Steve M sums up Romney’s interviews from last night:
Maybe it’s just some weird depersonalization that’s part of Romney’s personality, but I see something evasive in Romney’s invoking of other people as proof that he was uninvolved with Bain after ’99 — “that’s known and that’s said by the people at the firm”; “It’s said by the documents”; “I think anybody who knows that I was out full-time running the Olympics would understand that’s where I was.” It’s as if he’s lined up people and paperwork to give him an alibi, and he knows he can’t be sure it’s airtight. It’s as if he can’t say frthatom the gut he was effectively out of the picture altogether, just as Jerry Sandusky in that interview couldn’t say flat-out that he isn’t attracted to boys. It’s as if Romney knows he might get caught.
I think that’s exactly right. Answers like that don’t work politically, the same way that “no controlling legal authority” and “I voted for it before I voted against it” don’t work politically. Yeah, legalistic bullshit works better when you’ve got right-wing echo chamber and corporate establishment media backing you up, but it’s still not the greatest campaign rhetoric.
JCT
It’s not just the right-wing echo chamber. Romney has never had to “explain himself” to anyone, ever.
And he clearly isn’t very good at learning on the fly.
Valdivia
I love that song. I also like the sort of folkish version of it.
pragmatism
Slightly OT but i liked this analysis of the legal advice jay z gives in 99 problems. http://slu.edu/Documents/law/Law%20Journal/Archives/LJ56-2_Mason_Article.pdf
Jay got it mostly right.
Stuck In 60s
Comparing Mitt to Jerry Sandusky is just plain insulting to Sandusky.
Sandusky ****ed his prey one at a time. Romney wants to **** 99% of Americans in one swell foop.
the Conster
He put his nuts in the O Team’s hands by letting Bain be his rationale for running for president, without getting his stories to match up. That’s how removed he is from reality, and especially how incompetent the rest of the clowns were he ran against. WTF Republicans?
BGinCHI
@JCT: That’s right, and goes nicely with the Taibbi piece Anne Laurie (or whoever) posted a bit ago.
Bottom line: Romney doesn’t really have a strength. He just has a lot of successes.
And he has these because they were handed to him for the most part.
Valdivia
You’re welcome. :)
99 problems but a Mitt ain’t one.
SteveM
Yikes — that should be “from,” not “frthatom.” Gotta proofread these things more carefully.
smintheus
Romney’s gonna try singing the same refrain over and over until Election Day.
Speaking of which…
It’s Woodie Guthrie’s birthday, born 100 years ago today.
shortstop
Funny post title. I’ve wondered why these people who supposedly managed everything at Bain from ’99 on haven’t come forward and said so. Why didn’t Romney have those names ready from the moment he decided to pretend he left in ’99? His inability to ever see any of this coming is so bewildering–arrogance, entitlement, rank stupidity, refusal to listen to advisors, all of the above? People don’t want a compulsive liar as prez, but nor do they want someone who can’t troubleshoot the most obvious problems. He’s had years to get all his stories straight and he falls down every fucking time. It’s just astounding.
Jewish Steel
@Valdivia: Do you know this version? It’s my favorite.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COltJcESt0M
RossinDetroit
The flip side of this issue is if Romney wasn’t CEO of bain for 3 years from ’99 – ’02 then someone else certainly was. They couldn’t run without a leader. Why doesn’t that person come forward and clear this up?
YellowJournalism
@Stuck In 60s: Mitt may be a lot of vile, disgusting things, but a Sandusky, he’s probably not.
geg6
@the Conster:
I know, right? I’m gobsmacked that this guy has been running for president for almost a decade and has the power of the mighty GOP Wurlitzer behind him and they couldn’t figure out that this would be an issue? Seriously?
And then we have the near guy with his massive Chicago balls toying with him before knocking him out, a page out of the GOP’s own book. They still don’t know or understand how this could be happening. It’s fucking hilarious and I gotta say, gives me one of those Chris Matthews thrill-up-the-leg thingys.
robertdsc-PowerBook
Winner.
