Make a Difference
I believe in America’s greatness. The resilience of our people—coupled with real leadership—is enough to overcome any great challenge.
A contribution from you, today, will go towards advancing a campaign that is centered on job creation and economic growth.
Please donate. Together, we’ll make certain America remains the greatest nation on Earth.
Thanks,
Mitt
0
Options
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,999
Make a Difference
I believe in America’s greatness. The resilience of our people—coupled with real leadership—is enough to overcome any great challenge.
A contribution from you, today, will go towards advancing a campaign that is centered on job creation and economic growth.
Please donate. Together, we’ll make certain America remains the greatest nation on Earth.
Thanks,
Mitt
Damn, dude, all this time--- you're Mitt! :shock:
Umm, how to find time to post here on a rock band's fan site? Shouldn't you be out... you know... doing whatever it is you do?
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
Make a Difference
I believe in America’s greatness. The resilience of our people—coupled with real leadership—is enough to overcome any great challenge.
A contribution from you, today, will go towards advancing a campaign that is centered on job creation and economic growth.
Please donate. Together, we’ll make certain America remains the greatest nation on Earth.
Thanks,
Mitt
Damn, dude, all this time--- you're Mitt! :shock:
Umm, how to find time to post here on a rock band's fan site? Shouldn't you be out... you know... doing whatever it is you do?
Mitt is a Pearl Jam fan! Didn't you know?
0
Options
brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,999
Make a Difference
I believe in America’s greatness. The resilience of our people—coupled with real leadership—is enough to overcome any great challenge.
A contribution from you, today, will go towards advancing a campaign that is centered on job creation and economic growth.
Please donate. Together, we’ll make certain America remains the greatest nation on Earth.
Thanks,
Mitt
Wow, another email where he gives no indication of his ideas, plans or how he'll improve the country. Just money I guess.
This show, another show, a show here and a show there.
@BorowitzReport
If Mitt Romney believes in America, why is his money in Switzerland?
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
Please donate. Together, we’ll make certain America remains the greatest nation on Earth.
Because greatness is something that can be defined by, or reduced to, money, right?
To Mitt Romney, yes.
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
I'd be impressed if he sent out that email while on the back of the jet ski he was on yesterday. Millions of dollars, 4 houses and he asks for money while on a lavish vacation. Yep, this guy understands the problems of the everyman.
This show, another show, a show here and a show there.
"I went out and began a business, and the business turned out to be far more successful than I ever would have imagined," Romney said of his tenure at Bain Capital.
Responding to Obama's tax cut proposal unveiled Monday, Romney accused the president of introducing a plan that would hurt small businesses and said it adds "insult to injury" to a country already suffering under high unemployment and dismal job creation numbers.
"It's the sort of thing only an extreme liberal could come up with," Romney declared.
Make a Difference
I believe in America’s greatness. The resilience of our people—coupled with real leadership—is enough to overcome any great challenge.
A contribution from you, today, will go towards advancing a campaign that is centered on job creation and economic growth.
Please donate. Together, we’ll make certain America remains the greatest nation on Earth.
Thanks,
Mitt
Damn, dude, all this time--- you're Mitt! :shock:
Umm, how to find time to post here on a rock band's fan site? Shouldn't you be out... you know... doing whatever it is you do?
and basically support everyone but Mitt until the nomination was all but secured. i knew Mitt liked to flip flop but this is extreme even for him
NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) – Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney today released this letter to the American people:
Dear American Person:
As many of you know, in recent days my opponent has spread the rumors that 1.) I have refused to make my tax returns public and 2.) I have hidden my money in bank accounts in Switzerland and the Caymans. These two rumors, while true, have made me look very bad. So I thought I would take this opportunity to explain my finances in terms even a poor person could understand.
Let’s say you met the love of your life, and you wrote her a series of passionate love letters. In these letters, you told her how you intended to protect her, cherish her, and always keep her safe. And then let’s say somebody went and told you that you had to make those love letters available for the world to see. If you’re even half the man I am, you’d say, “Heck no.”
Well, in my case, the love of my life is my money. (If you don’t believe me, ask Ann.) And my tax returns are like my love letters to my money, detailing the lengths to which I’ll go to keep my precious money from being taken away from me. If you think I should make those love letters public, then I’m sorry, my friend, but you don’t believe in love.
