The American Spectator

Trinacria| 1.13.12 @ 2:02PM

Aaron,
You're absolutely right and it's absolutely irrelevant. The fact is that we're presented with such a poor choice of candidates that we no longer have the privilege of voting FOR someone; instead, we must be content with voting AGAINST the worst of 2 bad options.

Presidential elections have devolved into last call at the bar - you've got a choice between someone who looks okay if you squint with one eye and have a snoot full of liquor and a buzzard with hairy legs and a raging case of halitosis (who, by the way, happens to be an unapologetic socialist who set this formerly great nation on a path from which it will take decades to recover). Not a great choice, but an easy one nonetheless.

Clint| 1.13.12 @ 8:59PM

When Romney ran Bain Capital, his word was not his bond.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/.....ory_1.html

The Tea Party Rebellion Is In South Carolina.

Steve| 1.15.12 @ 2:13PM

Ron Paul is NOT a "poor choice." He is the only presidential candidate in my entire life that says anything of consequence and has a 30 track record of consistency. He is the reality candidate. The rest are all big government statists like Obama.

Trinacrias's bogus argument| 1.17.12 @ 7:47PM

Irrelevant?

Ok brainiac, do we replace one crony capitalist (Obama) with another (Romney)?

As pathetic a president as Obama is, at least Obama didn't personally stuff his own pockets with taxpayer dollars.

kf451| 1.13.12 @ 2:42PM

Great post. Not only is Romney not as free market or conservative as he claims to be, he's got the whole of the Republican establishment behind him. Most of them like corporate welfare and the status quo just fine. Right now we do have choices, and I choose to fight against Mitt while I still can.

Dan Abrams| 1.13.12 @ 3:20PM

Hiring lobbyists and working public angles were part of Romney's job at Bain. By all accounts he did that job quite well. It may not be the purest form of free enterprise but that is not Romney's fault. Should he have avoided talking with municipalities and other public sources of funding so that he could run for President one day and avoid demogogic depictions of his time at Bain?

All of the plausible candidates have played ball at the higher levels of business and/or politics, and none of them are without corporate welfare taint.

c. j. acworth| 1.13.12 @ 5:53PM

Exactly. I carry no brief for Romney, but the fact that he spent his time at Bain "hiring lobbyists and working public angles" is because there were "public angles" to work. The cure is not to decry angle-working, but to eliminate the angles, the government distortions and incentives, and let the market work.

Dan| 1.13.12 @ 9:40PM

But hold it, don't you recall Romney's ads against Gingrich for consulting for Fannie/Freddie?

Where was the balanced assessment in favour of Romney's opposition that some are eager now to extend to Romney?

None are unblemished.

That's the God's honest truth!

Which then begs the question, that being the case, who has in the past, and who can in the future best advance the cause of conservatism, which is the only remedy that will turn this country around.

Since NOTHING in Romney's past demonstrates genuine conservative credentials, which is quite apart from his rhetoric while campaigning, seven long years worth of campaigning, -------- then we have to go with another guy.

And there's only one guy now viable as the alternative.

And it isn't Santorum.

Mender| 1.13.12 @ 3:37PM

It's simple. For Mitt to win, all he has to do is say this:

"Look, I'm really sorry I had to fire all those people. It was a short-term business necessity. As a cause dear to my heart, I've donated ____ to fund job centres and community colleges to help people retrain-because I believe philanthropy is better than government handouts."

Oh wait, he gave what he has given to charity to the Mormons, Harvard Business School and the Heritage Foundation. Oh well, at least Harvard will get his tenure at Bain as a case study in future.

