One pro-Obama ad reveals a lot about 2012 campaign
One controversial ad by an Obama SuperPAC encapsulates so much that makes the 2012 presidential campaign distinctive:
– In its specifics, the ad is deceptive and brutally unfair. It suggests that by closing a Missouri steel plant and stripping its workers of health insurance, Mitt Romney and Bain Capital were in part responsible for the subsequent death of a worker’s wife by cancer. It’s the kind of gut-wrenching charge that — if made at all — at least ought to be strongly backed by facts. Instead, the implication that Romney is to blame is barely plausible at best, given the timelines involved. Those who condemn the ad as irresponsible are correct in that assessment.
– However, in a Citizens United world, in which quasi-independent groups raise and spend vast amounts of campaign cash, this type of ad will become more and more familiar. Candidates can claim to have no knowledge of or control over such advertisements, and thus no responsibility for it. The rich donors who paid for the ad are often anonymous, meaning they too cannot be held responsible. And if no one is responsible, irresponsibility results. This is not rocket science, even if the geniuses on the Supreme Court are unable to grasp it.
– Accuracy aside, the underlying theme of the ad is powerful and emotionally resonant. Outside predators such as Mitt Romney and Bain Capital can perform a useful function in a capitalist economy. They come into a company and make ruthless, heartless decisions without regard to the human cost, decisions that those with a longer history or commitment to the company perhaps cannot bring themselves to make. Over the long haul, in a macro-economic sense, that can be useful. But one of the primary questions of the 2012 race is whether the American people will be comfortable putting a person with that mentality and background in the Oval Office.
– Appearing on Fox News Wednesday, Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul denounced the ad in question as deceptive and unfair. However, she also noted that if the steelworkers in question had been working in Massachusetts instead of Missouri, their health coverage would have been protected by the health-insurance program created by Romney, a program that later served as the direct model for ObamaCare:
“To that point, you know, if people had been in Massachusetts under Governor Romney’s health care plan, they would have had health care,” Saul said. “There are a lot of people losing their jobs and their health care in President Obama’s economy.”
While Saul’s observation was valid, it caused a huge outrage among conservatives, with many calling for Saul’s firing for the outrageous act of actually telling the truth. Es ist verboten on the right to acknowledge even the existence of RomneyCare during this campaign, let alone that it actually might serve a useful function.
That brings us back once again to the central question of the 2012 campaign: If we are to live in an Bain-type economy in which brutish efficiency is the primary goal and the human impact is not to be considered in decision-making, what steps if any should government take to protect individual Americans from the worst vagaries of that process?
In an era of increasingly no-holds-barred capitalism, do we also slash unemployment insurance, job training, Medicaid benefits, Social Security and ObamaCare, so that individuals are even more fully exposed to the cruel caprices of free enterprise? Or do such programs become even more important in an era in which jobs, companies and indeed entire industries can disappear quickly?
– Jay Bookman
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
631 comments Add your comment
Adam
August 9th, 2012
10:53 am
MiltonMan: Another Obama TV ad on his jobs RECORD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnspxInJxHs
Joe Hussein Mama
August 9th, 2012
10:53 am
Ima Librul — “……….Oh, of course if you’re Union, we know getting your butt wiped and sharing all the profits is included.”
Given that management has to *agree* to the terms of any union contract, I’d say that any management team that agreed to those particular terms is pretty sh***y indeed. Maybe they should be running lemonade stands or paper routes instead.
Adam
August 9th, 2012
10:54 am
MiltonMan: Obama Ad on his auto bailout RECORD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgjTYFE2aYc
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
August 9th, 2012
10:54 am
Paul……….I’ve laid off 80 people ( from 204) since he was sworn in. They all HAD health ins. Shall I post their names for you.
Ahem
August 9th, 2012
10:55 am
M
August 9th, 2012
10:50 am
I hope Mitt quits his day job,…
He will, on January 20, 2013. Then he will work days, nights, and weekends trying to fix this damn mess that the Most Incompetent has created.
Adam
August 9th, 2012
10:55 am
MiltonMan: Where’d you go? Are you watching the ads?
TaxPayer
August 9th, 2012
10:57 am
Seems to me that the denial of such a thing as RomneyCare by the Republicans is just plain deceptive and brutally unfair to Romney. I mean, it is his one true accomplishment.
