Obama presses Bain attacks despite D grumbles
The Philadelphia Inquirer's Thomas Fitzgerald covers politics and political animals under the big tent.
Obama presses Bain attacks despite D grumbles
Thomas Fitzgerald, Inquirer Politics Writer
President Obama’s re-election campaign is continuing its attacks on Republican Mitt Romney as a job killing profiteer during his career in private equity, launching a web video Monday centered on the experience of workers at Ampad, a paper company.
Bain Capital, where Romney was CEO, bought Ampad in 1992, mostly with borrowed money, then acquired other paper companies over the next several years. By 1999, the company carried $400 million in debt, and it went bankrupt in 2000. Bain realized a profit of $100 million on its initial $5 million cash investment.
The latest Obama video focuses on a paper company in Marion, Ind. that Bain-controlled Ampad bought in 1994; all 250 workers were immediately fired and made to reapply for their jobs – at much lower wages and benefits. That plant closed one year later. The video features interviews with several workers who saw their middle-class lives fall apart.
Romney, who was governor of Massachusetts from 2003-2007, touts his Bain experience as an important credential as a job creator. Obama strategists believe there is a darker story: of a man who pursued profits at the expense of workers, an enemy of the middle class.
The Obama campaign came under fire from a top surrogate on the Bain issue on Sunday, when Newark Mayor Cory Booker said on NBC’s Meet the Press that he found the attacks “nauseating.”
"I'm not going to sit here and indict private equity. To me we're getting to a ridiculous point in America," Booker said on Meet. “If you look at the totality of Bain Capital's record, they've done a lot to support businesses, to grow businesses, and this, to me, I'm very uncomfortable with.”
Later Booker released a video, presumably after heat from the Obama camp, in which he sought to clarify his comments. He said that Romney’s record at Bain was fair game, and added he had been making the point that there are too many negative attacks on both sides of the presidential race.
Last week, the Obama campaign highlighted a GST Steel, a Kansas City-company that was bought by Bain and then went under (though it was also under heavy pressure from imports of cheaper foreign steel.)
The Romney campaign Monday called the Obama attacks “an assault on the free-enterprise system.”
Here is the web video that the Obama campaign is circulating :
Why is Obama's campaign ONLY about criticizing Romney and the GOP? Because there is NOT ONE THING in his 3+ year record that he can point to as a success!! NOTHING!— bartfr- THATS NOT TRUE. HE GAVE A VERY GOOD TAX CREDIT FOR A NEW HVAC FOR 2 YEARS. THAT PRODUCED AND WAS VERY SUCCESSFUL. — POLICE 1
- And exactly WHAT JOBS has Obama generated?? Be specific! And compare that number to the $4 trillion dollar debt he "stimulated"! Come on folks...be honest with yourselves!— bartfr
- lets start with boeing, UPS, fed X, construction jobs,AND MORE.
STOP CRYING CLOWN. HE PRODUCED!— POLICE 1 - Obama is doomed if the auto bailouts are his point of economic accomplishment. No jobs were saved...they have been artifically propped up using tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer cash....which will NEVER be repaid in our lifetimes. Obama simply stole tens of billions of dollars and used it as the largest special interst payback in American history...by turning over both companies to the UAW and artificially propping up what are still failed companies. Profitable? No way.
Had both GM & Chrysler went through a bankruptcy, all viable portions of both companies would have been bought up by investors and those jobs truly saved. Additionally, the sales volume for both companies would not have vanished (as economically ignorant left wing loons try to pretend), but rather, that sales volume would have been moved to other car manufacturers which would have increased employment levels & vendor purchases. Obama used taxpayer cash to pick winners & losers...the winners being his special interest unions at GM & Chrylser and the losers being all other auto manufacturers.
To be clear...only a stone cold idiot is dumb enough to believe that the bailout of GM & Chrysler actually saved jobs. That is ridiculous. Remove the artificial money propping them up and they both collapse....and their sales volume dispersed to other manufacturers who would see increased economic activity.
If the auto bailouts are Obama's sole economic accomplishment as president, it is just further evidence of why he should not be given another 4 years. Further justification would be his using tens of billions of taxpayer dollars for the largest special interest payback in American history. Scumbag politician to the core. Hope & change, hope & change...— kelprod2 - you dont have a clue what you are talking about! — POLICE 1
- Obama's corrupt leftist thuggism is simply not going to build trust with any sector of the economy other than those who are trying to siphon off a few billion dollars from the taxpayers. Those companies will support Obama out of their own rational self interest if they think they can get a piece of the pie. Obama is serving pie to his friends.— Mr. Smith
- The record is clear. Obama is a loser. What do losers do? They attack their adversaries. This is what you will see from the Spender-in-Chief for the next 6 months. You wont see anything being done about you getting a job, or reducing our massive debt and tax liabilities.— Capt. Buzz
- Obama is a two bit Demagogue. He got by most of his life by critisizing others. The man up until 3 years ago had no accomplishments in the real world. He now has a record and it is terrible. Thats why he cannot run on it. He must tear the other guy down. He's typical of the liberal academia mindset that is so pervasive on college campuses and more so on Ivy League campuses. Columbia and Harvard being the worst.— Phishface
You can reach Tom Fitzgerald at 215-854-2718 or tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
Reach Thomas at tfitzgerald@phillynews.com.
