n/t

A caterer nearby. Someone did this on the sly for fun, maybe, but now it's big news.

Welcomed!

I read on DU that it was "Michael Isikoff, an investigative journalist for NBC News, formerly with the United States magazine Newsweek", who taped it(more shall be revealed at a later date). Don't know anymore details except James Carter's Research discovered it online.

This is one of those little speeches he gives behind closed doors to raise money on a personal level.

that out, sammytko.

I was thinking maybe Isikoff was somehow invited and not in a press capacity.

So we still don't know who the actual video photographer was?

Honestly, weeks ago, I think. Never the whole thing. Saw the part about their wonderment at how the Chinese fence in their factories. At some point something, a pitcher, maybe, gets set in front of the camera.

I doubt it's too hard for a competent reporter to track down a host on YouTube.

it was closed fund raiser

it is intriquing because they came out of the gathering with this tape -- then what? time has passed and it comes out now. What happened between the taping and the release?

I don't think anyone realized what the full video looked like until now.

it might have been the "help"

"Negotiations".

This is a covey of shrewd successful businessmen, they know what to do when they have a product with a limited shelf life.

It is conceivable that some wealthy secret Obama supporter could have paid to be there to gather intelligence on the Romney campaign. Yeah I know, that means s/he had to donate to Romney to be there, BUT someone could purge any guilt over doing so by donating a lot more to Obama to make up for it.

saying a donor pulled a Rand on Mitt.

Both parties do this to each other - they send trackers to each other's events, and they'll use cameras, microphones, video and audio recording to try to catch each other with their pants down.

The Democratic Party, or one of their affiliated organizations, have the resources to buy tickets or pay donations, whatever, to get their trackers in the front door.

I'll just give a hearty thumbs-up to the Democratic tracker who caught Romney saying what he really thinks!

Romney knew nearly everyone at that table at least by financial reputation, and there's no way a Democratic operative would sneak in. It's not such a stretch to imagine that one of the money barrons would film some of the talk with a smart phone and decide later that what he had was pure cash to the right person.

So many are assuming this was an example of party heroism or driven by a set of sterling ideals. Some things, especially among GOP supporters, just come down to dollars and cents. I don't believe this was done to purposely take Romney down for any particular reason, it was just business, a language Mitt knows all too well.

Today we're hearing the name of millionaire hedge fund manager Mark Leder as a possible leaker.

I believe it. They were quite over-confident back in May, and probably thought of David as an insignificant bug under their Italian shoes.

People who make money off talking should be more careful about "bugs"

Just a theory

He's a reporter constantly looking for a scoop, not a Democratic strategist.

Plus, in the video we see Romney seated at a table, not a podium. This was a cozy meeting among financial birds of a feather.

I'm just repeating what liberal talking heads have said about Corn--maybe they were joking

Apparently, he saw the snippets on YouTube and tracked down the poster. David Corn was offered the entire clip in hi-res... most likely for money because Carter has stated that he wants to earn a living at what he does.

He says he spends everyday searching for such things and has the resources to broker a deal like this.

At any rate, I'm proposing that the video is not the result of the actions of some high minded Robin Hood trying to bring the man down, so much as it is simple monetary greed on the part of a Romney donor. Certainly, that clip could recoup the wasted cost of that $50,000 dinner.

The camera seems to have been placed on a serving/catering table, in between some dishes.

Last edited Tue Sep 18, 2012, 05:14 PM - Edit history (1)

Clearly, it's one of the people seated at the table with Mitt and his smart phone placed before him.

I know everyone wants to find a working class hero who has the lofty ideals to do the right thing, but I think it's more likely it was leaked by one of the $50,000 guests for money when he realized he'd thrown away a bit of change. That vid could be worth double that for a seasoned negotiator.

That to me is more likely than a minimum wage waitstaff thinking: "I'm going to risk my job to blow the lid off this whole thing". It's nowhere as romantic, but this could just be a shrewd business decision by someone who makes such calls every day.

On edit:
After watching the clip again, it does appear to be at a table detached from the main dining seating. Still, I maintain that Mitt was likely stabbed in the back by an enterprising follower of Ayn Rand.