Posted on 01/11/2012 7:40:30 AM PST by Qbert
On the heels of his decisive victory in the New Hampshire primary, Mitt Romney took the attacks on his private sector record used by GOP rivals and turned them against President Obama.
Romney’s critics have accused him of destroying jobs in order to increase profits for his investment firm, Bain Capital, but speaking Wednesday on CBS, Romney said that what he did was no different from the Obama administration’s auto industry bailouts.
“In the general election I’ll be pointing out that the president took the reins at General Motors and Chrysler – closed factories, closed dealerships laid off thousands and thousands of workers – he did it to try to save the business,” Romney said Wednesday on CBS.
President Obama has publicly touted his plan to “retool and restructure” the auto companies as “an investment in American workers.” Romney was strongly opposed to the auto bailouts, but on Wednesday likened the president’s strategy to his own. “We also had the occasion to do things that are tough to try and save a business,” he said.
Bain Capital, Romney’s former firm, specializes in providing financial and management advice, often taking over distressed companies, which in some cases results in closed businesses or massive layoffs.
Romney contends that the companies Bain turned around more than make up for the layoffs, and that he helped create more than 100,000 jobs during his time there, a figure his critics contest.
Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry spent the days leading up to the primary assailing Romney for his time as an executive at Bain Capital, calling him a “vulture” capitalist and framing the firm as an unethical institution that “undermined capitalism.”
“We expected President Obama to put free enterprise on trial and to continue his rhetoric of envy and class warfare,” Romney said on MSNBC. “We’re a little surprised to see it coming from Speaker Gingrich and others, but you know, if campaigns aren’t going well people try new tacks, I don’t think it worked last night in New Hampshire, I don’t think it will work in South Carolina.”
Gingrich has himself been criticized, most prominently by influential conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, for waging attacks on Romney that his critics say are liberal, anti-capitalist arguments that will be adopted by the Obama campaign.
On Tuesday, the New Hampshire primary runner-up Ron Paul surprisingly came to Romney’s defense, saying Perry and Gingrich sounded “like Democrats” with their attacks.
“It is strange, those that are calling themselves true conservatives ended up attacking venture capitalism and capitalism in general,” Romney continued. “It suggests a bit of a desperate time for some campaigns.”
(Video at link)
Imagine this dingbat going up against Irans leadership or Putin to negotiate any dealings whatsoever....we are toast if this goes down as it looks it might if something isn’t done soon......How did we get this far down that road!
Memories of McCain seem mild if this is the tune Romney keeps singing.......they’ll both be singing to each others choir!
Let me guess...
“Taken out of context!”
quote “Thank you, Willard. Now everyone who wants to defend Romney by conflating the anti-capitalist activities of Bain Capital with “capitalism” or the “free market” may pour themselves a tall cool glass of STFU.”
ROFL
Go Newt!
" Please someone help me understand that this isn't Romney supporting Obama????? ..He did say he'd be pointing out Obamas record of saving business????"
Yep. There are so many ways he could point out the key differences between Obama's failures and corruption in the auto bailouts- and instead he plays defensive and praises him. Romney wants to show that he's the nice, even-handed guy- well, we all know what Leo Durocher said about nice guys...
"""ROMNEY.....In the general election I’ll be pointing out that (Obama) the president took the reins at General Motors and Chrysler – closed factories, closed dealerships laid off thousands and thousands of workers – he did it to try to save the business,”.......President Obama has publicly touted his plan to “retool and restructure” the auto companies as “an investment in American workers.”...(Romney was strongly opposed to the auto bailouts,.. but on Wednesday likened the president’s strategy to his own.)
Please someone help me understand that this isn't Romney supporting Obama????? ..He did say he'd be pointing out Obamas record of saving business????
If this weakling goes further in this Primary we are cooked frogs in a pot!!!! and Obama will turn the heat up even higher.
God have Mercy on all.
Romney used Bain to raid workers pension funds then stuck the government (US taxpayers) with the bill.
ROFL. Seems we have a MittBiden running. This is going to be a fun day.
Admitting that he and Obama do the same things? Romneycare and Obamacare, Automaker takeover and Bain Capitol takeover? And those who call themselves conservative support this man? There is a difference between “working with the other side” and being like the other side and conservatives had better learn to tell the difference.
All you sudden Romney lovers here, this is your guy...enjoy.
More vote for me... I’m like Obama BS.
The only difference between Romney and Obama is $50.
Under RomneyCare abortions are $50, with ObamaCare killing your baby is free.
here's an article about how Romney fired the workers (which he loves to do), looted their pension plans to line his pockets, then left US Taxpayers with the tab (just like the auto bailouts that Romney embraced today)
“Admitting that he and Obama do the same things? Romneycare and Obamacare, Automaker takeover and Bain Capitol takeover?...There is a difference between “working with the other side” and being like the other side and conservatives had better learn to tell the difference.”
Good points.
Thinkprogress is your source? Left-wing, pro-OWS, we are the 99% Thinkprogress?
who cares about the source? are you disputing the facts?
Man, THIS thread got quiet, didn’t it?
Where oh where did the Mitt-Bots go?
here’s another source if you prefer:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/06/mitt-romney-bain-capital-bailout_n_1189227.html
My Lord, who in the bloody hell is advising Romney to say such stupid things?!
This is why Mitt Romney should NEVER be President. He's too stupid to see the difference between Bain's using PRIVATE CAPITAL to turn companies around vs. the US Government STEALING TAXPAYER DOLLARS TO PERFORM UNCONSTITUTIONAL BAIL-OUTS FOR OBAMA'S BUDDIES, THE UNIONS.
If Romney gets the nomination, the Country, the American Tax Payer, and the Republican Party are all EFF'ed.
Romney has no chance in HELL of beating Obama.....zero, zilch, nada!
This is so idiotic of Romney.
He should have presented it as an either/ or.
Either we have firms like Bain that buy out and restructure companies to make a profit and/or to make the company profitable - OR we have massive government bailouts with bought and paid for politicians deciding who gets what based upon political clout rather than economic concerns (i.e. giving GM to the auto union goons and leaving the bondholders out in the cold).
“In the general election I’ll be pointing out that the president likes to fire people too,” Romney said Wednesday on CBS.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.