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All that’s Mitt that Fits

July 14, 2012

The news on the prospective Republican presidential nominee this week has been fast and furious and has nothing to do with a Darrell Issa bogus investigation even though it does seem contemptible. Dribs and Drabs it isn’t, a new story, angle, article or accusation seems to be popping up almost hourly about Mitt and his financial entanglements.

Thus and therefore, Ipso Facto, and whereas we need a spot to put “da stuff” and here it is! A mini TO/OT, if you will, dedicated to Willard’s walk on the financial wild side. PlanetPOV’s very own collection of opposition research collected from your comments.

To follow our policy though, you may disagree with the Democrats and think they have gone to far, that it’s unfounded or that “Bainers” are no better than “Birthers” and it is clouding the policy debates that this country is badly needs.

This is the place to express it.

My take that I think many, no most, are either missing, avoiding or ignoring is not just the Bain story and when Mitt was or wasn’t running Bain, but his foreign accounts, investments and investment companies. So little is even know about them and so little can even be discovered about them, that’s why they exist, they are there to be hidden, to be secretive. Offshore accounts now may hold as much as 17 TRILLION dollars of unregulated, unreported and secretive accounts and how much of that is Mitt Romney’s? No one knows nor does any regulator know what it is investing in. Who are the invstors?

Are his accounts invested in gun or dope running? Laundering those enterprises money? Are they invested in dictatorships, are the dictators investing in them. Paramilitary groups, are they getting a good or poor return investing in the accounts? How much is Mitt Inc. making? We don’t know.

OK, I did pick some very nasty and nefarious people and activities, but if Mitt chooses to not disclose, can’t I make the worst of assumptions? Paul Krugman stuck that note the other day, we can only assume.

It can neither be slanderous nor scandalous, I am not making any accusations, I can’t, because I don’t know — Only Mitt knows and he’s not talking.

The very secretiveness of these accounts would seem to make him unelectable to me. And don’t fall for what he said in his Friday night dump that these accounts are controlled by his “blind trust,” they were set up well before he had any such thing, another lie.

Now ask yourself this: Without knowing what the accounts are invested in, who the investors are, how much they are worth or how much the other investors have invested. How would they effect his presidential decisions? Would he make a decision not based on information from his Secretary of State, Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary of Defense but from knowing that it would harm one of his investors even if that person was violating human rights?

Along with his unseen tax returns, this is just way too secretive for me. The American people deserve better from “the leader of the free world.” We deserve to be an informed voter.

After all, “he is running for President of the United States, for Pete’s sake.”

Romney/Bain/Accounts – Where Is Our Country’s News Media?(seeingtheforest.com)
Mitt Romney Says He’s Unlikely To Release More Than Two Tax Returns(lindaluke.newsvine.com)
Bain’s SEC Filings(seeingtheforest.com)
35 Questions Mitt Romney Must Answer About Bain Capital Before The Issue Can Go Away(forbes.com)

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Author

bito

Why am I not shocked at this, there is hardly a scrap of paper that the American voter can look at that hasn’t been destroyed, personal proprietary or hidden.

2002 Olympic papers unlikely to shed light on Romney’s leadership
Operational details of Salt Lake 2002 Games will not be included

People searching for insight on how Salt Lake’s 2002 Winter Games operated and how Mitt Romney led the effort may be disappointed when 1,100 boxes of Olympic archives are made public next month, according to the project director.

“I think they will have no answers,” said Elizabeth Rogers, curator of manuscripts at the University of Utah Marriott Library.

The records that the Salt Lake Olympic Committee turned over to the University of Utah do not appear to contain things like meaningful budget documents, internal memos, executive calendars and other records that might shed light on the internal workings of the Olympic organization, Rogers said.

[…]

As large as the project is, operational details of the Games will not be included. The Olympic Committee set its own policy on which records should be kept and which should be destroyed

And of course the alibi:

Romney — who had previously been criticized for failing to preserve records from his term as governor of Massachusetts — was gone from the Olympic Committee before decisions were made on what documents to keep and played no role in the decision-making, according to the Romney campaign.