At this point, I wish Mitt would simply withdraw and never give another interview to anyone ever again. Just enjoy his millions and his grandkids and get away from public life as far as possible.
The grotesque magnitude of his failure is depressing. Get out, Mitt.
NonyNony
@shortstop:
Ah, that’s an easy one. If they say that anyone other than Mitt was the CEO, then the company falsified its SEC reports and, from what I’ve been told, the SEC would really have no choice but to open up an investigation on Bain for fraud.
If they say Mitt was the CEO but he didn’t do anything for the company and wasn’t involved in the decision making at all, then on what planet can you actually claim that he was the CEO? And they’d have to answer the question of who WAS making those decisions. Is there anyone who likes Mitt enough that they’re willing to fall on their swords and take credit for his poor decisions during that period?
If they say Mitt was the CEO and he made some decisions but only on really important things, the Mitt’s a liar. And Mitt gets to explain why closing down companies and firing people didn’t count as “important decisions”.
RossinDetroit
@smintheus:
A great man and an outstanding American. In contrast to Mitt’s mangling of America the Beautiful I want to see a video of Obama singing This Land is Your Land.
That would bring a tear to my eye.
Allan
These are the questions that need to be asked:
Mr. Romney, you are going to great lengths to assert that you had absolutely no control after February, 1999 over the management of a company that you owned.
1. Does that mean that you disapprove of the actions that company took after February, 1999?
2. If so, what specifically did Bain do after February, 1999 with which you disagree, or would have directed Bain to act differently, had you been in control?
3. If you disapprove of the management practices of a company in which you hold an interest, why haven’t you divested yourself of any stake in it?
Jewish Steel
@shortstop: I think all this dissembling works fine in the rigid, hierarchical world of business. That Romney can’t see it’s not working in politics is very telling.
I’m saying he’s one dumb SOB.
geg6
Oh, and Doug? You are on fire today with your titles. Bravo, dude.
Boots Day
It’s kind of magnificent the way Romney thinks he’s beyond having to answer these kinds of questions about his business dealings. I mean, he’ll give us two years to tax returns – you people ought to be grateful for even that much! We need to just be thankful that the great Mitt Romney deigns to be out leader!
Valdivia
@Jewish Steel:
That is pretty awesome. thank you because I had not heard it.
@robertdsc-PowerBook:
blushing. thank you. it must be the double espresso.
rikyrah
DougJ,
I’m sorry….check your DNA…you’ve got some African ancestry in you…
your headlines are too much.
rikyrah
@the Conster:
He ran against amateurs and grifters.
it doesn’t stun me, but amuses me that they thought the team that:
1. defeated the CLINTON MACHINE
2. elected a BLACK MAN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
was gonna be like the GOP Clown Car.
Robin G.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees a parallel with the Penn State thing, because I was worried I was taking partisanship over the top. But my comparison is more with the Penn State “leadership”.
The administration at Penn State seemed to work hard to make sure they weren’t criminally liable, (This backfired when they perjured themselves, but that’s another issue.) When Romney opens those tax returns (in the end I think he’ll have to) I seriously doubt we’ll see anything illegal, but only by the merest technicalities. He will have had lawyers crawling over it from years back to make sure he exploited every loophole available to do what, in a sane world, *would* be tax evasion, but thanks to years of Republican congressional control is not.
I guess what I see is two cases of priviledged fucks shouting “But we didn’t break the law!!!!” as though anyone cares/will care. They really think that gets them off with the Little People, when all the Little People think is that if it’s not a crime, it damn well should be.
Two cents.
RSA
I read a funny thing in the CNN summary of their Romney interview that Steve M points to:
Romney was governor of Massachusetts in 2004. Did he even notice that there was a Presidential election going on? I guess that the continuous reprogramming must pose challenges in getting all the data uploaded properly.
