Poll Position: Who’s right about Romney’s time at Bain?
(Note: Apologies for the late Poll Position today, but I wanted the ethics reform post to be online all day.)
This week has seen one of the more amazing attack lines in any GOP presidential primary. It seems some Republican candidates think Mitt Romney was too much of a capitalist.
Well, that’s not exactly how they’d put it. Texas Gov. Rick Perry (yes, he’s still running, despite barely beating the combination of Buddy Roemer and “total write-ins” in New Hampshire) refers to Romney’s career at Bain Capital as “vulture capitalism,” not venture capitalism. A so-called Super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich produced a 28-minute video titled “When Mitt Romney Came to Town” about a company in South Carolina — the site of the next primary — bought by Bain.
Who's right about Romney's time at Bain Capital?
- Gingrich and Perry (178 Votes)
- Romney and his defenders (95 Votes)
- Who knows? (38 Votes)
Total Voters: 311
Loading ...Their attacks have been lauded by some on the right, and virtually everyone on the left, as an appropriate critique of Romney’s claim to have been a job creator in the private sector and/or a good way to toughen up Romney for the general election against Barack Obama. (I didn’t realize Gingrich and Perry were running for “presidential sparring partner” instead of president.) But Gingrich and Perry have also been fiercely criticized by many on the right for making pandering, un-nuanced attacks on capitalism merely to boost their electoral chances.
Who’s right?
That’s this week’s Poll Position question. Answer in the nearby poll and in the comments thread below.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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388 comments Add your comment
MarkV
January 15th, 2012
3:07 pm
Dusty @2:42 pm
I would not call what you have written wrong, but its flaw is generalization. You have presented the extremes of Democrats’ positions as if they were positions of all. That clearly is not true. Few Democrats want EVERYONE’s needs the responsibility of government (except in the minds of some posters here). At the same time you presented the Republicans’ position in an interesting way; “Republicans want EVERYONE to be self supporting as far as possible. “ What does “as far as possible mean?” Many Republicans are very happy to have some of their needs to be the responsibility of the government. But you are right that there are different ideas of the appropriate extent of the government involvement. As for a solution, that is what elections are for, isn’t it?
Linda
January 15th, 2012
3:11 pm
Rafe@10:33, Thank you for your kind words. I just went to the park for a while & lo & behold, there were those liberals from this blog, on the children’s playground, in the sandbox, calling the little children vicious names, teaching them how to be liberals. They were foaming at the mouth when the mothers finally let them leave the women’s room. Hope all that soap doesn’t make them too sick.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
January 15th, 2012
4:05 pm
Poll Position: Who’s right about Romney’s time at Bain?
11:51 am January 13, 2012, by Kyle Wingfield
——————–
Still me.
Dusty
January 15th, 2012
4:11 pm
MarkV
I can only speak in generalizations because I have not become what I consider an expert in the field of politics, the study of the economy, or the greater intricacies of government (even with advanced degrees, mostly science). So my opinion is that of one who reads, observes, listens and looks and that is what you get.
So I would say, generally, that the majority of Democrats want as much as possible given to all citizens to increase the health, education, good environmental practices and new energy production. They would do it at the expense of the protection of our country, the decrease of state’s & citizen rights, the failure of many environmental restrictions and new unproven energy efforts. The result if is a mixed loss of independence, personal & public Democrats seem not to notice the huge burden of debt this entails nor make an effort at reducing expenses. They seem not to notice that dependency defeats independence.
Republicans believe that there will always be those who need help and give it to the needy gladly. But they believe more in personal compassion then lax governmental assistance for a class of people based on income. They believe that protection of our country is a vital need, whether at home or abroad. They do not wish extensive government efforts on health, private enterprise or high taxation. They see huge debts as poisonous to a country and prefer “tight” budgets with plans to pay for what is needed. They believe in the value of personal efforts rather than dependency.
So there’s my current “view”. Of course, you see things differently. Elections will not cure all. Support and interest in whom we elect is vital. They will do what they think we want and we MUST want more cooperation between political parties who are now trying to “kill each other with words”.