Now, let’s say you asked the love of your life to marry you, and you’re fortunate enough that she said “yes.” Should someone be able to force you to spend your honeymoon in a ratty room at some Motel 6, where God knows what crackheads and whores slept before you? Or should you be allowed to take your bride to a five-star Swiss chateau, perhaps, or an exclusive beach on Grand Cayman? I think you can see where I’m going with this.
In conclusion: if refusing to release my tax returns and having foreign bank accounts is wrong, I don’t want to be right. I did it all for love. And as your President, I promise I will never, ever come between you and the thing you love. Unless you’re gay. (Laughing Out Loud.)
Vote for Me,
Mitt Romney
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
Mitt Romney stayed at Bain 3 years longer than he stated Firm’s 2002 filings identify him as CEO, though he said he left in 1999
Government documents filed by Mitt Romney and Bain Capital say Romney remained chief executive and chairman of the firm three years beyond the date he said he ceded control, even creating five new investment partnerships during that time.
Romney has said he left Bain in 1999 to lead the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, ending his role in the company. But public Securities and Exchange Commission documents filed later by Bain Capital state he remained the firm’s “sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president.”
Also, a Massachusetts financial disclosure form Romney filed in 2003 states that he still owned 100 percent of Bain Capital in 2002. And Romney’s state financial disclosure forms indicate he earned at least $100,000 as a Bain “executive” in 2001 and 2002, separate from investment earnings.
The timing of Romney’s departure from Bain is a key point of contention because he has said his resignation in February 1999 meant he was not responsible for Bain Capital companies that went bankrupt or laid off workers after that date.
Contradictions concerning the length of Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital add to the uncertainty and questions about his finances. Bain is the primary source of Romney’s wealth, which is estimated to be more than $25o million. But how his wealth has been invested, especially in a variety of Bain partnerships and other investment vehicles, remains difficult to decipher because of a lack of transparency.
The Obama campaign and other Democrats have raised questions about his unwillingness to release tax returns filed before 2010; his offshore assets, which include investment entities based in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands and a recently closed bank account in Switzerland; and a set of “blind trusts” that meet the Massachusetts standards for public officials but not the more rigorous bar set by the federal government.
Romney did not finalize a severance agreement with Bain until 2002, a 10-year deal with undisclosed terms that was retroactive to 1999. It expired in 2009.
Bain Capital and the campaign for the presumptive GOP nominee have suggested the SEC filings that show Romney as the man in charge during those additional three years have little meaning, and are the result of legal technicalities. The campaign declined to comment on the record. It pointed to a footnote in Romney’s most recent financial disclosure form, filed June 1 as a presidential candidate.
“Since February 11, 1999, Mr. Romney has not had any active role with any Bain Capital entity and has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way,’’ according to the footnote. Romney made the same assertion on a financial disclosure form in 2007, during his first run for president.
According to a statement issued by Bain Wednesday, “Mitt Romney retired from Bain Capital in February 1999. He has had no involvement in the management or investment activities of Bain Capital, or with any of its portfolio companies, since that time.”
A former SEC commissioner told the Globe that the SEC documents listing Romney as Bain’s chief executive between 1999 and 2002 cannot be dismissed so easily.
“You can’t say statements filed with the SEC are meaningless. This is a fact in an SEC filing,” said Roberta S. Karmel, now a professor at Brooklyn Law School.
“It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to say he was technically in charge on paper but he had nothing to do with Bain’s operations,” Karmel continued. “Was he getting paid? He’s the sole stockholder. Are you telling me he owned the company but had no say in its investments?”
The Globe found nine SEC filings submitted by four different business entities after February 1999 that describe Romney as Bain Capital’s boss; some show him with managerial control over five Bain Capital entities that were formed in January 2002, according to records in Delaware, where they were incorporated.
A Romney campaign official, who requested anonymity to discuss the SEC filings, acknowledged that they “do not square with common sense.” But SEC regulations are complicated and quirky, the official argued, and Romney’s signature on some documents after his exit does not indicate active involvement in the firm.