Marcellus Shale, Public Dick
the parallels between penn state and the gop have been pretty striking. the bottom line is, if you represent either brand, this week is a reflection on you.
shortstop
@Jewish Steel: Good point. When the CEO blatantly lies at the all hands, you don’t get to scream “Bullshit!” to his face. Even after all these years, Mitt simply hasn’t been able to make the transition to a world in which people get to question him. So SOB, dumb, check.
Yutsano
@rikyrah:
Well to be fair, we all do. Ethiopian even.
the Conster
@rikyrah:
Seriously, and that’s why I love the segment on Bill Maher’s show about dispatches from the bubble. Creating your own reality has its drawbacks, especially since Mitt’s been in a bubble his whole life. It’s too late for him to learn the new rules. Obama’s just toying with him now, like a cat with a wounded mouse, and they both know how it’s going to end.
catclub
@shortstop: This is my take as well.
I just am hoping for a journalist to ask him for a name of the guy who took over in 1999 and have him come up blank.
Also: Ask how the documents he signed in 1998 for the SEC are different from the documents he signed in 2001.
Mike in NC
@Boots Day:
Born rich. Sent to all the right schools. Never did a day of actual labor in his life. Spent his entire business career surrounded by hand-picked sycophants. Bullied classmates but was protected by family connections.
Basically had everything handed to him on a silver platter. Shouldn’t surprise anybody that he’s a thin-skinned, self-absorbed, smarmy weasel and pathological liar.
Valdivia
I love how all the journalists did Romney the favor of asking him if he wanted an apology, was owed one, or was being unfairly treated. Leading leading questions.
Haydnseek
@smintheus: It’s also Bastille Day. I think Woody would hoist a glass, but probably wouldn’t order the freedom fries.
catclub
@Robin G.: I know I would be tempted to make up fake tax returns for those years that make me look good. Why? Because the IRS CANNOT contradict him if he does.
The IRS has to keep tax returns private.
Davis X. Machina
@rikyrah: “Bain” was shorthand — or supposed to be shorthand.
White. Private. Business. Old. Experienced
versus
Blackety black. Public sector. Academia. Young. Inexperienced.
Now, who votes in this country? And what do they not like?
Might have worked in ’08, barring a collapse of the world economy.
PaminBB
Mitt has always been a weasel, but he has rarely had it pointed out to him. All Team O is really doing is holding up a giant mirror that Matt can’t avoid, and he is acting true to form.
Joey Maloney
@rikyrah: I think maybe the Republican A-team didn’t want to work for the Romneytronic. I thought McCain’s organization was amateur night, but this is a whole new nadir. Like if McCain was triple-A, this is tee-ball. Once we get past the conventions, these people going up against Plouffe and Axelrod’s machine is going to be like sending a Brownie scout on a naked reverse against the Green Bay Packers.
I am loving every fucking minute of it.
Linda Featheringill
Was it Murdoch who said Romney ought to fire his buddies and hire a professional political campaign staff?
I think Mitt filled his team with yes men he could depend on to be supportive.
NonyNony
@catclub:
He wouldn’t be able to get away with it.
Seriously – he would NOT be able to get away with it. He’d need to have a good accountant go through and fake the records in such a way that other accountants wouldn’t be able to detect the fraud. It’s just not going to be possible – especially if the McCain team is sitting on 23 years worth of tax returns that don’t match what he released to the public. It isn’t like everyone that was on Team McCain are big fans of Mitt Romney after all, and they like to talk to the press. Hell I wouldn’t be surprised if the gist of what’s in Romney’s records isn’t already floating out there in the journo-sphere, waiting for confirmation before they write it up. If Romney releases records that don’t fit the rumors they’ve heard from the McCain camp, someone will start digging. That kind of fraud could make a name for a reporter.
Even a hint of fraud would only add to the “Romney is a lying douchebag” narrative. He can’t afford that.
smintheus
@NonyNony: I’m not so sure the SEC would investigate. Mitt has had his problems in the past with fraudulent SEC filings that went uninvestigated. When Bain sold Damon Corp its SEC filings didn’t reveal that Damon stood a good chance of being penalized for Medicare fraud (as it was under the new owner). Romney later said to the Boston Globe that he was aware of the fraud while he was in charge of Damon (he also claimed, falsely, that he’d personally put a stop to it…but federal court filings show that the fraud didn’t stop until after Bain sold the company).