Talk to you later. Company coming.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
January 15th, 2012
4:17 pm
President Obama and his family headed out to church this morning for the third time in a month, the latest sign that the president may be using religion to boost his image as the campaign heats up.
Obama has rarely gone to church since becoming president.
Well, well, obozo wants to be a Jesus Freak now that the election draws near. I guess every vote counts, eh?
Betcha when the libs call him on it, he’ll tell the sodomites that he didn’t listen, hahahahahaha,
Freakin weirdos.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
January 15th, 2012
5:46 pm
Yeah, just look at what Obozo has to do to start building his appeal for the election–the opposite of what he’s done for three years. Just this past week he started talking about streamlining the government! Of course, it won’t involve cutting any spending.
Obozo: Phony. Liar.
Obozo receptacles: Idiots.
MarkV
January 15th, 2012
6:06 pm
Dusty
I do not agree with you in details, but I agree with the general sense of your post and your conclusions.
td
January 15th, 2012
6:25 pm
MarkV
January 15th, 2012
12:12 pm
Because you seem to be a proponent of the welfare state (whatever other name you want to call it) Obama ideology. I wrote the example to you as a last ditch effort to have you to do some soul searching in the hopes that you will decide that capitalism is a better alternative.
MarkV
January 15th, 2012
6:44 pm
td @6:25 pm
Please show me the evidence of me being a proponent of the welfare state.
Before we go further, however, I want to apologize. I should not have written what I did about having studied those issues more than you did. You were right, not knowing what you know I should not have done that. On the other hand, I did let you off the hook when you claimed that most all scholars …etc.
Having done the above I broke my own rule not to introduce anything personal into the discussion. But I will break it one more time about this. When I wrote that I had (I would now say most likely) more life experience than you did, which I still believe, it is because I have real life experience with real socialism. So I know better than most here, I am sure, how bad a system real socialism is. Therefore I find it rather hilarious when I read all those comments her about socialism in the Europe and even USA, coming from people who have no idea what they are talking about, and who cannot distinguish between social democracy and socialism. For people who write things like “The different names/labels e.g. fascist, socialist, communist, are all correctly used to describe various degrees of one Marxism,” for those the word ignorant is not strong enough.
Linda
January 15th, 2012
6:45 pm
Dusty & td et al, Google progressives or progressivism etc. to understand where these people are coming from. Get a clear picture of who the progressives are in the Democratic party & what they stand for. You need to understand their beliefs before you debate them, which is probably a waste of your time. You need to understand the history of progressivism & how far they have come via gradualism, that is gradual democratic reform to capitalist economies that will eventually succeed in creating a socialist economy, rather than revolutionary tactics, currently being tried by the Occupiers. You need to understand what they are against & why. I wish these old-timey Democrats on these blogs understood how their party has been infiltrated by the progressives & what their agenda is really about.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
January 15th, 2012
6:49 pm
MarkV: Please show me the evidence of me being a proponent of the welfare state.
————————–
MarkV, in your opinion, is the current slate of welfare programs too generous, or not generous enough? By welfare programs, I mean SS, SSI, Medicare, Medicaid, WIC, Section 8 housing, 99 weeks unemployment checks, PeachCare, free cell phones, Pell grants, government subsidized student loans, HOPE.
MarkV
January 15th, 2012
7:05 pm
Even more hilarious than people talking about Socialist Obama and socialism in the US is when they start talking about Marxism and Communism. They are so passé, and they do not know it. Virtual Neandterthals of politics. Marxism is in the dustbin of history, no serious person of importance in the developed world adheres to it, and Communism is a now an ancient utopian fantasy, which has no relationship to the present. Even those who call themselves Communists do not consider it anything realistic. To use those terms for anybody on the current political scene is simply laughable, but also sad.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
January 15th, 2012
7:23 pm
Marxism is summed up in the Encarta Reference Library as “a theory in which class struggle is a central element in the analysis of social change in Western societies.” Marxism is the antithesis of capitalism which is defined by Encarta as “an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods, characterized by a free competitive market and motivation by profit.” Marxism is the system of socialism of which the dominant feature is public ownership of the means of production, distribution, and exchange.
You might want to get a clue, Markie.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
January 15th, 2012
7:24 pm
Buh bye Packers.