A spokesman for the SEC said the commission could not comment on individual company filings or address the meaning of Romney’s name and title on the documents.
Karmel, the former SEC commissioner, said the contradictory statements could have legal implications in some instances.
“If someone invested with Bain Capital because they believed Mitt Romney was a great fund manager, and it turns out he wasn’t really doing anything, that could be considered a misrepresentation to the investor,’’ she said. “It’s a theory that could be used in a lawsuit against him.”
Romney first deployed the defense that he left the firm in February 1999 as a candidate for governor in 2002, when Democrat Shannon O’Brien featured a laid-off worker from a Kansas City steel mill that went bankrupt in 2001, after Bain Capital had reaped a handsome profit from its investment in the company. “Romney has taken responsibility for making the initial investment but has said he could not be blamed for management decisions at the company,” the Globe reported at the time.
Romney’s exit from Bain Capital also served as a ready-made rebuttal when in May President Obama’s reelection campaign began its public scrutiny of Romney’s business record with an ad focusing on former laborers at the same mill, GST Steel. But the SEC filings examined by the Globe indicate Romney remained at the helm of Bain Capital when the steel mill declared bankruptcy, in February 2001.
And financial disclosure documents Romney filed in Massachusetts show that he was paid as a Bain Capital executive while he directed the Olympics.
When he was named chief executive of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee on Feb. 11, 1999, Romney declared that he would not accept the job’s $285,000 annual salary until the Games were over and he had proven his turnaround worth.
Romney continued to draw a six-figure salary from Bain Capital, according to State Ethics Commission forms.
In Romney’s 2002 race for governor, he testified before the state Ballot Law Commission that his separation from Bain in 1999 had been a “leave of absence” and not a final departure.
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
President Obama recently said, "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."
Comments like that are a slap in the face to the American Dream and reveal the President's naïve view that government, and not the hard work, talent, and initiative of people, is the center of society and the economy. Clearly, this President doesn't understand how our economy works.
Mitt Romney knows from experience that hard-working individuals create successful businesses. Americans have run out of patience -- donate today to send a message to President Obama that there is one clear choice this November.
Donate today and stand with Mitt.
Matt Rhoades
Campaign Manager
Romney for President
And, in other news...upsates on the next American Century! See end.
Mitt Romney unveiled an aggressive new stump speech Tuesday, accusing President Barack Obama of being too cozy with political donors and suggesting the president wants Americans to be "ashamed of success."
Speaking to several hundred supporters at a wireless services company outside Pittsburgh, Romney took aim at Obama's comments at a campaign event in Virginia last Friday in which he emphasized the role government played in building private enterprise.
"Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive," Obama said Friday, citing the teachers and people who build "roads and bridges." He continued: "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."
Romney seized on Obama's comment, calling it "foolishness" and "insulting to every entrepreneur and every innovator in America." He said it exposed what Obama "really thinks" about the country and argued it was more proof that the president's administration is hostile towards business.
"President Obama attacks success. And, therefore, under President Obama, we have less success," Romney said. "I will change that."
Addressing the crowd in a more passionate tone than he has exhibited on the campaign trail in months, Romney called Obama's comments "startling and revealing" and said he found it "extraordinary that a philosophy of that nature would be spoken by the president of the United States."
Linking back to an argument he made early in his campaign but has not repeated in recent months, Romney argued that Obama's comments were proof that that the upcoming election is about the country's "soul."
"This campaign is to a great degree about the soul of America," Romney said. "Do we believe in an America that is great because of government or do we believe in an America that is great because of free people allowed to pursue their dream and build their future?"
Lis Smith, an Obama campaign spokeswoman, trashed Romney's "over the top attacks."
Coming after days of criticism from fellow Republicans that he hasn't shown enough "fight" in the race, Romney's remarks were longer than his usual stump speech—lasting almost a half hour. And, unlike other recent speeches, he repeatedly made mention of "God," telling the crowd that the country was created by "God's will," not government—statements that elicited wild cheers and applause from his fired-up crowd of supporters.
The presumptive GOP nominee renewed his attack launched Monday, in which he accused Obama of rewarding political contributors and supporters with political stimulus funds and access to federal loans.
