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Mitt Romney is running into headwinds in his own party for, of all things, being a successful capitalist. Newt Gingrich, in fact, has walked his charges back.
However, Tuesday on “Morning Joe”, Steve Rattner, a former Obama administration official, known as the Obama Administration’s Car Czar and Counselor to the Secretary of the Treasury, defended Mitt Romney on Bain Capital, saying it’s not at all what either Gingrich or Perry are implying.
It’s not going to make Obama reelect very happy, because Democrats are depending heavily on their own negative Bain Capital campaign, which says the same things as anti-Romney conservatives.
“Fair is fair. … But I think these attacks are unfair. I think Mitt Romney, not only had a very successful career throughout business, but Bain Capital is a terrific, first class firm. Managing money mostly for foundations, for endowments, for pension funds on behalf of exactly the people Rick Perry thinks he’s trying to harm, and they had a great record with 80 or 90 investments, all of which made a lot of money for their investors… and he did it in a perfectly honorably, appropriate way. … – Steve Rattner, on “Morning Joe” (comes at around 3:11 in video above)
I’ve written several tough pieces on Stephen Rattner, most recently when he said he might write a check to Scott Brown, because Elizabeth Warren was “on the wrong side of a lot these issues.” But this is someone who is considered a Wall Street whiz, whose wife, Maureen White, has raised millions for Democrats, and someone who is going to vote for Obama in November.
Let me also say something about Mitt Romney’s Mormonism in conjunction with his ethics, business and personal. There has never been a hint of impropriety in his life. This guy comes off stiff for a reason. He is, but he’s also deeply righteous, which is rooted in his religion, with the ethics of faith part of his business life as well. Like all fundamentalist faiths, Mormonism is very rigid, which also acts as the set backdrop for Romney’s entire life. But there is a reason I’ve labeled him Mr. Ice (Barack Obama is Mr. Cool), which also comes out of his Mormon faith that is rooted in rules not compassion, which will be fully seen once everyone reads the new Vanity Fair article, The Dark Side of Mitt Romney.
Come November, if Mitt Romney is the nominee and still has problems, it will be a lot larger than Bain Capital.
Think of candidate Barack Obama and what he weathered on Bill Ayers and Jeremiah Wright, but also his thin record.
Bill Clinton made it through bimbo eruptions that made “60 Minutes,” after a lounge singer produced the tapes and bragged of a long-term affair.
Anyone counting on Bain being the knockout blow on Mitt Romney is engaging in wishful thinking. It’s more likely to come through gaffes like “I like firing people…” which besides making him sound like a mean SOB, hits people emotionally that Romney doesn’t care about them, making Mitt unlikable.
Statements like this won’t help either, from Greg Sargent:
QUESTIONER: When you said that we already have a leader who divides us with the bitter politics of envy, I’m curious about the word envy. Did you suggest that anyone who questions the policies and practices of Wall Street and financial institutions, anyone who has questions about the distribution of wealth and power in this country, is envious? Is it about jealousy, or fairness?
ROMNEY: You know, I think it’s about envy. I think it’s about class warfare. When you have a president encouraging the idea of dividing America based on 99 percent versus one percent, and those people who have been most successful will be in the one percent, you have opened up a wave of approach in this country which is entirely inconsistent with the concept of one nation under God. The American people, I believe in the final analysis, will reject it.
Mitt Romney’s wrong. It’s not about envy, it’s about fundamental fairness and a playing field that people feel guys like him stack against them. If anything, this country’s long overdue for a little class warfare, if that’s what you want to call an argument meant to stir people that the middle class is being carved away.
Mitt Romney is the embodiment of everything that is wrong and has been wrong with this country’s economic system over the last 30 years. Add to that the fact that a lot of the people he is taking his economic and foreign policy advance from are ex Bush officials. Hell Romney is taking legal advice from Robert Bork!!!! Let that marinate for a second!
For my money, it’s worse than that. John Bolton endorsed him. I’m not sure Romney can make the case to America that can sell them on going back to Bush era foreign policy. Not going to happen.
OMG! John Bolton endorsed him! Wow! Bolton is certifiably nutz!
Oy. I wonder if Mitt will get smeared for his Mormonism as this wears on
Perhaps Harry Reid can lead the charge!
wow- this newt film on romney at bain is devastating. esp the k-b toy issue. charlie rose tonight very interesting with poor richard lowry hoping mitt isnt the nominee. if mitt doesnt define bain very soon he may be so damaged its over.
I just finished watching When Mitt Romney Came To Town! Damn!
Wasn’t the government involvement with the auto companies, in line with what something like a Bain Capitol would do? Old GM went through the process of bankruptcy and restructuring and emerge as the New GM, until finally just becoming GM again. The whole process involves picking who the winners and losers will be.
Bain Capital picked winners and losers. The difference is that Bain Capital made money on both the winners and losers, privatizing profits and socializing losses.Unregulated Corporations have taken over every level of the government, the media, politics and the economy.
Plutarch:
‘An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all
republics’
‘In words are seen the state of mind and character and disposition of
the speaker’. Also known as the ‘Freudian Slip’ See Mitt (I like firing people) Romney
There is an ugly side to capitalism, that has always been there.That is not exclusive to Bain/Romney. Someone making money off of losers is nothing new. It’s been happeing for a long time. A simple example is a pawn shop. They are making money off of someones misfortune. Or a couple guys that buy foreclosed homes, fixes them, then sells them. If it wasn’t for the misfortune of others, they would not be in business. Even GM restructuring made money off of losers. Say a retired GM (old GM) worker living in Massachusetts that foolishly kept most of his stock in GM and did not diversivy. Old GM stock did not get converted to New GM stock. So this guy lost, and New GM won because they no longer have this obligation.
Now I’m not defending Romney that’s all up to him. But having a discussion about Capitolism could be interesting.
You know, comrades,” says Josef Stalin, “that I think in regard to this: I consider it completely unimportant who in the party will vote, or how; but what is extraordinarily important is this — who will count the votes, and how.
I’m back my fellow Marshians. Did you all observe the power of money in Iowa? We will witness its force again in South Carolina. Remember three things about the election in November: 1. voters under 25 years of age will choose personality over party in their first or second election (war is bad, pot is good); 2. Barack Obama isn’t running against Mitt, he’s running against Wall St. and its unlimited checkbook; and 3. Republicans control 28 state legislatures and control voting rolls and rules .
BTW, Ron Paul will start a third party and take many independent college voters – Obama’s margin of victory in 2008 – with him. Do you really think Obama can defeat Mitt and the GOP, Ron Paul’s third party, Wall Street, untraceable Super Pacs, and 28 controlled Republican state legislatures (who control counting the votes?
Rattner is who I am talking about when I say the wrong people have taken over the Party. How can he say it is perfectly ethical to take out a big loan put it on a struggling company’s books when you buy it, extract the money from it’s assets,bankrupt the company and move on? How could that fit into anyone’s spiritual framework?
When people like him want to defend such practices they always mention that the money is earned for pention funds. That is supposed to make it all right. It is time those of us who have pentions start checking out where they are invested and putting some pressure on the managers. Sweden such pulled their investments out of Goldman’s and black listed them for business practices. That is what I call ethical.