Oldefarte| 1.13.12 @ 5:10PM

Aaron, I've previously enjoyed your editorials, but this one is definately in the OUT IN LEFT FIELD VARIETY. Hopefully you are not representative of the Purp mentality that I previously alluded to by: [..Oldefarte| 1.13.12 @ 2:18PM
And if the Purp's of this world have the mental ability to read and to understand the following, it is strongly recommended that they all do so:
'..... Newsmax...Bain Founder: Staples Was 'Microcosm' of Romney Approach Friday, January 13, 2012 10:16 AM..By: Ronald Kessler...The creation of Staples was a “microcosm” of how Romney’s Bain Capital did business, according to Robert F. White, a friend of Mitt Romney and fellow Bain Capital founder.
As Bain Capital has become the focus of controversy in the race for the White House, the company and its partners have declined all requests for interviews by the media.But in a previously unpublished 2006 interview, White told Newsmax just how Bain Capital operated with Romney as its chief. In 1984, Romney and his colleagues founded Bain Capital as a venture capital firm and raised their first investment fund totaling $37 million.Mitt Romney then and now.White remembers when Tom Stemberg, the founder of Staples, came to Bain with the idea of revolutionizing the office supply industry by starting a chain of discount office supply stores.
At the time, office supplies were sold by small stores, and the stationery business was fragmented. The personal computer was a novelty, and self-employment was not common.
“Stemberg said office supplies were being delivered very inefficiently,” White said. “Small businesses were getting their office supplies through a distribution network that was very, very costly, and therefore the supplies had to be marked up two, three, four times.”“Stemberg told Bain, ‘If I could create a mega-store of office supplies, and I could get small business owners to drive to the store, we could substantially reduce the costs, and I could sell the office supplies at half price,’” White recalled. “Tom felt that small business owners would actually get in a car and drive to buy their office supplies because the savings would be so great,” White added.Many companies laughed at the idea of driving to a store to buy office supplies. But Stemberg told the future Republican presidential contender that businesses didn’t realize how much they spend on office supplies. He said the growing number of self-employed people who work at home would patronize a discount stationery store. To test his theory, Romney had Bain conductresearch.“Before we put money in any company, we try to validate the business premise,” White said. Bain associates called small businesses to determine how much they spent on office supplies and asked if they would drive to a retail store if they could save money.Companies would generally cite a low figure for what they thought were their office supply purchases and would say they would not drive to a store to buy office supplies. Stemberg suggested that Bain dig deeper and ask to check their invoices. When Bain did so, most of the companies were surprised to find that they were spending many times more than what they thought they were spending. Learning that, they agreed that they would drive to a store if they could save up to half their expenditures on office supplies.“The investment in Staples was a contrarian one, because you had to believe that small businesses would change their consumer behavior and would actually drive to a store to purchase their supplies,” White said. “We kept pushing and pushing and pushing. Several of the partners, including me, thought it was hard to get people to change their consumer behavior like that. Mitt was pushing back, and there were good debates about whether it would happen. But as opposed to just having opinions about it, we went and got the information by doing the analysis and research,” White said.
Romney agreed to put about $1 million of Bain Capital money into the new venture. Bain employees actually helped stock Staples’ first store in Brighton, Mass., in 1986.“He [Romney] made eight times his money in three years,” Stemberg says. The Romney campaign has said that Bain helped create 100,000 jobs while Romney was at its helm. That is clearly a gross underestimate. Today, Staples alone employs 90,000 people and has 2,000 stores. Over the years, that means more than a million people have had jobs because of Staples alone.Bain Capital went on to help launch or acquire more than 100 companies, including Domino’s Pizza, Sealy, Brookstone, The Sports Authority, Burger King, Burlington Coat Factory, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Toys "R" Us. Bain also looked for troubled companies that had good potential if the strategy were changed and management was improved. In a handful of cases, Bain bet wrong, and the companies had to declare bankruptcy. But because of Staples and other successful investments, Bain Capital now manages $66 billion in assets. As noted in my story "Media Ignore Romney’s Success at Creating Jobs," the press has focused on the failures — even looking at companies’ prospects years after Bain sold its interest — and ignored the successes.At the same time, says Dave Keene, former chairman of the American Conservative Union, “We see Republican candidates turning into quasi-Marxists by attacking Romney’s free-enterprise approach.” He calls that “outrageous.”
The ACU runs the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) and publishes an annual “Rating of Congress,” the gold standard for assessing the ideology of members of Congress. “Staples is a microcosm of how we did business,” said White, who gave the 2006 interview for the Newsmax magazine story "Romney to the Rescue" and is now helping Romney with his presidential campaign. “We met with managers to understand their businesses, assessed the potential risks and competitive challenges, and identified opportunities to help their companies grow,” White said.Each time Romney looked into an opportunity, he submerged himself in data, analyzed the business, and then was willing to take risks if his instincts told him growth opportunities existed, White said.“The first thing Mitt recognizes, and has always recognized, is that it’s all about the people, it’s all about the team,” White said. “So he is very good at selecting and recruiting really talented people.”
Second, White added, “He’s not intimidated by having very, very smart people with strong opinions around him. And he creates an atmosphere that encourages debate. It’s how we worked together every day at Bain Capital. You get the data and then after you hear all the varying views, you make a decision.” .....']. The apparently insane premise that using either public/government/taxpayer or private/shareholder money to invest in failing businesses in order to attempt to rejuvinate/restore to profitability same is in any way, shape or form akin to a worthless indigent recieving governmental welfare is ludicrously beyond belief. The former represents potential payback to investors, employment, tax revenue to financing governments or profits to private financing businesses, and futuristically economic enhancement-development to local communities. The latter only represents NOTHINGNESS individuals receiving welfare from government which will never be paid back by same and will never enhance/improve society as a whole from such grantings [and is essentially a total waste of taxpayers' hard earned income provided through the forced taxiation of government]. I'm really ashamed, Aaron, and hope that you will use your high intellect to re-think your obvious erroneous position concerning this ill-conceived comparison, with all due respect intended!!!!

