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.
“Reuters reports in “Special report: Romney’s steel skeleton in the Bain closet” that Romney’s Bain Capital took a $44 million government bailout in 2002 from the federal U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp after they determined that Bain had underfunded its steel mill’s pension by $44 million.”
That’s not exactly what Reuters said. Here’ an exact quote: “What’s more, a federal government insurance agency had to pony up $44 million to bail out the company’s underfunded pension plan.”
Here’s the link:
http://news.yahoo.com/special-report-romneys-steel-skeleton-bain-closet-000653287.html
You’ll note that Reuters only says the fund was underfunded and does not even imply that Bain caused this due to it’s failure to put money in the account. Based upon what Reuters actually said, it is impossible to say whether this was Bain’s fault or was the a condition that existed prior to Bain’s involvement.
Newt is a conservative. Bucked Bush 41 tax hikes; supported a balanced budget ammendment; welfare reform; contract with America. There are some noted shady dealings involved with Bain. Taken to court and Bain lost. Newt and all of his supporters are for free enterprise but never doubt there is corruption and the voters have a right to know about it and decide for themselves.
You seem to promote censorship? trying to silence the media in favor of whomever your candidate is? where were people like you when MITT bashed Newt for being a PRIVATE CONSULTANT working for a living honestly? lies and smears? okay if its from Mitt? socilized medicine in Mass...thanks to MITT. We are not giving RomObama a free pass despite what the msm, Rove, Coulter and folks like you say...GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO NEWT
I stand with Rush Limbaugh, 100%. We and millions of other American voters of all political stripes will do all that is within the law to see that Barack Hussein Obama is defeated and the Democrat Party destroyed politically in 2012!!! And.....I really do not care who our nominee is, as long as he is not Barack Hussein “Muslim Brotherhood”, “Hate America” Obama!!! Mitt Romney will do just fine for me, and....it seems that Mr. Limbaugh is of one and the same mind!!!
****
Go ahead. Stand by Mitt. And watch as the Dems come out with this SAME news in the fall. They will rip him to shreds.
And Rush knows this. He’s seen it before. Don’t tell me all these GOP establishment fakers haven’t seen it either.
Hannity, Rush, even Levin tonight was only offering a half hearted defense of Newt ...
Seems Newt has opened up a can of worms on all these hypocrites ... good thing!!
Wow, when Rush joins the choir singing the mittens coronation song, I’m done. I WILL not vote for Mittens under any circumstances.
I am very disheartened at these so-called non-mainstream conservatives paving the way for a complete j@ck@ss like Mittens.
If mittens is annointed by rove and friends. I’m staying home. I guess I can put my baseball cap on backwards and play Call of Duty.
Trumped by Bobo being UNREELECTABLE. No-Path-To-Victory. Which is why Perry didn't get out, why Gingrich is fighting so hard to get back in the race, and Palin really, really screwed the pooch by not getting in.
The GOP primaries are the Super Bowl this year. Whoever whenever ballots up 1144 delegates, it's over. And if it happens to be Mittens, Bain Capital will be smaller than Whitewater in the rear-view mirror once it's over. Same applies to Forstmann Little if it's Gingrich.
>> They do not understand Capitalism.
Really?
Trading shares is not the embodiment of Capitalism — that activity depends on Capitalism. Capitalism can exist without a public shares market, but not vice versa.
There’s this naive perception that one cannot be a Capitalist unless the practice of value manipulation is accepted as being a good thing.
Your adultery analogy is perfect for this issue. I was contemplating the same prior to reading your post of which is pretty much on target.
Rush (and all conservatives defending Willard for that matter) = blowhard useful idiot at best, and deliberately in the tank for Romney at worst.
Capitalism is a means of creating wealth. One does not necessarily attack capitalism by attacking abuses. Some capitalists are crooks, others are immoral persons. Others are honest,are noble,or saintly. saints. But men of all these differing characters have been successful in business. Ditto those who have failed. Socialism wrong says that they are all thieves, because socialism thinks that all property is theft, to quote Proudhon. Newt is saying that Mitt presents himself as a white knight, and he is saying that the armor is tarnished.
I respect your opinion, but disagree. I am no fan of Mitt Romney!!! But.....IMHO, Newt has done himself in!!! Whenever emotion, hate or envy rules, that’s when trouble begins. An old boss once told, me, “young man never pull out your gun unless you intend to fire to kill and......be 100% you are right, then fire”!!! Newt is not POTUS material and....he has proved it time and time again with his act with Nancy Pelosi, the NY Congresswoman, Global Warming, the individual mandate, etc. Mr. Gingrich is far from the “man for all seasons, IMHO!!!
However, if you and others choose to support him, that is your right and your business, I will not!!! I want one thing and one thing only, and that is to defeat POTUS Barack Hussein “Muslim Bortherhood” Obama!!!
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