Adam
August 9th, 2012
10:57 am
MiltonMan: Obama ad for TV that touts more than one accomplishment in a single ad, and doesn’t hit Romney. It’s all about his RECORD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0OVngTHkNg
Scuba Steve
August 9th, 2012
10:57 am
Compromise
Your point is a fair one, but I think the signage is more telling in a national election — specifically a presidential election. People are supposed to be ‘excited’ about their candidate. At least to some degree. And I mean, good heavens…is ANYONE inspired by this guy at all?
Paul
August 9th, 2012
10:57 am
I’m a liberal
“Paul……….I’ve laid off 80 people ( from 204) since he was sworn in. They all HAD health ins. Shall I post their names for you.”
You know that does not answer the question directed at your original post.
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
August 9th, 2012
10:58 am
HUSSEIN………..” They had to agree”….. That’s pretty funny……On a picket line with no cars being built is a pretty powerful position to be in…..Thus more and more robots in factories and less and less Democrats I’d say.
BlahBlahBlah
August 9th, 2012
10:58 am
“In an era of increasingly no-holds-barred capitalism, do we also slash unemployment insurance, job training, Medicaid benefits, Social Security and ObamaCare, so that individuals are even more fully exposed to the cruel caprices of free enterprise? Or do such programs become even more important in an era in which jobs, companies and indeed entire industries can disappear quickly?”
SLASH? Over the years, the safety net has done nothing but expand. For some it’s become a hammock. Yet Mr. Bookman appears to imply he would like it to expand even more. Apparently we’ll pay for this with magic beans and geese that lay golden eggs.
Adam
August 9th, 2012
10:58 am
I trust I’ve made my point.
TaxPayer
August 9th, 2012
10:58 am
I can’t wait to see those deceptive and brutally unfair ads showing where Mitt’s blood money for Bain came from.
Adam
August 9th, 2012
10:58 am
Peadawg: Why do you believe that Obama is doing something negative to Ohio military voters when he clearly is not?
FrankLeeDarling
August 9th, 2012
10:59 am
Oh I get it, I’m a liberal is a failure as a business operator and wants to blame it on someone else.
Welcome to the Occupation
August 9th, 2012
10:59 am
Mark in Mid-town: “Regardless, the truth is that Romney and Bain saved a heck of a lot more jobs than were lost”
Got any stats on that rosy claim?
stands for decibels (SfBA)
August 9th, 2012
11:00 am
I’m a liberal is a failure as a business operator and wants to blame it on someone else.
If you’re willing to believe anything he posts is true, I guess.
Mighty Righty
August 9th, 2012
11:00 am
One cannot be surprised that the most scurrilous, dishonest, slimey, political ad ever run by a sleazy, corrupt, political campaign would find favor by Obama and Jay. Shame on you.
Heath
August 9th, 2012
11:00 am
You people are missing the point. THE GUY & HIS FAMILY HAVE NO HEALTH CARE INSURANCE!!! Why in this country does health care insurance be tied to employment?
TaxPayer
August 9th, 2012
11:00 am
I’m a liberal sounds more like one of the eighty to me. Definitely not management material.
Sean
August 9th, 2012
11:00 am
I disagree with the gist of this article. There is a direct human impact from the greed that pervades the decisions made by companies in the name of MORE MORE MORE for the wealthy and to heck with the workers. How direct the link has to be before a degree of responsibility can be assigned is highly debatable. The debate cannot take place in a short TV ad. What the point is is that by a focus on number instead of taking into account the human impact of the obsession with MONEY, there are negative consequences for those who lose jobs and benefits. Could health insurance and getting medical care have helped this one person – who really knows. Buy I can assure you that that families income and protection is WAZY more important than the fat cats millions. The culture of greed that has pervaded the US since at least REAGAN IS responsible. Is Mitt Romney the best or evn nearly the best to lead a nation that is comprised of real people – I think not.
Mark in Mid-town
August 9th, 2012
11:00 am
to Alex at 10:39 Am — With regard to the so-called “swiftboating” of John Kerry in 2004: President Bush never did anything but praise Kerry for his Vietnam Service. Bush was quite generous with his praise. Contrary to the dishonest narrative created by the liberal msm, The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were not a Republican Party group nor part of the Bush Campaign. That group was comprised of Vietnam Vets of various political party affiliations who had one thing in common. They could not stand John Kerry and didn’t think Kerry had been honest in the past regarding the Vietnam War and they didn’t think he was fit to be president. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were people who lent their own names to their cause and made the charges under their own names. Every one of them faught in Vietnam and many were decorated veterans as well. People can decide for themselves whether they think the various charges they made about Kerry were true or not, such as them accusing Kerry of lying about being beyond Cambodian lines on Christmas Eve of 1968, or about them questioning whether Kerry deserved his medals.
