Posted on 01/11/2012 2:34:37 PM PST by Libloather
Right wing rips Gingrich, Perry for attacks on Romney, capitalism
By Justin Sink - 01/11/12 12:31 PM ET
Conservatives are savaging Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry for their attacks on Mitt Romney’s years at the private-equity firm Bain Capital.
The attacks from Gingrich and Perry, whose presidential campaigns are on life support, are meant to resonate in South Carolina, the next state on the GOP calendar and a place hit hard by the economic downturn.
Yet in slamming Romney as a corporate raider, the two candidates fighting for their party’s right-wing might have done what Romney never seemed capable of: rallying conservatives around the former Massachusetts governor’s campaign.
The influential Wall Street Journal editorial page denounced the criticism as “crude and damaging caricatures of modern business and capitalism” on Tuesday, saying that “desperate” GOP candidates “sound like Michael Moore,” the left-wing filmmaker and provocateur.
Other prominent conservatives similarly bemoaned what they viewed as liberal attack tactics that will be copied by President Obama’s campaign in November.
Conservative talk radio stalwart Rush Limbaugh said Monday of Gingrich’s criticism that “you could have read this in an Occupy Wall Street flier.”
“You could, after all these bites, say, ‘I’m Barack Obama, and I approve this message,’” Limbaugh said.
Former GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Tuesday warned on Fox News that candidates should shift the debate from “anti-capitalist mantra to what it is that the GOP really represents in free markets.”
Some conservatives are also warning that the attacks will backfire by galvanizing conservatives who see criticism of Romney’s Bain record as an attack on the cornerstone principle of free market capitalism.
Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) — who has not endorsed in the GOP primary race — predicted the arguments would drive Republican voters toward Romney in the upcoming South Carolina primary.
DeMint said Tuesday that Romney’s critics were “sounding like Democrats” in their attacks
“Frankly, I’m a little concerned about the few Republicans who have criticized some of what I consider free market principles here,” DeMint told talk radio host Mark Levin. “We know over half of new businesses fail ... that’s part of the creative-destruction process of free enterprise.”
Gingrich and Perry are giving their critics plenty of ammunition as they attack Romney.
A pro-Gingrich political action committee in South Carolina spent $3.4 million on a buy featuring ads deriding Romney as a “predatory corporate raider” and “scavenger.”
Perry piled on, calling attempts by Romney to sympathize with voters worried about losing their jobs “the ultimate insult.”
“I have no doubt that Mitt Romney was worried about pink slips — whether he was going to have enough of them to hand out because his company Bain Capital with all the jobs that they killed, I’m sure he was worried that he’d run out of pink slips,” Perry said while campaigning in South Carolina.
GOP strategist Ford O’Connell warned that Republicans are playing with fire.
“If the Romney attacks are seen as an attack on ‘free enterprise,’ it will backfire, because fiscal conservatives see ‘free enterprise’ as the cornerstone of conservative ideology and will protect ‘free enterprise’ at all costs,” he said.
Gingrich has maintained that his criticism is not anti-capitalist but an issue of fairness.
“I think you have to look at the specific companies we are talking about and you have to ask yourself a very tough-minded question: Is it fair to have a system, is it right, is it the kind of country you want to live in, to have a system where somebody comes in [to] take over your company, take out all the cash and leave behind a wreck, and they go off to a country club having a great time and you go off to the unemployment line,” Gingrich said Tuesday in an interview with Fox News.
“Now this is not anti-capitalism, I am not for socialism, I am not for government stopping risk-taking, but I am for some sense of fairness that the entrepreneur and the worker have a joint investment in something succeeding.”
Romney said Wednesday that Bain-related criticisms “fell flat” in New Hampshire.
“They tried it very hard, ran ads here, were up and down the state campaigning, and people in the state here said, ‘Look, we want a guy who spent some time in the private sector, not someone who spent their entire life in Washington.’ So I think it’s working for my benefit,” he told ABC.
But judging from Vice President Biden’s comments Tuesday night, conservatives are right to think Democrats are gleeful to have Republicans using their talking points on the likely GOP standard-bearer.
“He thinks it’s more important for the stockholders and the shareholders and the investors and the venture capital guys to do well [than] for those employees to be part of the bargain,” Biden said during a teleconference with New Hampshire supporters.
Sad that it took attacks from people who, despite their flaws are still unquestionably far to the right of Romney to make Mittens appear conservative.
you forgot what RINO did to Newt in the first place but it seems the elitist establishment and FOX had no problem with that.
I hope RINO is destroyed by Newt and then Newt hands it to Rick or Perry does the same to RINO.
yea got to follow Rush, well not me .
you’re speaking some crap aren’t you I don;t even support or will be voting for him.
