Editorials & Other Articles

kpete

(72,016 posts) Sun Jan 15, 2012, 12:00 PM Jan 2012

KRUGMAN Asks: "Would you buy a used company — or a used ideology — from this guy?"

January 15, 2012, 7:55 AM
Bain The Betrayer
by Paul Krugman

William Cohan has an interesting take on Mitt Romney, which is completely distinct from the policy and left/right issues. According to Cohan, who did deals with Bain during the Romney years, the company specialized in dirty tricks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/when-romney-ran-bain-capital-his-word-was-not-his-bond/2012/01/12/gIQACvQxwP_story.html

*Specifically, Bain would make the high bid for a company being offered for sale — then, after the other bidders had been sent away, would start finding things to complain about, and haggle the price down. This was, I gather, a major sin, since believe it or not Wall Street wheeling and dealing requires a high level of trust in one’s personal word.

This isn’t a policy issue; it’s the kind of thing I usually try to stay away from, the supposedly character-revealing nature of someone’s personal history. But as these things go, it’s especially interesting. Would you buy a used company — or a used ideology — from this guy?

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/15/bain-the-betrayer/

(*this is exactly what he would do to the USA, mho, kpete)

4 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

KRUGMAN Asks: "Would you buy a used company — or a used ideology — from this guy?" (Original Post) kpete Jan 2012 OP

Another avenue where people who've dealt with him say he isn't trustworthy. Pirate Smile Jan 2012 #1

I've Always Considered bain romney To Be... MarianJack Jan 2012 #2

Will Dems callout Rethugs and their lies this time around? mazzarro Jan 2012 #3

No senseandsensibility Jan 2012 #4

Pirate Smile

(27,617 posts)

1. Another avenue where people who've dealt with him say he isn't trustworthy.

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sun Jan 15, 2012, 12:14 PM

Jan 2012

No surprise since he always shocks by the degree to which he will SAY ANYTHING - truth, reality seem completely irrelevant. His constant lying is staggering.

Andrew Sullivan tried to live blog the Huckabee Forum last night (he bailed after a while because it was worthless). This was his take on Romney last night:

8.25 pm. Well, I tried. I can't see this pageant producing anything interesting at this point, and really cannot watch it any more. It's Saturday night. Watching these individuals lie and posture and pander is too much for me to handle. Back to my life ... and apologies for the abrupt end. If something meaningful happens at all, I'll cover it later.

8.21 pm. A questioner: "there seem to be more and more discrimination against religion." Romney panders shamelessly, backing the Christianist view that the government should reflect Christian emblems. This debate so far is no debate, and awful, but Romney is literally making me nauseated.

The canned responses to the hysterical premises of the questioners reveals an almos reptilian quality in the man. Maybe it's just me, but Romney made my skin crawl tonight for the first time in one of these events.

8.17 pm. Romney addresses a Ron Paul supporter who asks what he would do to win Paul voters. His first response was to tout his intention to increase military spending, regardless of its fiscal impact. Romney then says that the Obama administration has imposed price controls on healthcare and "it hasn't worked" - hence the increase in healthcare costs. Seriously, he's out of his mind.

8.12 pm. Romney is actually saying that newly-elected president Obama chose not to seek compromise with Republicans but to ram his agenda through "against the will of the American people." The sheer distortion of reality that Romney is prepared to unleash is staggering. He truly is prepared to say anything about Obama, and has only one criterion beforehand: will it help or hurt me? The idea of a reference to something called truth is beyond him.

I have to say that the setting of Romney sitting down in an armchair and answering questions makes him look even smugger than normal.

8.10 pm. Romney's up - moving a question about housing to blaming Dodd-Frank for burdening the private sector. Then he panders on a home mortgage deduction.

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/01/live-blogging-the-huckabee-debate.html

MarianJack

(10,237 posts)

2. I've Always Considered bain romney To Be...

Reply to Pirate Smile (Reply #1)

Sun Jan 15, 2012, 12:30 PM

Jan 2012

...reptilian.

He is smugness and smarm personified. He has a look that seems to say "I stole your wallet. I know you know that I stole your wallet. Now try proving it."

Detestable. I never thought that I'd see an election season that presented a candidate that I dispised more than little ricky santorum, but then again, we're dealing with 2012 republican/teabagger candidates aren't we?

PEACE!

mazzarro

(3,450 posts)

3. Will Dems callout Rethugs and their lies this time around?

Reply to Pirate Smile (Reply #1)

Sun Jan 15, 2012, 01:08 PM

Jan 2012

One recurring problem that I have with Dems in general and Obama in particular is their reluctance to boldly and consistently call out the rethug lies and call them lairs to their faces.

If Romney should bring up these lies in a debate, is Obama and other dems prepared to call out the lies and also tell/show the nation that the rethugs are lying - even Romney himself.

If dems are not ready to do that, they might as well just hand over every aspect of government to the rethugs. Well, in a way, dems have found it more useful to always bring back the rethugs from the brink of disaster. Maybe dems like join rethugs in fleecing the commoners.

senseandsensibility

(17,130 posts)

4. No

Reply to mazzarro (Reply #3)

Sun Jan 15, 2012, 01:31 PM

Jan 2012

They have learned nothing since they let the smears against Kerry go unanswered.

Reply to this discussion