TaxPayer
August 9th, 2012
11:01 am
Mighty Righty sounds like he got swift boated.
stands for decibels (SfBA)
August 9th, 2012
11:02 am
The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth were not a Republican Party group nor part of the Bush Campaign.
and Bush winked and said “they should stop.”
I remember it very, very well.
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
August 9th, 2012
11:03 am
FrankLee……….Nothing wrong with my business model ( 61 years of never laying anyone off) that any whiff of a decent economy wouldn’t cure. This guy is anti business. Read his damn book. He hates business, and wealth, and success…….He loves taxes and Making things right.
Middle of the Road
August 9th, 2012
11:03 am
I do think it’s sad that Romney has to shun his own achievement because of partisan politics. In a different universe Romney would have been very proud of the fact that the Obama administration patterned much of their health care plan after his own.
And although the Affordable Care Act is not without its flaws there is one undeniable benefit. It will save lives. Lots of them. For a party that calls itself pro-life the Republican Party should be ashamed.
curious
August 9th, 2012
11:04 am
Maybe we don’t need a businessman in the White House. Our Government and Country should not be just about making a profit.
Paul
August 9th, 2012
11:04 am
FrankLeeDarling
I’d say it’s more like a company chief operating officer implemented policies that weakened cyberseccurity, then when customer data was breached and accounts infected, the account holders blamed the guy from Geeks on Call for not getting rid of the infection quick enough and restoring all the data to just the way it was.
’cause the customers liked the company COO and didn’t like the Geeks on Call guy -
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
August 9th, 2012
11:05 am
Taxpayer……want to come see me and visit and eat some liberal crow. I’ll expose my email to you and come visit. We know you know it all.
Liberal Chicks are UGLY
August 9th, 2012
11:05 am
Gasp! In inner tribal, patisan, Us vs. Them, and we’re better instinct is coming out again.
Obviously, your very reptilian brained.
TaxPayer
August 9th, 2012
11:06 am
61 years of never laying anyone off
Uh huh.
Mama Says
August 9th, 2012
11:06 am
Just one observation llibs,
you guys are killing yourselves. Romney paid no taxes, he murdered, wants to take away all womens rights, wants to take us back to the cave man days.
you are making yourselves look very desperate and less trustworthy than you would have us believe Romney is.
just saying
stands for decibels (SfBA)
August 9th, 2012
11:07 am
Here’s Karl Rove fanning the Sh-t Floater flames, Sept 1, 2004:
“KARL ROVE: Well, I said reflecting on John Kerry at his convention said he was proud of his service in Vietnam and he has every right to be proud of it. And we acknowledge that he served with honor and distinction. He also said he was proud of what he did when he came back and what he did when he came back was to go before Congress and testify and say that members of the U.S. military in Vietnam raped and pillaged and burned villages and generally routinely acted like Genghis Kahn.“
Paul
August 9th, 2012
11:07 am
Mighty Righty
“One cannot be surprised that the most scurrilous, dishonest, slimey, political ad ever run by a sleazy, corrupt, political campaign would find favor by Obama and Jay. Shame on you.”
You may want to pause and reread Jay’s post.
He said in it’s specifics the ad is deceptive and brutally unfair.
He used the add and the charges/countercharges to illustrate two competing ideologies and what they would mean for the country. That’s the issue.
Normal Free...Pro Human Rights Thug...And liking it!
August 9th, 2012
11:07 am
This is still my favorite…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnnaeOHXFyI
TaxPayer
August 9th, 2012
11:07 am
I’m a liberal,
Your decision to try to get in on the growing home construction business in January 2007 does not reflect poorly on anyone other than yourself.
Paul
August 9th, 2012
11:08 am
Heath
” THE GUY & HIS FAMILY HAVE NO HEALTH CARE INSURANCE!!! ”
The man’s wife had health insurance through her job.
The man refused to purchase health insurance at his new job.
St Simons - he-ne-ha
August 9th, 2012
11:09 am
wait now, you want me to be ‘outraged’ or feel guilty ’cause the dirty
lyin stinkin bully got cheapshot-ed?
well hold your breath & wait heheh….keep holdin
Ohio turns blue outside the margin of error.
Kaine moves ahead of Macaca in Virginia.
Where did your shiny November goooo, cons?
http://www.electoral-vote.com
M
August 9th, 2012
11:10 am
It still amazes me how people believe that nothing bad happened, EVER, before January 2009.