"I'm ashamed to say that we're seeing our president hand out money to the businesses of campaign contributors," Romney said at one point.
But Romney largely focused on the larger picture of what he called Obama's hostility toward business—which he argued has been a setback to efforts to revive the economy and has, in turn, made life tougher for struggling Americans. He accused Obama of "crushing economic freedom" in the country with burdensome regulations.
"I'm convinced he wants Americans to be ashamed of success," Romney declared. "I want Americans to welcome and celebrate success and to encourage people to reach as high as they can. … I don't want government to take credit for what the individuals of America accomplish." Romney called the upcoming election a "defining choice about what America is going to be"—a choice, he said that will not only impact future generations of Americans but the "world."
President Obama recently said, "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."
Comments like that are a slap in the face to the American Dream and reveal the President's naïve view that government, and not the hard work, talent, and initiative of people, is the center of society and the economy. Clearly, this President doesn't understand how our economy works.
Mitt Romney knows from experience that hard-working individuals create successful businesses. Americans have run out of patience -- donate today to send a message to President Obama that there is one clear choice this November.
Donate today and stand with Mitt.
Matt Rhoades
Campaign Manager
Romney for President
CONservative governMENt
Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. - Louis Brandeis
President Obama recently said, "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."
Comments like that are a slap in the face to the American Dream and reveal the President's naïve view that government, and not the hard work, talent, and initiative of people, is the center of society and the economy. Clearly, this President doesn't understand how our economy works.
Mitt Romney knows from experience that hard-working individuals create successful businesses. Americans have run out of patience -- donate today to send a message to President Obama that there is one clear choice this November.
Donate today and stand with Mitt.
Matt Rhoades
Campaign Manager
Romney for President
Why hang on every word that any politician says? No matter the party, they're out for themselves.
Too true
too true
.... and yet people somehow still have some sort of belief in politicians. or at least realise that democracy as we know is a steaming pile of shit.. and that politicians arent there to do good for us but to pad their own legacy.
hear my name
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
Why hang on every word that any politician says? No matter the party, they're out for themselves.
Too true
too true
.... and yet people somehow still have some sort of belief in politicians. or at least realise that democracy as we know is a steaming pile of shit.. and that politicians arent there to do good for us but to pad their own legacy.
yep. pretty sad that we're foced to vote for the lesser of two evils.
This show, another show, a show here and a show there.
John McCain: Sarah Palin Was a Better Candidate Than Mitt Romney
John McCain didn't mean to throw shade at Mitt Romney in his interview with Politico today: his point was that he saw Romney's mysterious tax returns when he vetted him for VP back in 2008. But what most people seem to be taking away from the interview is his explanation of why he chose Sarah Palin over Romney — "Because we thought that Sarah Palin was the better candidate."
Yes, Sarah Palin, as seen in HBO's Game Change. And naturally McCain would say that, because this is politics and not The Apprentice, so he can't throw Palin under the bus. Still, it makes for a good soundbite for the anti-Romney crowd to latch onto. Sarah Palin: more electable than Mitt Romney.
McCain, who didn't mince words with the Politico reporter, was annoyed by the question.
Why did we not take [Tim] Pawlenty, why did we not take any of the other 10 other people. Why didn't I? Because we had a better candidate, the same way with all the others. ... Come on, why? That's a stupid question.
And that's how you hurt a reporter's feelings.
Later on, McCain also chastised people in the media for taking his quote out of context, clarifying that, "I have the highest respect for Governor Romney and his record of public service, and he will make an outstanding president."
John McCain: Sarah Palin Was a Better Candidate Than Mitt Romney
John McCain didn't mean to throw shade at Mitt Romney in his interview with Politico today: his point was that he saw Romney's mysterious tax returns when he vetted him for VP back in 2008. But what most people seem to be taking away from the interview is his explanation of why he chose Sarah Palin over Romney — "Because we thought that Sarah Palin was the better candidate."
Yes, Sarah Palin, as seen in HBO's Game Change. And naturally McCain would say that, because this is politics and not The Apprentice, so he can't throw Palin under the bus. Still, it makes for a good soundbite for the anti-Romney crowd to latch onto. Sarah Palin: more electable than Mitt Romney.