WL| 1.13.12 @ 5:30PM

Nobody read that longa$$ comment. NOBODY. I didn't either but felt like somebody should tell you, so you don't make a fool out of yourself anymore.

capital| 1.13.12 @ 9:17PM

The "indigent" is getting a "handout" because he's down an out, and Romney/Bain is getting a "hand out" because he's wealthy?? Yes, sounds differnt.

But the question is how does this suggest Romney would act in refernce to corporate welfare and it's continuation.

Dai Alanye| 1.14.12 @ 1:47PM

This is a "microcosm" of how Romney gains support. His few big successes are trumpeted (Staples and the Salt Lake Olympics) while his failures and many, many mediocrities are ignored. It is the mediocrities, however, that are most indicative of Mitt Romney.

I'll vote for him against Obama, of course, since I'd vote for Joe Biden or (shudder) Ron Paul against Obama, but hardly anyone is enthusiastic about the man. As with McCain, he'll need to pick an exciting VP candidate to have any hope of success, and even then we'll have to hope he doesn't mismanage that VP the way McCain did.

George S| 1.13.12 @ 5:24PM

And suppose DeKalb County did not put up the taxpayer subsidies. Would Bain have ponied up the rest? No. The result? No steel mill in Butler. No jobs that go with it. No taxes to offset the property tax nut paid by residents. No improvements to the infrastructure. This is why localities invest in businesses -- and why some take private property -- so that the businesses return the favor with jobs with dignity (as Liberals call them) and the political an economic benefits that come with them.

The jobs that were never created are just as devastating to a community as the jobs that were lost. See? There is no way for Romney to win this argument.

JimH| 1.13.12 @ 5:44PM

Aaron, we don't always agree, but here we do. Bain Capital did a wonderful job for Bain Capital investors. Some think that this was the extent of their responsibility. And maybe it was. I just think it is going to be a tough sell to the electorate if Romney is the best the GOP can do as an example of the success and virtues of the free market.

Anthony M| 1.13.12 @ 9:21PM

If the right is going to go after Romney for what he did at Bain, then I guess Obama gets re-elected. Gingrich has too much baggage, Santorum sounds like a real conservative but that big loss to Casey stops him, Perry's good, but can't speak well, Huntsman, well he's Huntsman and though Ron Paul has many ardent followers, a libertarian probably can't pull in much over 25-30% of Americans. Does anyone know what General Petraeus is up to? Ike saved the Republicans once, maybe another popular general can do the same.

Dai Alanye| 1.14.12 @ 1:54PM

The big loss to Casey stops Santorum but the big losses to Kennedy and McCain don't stop Romney? False reasoning, I think. Let us remember that Reagan had a loss or two on his record before sending Carter back to clown college, while Nixon had continuing success before being stopped by JFK, then came back from two straight losses to take down Humphrey.

Elections are far more about the future than the past, and more about what candidates will do than what they've done before.

ml| 1.13.12 @ 9:25PM

Romney is corrupt. He will not release his income tax. He is going to lose in November if he is the nominee.

