Thursday, July 12, 2012

First prediction of the political season: Bain Capital is a loser for Mitt Romney

Okay folks, I am now mulling over potential predictions about the upcoming presidential election. I am ready to announce my first such prediction and it is this: the Bain Capital issue will go down as Mitt Romney's worst political miscalculation. It will be his biggest albatross around his political neck.

Now I think it is already becoming apparent that Obama is targeting this and so it's not exactly a longshot prediction, but there it is.

Obama is going to continue to exploit this as one of the things that gives concrete expression to Mitt Romney being out of touch with the common man and as favoring the middle class (the ones that get laid off in corporate takeovers) over the rich (the ones who do the laying off).

When the election is over, Romney will be sorry he ever even mentioned it.

11 comments:

KyCobb said...

Its not like Romney had any choice. He can't run on his record as governor, because his primary accomplishment was to enact the model for Obamacare. Without his supposed business acumen, what does he have left to run on, his perfect hair?

Old Rebel said...

Not that I'd lift a finger to defend Romney, but all he has to do is point out the Democrats' own promotion of outsourcing.

Bill Clinton signed NAFTA into law. Obama approved the Korean version. And Robert Reich is a featured speaker on a world forum on outsourcing.

It's enough to make you think there's not a dime's worth of difference between the two parties!

Art said...

Obama is going to continue to exploit this as one of the things that gives concrete expression to Mitt Romney being out of touch with the common man and as favoring the middle class (the ones that get laid off in corporate takeovers) over the rich (the ones who do the laying off).

Don't you mean "Obama is going to continue to exploit this as one of the things that gives concrete expression to Mitt Romney being out of touch with the common man and as favoring the rich (the ones who do the laying off) over the middle class (the ones that get laid off in corporate takeovers)."

Martin Cothran said...

Art,

Yes. Thanks.

Anonymous said...

Martin, surely there are plenty of doctors in Louisville who could easily remove that Mormon bug from your rear end.

Martin Cothran said...

I'm not sure, however, there are doctors out there equally adept at removing blockages that would account for your completely ignoring my previous posts on this issues.

Just to remind you, I have said I have no problem voting for a Mormon as long as the Mormon in question doesn't make it a reason for voting for him. Romney hasn't done this, so I have no problem with him in that regard.

I have happily voted for Mormon candidates in the past (e.g. former state senator Dan Kelly, whom I not only voted for, but campaigned for.)

In fact, you are apparently under the impression that oppose or plan on not voting for Romney. Neither is the case.

I would try reading the post again. I was merely commenting on a mistake I think he has made that he'll live to regret. I wish he had not made it. Then again, I wish he had not ever been a corporate raider, then when (not if) I vote for him, I could do it a little more enthusiastically.

Anonymous said...

You need to get your anti-business terminolgy correct, Martin. Bain never was and is not now a corporate raider. Corporate raiders can insert themselves into public companies by stock accumulations, sometimes for the good, and sometimes for the bad as in greenmail where they are paid to merely go away. Bain puts up it's own capital with companies they work with, overwhelmingly at the request of companies which requested Bain involvement. There are cases where Bain would approach companies and offer their services, but they could never force themselves in like corporate raiders ala the fictional Gordon Gekko would do and dictate terms. Finally, are Americans laid off or fired by GM or GE or UK or Krogers or even government somehow different from those laid off by Bain involved companies? Were there no success stories for Bain and the comapnies they worked with and their employees?

KyCobb said...

Martin,

" I was merely commenting on a mistake I think he has made that he'll live to regret. I wish he had not made it."

I would like to know what you think his option was. Romney has three major accomplishments on his resume: 1. He ran an extremely successful private equity firm, Bain Capital; 2. He ran a sporting event; 3. As Governor of Massachusetts he enacted the model for the Affordable Care Act, bringing near universal health care to his state. Since he can't run on his record as governor, and you think he shouldn't run on his business experience, that would leave him arguing that he is qualified to be president because he ran a sports event. See the problem?

Anonymous said...

bPS, Martin. Show me anyone enthusiastic about Romney and I'll show you someone named Romney or a fat cat Republican lobbyist/operative or someone who stands to gain a federal job. This guy could lose to Obama, but the rest of that GOP field would have been wiped out and Barack could schedule tee times five days a week and Michelle and her girlfriends would wear out three airplanes on world tours/vacations. To paraphrase Rumsfeld, you run the election with the army you've got.

Art said...

Romney's Bain problem has a chance to get worse.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-07-15/romney-s-bain-yielded-private-gains-socialized-losses.html

The money quote:

"Romney privatized the gains and socialized the losses."

Yeah, that bodes well for our nation's economy in a Romney administration.

His cavalier attitude in business also should scare Americans when it comes to foreign policy. For Romney's foreign policy looks to be pretty cavalier when it comes to American lives and taxpayer dollars. He likely will have no problem "spending" (I am sure he would say "investing", an equally odious term) American soldiers' lives to protect wealthy corporate interests.

Lee said...

A couple weeks later, and...

Martin's prediction looks like a bust.

Rasmussen has Romney 5 points ahead.

The economy has Obama 5 points behind.

Too early to get cocky. But I wouldn't be popping any champagne corks just yet if I were on Team Obama.