McCain, who didn't mince words with the Politico reporter, was annoyed by the question.
Why did we not take [Tim] Pawlenty, why did we not take any of the other 10 other people. Why didn't I? Because we had a better candidate, the same way with all the others. ... Come on, why? That's a stupid question.
And that's how you hurt a reporter's feelings.
Later on, McCain also chastised people in the media for taking his quote out of context, clarifying that, "I have the highest respect for Governor Romney and his record of public service, and he will make an outstanding president."
McCain would really hate this post.
He's probably right. She rallies the crazies in the GOP.
This show, another show, a show here and a show there.
"I think young voters in this country have to vote for me if they're really thinking of what's in the best interest of the country and what's in their personal best interest," Romney said as he stood next to Rubio, R-Fla.
USA
Woot!
August 01, 2003
Hunter S. Thompson....from his book "Kingdom Of Fear"
Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads? Who among us can be happy and proud of having all this innocent blood on our hands? Who are these swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid little rich kids like George Bush?
They are the same ones who wanted Muhammad Ali locked up for refusing to kill gooks. They speak for all that is cruel and stupid and vicious in the American character. They are the racists and hate mongers among us- they are the Ku Klux Klan. I piss down the throats of these Nazis.
And I am too old to worry about whether they like it or not. Fuck them.
"I think young voters in this country have to vote for me if they're really thinking of what's in the best interest of the country and what's in their personal best interest," Romney said as he stood next to Rubio, R-Fla.
USA
Woot!
August 01, 2003
Hunter S. Thompson....from his book "Kingdom Of Fear"
Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads? Who among us can be happy and proud of having all this innocent blood on our hands? Who are these swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid little rich kids like George Bush?
They are the same ones who wanted Muhammad Ali locked up for refusing to kill gooks. They speak for all that is cruel and stupid and vicious in the American character. They are the racists and hate mongers among us- they are the Ku Klux Klan. I piss down the throats of these Nazis.
And I am too old to worry about whether they like it or not. Fuck them.
One of the greatest voices of the second half of the 20th century and early in the 21st. Always speaking the truth. There will never be another like HST. He said it perfectly in that second paragraph.
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
Shows: 6.27.08 Hartford, CT/5.15.10 Hartford, CT/6.18.2011 Hartford, CT (EV Solo)/10.19.13 Brooklyn/10.25.13 Hartford
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
Comments
How about he posts a video about the worst things in America and then finally says what he can do to fix it!
woot woot ..
I believe in America’s greatness. The resilience of our people—coupled with real leadership—is enough to overcome any great challenge.
A contribution from you, today, will go towards advancing a campaign that is centered on job creation and economic growth.
Please donate. Together, we’ll make certain America remains the greatest nation on Earth.
Thanks,
Mitt
Damn, dude, all this time--- you're Mitt! :shock:
Umm, how to find time to post here on a rock band's fan site? Shouldn't you be out... you know... doing whatever it is you do?
Paul, it's mind boggling shit like this that keeps me up late at night!
Because greatness is something that can be defined by, or reduced to, money, right?
Wow, another email where he gives no indication of his ideas, plans or how he'll improve the country. Just money I guess.
@BorowitzReport
If Mitt Romney believes in America, why is his money in Switzerland?
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
http://www.obamanomicsoutsourced.com/
"I went out and began a business, and the business turned out to be far more successful than I ever would have imagined," Romney said of his tenure at Bain Capital.
Responding to Obama's tax cut proposal unveiled Monday, Romney accused the president of introducing a plan that would hurt small businesses and said it adds "insult to injury" to a country already suffering under high unemployment and dismal job creation numbers.
"It's the sort of thing only an extreme liberal could come up with," Romney declared.
and basically support everyone but Mitt until the nomination was all but secured. i knew Mitt liked to flip flop but this is extreme even for him
My Finances
An Explanation from Mitt Romney
NEW YORK (The Borowitz Report) – Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney today released this letter to the American people:
Dear American Person:
As many of you know, in recent days my opponent has spread the rumors that 1.) I have refused to make my tax returns public and 2.) I have hidden my money in bank accounts in Switzerland and the Caymans. These two rumors, while true, have made me look very bad. So I thought I would take this opportunity to explain my finances in terms even a poor person could understand.
