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While spending the day in Colorado trying to drum up support for his election campaign, Mitt Romney seems to have missed the mark. His tour through Colorado was a concerted effort to convince voters to back him, in a state that Obama won in the 2008 election.
During his visit, Romney visiting a food bank called Care and Share Food Bank in Colorado Springs that has been helping those who have no place to go as a result of recent wildfires in Colorado. The wildfire, which started on June 23, has been the most destructive ever in Colorado’s history. It has destroyed 347 homes and burned 18,247 acres.
Romney’s answer to the forest fires and to the area of Colorado hardest hit by them? Tourism. He said, during his speech that,
“People around the country are wondering what can they do because we’ve all watched what’s happened here with horror as we’ve seen the flames and the homes lost and the stories of loss of life. People in the immediate community, of course, can bring in canned goods. But what can people do that are from Boston and New York and Chicago? Well, you can come to Colorado and vacation this summer.”
He continued to explain his idea. “What’s happened is people are staying away because they think the whole area has been burned out. It’s not. It’s as beautiful as it’s always been and tourists need to come back and stay in hotels, go to restaurants and purchase local merchandise.”
As one news source, KOAA.com explained about Romney’s visit,
“Mitt Romney made a surprise stop in Colorado Springs, Tuesday afternoon. His stop underscores the national notoriety of the Waldo Canyon Fire. It also shows Colorado is very important to both candidates as they battle for votes.”