See ya, wouldn’t wanna be ya!
TruthBe
January 15th, 2012
7:31 pm
Obama Sucks
January 15th, 2012
6:58 pm
Why doesn’t the IRS pull the big Black Churches tax exemption for using their church for politics and total support for Democrats? Obama mouthpieces. If a major White Church said the same things about President Obama and the Democrats you people in the mainstreet media and the ACLU folks would be asking the IRS to pull their tax exemption. Black Corruption and Black Racism that’s why. And a spinless White Community and bunch of cowardly Liberals that’s why. http://www.ajc.com/news/atlanta/ebenezer-pastor-criticizes-gingrich-1303603.html
Linda
January 15th, 2012
7:32 pm
What is so revealing is MarkV monitoring this blog for 3 weekend days, keeping it up on a Sunday night, @ 7:05 PM, where he finds no friends. I went on myobama.com a couple of days ago & have been hit up with cookie popups ever since. I believe Mark is a plant from Obama. Obama has plants on every blog. Why not MarkV on this one? And Mark, you are doing a lousy job. You should be fired.
MarkV
January 15th, 2012
7:36 pm
I Report @7:23 pm
You might want to get a brain. Preferably through an exchange with somebody who has used his. Yours would be in great demand as never used.
MarkV
January 15th, 2012
7:44 pm
Linda @7:32 pm
Linda,
You have lost any credibility a long time ago. All you are capable of is attacking me personally and boasting about your education. You have not offered a single reasoned argument against anything I have written, which shows that you are incapable of doing that. Keep up the good work.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
January 15th, 2012
7:46 pm
Markie- So which obozobot typed that zinger up for ya?
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, wow, I’m so impressed, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
td
January 15th, 2012
8:18 pm
MarkV
January 15th, 2012
6:44 pm
I have not lived in a socialist country and have no real life experiences living in such. I get a lot of my real life knowledge from my wife. She grew up in Vietnam during the war and was there when the communist took over. She went from a merchant family lifestyle to being shipped to the country to work in the rice fields. She went from having a private school education to not being allowed to go to school for 5 years.
Lil' Barry Bailout (Revised Downward)
January 15th, 2012
8:58 pm
MarkV, in your opinion, is the current slate of welfare programs too generous, or not generous enough?
————-
MarkV asked for evidence of his support for the welfare state, then avoids answering a simple question so he doesn’t accidentally provide the evidence for us.
MarkV: Receptacle for Idiot Obozo.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
January 15th, 2012
9:26 pm
I’d rather become a liberal dummycrat than watch the Green Bay Packers win another Super Bowl and now I don’t have to worry over that #$%@.
Thank you, Eli.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
January 15th, 2012
9:34 pm
I also wonder how the fruit loop liberals in San Fransikkko are taking this whole NFC Championship ordeal, Candlestick Park will be lit up another time, people will drive to the game, eat greasy food and have fun, shouldn’t you weirdos be, like, really angry about all this?
Linda
January 15th, 2012
9:35 pm
Mark@7:44, I have lost my credibility? In your dreams!
I will not apologize for being proud of my education. I & my parents worked very hard for my goalpost & it has paid off.
You have insulted every conservative on this blog this weekend:
1/13 12:47 “…has some sense…”
1:46 “…ignorance…ignorant…”
3:46 “Again, ignorant display…”
4:34 “,,,If you are able to learn…”
7:53 “…exist only to the ignorant fantasies of people like you…”
8:10 “…people who know how to present falsehoods & stupidities. With your miniscule brainpower you failed to notice…keep your idiocies…”
8:47 “…unable to understand even simple things…people like you who distort…stupid attacks…liars like you…”
8:50 “…distortions & lies…”
9:36: “…your inability to understand…”
Do I need to go on? Read your own insults on your posts. How can you justify being so rude & crude? What are you trying to accomplish? If you are trying to sway people to your agenda, you are wasting your time by insulting them in every way, shape, manner & form. If you are trying to elevate your ego, you might have succeeded, but we are laughing at you all the way to the mirror.
Get a life, get off of this blog or be polite.
getalife
January 15th, 2012
9:38 pm
You worry about silly things Andy.