Let’s say you met the love of your life, and you wrote her a series of passionate love letters. In these letters, you told her how you intended to protect her, cherish her, and always keep her safe. And then let’s say somebody went and told you that you had to make those love letters available for the world to see. If you’re even half the man I am, you’d say, “Heck no.”
Well, in my case, the love of my life is my money. (If you don’t believe me, ask Ann.) And my tax returns are like my love letters to my money, detailing the lengths to which I’ll go to keep my precious money from being taken away from me. If you think I should make those love letters public, then I’m sorry, my friend, but you don’t believe in love.
Now, let’s say you asked the love of your life to marry you, and you’re fortunate enough that she said “yes.” Should someone be able to force you to spend your honeymoon in a ratty room at some Motel 6, where God knows what crackheads and whores slept before you? Or should you be allowed to take your bride to a five-star Swiss chateau, perhaps, or an exclusive beach on Grand Cayman? I think you can see where I’m going with this.
In conclusion: if refusing to release my tax returns and having foreign bank accounts is wrong, I don’t want to be right. I did it all for love. And as your President, I promise I will never, ever come between you and the thing you love. Unless you’re gay. (Laughing Out Loud.)
Vote for Me,
Mitt Romney
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
http://bostonglobe.com/news/politics/20 ... kip-target
Mitt Romney stayed at Bain 3 years longer than he stated
Firm’s 2002 filings identify him as CEO, though he said he left in 1999
Government documents filed by Mitt Romney and Bain Capital say Romney remained chief executive and chairman of the firm three years beyond the date he said he ceded control, even creating five new investment partnerships during that time.
Romney has said he left Bain in 1999 to lead the winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, ending his role in the company. But public Securities and Exchange Commission documents filed later by Bain Capital state he remained the firm’s “sole stockholder, chairman of the board, chief executive officer, and president.”
Also, a Massachusetts financial disclosure form Romney filed in 2003 states that he still owned 100 percent of Bain Capital in 2002. And Romney’s state financial disclosure forms indicate he earned at least $100,000 as a Bain “executive” in 2001 and 2002, separate from investment earnings.
The timing of Romney’s departure from Bain is a key point of contention because he has said his resignation in February 1999 meant he was not responsible for Bain Capital companies that went bankrupt or laid off workers after that date.
Contradictions concerning the length of Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital add to the uncertainty and questions about his finances. Bain is the primary source of Romney’s wealth, which is estimated to be more than $25o million. But how his wealth has been invested, especially in a variety of Bain partnerships and other investment vehicles, remains difficult to decipher because of a lack of transparency.
The Obama campaign and other Democrats have raised questions about his unwillingness to release tax returns filed before 2010; his offshore assets, which include investment entities based in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands and a recently closed bank account in Switzerland; and a set of “blind trusts” that meet the Massachusetts standards for public officials but not the more rigorous bar set by the federal government.
Romney did not finalize a severance agreement with Bain until 2002, a 10-year deal with undisclosed terms that was retroactive to 1999. It expired in 2009.
Bain Capital and the campaign for the presumptive GOP nominee have suggested the SEC filings that show Romney as the man in charge during those additional three years have little meaning, and are the result of legal technicalities. The campaign declined to comment on the record. It pointed to a footnote in Romney’s most recent financial disclosure form, filed June 1 as a presidential candidate.
“Since February 11, 1999, Mr. Romney has not had any active role with any Bain Capital entity and has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way,’’ according to the footnote. Romney made the same assertion on a financial disclosure form in 2007, during his first run for president.
According to a statement issued by Bain Wednesday, “Mitt Romney retired from Bain Capital in February 1999. He has had no involvement in the management or investment activities of Bain Capital, or with any of its portfolio companies, since that time.”
A former SEC commissioner told the Globe that the SEC documents listing Romney as Bain’s chief executive between 1999 and 2002 cannot be dismissed so easily.
“You can’t say statements filed with the SEC are meaningless. This is a fact in an SEC filing,” said Roberta S. Karmel, now a professor at Brooklyn Law School.