Why did Romney get off scott free from what amounts to double fraud: Medicare fraud + SEC fraud?
aimai
@RossinDetroit:
I agree with this. Its just bizarre to me. My father has run a few companies, and really, the question of who is CEO is not ambiguous at all. Either someone is running the company or they aren’t. I think what is more shocking is that it is probably the case that Romney could and did run that company, and make a shitload of money from that company, while also doing the Olympics and that puts the lie to the notion that it takes any special skill or attention to make a fuckload of money at that level of corporate capitalism. Contra Brook’s argument Romney raked in the money for very little hard, meritocratic work. Lower level peons did it all and the company did just fine.
aimai
Todd
Mittens strikes me as someone who, in addition to being a mendacious, entitled, sociopathic narcissist, is also passive aggressive.
Todd
Mittens strikes me as someone who, in addition to being a mendacious, entitled, sociopathic narcissist, is also passive aggressive.
smintheus
@RSA: The funniest lie from Mitt ever.
burnspbesq
Doug, when you accept and use the framing “legalistic bullshit,” you’re playing right into Romney’s hands.
SEC filings are NOT bullshit. Investors, including investment advisors to public employee pension plans and the people who run TIAA-CREF where your very own retirement funds are likely invested, rely on the accuracy of SEC filings when making decisions about how to invest YOUR money. Silly me, I think you have an interest in having those filings be truthful and reliable.
This is the same framing that says that obstruction of justice, perjury, and witness tampering aren’t “serious crimes.” Like hell they’re not. Our system can’t function if people don’t tell the truth, and criminalizing official lying is the best possible incentive for truth-telling.
Surely you get that.
Kane
It is Cheney-esque in the way that his campaign passes along a meme to the press, then the press prints it, then Romney points to the article and says everybody knows, even the Washington Post says so.
kay
The “Lifelike” doll company story is interesting. Romney himself backed the company and Romney’s brother in law ran it ( into the ground).
One of the Romney sons pulled the plug and denied a last-ditch plea by the company for more money.
I don’t know anything about Mitt Romney, because he doesn’t reveal anything. I don’t think most people in the country know anything about him.
I appreciate the Boston newspaper giving us this little peek into the world of the Romney family enterprises.
amk
@Kane: aka circle-jerk.
Kane
Lets accept the notion that Romney had nothing to with Bain after 1999:
What then was his response when he looked at his tax returns in 2000, 2001, 2002 and beyond and he saw that he was profiting from his firm’s outsourcing of jobs, investing in fetus disposal and other nefarious dealings and that a large portion of his assests were parked in offshore tax havens and Swiss bank acounts? Did he demand that his name be removed from all things Bain? Did he refuse to accept the money and give it all to charity? Did he demand that all of his offshore accounts be closed immediately?
He can play footsie all he wants with when exactly he left Bain, the documents and statements contradict his claims. But the larger point is that whether he was in charge beyond 1999 or not, he has continued to profit from the company’s actions to this day.
eemom
Got turned onto that song watching some vampire movie with my daughter, the name of which escapes me for the moment, but it had an actor named Colin something who is not Colin Firth.
Great song.
slag
@aimai:
Maybe Bain was a representative democracy and Rmoney has more experience in governance than appears to be the case.
Turgidson
The fuck??? He has been caught. His corporate media cheerleaders just don’t feel like telling anyone. Dammit I hate this.
geg6
@Marcellus Shale, Public Dick:
Seriously? You are saying that because I work for Penn State and represent my campus and the University that I should be searching my soul for the evil that lurks there because a bunch of wealthy white men were more concerned for themselves than for powerless children and that somehow reflects on me and 99% of the people who work there?
Go fuck yourself asshole.
Turgidson
@shortstop:
History says different. They may not actively consider it a positive trait in the voting booth, but they have no trouble voting for one.