Mark Jensen, who was hired as the SLOC archivist, said that personnel in each department had the discretion to decide what should be archived. Retention was voluntary, he said.

And this is handy:

“Anything we could disclose, of course, we couldn’t destroy that. Anything that had a legal or contractual requirement to be confidential … they were just destroyed,” Fraser Bullock, a longtime friend and business partner of Romney, who took the SLOC helm after Romney left, told ABC News, which reported on the status of the SLOC records Monday.

Bullock told ABC that he doubts Romney saved personal papers or calendars.

Much more>>> http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/54542587-90/romney-olympic-information-records.html.csp

Mitt takes the Nixon “Trust Me” with his secret ending of the Vietnam war to a whole ‘nother dimension.

Member

SallyT

I heard on Lawrence ODonnell tonight talking about Romney and his flip flop on abortion and his meeting with the church when he was running for Governor of Mass. So, I found this article on it and that meeting.

The Conversion
How, when, and why Mitt Romney changed his mind on abortion.

Wirthlin’s poll said that if he ran as a pro-lifer, he’d lose. It would be simplistic to say that the poll dictated Romney’s decision. But we know that he used the poll to influence the most important pro-life organization he had to appease at the time: the elders of the LDS church.

In 1993, Romney went to Salt Lake City to explain to the Mormon church leaders why he was going to take a pro-choice position on abortion.
Michael Madsen/Thinkstock.
Scott’s account, as told in his book and in a more detailed interview with Slate, is based on conversations with Romney and other senior church officials who were present. As president of the Boston stake, Romney owed church leaders a consultation before doing anything that might cause them trouble. In October or November 1993, he went to Salt Lake City to meet with them and explain the abortion position he was going to take. Wirthlin went with him. In these meetings, Wirthlin was more than a pollster. He was a church official, a brother of one of the church’s 12 apostles, and a cousin of the church’s next president.
Romney didn’t ask the brethren in Salt Lake what his abortion position should be. He had already decided on it. He didn’t ask them to endorse it, either. He came to explain his position, why he had to take it, and how it conformed to church doctrine. He told them he would say that he opposed abortion personally but that such private beliefs shouldn’t be imposed on others. Romney argued that this view was acceptable under the doctrine of free agency, and he used the poll data to close the sale. If he didn’t frame his position as pro-choice, he’d lose. Many of the church leaders were unhappy with Romney’s formulation. But if they wanted him in the Senate, this was the best they were going to get.
Scott was present when Romney talked about the meetings after he returned to Boston.
Judy Dushku, a Mormon feminist, says she heard a similar account from Romney in 1994:
I went to his office and I congratulated him on taking a pro-choice position. And his response was—Well they told me in Salt Lake City I could take this position, and in fact I probably had to in order to win in a liberal state like Massachusetts. … I said, Mitt, it doesn’t make me happy to hear that. What you’re suggesting is that you’re not genuinely pro-choice. It’s a position of convenience. He said—Oh no, I actually had an aunt who died of a botched abortion. So I have some positive feelings about choice, but basically I know that I have to take that position.

He even lied about the girl! She wasn’t an aunt but his sister husband’s sister! You cannot believe anything he says!

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_conversion/2012/02/mitt_romney_s_abortion_record_flip_flop_or_conversion_.html

Member

SallyT

So, Romney, when are you just going to say that the President copied from your many speeches?

Romney To Olympians: ‘You Didn’t Get Here Solely On Your Own’

Mitt Romney himself made an almost identical point during his speech at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2002 Winter Olympics, crediting the community for helping individuals achieve the pinnacle of success:
ROMNEY: You Olympians, however, know you didn’t get here solely on your own power. For most of you, loving parents, sisters or brothers, encouraged your hopes, coaches guided, communities built venues in order to organize competitions. All Olympians stand on the shoulders of those who lifted them. We’ve already cheered the Olympians, let’s also cheer the parents, coaches, and communities.