Huntsman is out.
Sane cons not welcomed in today’s Alice in Wonderland gop.
Are you really going to run that flip flopping lib from Mexico, willard.?
Seriously?
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
January 15th, 2012
9:45 pm
When did Taxachussetts become Mexico, gitmo?
getalife
January 15th, 2012
9:46 pm
willard’s dad was born in Mexico.
So the newt demands to see willard’s papers before the President will.
Was willard born in Mexico like his daddy?
Mmmmmm, better call oily to take it to the SC.
getalife
January 15th, 2012
9:50 pm
Imagine willard with a tan Andy.
He would get pulled over in Arizona and they will ask him for his papers.
Why doesn’t willard promote his Mexican roots Andy?
Get that Latino vote.
Linda
January 15th, 2012
10:16 pm
As I was telling Rafe this morning, I went to the park yesterday. Well, today, I went to the zoo. I was trying to get away from politics, resting there on a picnic table, when I noticed a disturbance in the monkey exhibit. It was liberals insulting the monkeys, calling them “ignorant, unable to learn, irrational, presenting falsehoods & stupidities, having miniscule brainpower & failure to notice, unable to understand even simple things, distortion, stupid attacks, lying,” etc.
The monkeys became irate & were hollering, jumping from limb to limb.
The security guards at the zoo were incensed at the liberals & ordered them to community service by spending the night in the monkey cage. The liberals were ecstatic that they were able to spend the night with their ancestors. By 10:00 PM, there was no sign that the cousins were still in existence. May God rest their souls.
MarkV
January 15th, 2012
10:33 pm
Linda @9:35 pm
What you fail to understand is that when somebody writes something stupid, it is appropriate to call it stupid. When something is a fantasy, it is appropriate to call it a fantasy. Is somebody shows ignorance, then he /she is ignorant. I am always prepared to support my views and expressions with reasoning and have done so, while you have never submitted any intelligent response.
Interestingly, you included “distortions and lie” among the expressions you object to. In your view then, one should tolerate when his statements are distorted, or if somebody has lied. That may be your way, but it is not mine.
I will not take any admonitions form you, who have shown repeatedly your hypocrisy, attacking for impoliteness those whose political views are different, and not those who are on your side. This is not your blog, so do not to tell me to get off it.
Linda
January 15th, 2012
11:27 pm
MarkV@10:33, “What you fail to understand is that when somebody writes something stupid,” you need to refrain from calling them stupid or otherwise, you appear stupid.
“When something is a fantasy, it is appropriate to call it a fantasy,” unless you are stupid.
“If someone shows ignorance, then he/she is ignorant,” unless you show that you are even more ignorant & stupid.
You are neither stupid nor ignorant, but calling others such makes you such.
I wrote about the likes of you yesterday at the park & today at the zoo. You are arrogant to the nth degree & have no reason to be on this blog. All you are doing is exploiting/contaminating the liberal agenda. You are a waste of energy & effort & basically just a waste of a good mind, really pitiful. I feel sorry for you.
Linda
January 15th, 2012
11:39 pm
getalife, If I could not spell, use proper grammar, use proper punctuation, know how to capitalize, etc., I would not come on any blog & show the world how smart (?) I was, unless it was Jay’s, where bodily sounds are symbolic with comments. Why don’t you go over there & f@#t & belch?
GodHatesTrash, Superstar
January 15th, 2012
11:49 pm
How did Turdlacher do today? Oh, that’s right – da Bears went home early like they always do.
GodHatesTrash, Superstar
January 15th, 2012
11:52 pm
Why are the cons on this blog so disgustingly pathetic?
GodHatesTrash, Superstar
January 16th, 2012
12:15 am
Gawd knows that cons in general but especially those on Kyle’s blog suffer from poor cognitive skills, and low IQ has been linked to depression and various anti-social personality disorders.
I will try to have more pity on ya’ll, but good gawd y’all are pitiful.
MarkV
January 16th, 2012
9:38 am
Linda @11:27 pm
Linda, I admit I can’t stand hypocrites like you. And as you have shown in this post, you are incapable of using elementary logic in making an argument or assertion.
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