AP Fact Check on Romney Job Creation Claims
- Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:37am by
Christopher Santarelli
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(AP) After months of getting a pass on the subject from his rivals, Mitt Romney was challenged in the Republican presidential debate Saturday night on his frequent claims that he created great numbers of jobs in the private sector. Newt Gingrich, for one, said Romney’s record as a venture capitalist was one of flipping companies, taking out all the money and “leaving behind the workers.”
Who’s right?
The bottom line remains unknown about how many jobs were gained or lost from Romney’s work at the Bain Capital private equity company. But this much is clear: His accounting behind the assertion that he created more than 100,000 jobs at companies he helped start up or turn around has been flawed.
A look at some of the claims in the latest GOP debate and how they compare with the facts:
ROMNEY: “But in the business I had, we invested in over 100 different businesses and net … net, taking out the ones where we lost jobs and those that we added, those businesses have now added over 100,000 jobs.”
GINGRICH: “I’m not nearly as enamored of a Wall Street model where you can flip companies, you can go in and have leveraged buyouts, you can basically take out all the money, leaving behind the workers.”
THE FACTS: Romney has never substantiated his frequent claim that he was a creator of more than 100,000 jobs while leading the Bain Capital private equity company. His campaign merely cites success stories without laying out the other side of the ledger – jobs lost at Bain-acquired or Bain-supported firms that closed, trimmed their workforce or shifted employment overseas.
Moreover, his campaign bases its claims on recent employment figures at three companies – Staples, Domino’s and Sports Authority – even though Romney’s involvement with them ceased years ago.
By that sort of charitable math, President Barack Obama could be credited with creating over 1 million jobs even though employment overall is down about 2 million since he came to office. But Romney accuses Obama of destroying jobs while using a different standard to judge his own performance – cherry-picked examples that leave everything else out.
By its nature, venture capitalism often results in lost jobs because profitability and efficiency are key to investors, not how many people are on the payroll. Bain Capital profited in cases where employment went both up and down.
Staples, now with close to 90,000 employees, and Sports Authority, with about 15,000, were startups supported by Romney. The direct work force at Domino’s has grown by nearly 8,000 since Romney’s intervention. But Romney got out of the game in 1999, which has not stopped his campaign from crediting him with jobs created at those companies since then.
Romney toned down the braggadocio in the latest debate, saying that of the Bain-supported companies that grew, “we’re only a small part of that, by the way.” But he insisted his claim of more than 100,000 jobs was a “net net” figure that takes into account job losses elsewhere, even though his campaign has defended the assertion only by reporting on the performance of Sports Authority, Domino’s and Staples.
No one has been able to produce a full accounting of job gains and losses from the scores of companies Romney dealt with at Bain. But a Los Angeles Times review of Bain’s 10 largest investments under Romney found that four of the big companies declared bankruptcy within a few years, costing thousands of jobs and often pension and severance benefits.
—
RON PAUL about RICK SANTORUM: “So he’s a big government person, along with him being very associated with the lobbyists and taking a lot of funds. And also where did he get – make his living afterwards? I mean, he became a high-powered lobbyist in Washington, D.C. And he has done quite well. We checked out Newt, on his income. I think we ought to find out how much money he (Santorum) has made from the lobbyists as well.”
SANTORUM: “When I left the United States Senate, I got involved in causes that I believe in…. I was asked by a health care company to be on their board of directors. Now, I don’t know whether you think boards of directors are lobbyists. They’re not.”
THE FACTS: Santorum was not, as Paul suggested, a registered lobbyist after he left the Senate. But Santorum did trade his Washington experience for lucrative work afterward, not unlike Gingrich, who has faced plenty of tough questions about money he earned from the corridors of power despite never being registered as a lobbyist.
Financial disclosure records show that from January 2010 to August 2011, Santorum earned at least $1.3 million working as a corporate consultant, political pundit and board member. Santorum reported that the American Continental Group, a Washington lobbying group, paid him $65,000 in consulting fees. The firm’s lengthy client list includes Microsoft Corp., Comcast Corp. and the American Gaming Association.
“The senator did general consulting and provided his advice and opinion on which way the Senate may go, based on his record in the Senate and his history in leadership,” said David Urban, president of American Continental Group.
—
ROMNEY: “I was in a state where the Supreme Court stepped in and said, marriage is a relationship required under the Constitution for – for people of the same sex to be able to marry. And John Adams, who wrote the Constitution, would be surprised.”
THE FACTS: John Adams would be surprised to hear he wrote the Constitution. He was a minister to Britain at the time, after having been minister to France. He was not a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He was, though, an architect of the Declaration of Independence. And he constructed the Massachusetts Constitution.
—
SANTORUM, on Obama’s approach to large street protests of the elections in Iran in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was re-elected over a perceived moderate: “We had a president of the United States who stood silently by as thousands were killed on the streets, and did nothing. Did nothing. In fact, he tacitly supported the results of the election.”
THE FACTS: Santorum appears to have substantially exaggerated the death toll, for which there is no authoritative estimate. Opposition supporters in Iran claimed hundreds may have died; the Iranian government claimed several dozen.