Doggone/GA
August 9th, 2012
11:10 am
“Peadawg: Why do you believe that Obama is doing something negative to Ohio military voters when he clearly is not?”
Because if everyone is allowed to vote under the same rules then the military no longer has “special” voting privileges?
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
August 9th, 2012
11:10 am
Mama Says………Tell us what crowning jewels your man has accomplished in 4 years. Other than spending money on failed companies and failed programs……Please don’t tell us about killing Bin Laden again. That was Bush’s polices that set that up, not his…..Go ahead , List them
Adam
August 9th, 2012
11:10 am
Mama Says: you guys are killing yourselves. Romney paid no taxes, he murdered, wants to take away all womens rights, wants to take us back to the cave man days.
you are making yourselves look very desperate and less trustworthy than you would have us believe Romney is.
just saying
I don’t suppose you’d like to analyze all the ads Romney puts out and the ones coming from PACs on his side and tell us how much those ads don’t throw hyperbolic attacks at Obama and are generally positive and uniting, would you?
I'm a liberal and believe everything I read and nothing the other side comes up with...cause we're smart and they are not
August 9th, 2012
11:11 am
Taxpayer. Been doing it since 1976. Next.
Adam
August 9th, 2012
11:12 am
Doggone: Because if everyone is allowed to vote under the same rules then the military no longer has “special” voting privileges?
That is my suspicion. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense does it?
No way in hell am I “agreeing to disagree” with that. If that is what he thinks, he is plain WRONG.
FrankLeeDarling
August 9th, 2012
11:13 am
Lib,Obama did not tank the economy ,eight years of republican policy under
Georg W Bush did.
Your taxes are also at a all time low.
If you had to lay off 80 people it seems you may have let you business growth outpace the demand for your product.
Mark in Mid-town
August 9th, 2012
11:13 am
Welcome ot the Occupation writes: Mark in Mid-town: “Regardless, the truth is that Romney and Bain saved a heck of a lot more jobs than were lost”
Got any stats on that rosy claim?
——————————————————————–
It’s not possible to come up with such stats. But let’s apply a little common sense. Romney ran Bain during a period of incredible job growth and low unemployment in the United States. Bain’s great skill was in fixing troubled companies who were floundering or failing but that had inherent underlying value if their problems could be fixed. In other words, companies that would have gone under ended up being saved by Romney and Bain. While plenty of jobs ended up being lost, plenty of others which would have been lost if not for Bain ended up being saved. Investers made tons of money. Those gains ended up creating capital that could then be used to make other investments which helped the economy grow further in the aggregate. Additional new jobs were then created in the aggregate in these other areas. Again, the economy and job creation was firing on all cylinders during the time Romney was running Bain. It’s beyond silly to believe that Bain during the time Romney ran it caused more jobs in the aggregate to be lost than created or saved.
Steve Atl
August 9th, 2012
11:13 am
Just saw this on Olympic coverage…what is this world coming to.
President Obama has decided that Michael Phelps has more than enough gold medals…Phelps will be allowed to keep 6…and the remaining 12 will be redistributed to athletes who did not win a medal.
USinUK - pro-gay-marriage thug and former Girl Scout
August 9th, 2012
11:14 am
“Please don’t tell us about killing Bin Laden again. That was Bush’s polices that set that up, not his”
ohmyeffinggod.
“bush’s policies” set up killing Bin Laden???
what? he created the SEALs???
and, while we’re at it … it was Bush’s policies that led to GOOD things, but not the economy falling apart …
laugh.
effing.
riot.
Doggone/GA
August 9th, 2012
11:14 am
“That is my suspicion. Doesn’t make a whole lot of sense does it?”
Nope, it doesn’t. But it DOES smack of the “how can I be superior if you won’t be inferior” type of mindset.
M
August 9th, 2012
11:15 am
List Obama’s accomplishments? Here you go. Knock yourself out:
http://bit.ly/bvEVyU
Adam
August 9th, 2012
11:16 am
M:
curious
August 9th, 2012
11:16 am
Everthing was going so good before Obama, I’m surprised we didn’t demand President Bush stay on for 4 more years even if the Constitution limits the President to two terms.
St Simons - he-ne-ha
August 9th, 2012
11:18 am
chin up, you’ll always have AM raydio, cons.
where you can create your own little alternate universe,
and just live in it.
“But as for me & my house, we will go Forward into the 21st century,
into the Future.” – me, I said that
Adam
August 9th, 2012
11:18 am
Poor MiltonMan must be crying tears of joy over the positive ads I gave him.