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/07/23/565491/romney-to-olympians-you-didnt-get-here-solely-on-your-own/

Author

bito

The other part of it Sally, is that his whole “success” at Bain was done using “Other People’s Money including the workers pension funds, tax loopholes, the local and state taxpayer breaks and grants.

Anyone stealing a fifty year old working persons pension for the own enrichment is about as low as one can go in my book. Then he turns that loss over to the government so that the taxpayers can pick up the tab.

Member

SallyT

Yes, Bito, and they put the company in debt by borrowing against the company’s assets and take that money before filing bankruptcy on the company as their management fees.
But the point of this article is that Romney is again saying just about the same thing as the President did when he said you didn’t build a company by yourself. Romney took that out of context and has it in an ad and trying to put the President down as not giving people any credit for building their business. Of course the President was saying that we all have help in one way or another. But Romeny is basically saying the same thing when he addressed the Olympics Openings. The Dems should use this in an ad back showing that this guy is a liar and a cheat.

Member

SallyT

Bito, another thing is if you are a holding company (which Bain is) you can carry those tax losses from the company you put in bankruptcy over to another operating company you have for 10 years! A real savings on that company’s taxes. No matter what, they are making money on the horse that is already dead!

Author

bito

I’m not really sure which way to interpret this from Mitt.

Carr says Romney quoted his ‘US in decline’ remark out of context

FOREIGN minister Bob Carr says he wasn’t criticising America when he spoke of a nation “in decline” during a private conversation with Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

Foreign Minister Bob Carr and other Australian officials said that Mr Carr was praising American economic strengths during Sunday’s meeting. The meeting was kept secret until Mr Romney shared Mr Carr’s comments with donors later in the day.

“He said America is just one budget deal away from ending all talk of America being in decline,” Mr Romney said, while addressing roughly 250 donors at San Francisco’s Fairmont hotel. “I said, ‘Can I quote you on that?’ and he said, ‘Yes.'”

Seizing on the remark to criticise a lack of leadership in Washington, Mr Romney added that Mr Carr “led the talk of America being in decline.”

“See that’s not talk we hear about here as much as they’re hearing there. And if they’re thinking about investing in America, entrepreneurs putting their future in America, if they think America’s in decline, they’re not gonna do it,” Mr Romney said.

[…]

“The foreign minister’s remarks represent a considered assessment of the US economy and an antidote to talk of US declinism,” said Kim Beazley, Australia’s ambassador to the United States.

He said Mr Carr has identified increasing US energy competitiveness and continued inventiveness coming from Silicon Valley “as a sound base for the next progression in the US economy.”

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/carr-clarifies-us-in-decline-remark/story-fnd134gw-1226433452429

How many ways is this wrong? Why did Mitt take a private semi-diplomatic conversation and make it public for political purposes? How is it that he relayed the conversation 180 degrees from what the foreign minister meant, doesn’t he understand the Australian language? Is this what we can expect from him when he talks to foreign leaders? (I thought he said stand-up when what he said was shut-up?)

I know this may seem minor, but it just so wrong and fits into all of Mitt’s lying so sickeningly perfect. It’s not how one does diplomacy.

Author

bito

😆 VIDEO: I Didn’t Work At Bain

I Didn’t Work At Bain (by Hockey Mama For Obama)

H/T @GottaLaff http://thepoliticalcarnival.net/2012/07/22/video-i-didnt-work-at-bain/

Author

bito

Romney Campaign: We Don’t Buy Twitter Followers

That may be true, but something mighty weird is going on with the number of followers. An anomaly this large begs an explanation or it’s just another lie.

See graph>>> http://www.buzzfeed.com/zekejmiller/romney-campaign-we-dont-buy-twitter-followers

Author

bito

I would like this question asked to Mitt:

You say you don’t believe that the recovery act worked at all nor does government spending help stimulate the economy even as a last resort, however you lobbied congress for 1.5 billion dollars for the Salt Lake Olympics, did that not stimulate the economy of the area and make huge private profits through public spending?