You want to vote for RINO ROMNEY THEN KNOCK YOURSELF OUT
How about back in May on Meet the Press when he said he supports individual mandates for Obamacare, and the next day or a few days later he came out against it, or did he say he had to reclarify what he said ?
“Conservatives are savaging Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry for their attacks on Mitt Romney’s years at the private-equity firm Bain Capital. “
No, they are running cover for him, while trying not to look like they are supporting him.
“You want to vote for RINO ROMNEY THEN KNOCK YOURSELF OUT”
They are looking for a way to back Romney without “supporting” him.
Have you ever seen so many “conservatives” so rabidly circling the wagons around a guy they all supposedly won’t vote for?
Truth is many of them are the Mittbots that have been keeping low, not wanting to get zotted, now thinking the coast is clear.
Woe unto America. Capitalism’s “defender” is Mitt Romney. Two wolves and a sheep are agreeing unanimously what to have for lunch.
“FEDERAL GOVERNMENT insurance agency had to PONY UP $44 MILLION TO BAIL OUT the company’s underfunded pension plan.”
Underfunded before Bain got involved. Government insurance agency would have to bail out, anyway. Maybe Bain involvement reduced the cost to agency? Do you know?
“Nevertheless, Bain profited on the deal, receiving $12 million on its $8 million initial investment and at least $4.5 million in consulting fees.”
They are in business to profit from deals. Those fees and returns are consistent with industry norms.
“So you defend this and expect anyone to take you seriously?”
Who do you suggest as the arbiter of consulting, venture capital activities, merger & acquisition activities?
You want an all-powerfull government agency? Answer: There are already TOO MANY of those.
You believe the BS about consulting with quasi-goverment Fannie as a “historian?” Really?
thought the very same.
They think now Rush has sort of come out they can now come back on here thinking we all follow blindly what Rush says.
Then of course they also know they are in the south where Rick and Newt will do much better and threaten the RINO.
Romney and the establishment think us true socially and fiscal proper conservatives will just get into line and that is why RINO Romney has not come to us but ignored us.
Well they are mistaken very much
Did Willard cry????? Willard told cbs that what he did was the same as what Obama did with the auto bailout...hmmmmmm
Conservatives are savaging Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry for their attacks on Mitt Romney’s years at the private-equity firm Bain Capital... The influential Wall Street Journal editorial page denounced the criticism as "crude and damaging caricatures of modern business and capitalism" on Tuesday, saying that "desperate" GOP candidates "sound like Michael Moore," the left-wing filmmaker and provocateur... Conservative talk radio stalwart Rush Limbaugh said Monday of Gingrich's criticism that "you could have read this in an Occupy Wall Street flier." ...Former GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin on Tuesday warned on Fox News that candidates should shift the debate from "anti-capitalist mantra to what it is that the GOP really represents in free markets." ...Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) -- who has not endorsed in the GOP primary race -- predicted the arguments would drive Republican voters toward Romney in the upcoming South Carolina primary.The attacks on Romney sound like Ron Paul, the Only Democrat Up There. It's almost as if having Mitt in the race has helped flush out a few more prominent RINOs.
There's no law against some business practices. They may even benefit the country in the long run. But people want to feel that the President is above such behavior.
Newt is probably very familiar with the argument himself by now: there are no laws against adultery, and there are laws allowing divorce and remarriage, but a lot of people have trouble voting for someone who made use of those freedoms.
Two questions:
1) How much of Bain's activities were of the sort that many people disapprove of and how much involved activities that we would all approve of (taking a company on the ropes and bringing it back to profitability without causing undue hardship)?
2) Assuming Romney's the nominee does Newt do him a favor putting the attack out there now, so that it's old news later? Or does he simply strengthen the Democrats case against Mitt in the fall? Or doesn't it matter one way or the other, Democrats doing what they always do and Mitt being vulnerable on this whatever he does?
Too bad the right wing establishment doesnt RIP Mitt on Romneycare!!!!!!!!!!!!!! socialized medicine. How did he get a pass on that one? will you ask Rove? Coulter?
I’ve been a strong Gingrich supporter for months now, but honestly this line of attacks crossed the line. If there was anywhere else to go, my support would drift.
I’m probably going to stick with Newt solely because there’s nowhere else to go. Perry is doing the same junk (and has worse poll numbers), Huntsman and Romney are way too socially liberal for me, Santorum is way too fiscally liberal for me, and Paul is way too liberal on foreign policy for me.
And, yes, Santorum people, Santorum IS fiscally liberal. I wouldn’t give Rudy G. a pass on abortion and gay marriage because he represented NYC and that’s “normal” in that hellhole, and I’m not going to give Santorum a pass on union cuddling because he represented PA and that’s the norm there. Union thuggery is a big reason why we’re mired in an economic downturn, and RS’s leftist positions on labor are flat-out unacceptable to me.
Frustrated and a little sad.
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.