“It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to say he was technically in charge on paper but he had nothing to do with Bain’s operations,” Karmel continued. “Was he getting paid? He’s the sole stockholder. Are you telling me he owned the company but had no say in its investments?”
The Globe found nine SEC filings submitted by four different business entities after February 1999 that describe Romney as Bain Capital’s boss; some show him with managerial control over five Bain Capital entities that were formed in January 2002, according to records in Delaware, where they were incorporated.
A Romney campaign official, who requested anonymity to discuss the SEC filings, acknowledged that they “do not square with common sense.” But SEC regulations are complicated and quirky, the official argued, and Romney’s signature on some documents after his exit does not indicate active involvement in the firm.
A spokesman for the SEC said the commission could not comment on individual company filings or address the meaning of Romney’s name and title on the documents.
Karmel, the former SEC commissioner, said the contradictory statements could have legal implications in some instances.
“If someone invested with Bain Capital because they believed Mitt Romney was a great fund manager, and it turns out he wasn’t really doing anything, that could be considered a misrepresentation to the investor,’’ she said. “It’s a theory that could be used in a lawsuit against him.”
Romney first deployed the defense that he left the firm in February 1999 as a candidate for governor in 2002, when Democrat Shannon O’Brien featured a laid-off worker from a Kansas City steel mill that went bankrupt in 2001, after Bain Capital had reaped a handsome profit from its investment in the company. “Romney has taken responsibility for making the initial investment but has said he could not be blamed for management decisions at the company,” the Globe reported at the time.
Romney’s exit from Bain Capital also served as a ready-made rebuttal when in May President Obama’s reelection campaign began its public scrutiny of Romney’s business record with an ad focusing on former laborers at the same mill, GST Steel. But the SEC filings examined by the Globe indicate Romney remained at the helm of Bain Capital when the steel mill declared bankruptcy, in February 2001.
And financial disclosure documents Romney filed in Massachusetts show that he was paid as a Bain Capital executive while he directed the Olympics.
When he was named chief executive of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee on Feb. 11, 1999, Romney declared that he would not accept the job’s $285,000 annual salary until the Games were over and he had proven his turnaround worth.
Romney continued to draw a six-figure salary from Bain Capital, according to State Ethics Commission forms.
In Romney’s 2002 race for governor, he testified before the state Ballot Law Commission that his separation from Bain in 1999 had been a “leave of absence” and not a final departure.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
"Being president is about leading, and President Obama has failed to lead. No wonder Americans are losing faith in his presidency," Romney said
Romney Rice
Woot!
Romney will continue to play to special interests.... THAT is worthless to me. He would be as useless as Obama.
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/ticket/casi ... 42443.html
wot woot ..
government cheese?
President Obama recently said, "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."
Comments like that are a slap in the face to the American Dream and reveal the President's naïve view that government, and not the hard work, talent, and initiative of people, is the center of society and the economy. Clearly, this President doesn't understand how our economy works.
Mitt Romney knows from experience that hard-working individuals create successful businesses. Americans have run out of patience -- donate today to send a message to President Obama that there is one clear choice this November.
Donate today and stand with Mitt.
Matt Rhoades
Campaign Manager
Romney for President
And, in other news...upsates on the next American Century! See end.
Mitt Romney unveiled an aggressive new stump speech Tuesday, accusing President Barack Obama of being too cozy with political donors and suggesting the president wants Americans to be "ashamed of success."
Speaking to several hundred supporters at a wireless services company outside Pittsburgh, Romney took aim at Obama's comments at a campaign event in Virginia last Friday in which he emphasized the role government played in building private enterprise.
"Somebody helped to create this unbelievable American system that we have that allowed you to thrive," Obama said Friday, citing the teachers and people who build "roads and bridges." He continued: "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen."
Romney seized on Obama's comment, calling it "foolishness" and "insulting to every entrepreneur and every innovator in America." He said it exposed what Obama "really thinks" about the country and argued it was more proof that the president's administration is hostile towards business.
"President Obama attacks success. And, therefore, under President Obama, we have less success," Romney said. "I will change that."
Addressing the crowd in a more passionate tone than he has exhibited on the campaign trail in months, Romney called Obama's comments "startling and revealing" and said he found it "extraordinary that a philosophy of that nature would be spoken by the president of the United States."