TaxPayer
August 9th, 2012
11:19 am
Taxpayer. Been doing it since 1976. Next.
That’s right. Sixty years. With those math skills, it’s no wonder your business is failing. If I were you, I’d blame it all on Obama too. Not.
Mighty Righty
August 9th, 2012
11:19 am
Adam
August 9th, 2012
10:53 am
MiltonMan: Another Obama TV ad on his jobs RECORD: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnspxInJxHs
You drank the Kool Ade! More lies by Obama! He claims to have created 4 million jobs. As of this A.M. there are 330 thousand fewer people employed in the United States than when Obama took office, so any jobs “he” created were replacement jobs that “he” lost. As far as the auto indusrty jobs he claims to have saved, his actions caused more job losses than Bani Capital ever lost. More than a thousand dealerships were closed and tens of thousands of those jobs were lost just to mentioned a few. Manwhile, GM continues to lose money(our money) hand over fist. The actual cost to we taxpayers will never be repaid, and was a gift of our money the the U.A.W. union and Chrysler was given to Fiat. I challenge anyone to look at the ad cited where mortage foreclosures continue at record rates (see todays news), the national debt has been more than doubled, the unemployment rate remains above 8% 3.7 yaers after Obama took office. There are no signs of economic recovery and the Obama quotes of him warning that we should not expect things to get better are well known in spite of the lies in the ad.
Paul
August 9th, 2012
11:19 am
This is such a good thread topic. Aren’t any Romney supporters going to address Jay’s question on the kind of society his administration could result in?
Anyone?
Joe Hussein Mama
August 9th, 2012
11:19 am
Ima Librul — “HUSSEIN………..” They had to agree”….. That’s pretty funny……”
I accept your implicit concession.
East Cobb RINO, Inc. (LLC)
August 9th, 2012
11:19 am
Republicans sure hate when they get “Willie Hortened”. But it is ok when they swiftboat somebody. ROLTFLMAO. Good to see Dems have some fight in them.
Normal Free...Pro Human Rights Thug...And liking it!
August 9th, 2012
11:20 am
“Please don’t tell us about killing Bin Laden again. That was Bush’s polices that set that up, not his”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4PGmnz5Ow-o
Jeffrey Davis
August 9th, 2012
11:21 am
If people understood how Romney profited on the misery of others there’d be crowds with torches and pitchforks outside his house. You don’t need to be a Democrat to find what he did disgusting. Gingrich (one of the worst people ever elected to office) called it “Predatory Capitalism”. He gutted companies, paid himself off with borrowed money to the point that the companies he bought were forced to declare bankruptcy and then stuck US with the company’s pension obligations. And he did this more than once. A genuinely horrifying man.
And how does the media respond? Much like Jay here: it gets the vapors over a campaign ad.
Adam
August 9th, 2012
11:23 am
Mighty Righty: As of this A.M. there are 330 thousand fewer people employed in the United States than when Obama took office,
Incorrect. That’s since ALL of January’s numbers were in. And here are more facts for you to digest on this issue:
The jobs report indicates that 163,000 new jobs were added in July, with 9,000 lost in the public sector, 172,000 gained in private. The change for May was revised upward from 77k to 87k new jobs, but June was revised downward from 80k to 64k.
Total Jobs in January 2009: 133,561,000
Total Jobs in February 2009 (first full month after Obama takes office): 132,837,000
Total Private Jobs in January
2009: 110,985,000
Total Private Jobs in February 2009 (first full month after Obama takes office): 110,260,000
Total Jobs for July 2009: 133,245,000
Total Private Jobs for July 2009: 111,317,000
Total Jobs Change since January 2009: -316,000
Total PRIVATE Jobs Change since January 2009: +332,000
Total Jobs Change since February 2009 (first full month after Obama takes office): +408,000
Total PRIVATE Jobs Change since February 2009 (first full month after Obama takes office): +1,057,000 (that’s 1 MILLION new private jobs since Obama’s first full month in office)
Let’s see what happens if I hold Obama responsible for an average number of jobs lost since day 1 in office. January 20, 2009. There are 31 days in January, and we are now assuming Obama is responsible for 11 of those days.
11/31*818,000 total jobs lost = 290,258 (rounding to 291,000)
11/31*839,000 private jobs lost = 297,709 (rounding to 298,000)
From the starting point using an average responsibility for January 2009, we subtract these numbers from the ones I noted as change from February:
Total jobs difference since January 20, 2009: +117,000
Total PRIVATE jobs difference since January 20,2009: +759,000
Obama 2012.