Dan| 1.13.12 @ 9:48PM

He is a caricature right off some set in Hollywood.

Remember four years ago when he was asked why aren't any of your kids in the service, do you remember that?

Do you recall what his response was?

He said his sons ARE supporting the country BY working for his campaign!

You can't make this stuff up. Other men's sons were clearing Ramadi and Fallujah, meanwhile Romney thought his kids were in equal service by slogging away working for his nomination.

And those sons are still at it.

The whole family has been at it for seven long, long years.

Dan| 1.13.12 @ 9:45PM

Aaron simply refuses to get the memo...........

Hasn't he heard that he's supposed to get on board the Romney train. Limbaugh is having one of the ushers rub down his seat. Hannity is now acting like a paid mouthpiece, echoing precisely the themes that Romney desires, unloading on Gingrich, conflating critiques of Bain and Romney with an out attack on American Capitalism.

But here Aaron remains impervious to the voice of the growing consensus.

He's earned more respect from me in the last couple of months than many another.

And Dan Riehl is another one who refuses to put his brain in a state of suspended hibernation.

Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 1.14.12 @ 3:06AM

These slam pieces are getting weaker and weaker. States are still offering these deals to entice business.

It's a good deal which brings jobs to the states.

It also highlights what is needed to get jobs.

Dai Alanye| 1.14.12 @ 1:58PM

States offer subsidies to get new companies to relocate -- subsidies that must be paid for by the companies already in-state. It's a zero sum game, weakening one set of businesses to pay off another. A subtle form of corruption, in other words.

Clint| 1.14.12 @ 3:42AM

Mittens' Campaign Money Trail.

Goldman Sachs $367,200
Credit Suisse Group $203,750
Morgan Stanley $199,800
HIG Capital $186,500
Barclays $157,750
Kirkland & Ellis $132,100
Bank of America $126,500
PriceWaterhouseCoopers $118,250
EMC Corp $117,300
JPMorgan Chase & Co $112,250
The Villages $97,500
Vivint Inc $80,750
Marriott International $79,837
Sullivan & Cromwell $79,250
Bain Capital $74,500
UBS AG $73,750
Wells Fargo $61,500
Blackstone Group $59,800
Citigroup Inc $57,050
Bain & Co $52,500

The Tea Party Rebellion Is In South Carolina.

Steve| 1.15.12 @ 2:18PM

Except for Romney getting a lot more in donations (besides Obama) this is typical of all the candidates and tells you that when/if elected they will follow the status quo. The only candidate that is immune to this is Ron Paul, because unlike the others, he will end all these insane, immoral and illegal wars and bring the troops home.

Haddit| 1.16.12 @ 12:10PM

Can you name Obama's supporters money trail? I would bet it's from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and any other Muslim based outfit. BET! Has anyone noticed that Muslims heads are to the East when they supposedly pray. With this in mind, where is there ass pointed? THINK PEOPLE. Barry HUSSAIN needs to go, period!!

Clint| 1.14.12 @ 12:27PM

Barky Obama & Mittens Romney Are Bobbsey Twin Crony Capitaliism Poster Boys.

" In its recent look at Romney's record with in 77 companies he worked with at Bain, the Wall Street Journal said that 22% of them filed for bankruptcy reorganization or closed up shop within eight years of the fund's initial investment. "

Romney Is A Job Gravedigger.

The Tea Party Rebellion Is In South Carolina.

john| 1.14.12 @ 1:03PM

This is reeealy good! Keep slinging the mud, so we don't have to.

OBAMA 2012

PattyMor| 1.14.12 @ 2:52PM

The croneyism is exactly why governments should be small and non-intrusive. Because the big guys have the resources to bend the system to their will. Of course the solution would be for governments to lower everyone's taxes, but the corruptocrats will never do that. Instead you get, industrial development committees, tax incentives and other such bennies. All at the expense of the schmucks (which is the rest of us).

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Jack| 1.16.12 @ 5:33PM

Ur not the sharpest knife in the drawer r u? I guess Bain shouldn't have taken advantage of subsidies offered. Ever hear of fiduciary responsibility?