Mitt, You Didn't Build That

Meteor Blades for Daily Kos

At Rolling Stone, Tim Dickinson writes The Federal Bailout That Saved Mitt Romney:

According to the candidate's mythology, Romney took leave of his duties at the private equity firm Bain Capital in 1990 and rode in on a white horse to lead a swift restructuring of Bain & Company, preventing the collapse of the consulting firm where his career began. When The Boston Globe reported on the rescue at the time of his Senate run against Ted Kennedy, campaign aides spun Romney as the wizard behind a "long-shot miracle," bragging that he had "saved bank depositors all over the country $30 million when he saved Bain & Company."

In fact, government documents on the bailout obtained by Rolling Stone show that the legend crafted by Romney is basically a lie. The federal records, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, reveal that Romney's initial rescue attempt at Bain & Company was actually a disaster—leaving the firm so financially strapped that it had "no value as a going concern." Even worse, the federal bailout ultimately engineered by Romney screwed the FDIC—the bank insurance system backed by taxpayers—out of at least $10 million. And in an added insult, Romney rewarded top executives at Bain with hefty bonuses at the very moment that he was demanding his handout from the feds. [...]

the FDIC documents on the Bain deal—which were heavily redacted by the firm prior to release – show that as a wealthy businessman, Romney was willing to go to extremes to secure a federal bailout to serve his own interests. He had a lot at stake, both financially and politically. Had Bain & Company collapsed, insiders say, it would have dealt a grave setback to Bain Capital, where Romney went on to build a personal fortune valued at as much as $250 million. It would also have short-circuited his political career before it began, tagging Romney as a failed businessman unable to rescue his own firm.

"None of us wanted to see Bain be the laughingstock of the business world," recalls a longtime Romney lieutenant who asked not to be identified. "But Mitt's reputation was on the line."

Technorati Tags: Tim Dickinson,Mitt Romney,Bain Capital,Bailout,Rolling Stone,2012 Elections,Current Events

Friday Funnies: The Republican Convention

  Being in Tampa and keeping up on the convention, I can honestly say that it was a sad and sorry affair.  I think that the father of lies is no longer Satan, but Paul Ryan because he was full of them. He even managed to surpass Mitt Romney, no easy feat.

Jay Leno: "Donald Trump was bumped from speaking at the Republican convention because of Hurricane Isaac. See, nobody ever talks about the good things hurricanes do."

"Some of the Republicans, I think, are over-reacting to Hurricane Isaac — like today Rick Santorum was seen gathering up two of every animal."

"According to a new poll, Mitt Romney is at zero percent among African Americans. Here’s the sad part: That’s up 5 percent from last week."

"According to a poll released last week, Mitt Romney has zero percent of the black vote. In fact, if it weren't for John Boehner, Romney wouldn't have any support from people of color at all."

"President Obama is seeking to make his case with first-time voters. Well, you can understand why. Second-time voters have graduated and can't find a job."

"Actually, Mitt Romney and Hurricane Isaac have something in common. They can both change directions at any moment."

Conan O'Brien: A group of coal miners in Ohio said that their bosses forced them to attend a Mitt Romney campaign event. You know you're boring when people would rather dig coal than listen to you speak."

David Letterman : "This year the theme of the Republican convention is '50 Shades of White.'"

"Tampa could be hit by Hurricane Isaac, and they might have to cancel or postpone the Republican National Convention. A hurricane headed directly for the Republicans – and more proof that God is a woman."

Bill Maher: "They’re all going down to Tampa where an Evangelical party is going to nominate a Mormon and a Catholic and then get wiped out by a hurricane…leaving Florida to the Jews as God intended."

"Mitt Romney went birther today. He was in Michigan, hwere he was born, and he said, 'No one has ever asked to see my birth certificate.' Right, because you weren't born. You have a warranty card."

Technorati Tags: RNC,Mitt Romney,Paul Ryan,Tampa,Barack Obama,Late Night Talk,Jay Leno,Conan O'Brian,Political Humor,Current Events

GOP Florida Voter Registration Suppression Struck Down

By Jack Watkins   August 29, 2012   At AddictingInfo.org

On August 17^th, I reported on AI that a panel of

three federal judges struck down the GOP’s attempts to shorten early voting days in Florida.  Now a Federal Judge has also struck down Florida's restrictive “third-party” voter registration drives and efforts to register voters by non-partisan groups (such as the League of Women Voters) and even public school civics-class high school teachers…who have faced threats of fines and jail.

According to a report from the Maddow Blog, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle, issued his permanent ruling today, overturning the onerous registration requirements, ruling in a suit filed last December by the League of Women Voter of Florida, Rock the Vote, and the Florida Public Interest Research Education Fund.

