There are a dozen issues with which to slam the Socialist Aristocrat, and last among them is Bain Capital. Bob
1. Does stating the facts about some less than honest business practices and/or hypocrisy of big investors like George Soros, "The Union Guy" Ron Burkle or "Not Taxed Enough" Warren Buffett et al> have the same meaning as an "attack on capitalism"?
2. Newt was a member of Advisory Board at Forstmann Little, a big white shoe investment firm which competed with some of the "vulture funds" like Bain Capital or Wilbur Ross etc., so he is very well informed about PE business and the differences in investment models. Also definitely makes him anti-"anti-capitalist" and to call him a socialist or anti-capitalists is just silly. Teddy Forstmann (RIP) and his brother Nicholas (Nick) coined the phrase "Barbarians are at the gates! Let's push the barbarians back!" Teddy was a big Republican donor and philanthropist, donating time and money to reform education system and supporting voucher programs and charter schools, among many other things (instead of donating to the Met and other "glamorous" public "causes"). Ref: Other People's Money - NYM, 2004 July 12.
Most importantly, 3. The people who denounce Gingrich as "anti-capitalist rhetoric" and "speaking the language of the left" just for pointing out problems in Romney's self-described "job-creating," "executive" and "business" background (which the left will use anyway in the general election, along with "privileged," and about specifics of which Romney is uncharacteristically shy / quiet) are themselves engaging in "speaking the language of the left" by using left-wing tactic of defusing and obfuscating issues, e.g.,:
So re being instrument of "Big Government, class warfare and language of the left", it is not Newt who is involved in it, but guess who does:
The GOP's Working Class Muddle (Santorum and Romney following Democrats class-warfare) | The Santorum and Romney campaigns are following Democrats down the class-warfare rabbit hole. - FR / WSJ, by Kimberley A. Strassel, 2012 January 06
From The GOP's Working Class Muddle
In an election that needs to be about contrasts, this is point Obama. Game on for candidate Santorum, who gets to explain why his own policies for government to reward certain classes of citizens over others are any different than Mr. Obama's. Or let's see candidate Romney knock Mr. Obama's proposals to further tax America's job creators, those Mr. Romney thinks are doing "just fine." The bigger risk is that a Republican president actually pursues these distorting economic policies, sacrificing growth. These are mistakes Ronald Reagan would never have made. The Californian was great at identifying with Everyman, but he never pitted the classes against each other. ..... < snip > < snip > ..... What both campaigns are in fact doing is following Democrats down the class-warfare rabbit hole. Spooked by the Democrats' inequality theme, the Romney and Santorum campaigns are taking the narrow view, catering to the blue-collar vote, playing the class game.
Do Republicans really want to nominate yet another Big Government "compassionate conservative Republican" or yet another privileged Harvard and/or Yale-educated lawyer/MBA?
In contrast, here's what Newt was doing post-Contract With America for conservative organizations and causes:
From Pelosi Fires Back at Gingrich - FR, posts #29, #27, 2012 January 09
Now, as Mr. Gingrich prepares to launch a run for president as early as this week, this network of advocacy and for-profit groups is providing a publicity and policy machine without parallel among his likely Republican rivals, few of whom have stirred excitement among donors and activists. His network has amassed more than 1.7 million voter and donor contacts and raised $32 million between 2009 and 2010 -- more than all his potential 2012 rivals combined. Far less clear is whether these efforts, and the extent of his organizational infrastructure, will be enough to put him out front, should Mr. Gingrich decide to seek the presidential nomination. ..... < snip > (Gingrich's Secret Weapon: Newt Inc. - WSJ, by Neil King Jr. and Patrick O'Connor, 2011 May 09 In the 13 years since he suffered a string of political setbacks and quit the third most powerful job in Washington, Newt Gingrich has been busily laying the foundation for a comeback to an even grander perch. On any given day, the former Speaker of the House can be found on a chartered jet headed to Iowa to train future GOP candidates through his American Solutions group, or in Phoenix discussing ways to lower health-care costs with drug makers through his for-profit Center for Health Transformation. He might also be in Philadelphia, narrating a film produced by Gingrich Productions, or in Texas, reaching out to conservative Latino leaders through his bilingual news and commentary website, the Americano.
What did Romney-Perry-Santorum-Bachmann-Huntsman or other "talkers" do for conservative causes and organizations during that post-Contract period that was of any tangible value, instead of engaging in the class-warfare during their campaigns?
Woe unto America. Capitalism’s “defender” is Mitt Romney. Two wolves and a sheep are agreeing unanimously what to have for lunch.
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.