Mama Says
August 9th, 2012
11:23 am
Adam,
i just made a statement.
Tell you what though if you dont beleive me keep supporting the tactics–you will find out.
Romney is not the hope and change canidate, yours is
leon
August 9th, 2012
11:24 am
Forget fair. Republicans are finally getting their own back. Punk-a$$ Romney always wants to cry somebody is being unfair to me. Remember his trip to kiss the ring of Trump and his nod and wink to the racists: “I can’t control all my supporters.” Well guess what, Obama can’t control us either. And frankly, there ain’t going to be no fair in this campaign. Romney should stop whining, cause otherwise that’s all they’ll be doing until November.
Liberal Chicks are UGLY
August 9th, 2012
11:25 am
Oh by the way, if you have to make something up out of thin air to make or have a point, you actually do not have a point.
So let me dumb it down for you, since obama had to make up a story and level a false accusation to try an make a point, he does not have a point. So the ad is pointless.
Since it’s so horrifically, patently false it only served to make him look worse, not Romney.
Adam
August 9th, 2012
11:25 am
There are no signs of economic recovery
Also incorrect.
-Jobless claims are down
-Jobs are being created in the private sector for 29 straight months
-Gas prices are starting to go back up (one indicator of economic recovery)
-New housing is up
-GDP is growing, not shrinking
There’s plenty of evidence that we are recovering.
a reader
August 9th, 2012
11:26 am
it’s only the beginning of the nasty
Joe Hussein Mama
August 9th, 2012
11:26 am
Ima Librul — “………Tell us what crowning jewels your man has accomplished in 4 years. Other than spending money on failed companies and failed programs……Please don’t tell us about killing Bin Laden again. That was Bush’s polices that set that up, not his…..”
Don’t tell us about Reagan getting the hostages released from Iran. It was Carter’s policies that set that up.
Adam
August 9th, 2012
11:27 am
Mama Says: Tell you what though if you dont beleive me keep supporting the tactics–you will find out.
I don’t support the tactics from either side of being negative and lying, just so we’re clear. But the candidate who needs to lie and cheat and steal and be negative in order to win is Romney, not Obama.
Eric_of_Florida
August 9th, 2012
11:28 am
The reality is that Romney’s company Bain Capital is part of a system that often consolidates losing businesses to save some jobs while others are lost. It is important to realize that without them even more jobs might be lost. (One can argue that Bain’s fees are excessive, but that is not my point.) My point is that we as a capitalist nation, and the richest nation in the world, ought to provide a safety net for the fallout of capitalism. The Saftey Net ought to include healthcare for all, reeducation programs for those that lose jobs, and a minimum standard of living.
One only need look at the unbelievable number of large homes and mansions across this country to realize that rich people would find a 2% tax increase to be “No Big Deal”. Can they really be that greedy that they want a tax decrease?
Joe Hussein Mama
August 9th, 2012
11:28 am
Mark in mid-town — “It’s not possible to come up with such stats. But let’s apply a little common sense.”
No, let’s come up with some stats instead.
USinUK - pro-gay-marriage thug and former Girl Scout
August 9th, 2012
11:29 am
“Romney is not the hope and change canidate (sic)”
sister, you just said a mouthful
but probably not in the way you meant to
stands for decibels (SfBA)
August 9th, 2012
11:29 am
it’s only the beginning of the nasty
indeed. Forget any temporary truces you’ll hear about in the next few weeks from the campaigns, either.
Oh, and thanks Justice Roberts and your stooges, for ensuring that the corporate media get a billion or so worth of superPAC money, completely unaccounted for. You obviously love your country.
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
August 9th, 2012
11:30 am
A vibrator giveaway that attracted long lines in New York City came to an abrupt end when the city told the promoters to pack it up. According to the New York Post, the giveaway was interrupted when a city representative told the promoters to shut down because of crowds. One of those on line, Melody Henry, grumbled that Mayor Michael Bloomberg “doesn’t want anyone to have fun. You can’t have a giant soda, You can’t have a vibrator.”
stands for decibels (SfBA)
August 9th, 2012
11:30 am
Can they really be that greedy that they want a tax decrease?
We learn every day new ways in which they really ARE that greedy. yep.
St Simons - he-ne-ha
August 9th, 2012
11:32 am
As for accomplishments, well, Little Nero with a Cowboy Hat wrecked
a whole planet for the rest of all of our natural lives.
woo-hoo ‘Merka f* yeah, buddy. Mission Accomplished.