The registration suppression efforts which were challenged in court had required all registration forms for newly registered voters to be turned in within 72-hours to state/county offices (including weekends).  The GOP enacted requirements seriously hampered voter registration canvassing efforts in the state, greatly impacting the number of new voter registrations, and creating an enormous imbalance between new Republican-Party registrations and Democratic-Party registrations, which – up until the new law – had heavily favored Democrats in 2004 and 2008.

In the midst of the Republican Convention in Tampa, South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley boasted,  last night, about her state’s Voter ID laws, comparing voting to buying Sudafed and flying on airplanes.   Amid similar GOP voter suppression efforts in key states like Pennsylvania, Virginia, Wisconsin and Ohio – the Wednesday permanent injunction by a Federal Court is a glimmer of hope in the battle to preserve the democratic, constitutionally guaranteed right to vote…now under relentless attack by the Republican Party.  Republicans have realized that their Mega-Bucks wealthy Super PAC attack ads and campaign lies, distortions and racist-tinged and false message on Welfare Work Requirements just may not reach and deceive enough White voters in November to buy the empty rhetoric of the Romney/Ryan Campaign.

Therefore, voter suppression and intimidation of likely Democratic leaning demographics (students, minorities, the poor and elderly) and voter apathy are the other key linchpins of their strategy to capture the White House and control of Congress.  As reported elsewhere on AI, even Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner ( “The Weeping Willow on the Potomac”), has admitted that the Republican strategy is to keep as many minority (and other Democratic demographics) voters from voting.

Technorati Tags: Florida,Voter Suppression Laws,The Republican Party,2012 Elections,Jim Crowe,Current Events

Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan Convention Lies ALL Debunked

  I must say that it is about time that our so-called press is doing their job. They’ve been letting Mitt and the Republican Party slid on most of their bullshit since the Primaries, and it has been pretty discusting  to watch. 

   At least now, though, the press ( except for Fox ) is beginning to fact-check both Ryan and Romey’s statements.

the A.P.:FACT CHECK: Convention speakers stray from reality

Laying out the first plans for his party's presidential ticket, GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan took some factual shortcuts Wednesday night when he attacked President Barack Obama's policies on Medicare, the economic stimulus and the budget deficit.

Greg Sargent-

This doesn’t happen every day, but good for the Los Angeles Times for calling out the ubiquitous falsehood about Obama supposedly waiving welfare reform’s work requirement right in its headline:

Rick Santorum repeats inaccurate welfare attack on Obama

As Kevin Drum says: “it’s about time reporters and copy editors started putting this stuff front and center.” And, indeed, the LA Times does this, in its headline and with this highly placed sentence: “In fact, Obama did not waive the work requirement.”

Jonathan Chait:

It has not escaped attention that Mitt Romney has built his entire campaign on, well, lies.

Anybody tuning in to the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night heard and saw “you didn’t build that” roughly fourteen gajillion times. The RNC’s stated theme of Day One was “We Built That.” Country singer Lane Turner unveiled his new protest song, “I Build That.” New conservative star Mia Love: "This is the America we know, because we built it!" Ann Romney proclaimed that her husband "was not handed success. He built it!"
On television, Romney’s main campaign theme is that President Obama has ended the work requirement in the 1996 welfare law and is instead sending out checks. In his speeches, and during the convention, the message is that President Obama has lectured small business owners that they didn’t build their own business. Swing-state denizens just tuning in to the campaign probably think the election is primarily a referendum on welfare reform.

Both charges are utter fabrications.

Peggy Noonan:  

I want to tell you they marched out of the hall Tuesday night on fire for their side. But I was there and they did not. They walked out like people who weren’t quite sure what to think or how to feel but were hoping for the best.”

Greg Sargent:

At any rate, Fournier has confirmed from GOP strategists that angering blue collar whites is the goal of this strategy. We also know that the GOP has a history of using race-based messaging to appeal to this constituency. And we know Romney probably can’t win unless he pushes his white vote totals to record levels — hence the pollster’s claim that these attacks could make a difference on the margins.

What makes this all noteworthy is who Fournier is. He’s well respected in Washington journalism, having worked as the Associated Press’s Washington correspondent — where he was called on first in many presidential press conferences — before becoming editor in chief of the National Journal Group. Having him come out and explicitly charge the Romney campaign with race-baiting will make this a safer topic among some of the top-shelf commentator and journalist types who might otherwise have shied away from it.

Technorati Tags: Mitt Romney,Paul Ryan,The Republican Party,RNC,Barack Obama,The Media,Fact Check,Current Events,2012 Elections