Obama indeed reacted cautiously – tepidly in the opinion of critics. Wisely or not, he had reasons for doing so. Iran analysts had warned against overt U.S. support for Ahmadinejad’s foes, saying such backing might taint them as well as give the Iranian government evidence that the unrest was caused by outsiders. Iranian opposition figures wanted distance from the United States over fears that U.S. support would impugn their credibility.
Once the severity of the crackdown became known, Obama condemned the violence and said the Iranian government should respect the rights of free speech and assembly. When it became clear that opposition protesters were relying heavily on social media to get their message out and organize, the State Department intervened with Twitter to delay a planned upgrade that would have shut down the service in Iran.
—
ROMNEY, on Obama: “He wants us to turn into a European-style welfare state.”
GINGRICH: “His desperate efforts to create a …. European model.”
THE FACTS: Republicans seldom make clear what they are talking about when they accuse Obama of trying to turn the U.S. into a “European-style welfare state.”
They no doubt are referring at least in part to Obama’s health-care overhaul, but that falls far short of many European plans of government-sponsored, universal health-care coverage. There‘s little evidence that any of Obama’s proposals are modeled on European laws, policies and practices. And in finance, European nations appear to be moving in the direction of an American model, with tighter restrictions on banking practices and deficit-reduction programs.
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Comments (81)
dlivelli
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 11:54amPoliticians lie…all of them. Look at the “The Five” show. Eric Bolling did the math on obama’s “fuzzy math” with his unemployment going down. does not seem to be a very credible claim, but you can skew statistics to show anything. Bottom line is this are you and/or the country better off now than you were 4 years ago? Is the government more or less in our lives? Forget about the math…how is business in your town? Are more opening or cutting/closing? You tell me. Then tell obama in November.
Report Post »THE TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 11:51amA Suffolk University tracking poll released during the debate found Romney leading, at 35 percent, among likely GOP primary voters. But that marked an 8 point slide for Romney since last Tuesday, according to the pollsters.Romney was followed by Paul at 20 percent, Huntsman at 11 percent, Gingrich at 9 percent, Santorum at 8 percent and Texas Gov. Rick Perry at 1 percent.
Cause4Liberty
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:29pmThis statement: “THE FACTS: Santorum was not, as Paul suggested, a registered lobbyist after he left the Senate”
Followed by this: “Financial disclosure records show that from January 2010 to August 2011, Santorum earned at least $1.3 million working as a corporate consultant, political pundit and board member. Santorum reported that the American Continental Group, a Washington lobbying group, paid him $65,000 in consulting fees.”
Is a total contradiction. Just because he lacks the title lobbyist doesnt mean he had influence and financial gain. Santorum may lack the registration card, but he was still driving the vehicle.
Report Post »Dumbwhiteguy
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:26pmTRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE, The truth may be a little far fetched to most.
Report Post »gogogoff
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 5:27pmNice try, other polls show him still at 40, 48 hours, then JH trolls explode, and everyone who is saying Romney can’t brake 25 is exposed.
Report Post »recoveringneocon
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 7:04pmFinal Proof: “Ron Paul knows nothing about foreign policy”
http://americanvisionnews.com/1052/ron-paul-knows-nothing-about-foreign-policy-video
from ashes
Report Post »RodT82721
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 11:44amWhenever a politician talks about creating (private sector) jobs, they are lying. Politicians can only harm the job creation process, or get out of the way of the real job creators way! It’s just not what our politicians do. IMHO.
This AM on FNS Debbie Whatsername was at it again, telling of all the jobs that our dear leader has created, and how hard he has (and is) working to help the private sector worker!
The thing is, she, like all liberals, just ignore the jobs he has destroyed by his financial policies, union policies, and outright stupidity!
After all, that Keystone pipeline would start a process that would lead to tens of thousands of jobs, if only the environmentalist in Barry’s camp would allow it!
Debbie ignores the millions of jobs that are no longer available, at least according to the latest unemployment figures. Barry has the total job statistic lowered, so those being paid not to work is a smaller percentage. The goal is re-election, not jobs!
I have never seen a liberal in a debate that didn’t have some off the wall statistic to throw out that supposed their point of view was valid.
Just once I would like to have someone make them come up with basis of their statistic, instead of just rolling the eyes.
One fact you can take to the bank, a candidate of high Federal office is lying to you. They wouldn’t be in the race if they were honest and always told the truth. It’s just not allowed today.
Report Post »TheBurningTruth
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:09pmVery well said. Politicians can only hurt job creation for a very simple reason. The free markets create real jobs because real jobs are paid for voluntarily by those receiving the product/service. Anytime a government gets involved, they’re forcing a market distortion in place. Those rules/regulations create many of the bubbles and artificial conditions that eventually turn into mega-recessions.
Report Post »Hammerdown
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 11:24amWhy does the Blaze keep showing these AP “Fact Check” articles when they have been proven time and again to not be accurate?
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:37pmMaybe The Blaze just wants to give us an opportunity to pull AP to shreds (and feel really smart in the process).