It would be hard for Obama, or anyone to top that, dude.
even if he had a fancy banner.
leon
August 9th, 2012
11:32 am
Ain’t no “fair” here. Keep jumping up and down about they are unfair to me. Basically all Romney is doing is showing the American people exactly what a punk he is. If he gets to negotiate with Putin, will the fool embarrass us by yelling they won’t play fair. Romney should quit the whining or that is all he will get to do during the entire campaign. And frankly, this is good for Romney — nobody is talking about his taxes today.
stands for decibels (SfBA)
August 9th, 2012
11:32 am
You can’t have a giant soda, You can’t have a vibrator.”
We can’t have nice things.
USinUK - pro-gay-marriage thug and former Girl Scout
August 9th, 2012
11:33 am
Can they really be that greedy that they want a tax decrease?
yes.
this has been another edition of simple answers for simple questions.
robert
August 9th, 2012
11:34 am
The one issue I have with this ad is how the banking crisis and stimulus destroyed many more jobs and businesses than Bain did. Those jobs were lost not to improve the business or provide a better product or service at a better value to the customer or public.
The president received very large campaign contributions from Goldman Sachs and Wallt Street in 2008. Societe Generale, the French Bank, and Goldman Sachs received the most money from the AIG bailout; however, more importantly, the government raised the capital requirement on the banks, which is the ratio of cash or government bonds on hand to the loans outstanding. The banks couldn’t get cash in such a short period because borrowing adds cash and liabilities, so the banks canceled loans. There was political pressure to not foreclose on mortgage bonds so they canceled business loans. The banks increased lending to the Federal government by $700B and decreased loans to businesses by $500B, since leading to the government is the same as cash. Nice trick if you are the borrower. My father had his revolving line of credit canceled. His customers canceled orders because they didn’t think the business would survive. He couldn’t sell the business so it went bankrupt, and he lost his entire life savings. He had to sell his house for the amount outstanding on the mortgage because housing prices went down. All the people who worked for him, the majority of which were minorities, lost their jobs, health insurance, etc. Although, the presidents changed, the priorities remained the same, which is why the economy has been so poor. It was really disappointing that the financial regulation was named after someone who took bribes from Countrywide, which was the bank that stole from investors and their poor customers in California. Both the health care bill and the stimulous bill were poorly designed. They should have spent the time to design them right. If the government didn’t force these business out of business there would be less need to cover the unemployed and uninsured. I am so disappointed both by the performance and by the propaganda and mud. If I go to a hotel and get bad service, I don’t want to hear about how every other hotel is horrible. If I hear that, I think I will keep trying new hotels until I find a descent one.
straitroad
August 9th, 2012
11:34 am
Jay, I worked for a family owned company that was steadily losing market share over a period of years. The owner held on to employees he knew were a drag on the company. Eventually, he sold the company and the new CEO came in and cleaned house. There were hard decisions that had to be made but today that company is thriving and has since added more employees than were employed there before the acquistion. This is what happens sometimes in business Jay. Some businesses thrive and some fail. To sit around feeling sorry for oneself is a waste of time.
Read the WSJ and be real scared
August 9th, 2012
11:35 am
It is tough to run as Candidate Romney when your signature piece of legislation at state level is ruining the state quickly (read scary article in WSJ a couple days ago and you see our future, if anyone really wants to be a doctor) . Real spending on education down 15% in last 10 years, real road spending down 23% in same time frame, and Gubmint spending on health care up from 21% of budget to 52% in ten years. Ouch. And now the state will dictate HOW doctors operate their practices. Shucks, that’s not rationing at all.
“I’m from the government and I’m here to tell the doctor how to operate on you. Don’t worry……”
Finn McCool (The System Isn't Broken; It's Fixed ~ from an Occupy sign)
August 9th, 2012
11:35 am
Our overseers want a tax decrease?
Tell em they can have it as long as we can have out giant soder’s and vibratin’ toys.
stands for decibels (SfBA)
August 9th, 2012
11:35 am
And frankly, this is good for Romney — nobody is talking about his taxes today.
that is the ONLY reason this ad is a story at all. Corporate media have a vested interest in keeping what’s projected to be a ~66 electoral vote victory by Obama to be some kind of a horserace.
Steve-USA "None of the Above"
August 9th, 2012
11:36 am
I worked at a Motorola plant that closed down. It was pretty simple to get my COBRA insurance and actually the insurance company gave me continuance once the COBRA period was over.
People need to start with better financial decisions. The safety net starts in the mirror.