Was that a proper role of the federal government, was that a good use of taxpayers money? Would you and the SLOG been as successful without the federal money? Would it and you have been as successful had you had the same amount of money as the Atlanta games (plus inflation) and not the very large amount you lobbied for the Salt lake Games?

Member

KQµårk 死神

This is just more Romney hypocrisy and mendacity. He said we need a stimulus back in 2008. Republicans keep on forgetting GWB did a stimulus in 2008 and two previous stimulus efforts. Then again if you are in the GOP that automatically makes you a hypocrite and liar now.

Member

SallyT

Interesting long article.

Romney Invested Millions in Firms That Pioneered High-Tech Outsourcing

EXCLUSIVE: A government document shows that at Bain he held a $54 million stake in companies that manufactured electronics in China and Mexico for US firms.

In recent weeks, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney have accused each other of being an “outsourcer in chief,” as their campaigns have tussled over Romney’s past at Bain Capital and the (non)release of his tax returns. But all this scuffling hasn’t taken into account an until-now unreported fact about Romney’s days at Bain: When he was running the private equity firm, he invested tens of millions of dollars in a pair of companies that specialized in outsourcing high-tech manufacturing and that developed offshore production facilities in Mexico, China, and elsewhere to build electronics for US firms.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mitt-romney-bain-outsourcing-flextronics-jabil-circuit

Author

bito

David Corn is not going to let the questions of Mitt’s money go to the wayside and this article is another good example http://planetpov.com/2012/07/14/all-thats-mitt-that-fits/comment-page-1/#comment-186819

He said the other day that he wish he had a staff of 100 reporters because there are just too many leads for him alone to follow.

Member

SallyT

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Author

bito

Romney Adviser Stumped On How Romney Would Reduce Debt

http://www.classwarfareexists.com/romney-adviser-stumped-on-how-romney-would-reduce-debt/#axzz21B8ez3cY

Almost hard to believe that this interview was done by Luke Russert

When MSNBC’s Luke Russert asked Romney adviser Tara Wall how Romney would offset the lost revenue, she failed to offer any specifics, telling Americans they could instead “research” his plan to find them. When Russert returned to the subject, Wall again failed to deliver an answer, saying Romney’s business experience is the reason he would balance the budget.

Author

bito

Just How Blind Are Blind Trusts, Anyway?

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/07/20/157119003/just-how-blind-are-blind-trusts-anyway?ft=1&f=1014&sc=tw

His advice: First look at the person who runs the trust, the person who’s supposed to keep all the investments secret. If the person is a friend or relative, it looks bad.

Second, look at what went into the trust at the very beginning. Rich people get rich in specific fields or by starting specific companies, Gross says. “And just because it becomes part of a blind trust doesn’t erase it from your memory.”

The third way to evaluate a trust is to look at what kind of reporting the trust makes back to the politician. If the candidate gets fairly detailed reports about how much he has made in capital gains, dividends or interest, he may be able to figure out what’s going on inside the trust.

[…]

So what does it all mean for Mitt Romney?

His blind trust is run by a longtime financial adviser, who might know his likes and dislikes.

[….]

He recommends that politicians without a ton of investments simply put their money into plain-vanilla index funds and bonds. Then tell everyone where the money is.

That’s the route President Obama has taken…

Romney The Blind Trust is an Age Old Ruse – YouTube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6nYkDJWIPI

Author

bito

Mitt may be trying to “change the subject” but both David Corn of Mother Jones and the Boston Globe keep digging. Both of these are new today.

Romney Invested Millions in Firms That Pioneered High-Tech Outsourcing

In March 1999, shortly after Romney left Bain to take over the troubled Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Brookside Capital Investors Inc., a Bain-related entity wholly owned by Romney, filed a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission that listed dozens of companies in which Brookside held a stake the previous quarter. The roster included investments in Singapore-based Flextronics International ($13 million) and Florida-headquartered Jabil Circuit Inc. ($41 million), two companies that were leaders in the fast-growing field of outsourcing electronics manufacturing and offshoring production to low-wage countries. Together, these two investments represented almost 10 percent of Brookside’s $559 million portfolio.

