Rob Horowitz: Romney Stung By Bain Attack
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
The Obama campaign’s all-out assault on Mitt Romney’s tenure at Bain Capital is paying big dividends because it takes the presumptive Republican nominee’s chief calling card --his business experience -- and defines this experience in highly negative terms.
Even conservatives such as George Will acknowledge that the Obama campaign is succeeding in its no-holds-barred efforts to tie Romney’s Bain career and resulting wealth to ruthlessly outsourcing American jobs and using off-shore tax havens.
Romney’s refusal to release more than one or two years of tax returns has played into the Obama campaign’s hands because it looks as if he is hiding something. Increasing discomfort by fellow Republicans in Romney’s position was evident over the weekend as a number of Republican governors and the conservative commentator William Kristol urged him to immediately release more years of his returns.
Finally recognizing that they have a big problem, the Romney campaign put Romney on the air Friday for a series of damage control interviews in which he called on the Obama campaign to apologize for what he characterized as“ false and misleading attacks.” Romney insisted that he was not actively involved in Bain after 1999--- when the main outsourcing examples used by the Obama campaign took place. While it is true that in 1999 he took on the assignment of running the Winter Olympics and was spending the bulk of his time in Utah, he was still listed as Bain’s Chair and CEO between 1999 and 2003 during the period of time in which the outsourcing decisions were made. Further, the Boston Globe, in a story co-authored by former Providence Journal reporter Christopher Rowland, pointed out that in testimony submitted by Romney in response to questions raised about his Massachusetts residency Romney claimed to have come back for Board meetings of Bain-affiliated companies and to have stayed involved in his Massachusetts business interests.
No matter how active a role Romney played in these decisions to ship American jobs overseas, what is not in dispute is that he profited from the decisions and that he was at least titular head of the company at the time. This is in part why the Romney campaign’s push back on this issue has so far been ineffective. Even if the Obama campaign has played fast and loose with some of the facts, the general arc of their argument rings true.
Further, Romney’s business success is more open to political attack because it is in the not easily understood world of finance—a world that has been somewhat discredited by the recent financial crisis that triggered the Great Recession. Voters intuitively understand how experience in building a business from the ground up and managing thousands of employees can translate into effective governance. That is what lies behind the appeal of a Michael Bloomberg or a Ross Perot. How the business skills and experience of Mitt Romney translates to the Presidency is less evident and requires the candidate to fill in the blanks.
So far, Romney has simply asserted that his business experience means he knows more about how the economy works than Barack Obama. In order to take back the initiative on what may be a make-or-break issue for the Romney candidacy, he needs to do much more. Romney must specifically explain how his experience at Bain informs his views of the economy and outline a bold vision for creating jobs and restoring robust economic growth.
Unless he quickly fills in the blanks for voters, the Obama campaign will be all too happy to continue to do the job for him.
Rob Horowitz is a strategic and communications consultant who provides general consulting, public relations, direct mail services and polling for national and state issue organizations, various non-profits and elected officials and candidates. He is an Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Rhode Island.
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Comments:
Common Sense RI
9:05am on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Can't Go Local get a better "mind-setter" than this guy? He makes Travis Rowley look like an unbiased middle of the road writer by comparison but without any of Rowley's flair and style. If he thinks Obama's blatant lies about Bain (yes, lies, check all the pinochhios he is receiving from left leaning outlets on this garbage) are doing anything then he isn't paying attention to the Obama campaign's own actions. They are trying that's for sure but the public ain't buying and the Obama people know it. Calling the guy a felon? Sheesh. Panic much?
Mike Govern
9:40am on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Agreed--this clown is a tool.
guy smily
9:40am on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
According to Fact check.org, Bain’s portfolio also includes major successes, such as Staples Office and The Sports Authority. But you won’t see them here. What about Bain’s investment in an Indiana steel company that has grown and added thousands of employees. In fact revenues grew in 80 percent of the more than 350 companies in which Bain has invested. But these firms are primarily focused on creating wealth for investors. Sometimes that’s accomplished by growth, and increased employment. And sometimes it’s accomplished by cutting costs or eliminating poorly performing firms, resulting in job losses.
Of course God forbid you talk about the federal stimulus money that was used to provide jobs outside of the US. God forbid you talk about the real issue, this President's record. The amount of the debt, the lack of jobs, the price of gas,... Shall I go on
-Half a billion to an electric car company (FISKER AUTOMOTIVE) that created hundreds of jobs in Finland.
- Tens of millions of dollars to build traffic lights in China
- $1.2 billion to a solar company that’s building a plant in Mexico
-A massive stimulus grant program for wind turbines was exempted From the “Buy America” provision -in the stimulus.
-The Department Of Energy “Acknowledged” That Up To 80 Percent of some green programs went to foreign firms
-Swiss-Based Landis+Gyr received Over $50 million in stimulus contracts for their smart grid meters.
Perhaps you should talk about all of the fundraisers President Obama is holding overseas too?
I am tired of your hypocrisy! Report both sides of the story! What a novel concept.
jon paycheck
1:36pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
msnbc local......aka the boston globe
Captain Blacksocks
2:25pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
He is pretty clearly biased against Romney and republican in general if you read his last several articles. Anyhow...since when is it crime for a struggling company to try and save costs by sending some jobs overseas? It's done all the time. It's called competing in the global economy. Outsourcing is not done just by "evil capitalist firms" like Bain, it's done by every single major branded company you can name. I bet the writer of this story has an iPhone and iPad. Both made in Chinese factories. I bet the car he drove to work even if an American car, has at least 75% overseas parts. If America wants to compete in the world, we can just bring back all the manufacturing jobs back to the US, unless you want to see most the major US businesses go bankrupt. Then you'll really see an unemployment problem.
Captain Blacksocks
2:29pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012
I meant to say you "can't" just bring the overseas jobs back to the USA. Not unless you want to pay $900 for an iPhone and $80,000 for a basic no-frill American car. If we are going to compete globally, that's just a fact. By the way, how about a story on how much of the Federal TARP stimulus money was sent overseas by the Obama administration??