Linking back to an argument he made early in his campaign but has not repeated in recent months, Romney argued that Obama's comments were proof that that the upcoming election is about the country's "soul."
"This campaign is to a great degree about the soul of America," Romney said. "Do we believe in an America that is great because of government or do we believe in an America that is great because of free people allowed to pursue their dream and build their future?"
Lis Smith, an Obama campaign spokeswoman, trashed Romney's "over the top attacks."
Coming after days of criticism from fellow Republicans that he hasn't shown enough "fight" in the race, Romney's remarks were longer than his usual stump speech—lasting almost a half hour. And, unlike other recent speeches, he repeatedly made mention of "God," telling the crowd that the country was created by "God's will," not government—statements that elicited wild cheers and applause from his fired-up crowd of supporters.
The presumptive GOP nominee renewed his attack launched Monday, in which he accused Obama of rewarding political contributors and supporters with political stimulus funds and access to federal loans.
"I'm ashamed to say that we're seeing our president hand out money to the businesses of campaign contributors," Romney said at one point.
But Romney largely focused on the larger picture of what he called Obama's hostility toward business—which he argued has been a setback to efforts to revive the economy and has, in turn, made life tougher for struggling Americans. He accused Obama of "crushing economic freedom" in the country with burdensome regulations.
"I'm convinced he wants Americans to be ashamed of success," Romney declared. "I want Americans to welcome and celebrate success and to encourage people to reach as high as they can. … I don't want government to take credit for what the individuals of America accomplish."
Romney called the upcoming election a "defining choice about what America is going to be"—a choice, he said that will not only impact future generations of Americans but the "world."
WOOT!
Our government is the potent, the omnipresent teacher. For good or for ill, it teaches the whole people by its example. Crime is contagious. If the government becomes a law-breaker, it breeds contempt for law; it invites every man to become a law unto himself; it invites anarchy. - Louis Brandeis
Too true
.... and yet people somehow still have some sort of belief in politicians. or at least realise that democracy as we know is a steaming pile of shit.. and that politicians arent there to do good for us but to pad their own legacy.
take a good look
this could be the day
hold my hand
lie beside me
i just need to say
yep. pretty sad that we're foced to vote for the lesser of two evils.
John McCain: Sarah Palin Was a Better Candidate Than Mitt Romney
John McCain didn't mean to throw shade at Mitt Romney in his interview with Politico today: his point was that he saw Romney's mysterious tax returns when he vetted him for VP back in 2008. But what most people seem to be taking away from the interview is his explanation of why he chose Sarah Palin over Romney — "Because we thought that Sarah Palin was the better candidate."
Yes, Sarah Palin, as seen in HBO's Game Change. And naturally McCain would say that, because this is politics and not The Apprentice, so he can't throw Palin under the bus. Still, it makes for a good soundbite for the anti-Romney crowd to latch onto. Sarah Palin: more electable than Mitt Romney.
McCain, who didn't mince words with the Politico reporter, was annoyed by the question.
Why did we not take [Tim] Pawlenty, why did we not take any of the other 10 other people. Why didn't I? Because we had a better candidate, the same way with all the others. ... Come on, why? That's a stupid question.
And that's how you hurt a reporter's feelings.
Later on, McCain also chastised people in the media for taking his quote out of context, clarifying that, "I have the highest respect for Governor Romney and his record of public service, and he will make an outstanding president."
McCain would really hate this post.
He's probably right. She rallies the crazies in the GOP.
August 01, 2003
Hunter S. Thompson....from his book "Kingdom Of Fear"
Who does vote for these dishonest shitheads? Who among us can be happy and proud of having all this innocent blood on our hands? Who are these swine? These flag-sucking half-wits who get fleeced and fooled by stupid little rich kids like George Bush?
They are the same ones who wanted Muhammad Ali locked up for refusing to kill gooks. They speak for all that is cruel and stupid and vicious in the American character. They are the racists and hate mongers among us- they are the Ku Klux Klan. I piss down the throats of these Nazis.
And I am too old to worry about whether they like it or not. Fuck them.
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful
"Becoming a Bruce fan is like hitting puberty as a musical fan. It's inevitable." - dcfaithful