Much, Much More >>>> http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mitt-romney-bain-outsourcing-flextronics-jabil-circuit

And this from the Globe:

Romney kept reins, bargained hard on severance

Shortly after Mitt Romney took a leave of absence from Bain Capital to run the Olympics in February 1999, he made a trip to Palm Beach, Fla. The firm Romney founded was meeting to celebrate its 15th anniversary as well as the men he had helped make extraordinarily wealthy.

[…]

The Palm Beach meeting, which has not been previously reported, demonstrates the duality of Romney’s role as he parted ways with Bain, an issue that has sparked controversy in his presidential campaign. Romney has said in financial disclosure statements that he “was not involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way” after Feb. 11, 1999. But he was still legally the CEO, with numerous duties and obligations that were his alone, until early 2002.

[….]

Indeed, by remaining CEO and sole shareholder, Romney held on to his leverage in the talks that resulted in his generous 10-year retirement package, according to former associates.

Again, much more >>> http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2012/07/20/romney_kept_reins_bargained_hard_on_severance/?page=full

(I did send this tweet to David Corn and he retweeted it. Hope he got a chuckle out of it

PlanetPOV profile

PlanetPOV @DavidCornDC The way you have been digging on Mitt, I can almost see Izzy smiling down/up at you. motherjones.com/politics/2012/… Now break the Caymans

David Corn cut his teeth at the Nation with one of the best investigative reporters that ever lived, I.F. (Izzy) Stone)

Member

SueInCa

“In a profile in Chief Executive magazine, Marks dismissed concern about shipping US jobs overseas. “Outsourcing is good for America,” he insisted. The magazine crowned him the king of electronics outsourcing: “Marks, more than anyone else, is responsible for the outsourcing trend in the tech industry.” And Romney had provided him capital for his efforts.”

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/mitt-romney-bain-outsourcing-flextronics-jabil-circuit

Author

bito

4 Pinocchios for an unproven Romney claim of ‘crony capitalism’

Hoping to turn attention away from questions about his departure from Bain Capital a decade ago, Mitt Romney this week has sought to focus attention on what he calls President Obama’s “crony capitalism.”

[…..]

The contributions database at OpenSecrets.org shows that Lane contributes to some Democrats but mostly Republicans — and he gave money to Rudolph Giuliani and John McCain in 2008, not Barack Obama or other Democrats running for president. He also contributed to George W. Bush in 2003 and Bob Dole in 1995. (However, he has praised the Obama administration for its willingness to back alternative energy ventures, saying it would be “silly” to think an automobile company could be created without government help.)

And speaking of Kleiner partners, a $100,000 contributor to Romney’s SuperPAC Restore Our Future is Meg Whitman, the database shows.

[….]

In other words, Kleiner raised venture capital for Fisker before Obama became president. Moreover, Fisker had applied for a loan under the Bush administration.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/4-pinocchios-for-mitt-romneys-unproven-claim-of-crony-capitalism/2012/07/17/gJQAYuYPsW_blog.html

I don’t know if this story even made a full 24 hour news cycle before it was shot down.

Author

bito

Did Mitt just flip-flop on his own attack from yesterday, today?

Mitt Romney: Okay, businesses do need government, after all

“There are a lot of people in government who help us and allow us to have an economy that works and allow entrepenuers and business leaders of various kinds to start businesses and create jobs. We all recognize that. That’s an important thing.”

And this:

“I know that you recognize a lot of people help you in a business. Perhaps the bank, the investors. There is no question your mom and dad, your school teachers. The people who provide roads, the fire, the police. A lot of people help. But let me ask you this. Did you build your business? If you did, raise your hand. Take that, Mr. President! This is what’s happening in this country.”

Is that all that much different than what the President said or even what Elizabeth Warren has said? How about Hillary Clinton ans “it takes a village….” comment/book?

I guess it’s how he distorts it.