Turgidson
@Joey Maloney:
Glad I put my coffee down before reading this. Outstanding.
CarolDuhart2
@shortstop: Good point. Just who was it that made those decisions after 1999, and why hasn’t Mitt produced him?
1) He’s (probably not a she) is dead. But all of the underlings, staff members, records, etc, gone too? I doubt it.
2) In just a bad a shape as Romney is legally? If so, it’s time to come clean and bail. You know that Romney isn’t really going to go to bat for you while your’e being hung out to dry.
Anyway, Alphacat has perfect timing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKXZ6quhps0
Creepy Jury Trials Permanently Penned Mr. Devon for Silvering Ordinary Camshafts
@RossinDetroit: here you go
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XaI5IRuS2aE
hueyplong
It seems like we want to go two places with this:
1. Getting at his tax returns, which really must be a treasure trove;
2. Make the public roll their eyes and think of Sgt Schultz every time he talks about post-1999 Bain so that they can hear nothing other than Romney repeating “I know nothing” about what was going on.
A subject of hatred, scorn and ridicule. The right sees him as a merchant of death profiting on the corpses of the unborn, and everyone else sees him as an out of touch, a-holy, entitled rich guy.
Creepy Jury Trials Permanently Penned Mr. Devon for Silvering Ordinary Camshafts
@Creepy Jury Trials Permanently Penned Mr. Devon for Silvering Ordinary Camshafts: Ross – sorry – reading skills are obviously limited – but enjoy it anyway
DougJ
@burnspbesq:
Courtroom-speak is not the same as political campaign-speak. “I broke no laws” is fine for the courtroom (you might even say that it’s the basis of most defenses). But it doesn’t work on the campaign trail.
hueyplong
It’s a short hop from
“I broke no laws”
to
“People want to know whether their president[ial candidate] is a crook. Well, I’m not a crook.”
JoeShabadoo
@Turgidson: People vote for liars because the liars are good at it. You can lie constantly as long as you can get people to believe you or at least feel you are lying for a good cause or reason.
Mitt lies all the time but has no ability at it.
RaflW
I think what we’ll eventually learn is that, as someone pointed to above, Romney was running Bain from SLC. But that ‘running’ Bain meant sitting on a monthly conference call where his partners laid the plans, Mitt said “OK” and off they went.
Mitt has acknowledged that his plan at first was to return to Bain after the Olympics, so he kept his seat warm. And the company kept making money, so it may not have even needed that much day-to-day guidance.
Then, when it became necessary to distance himself permanently from Bain decisions, he engineered a back-dated sale to his partners (also publicly acknowledged). I think the three year back-dating is highly questionable.
And we all know that it took 10 years for his partners to buy him out. They owed him a lot of money if if took them 10 years to come up with the scratch, on an installment plan, no less.
This is why the tax returns matter. The size, timing and disposition of those payments are important.
Marcellus Shale, Public Dick
@geg6:
yes.
in this very blog you vigorously defended your employers now proven lack of integrity. you even attacked me for daring to suggest that not only were the allegations true, but that the culture that fostered such pretentious moral high ground permeated throughout the institution.
even now you can’t see what you willingly and vociferously participated in.
Marcellus Shale, Public Dick
@geg6:
yes.
in this very blog you vigorously defended your employers now proven lack of integrity. you even attacked me for daring to suggest that not only were the allegations true, but that the culture that fostered such pretentious moral high ground permeated throughout the institution.
even now you can’t see what you willingly and vociferously participated in.
burnspbesq
@Marcellus Shale, Public Dick:
You’re way off base here.
Marcellus Shale, Public Dick
@burnspbesq:
if i am off base you aren’t even in the ball park.
gwangung
@Marcellus Shale, Public Dick: Dude, back off.
smintheus
@hueyplong: And of course Nixon said “I am not a crook” in reference to tax returns he didn’t file at all with the IRS until after a ProJo reporter looking into his finances caught him dead to rights.