Thulsa Doom
August 9th, 2012
11:36 am
“Outside predators such as Mitt Romney and Bain Capital can perform a useful function in a capitalist economy. They come into a company and make ruthless, heartless decisions without regard to the human cost, decisions that those with a longer history or commitment to the company perhaps cannot bring themselves to make.”
Outside “predators”? “Ruthless”? “heartless decisions without regard to human cost”?
Lay off the tear jerking rhetoric and take a look at what they did at Bain. It many cases they took a company that was on its way to complete failure and attempted to turn it around. If they don’t step in the company just goes under and everyone is out of work. If they do step in and lay off people or close a plant or 2 to keep the company afloat then its a helluva lot better than the alternative of everyone losing their job.
Part of the problem here is when you make rather sweeping judgements such as calling these people predators or ruthless. That kind of jackassery doesn’t add to the debate.
But thanks for acknowledging the sliminess of the Obama lie regarding this man’s completely BS story.
jj
August 9th, 2012
11:37 am
Print media is dying with each passing day. How will Jay feels when NO venture capital group chooses to invest any money into the AJC. If they did invest and could save 60% of the jobs is that good? or ruthless capitalists putting 40% of the people out of work. The steelworkers in KC kept jobs and paychecks for nearly 6 years after Bain jumped in, they would have had less than one year without them.
How about Staples, they survived and prospered under Bain and are now the kingpin of office supply stores. Funny we never hear about that!
getalife
August 9th, 2012
11:38 am
GOP Congresswoman Refuses To Acknowledge Mitt’s Health Care Law
This gop lying is ridiculous.
Steve-USA "None of the Above"
August 9th, 2012
11:38 am
straitroad @11:34
That is in reality, we are in kumbaya land.
Joe Hussein Mama
August 9th, 2012
11:38 am
straitroad — “Jay, I worked for a family owned company that was steadily losing market share over a period of years. The owner held on to employees he knew were a drag on the company. Eventually, he sold the company and the new CEO came in and cleaned house.”
If the company was losing market share, that seems to be more a failure of management than a failure of the employees. Maybe the guy running the show should have laid himself off instead.
Adam
August 9th, 2012
11:38 am
Romney can dish it out, but apparently can’t take it.
I don’t like this type of ad either, but what’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, said some candidate for President once…. Same dude also said “Politics ain’t bean bag.”
Tundra Dude
August 9th, 2012
11:39 am
Thin Guy (I be’s Thin on facts) wrote:
Unless it’s repealed I will lose my Health Care in 2014 when Marxist Medicine becomes the Law of the Land.
You can fight back by voting Out all your fav lawmakers, (they’re all consumers of Marxist Medicine)
Thulsa Doom
August 9th, 2012
11:40 am
“Don’t tell us about Reagan getting the hostages released from Iran. It was Carter’s policies that set that up.”
Now THAT is hilarious.
weetamoe
August 9th, 2012
11:40 am
The ad exemplifies the viciousness and mendacity of the Obama campaign and supports the view that no decent person can win against someone who does not even know the meaning of decency. We have also seen, especially in the lies about Obama’s *you didn’t build that* speech in Roanoke and the implications about Romney in words such as *brute and verboten* that the left either does not understand or supports statism and that the media are either afraid or unwilling to speak truth to power.
getalife
August 9th, 2012
11:41 am
The gop have done nothing but lied since the election of President Obama.
Real Americans are sick of the con lies.
Liberal Chicks are UGLY
August 9th, 2012
11:42 am
I figure this much from the ad. If this is all obama has got on Romney, than Romney is way more fit for the job than I thought.
It’s one thing to sling mud, it’s another to sling mud that doesn’t actually exist.
Yep, this ad sure says a lot about this campaign. It says that obama is a dirty liar who will say anything to anybody to get his way, even if it’s rediculous.
Thulsa Doom
August 9th, 2012
11:42 am
“He claims to have created 4 million jobs. As of this A.M. there are 330 thousand fewer people employed in the United States than when Obama took office, so any jobs “he” created were replacement jobs that “he” lost.”
More uncomfortable truths for the Dems.
Joe Hussein Mama
August 9th, 2012
11:42 am
Doom — “Now THAT is hilarious.”
stands for decibels (SfBA)
August 9th, 2012
11:43 am
We have also seen, especially in the lies about Obama’s *you didn’t build that* speech
I’m sure dozens, nay, scores of actual swing voters give a rat’s ass about that quoted-out-of-context line at this point, wee one.
Why don’t you keep hawking it. There’s a good lad.