Bipartisan Support for Romney's Business Past Should Scare Us All

http://www.alternet.org/story/156117/bipartisan_support_for_romney%27s_business_past_should_scare_us_all__/

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In recent weeks there have been multiple exposés documenting how Mitt Romney’s private equity firm, Bain Capital, both outsourced jobs and made a massive profit while bankrupting one of the companies they own.

And just a couple of weeks ago, “Sterling” was how former President Bill Clinton described the Republican nominee for president’s track record as a businessman. Clinton was just the latest in a chorus of high-profile current and former Democratic elected officials who came to the defense of Romney and private equity in the face of criticism from outside observers, and most importantly, from President Obama’s re-election campaign. Just as Romney’s record at private equity super-power Bain Capital was becoming the central focus of the national campaign narrative, Newark Mayor Cory Booker, co-chair of the DNC platform committee, and Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, co-chair of the Obama reelection campaign went on national television to defend the honor of Romney, Bain Capital and private equity.

In the era of the 99%, these comments were seized on by cable news hosts and reporters across the country. A “Dems defending big business and Mitt Romney” story certainly had some “man bites dog” appeal – but it struck many as downright shocking that prominent Democrats would not just “bite man,” but in fact “bite THE man,” as their comments undercut one of Obama’s key attacks and points of contrast with Romney.

While the Obama campaign – and pundits everywhere - may have been stunned by comments from these normally supportive allies, I wasn’t surprised at all. Back in 2007, while directing the Service Employees International Union’s campaign to hold the private equity industry accountable for their damage to our economy, I learned all too well how deep the relationship between current and former government officials and this little-known segment of the financial industry really runs. My experiences interacting with the titans of this industry were so eye-opening, I kept a diary of my meetings so I wouldn’t lose any of the fresh insights and disturbing details of those exchanges.