Perry Joins Rivals in Attacking Romney on Bain

New York Times ^ | January 9, 2012 | RICHARD A. OPPEL JR., The Caucus

[Cincinatus' Wife]

...Mr. Perry mocked Mr. Romney’s recent statement that there were times he had worried about losing his job, pointing out that Mr. Romney had grown up wealthy and privileged.

“I mean, he actually said this,” Mr. Perry told more than 100 diners at a breakfast gathering here.

“Now, I have no doubt Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips — whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out because his company, Bain Capital, of all the jobs that they killed,” Mr. Perry said. “I’m sure he was worried that he would run out of pink slips.”

He said that people in nearby Gaffney, S.C., in particular, “would find his comments incredible,” because it is where Mr. Perry said Bain shut down a plant and fired 150 workers.

“That didn’t happen until Mitt Romney’s private equity firm, they looted that company with more than $20 million in management fees.”

He also charged that Mr. Romney’s firm took $65 million in management fees out of a steel company in a deal in which 700 steelworkers in Georgetown, S.C., and Kansas City lost their jobs, their health insurance and “large portions” of their pensions.

“There’s nothing wrong with being successful and making money — that’s the American dream,” Mr. Perry said. “But there is something inherently wrong when getting rich off failures and sticking it to someone else is how you do your business. I happen to think that that is indefensible.”

“If you are a victim of Bain capital’s downsizing, it’s the ultimate insult for Mitt Romney to come to South Carolina and tell you he feels your pain — because he caused it,” Mr. Perry said..

[JAKraig]

There are plenty of reasons not to like Mitt. But his career as a venture capitalist acquiring faltering companies to turn around and make a buck is not one of them. . . .

___________________________________________________________

His career as a venture capitalist is certainly a weak point for Romney but I don’t think it will sit well with Republicans to attack a capitalist but it will sit well with Democrats.

The Occupy Wall Street is all about the anti Capitalist feeling on the left. I personally think that the left gives too much credit to the anti-capitalism feelings in the US. I think, hope anyway, that the majority of the US realize that it is the limits put on capatilism that have caused our woes.

I don’t know what will happen but I am afraid that people who have not been laid off will not feel that Bain did anything wrong by closing the doors of companies that were failing. Business is not in business to keep people employed, either employees earn the company money or there won’t be any employees. When Republicans start preaching the evils of Capitalism we are in deep dodo.

[World'sGoneInsane]

People here are incredible. Last week they were whining that Perry should be attacking Romney. They all should be attacking Romney. Now, when he tells it like it is, they are criticizing him.

On another thread, Romney said he likes firing people. There are actually FRs defending him. Oh, that should play across the country real well.

[sick1]

It’s pretty amazing to watch. Reagan would have NEVER gone this route and I don’t believe any of the ‘conservatives’ using this argument can effectively come across as Reagan-esque. If Pubbies have to come off like Lefites to make their case, they’ve lost.

Finance creates winners and losers - it’s that simple. Bain wasn’t unique (except for repeatable and decent returns) and they were not in the business of hiding the fact that they did leveraged buyouts. Never thought there’d be need to defend Business / Finance 101 on FR. :|

[indianrightwinger]

Attacking Romney is wonderful. Attacking him for his Bain work and layoffs resulting from re-structuring companies is outrageous.

If Romney truly did something wrong during his tenure, let us spell out exactly what he did wrong and why. Talking about it in abstract is simply Marxism out of conservative mouths.

[af_vet_rr]

Reagan would not have sat idly by if he faced somebody like Romney.

That said, people should not be playing up SC. It's an open primary and the Democrats are going to help Romney all they can, and the libertarians are going to cross over for RuPaul.

[Soundthealarm]

Yep, this is what Occupy has ALWAYS been about ... the presumed nomination of Mitt. Well, at least the cat is out of the bag BEFORE we vote. And if the “elites” in the GOP think that defending Mitt on this is gonna help Romney (or their cause) they are deceiving themselves. Mitt’s group made a bundle and left people without their retirement ... it’s sickening. Capitalism is the best economic system in the world but “unbridled” capitalism is greedy and immoral. The GOP is missing an opportunity to rail against crony capitalism thereby stealing Obama’s thunder this fall.

[TheOldLady]

We wish it grew there
Please Donate Monthly
Sponsors will donate $10 for each new monthly sign-up