue.

“This president has eviscerated the middle class and is working on creating a two-party system, the welfare party and the rich, with nothing in between and that’s not what made our country great,” Curry said. “Our country is great because of people, like the small business people in Brandon, who open their own businesses, do their own business and work very hard to support themselves and their families. That’s what Romney is going to bring back, the ability to do just that. Unfortunately the president doesn’t know what that is. It’s not in his background. It’s not in his mindset. His mindset is to protect Wall Street and the very rich and give benefits to everybody else.”