Report Post »dnewton
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:01pmIf AP is checking facts, why don’t we see the real job numbers, not just a counter opinion of the candidates estimate. I suspect that jobs are a hard thing to estimate. What if a company decided to contract out some function that was previously part of the business? Do you count the loss of jobs to the sub contractor taking part of that business? What about airlines where most take a pay cut? Would not jobs be saved but average income go down? How does that show up? What about reductions in middle management? Jobs should go down and probably the average wage per job too. Just counting jobs does not speak to the other aspects of jobs such as duration or average income per job. Most of these jobs estimates are simply the amount of money spent by the government divided by the average yearly wage in the class of work involved. But what happens if the job is only a part time traffic management job?
Report Post »Jim in Houston
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:26pmWhy would anyone with two functioning brain cells believe All Propaganda aka AP?
Report Post »CONNIPTION FITZ
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 11:07amTHE DEBATES and the election year is still young.
They go next to South Carolina which is a tough conservative state with its own set of criteria for vetting candidates.
Then, to Florida, which will have the concerns of many retirees, seniors who have seen it all, heard it all, tried it all – and will take the advisement of these young pups with a grain of salt and a whole lot of humor as well. Florida seniors are a different breed than the rest of the nation. They are retired CEOs, Wall Street analysts and elected officials. Then there are the lower income fisherman and migrant workers, the middle income teachers, business owners and tourist industry. Florida remains a conservative state for the most part. But will have some serious questions.
THE GAME AIN’T OVER. Not nearly.
(Too bad about Virginia missing the main candidates in the conversation. IMO, VA voters lose because of VA GOP rules)
Report Post »FranciscoDAnconia
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 11:11amThis article is total BS. You can’t compare what Romney did with Bain capital to what Obama did as a President. Romney really did create jobs. Obama didn’t create any jobs. Politicians don’t create jobs. Why don’t people get this? AP fact check is the biggest joke in the world. Absolutely fallacious.
Report Post »FranciscoDAnconia
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 11:44amthis article about Romney is so dishonest. AP fact check is completely ignorant of business. Let me cite an example. Steve jobs started Apple and now is dead. If any jobs are created from now on according to this articles logic Steve would not get a share of the credit. We all know he does deserve some credit. Romney bought into these companies and turned some of them around and made them more profitable. He was an owner. Because of the improvements and restructurings companies were saved. Romney like jobs may not be directly involved with the company but they got it on the right track. The company that I currently work for has private equity investors and they have grown the company exponentially. Ironically the original owner sold out a fee years back. If the private equity firm sales their equity tomorrow the company may still continue to flourish. We are in their debt. They deserve credit for future success of our company. Now let’s talk about Obama. He is a president and he cannot create jobs. He is the referee. He sets the rules of the game. This comparison of the two done by AP fact check is s grossly false comparison. Shame on AP fact check for this dishonest analysis.
Report Post »Todd P
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:44pmAs a Floridian who is approaching retirement age, I can tell you that I am very concerned about Social Security – and whether or not it will still be there 20 or 30 years from now. I am also very worried about the solvency of the US Dollar – or will it get replaced by a global currency? Raising the debt ceiling and borrowing more money is suicidal for this nation. Honestly, I think any of these candidates would be better than BHO, but I am not really inspired by any of them – Rick Perry looks good until he starts talking, and I do agree with most of what Ron Paul says – until he says something nutty that reminds me why I will never vote for him. Gingrich is smart – so is Santorum. But, I don’t think either of these guys would win against BHO. Huntsman is funny (cursing in Chinese), but not a serious candidate. By default, the only one left who not only looks presidential, sounds smart, and would debate BHO well is Romney. It’s the lesser of 8 (or now 6) evils. He’s no Ronald Reagan, but at least he could (I believe) defeat the Obamanation. At this point, I would settle for that.
Romney / Rubio 2012
Report Post »Romney / Christie 2012
Workforit
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 10:38amI can barely stomach Rush Limbah but every once in a while he comes up with a gem. A couple years back he was on Leno talking about “Buggy Whips”.
I am also the last one in the world to stick up for Romney… But I have to say this…
The Company in Virginia (lets say) is making buggy whips left and right, but the owner of that company is aware of the automobile and is worried that the buggy whip is going to be replaced by the gas peddle.
So this owner puts the buggy whip company up for sale (unknown by the workers) and a guy like Romney buys it. He knows that a leather covered gas peddle is just what Ford is looking for so he buys the whip company, fires all the workers in Virginia and sells all the equipment to a Colorado company that has easier, less expensive access to cow hides…
The employees in Virginia loose but the workers in Colorado win. I’m not done yet… The airplane is up and coming so the state of virginia having just lost the buggy whip company offer the owners of the airplane company a state income “ Tax Free” status to the air plane manufacturer to move there and put its residents to work.
My point being a simple one. You can wait for Boeing to build a plant in your state or you can move to find work.
Our ancestors built a nation on that principle.
My previous profession was real estate… I’m sure you will agree that industry has a lot in common with the “buggy whip”…
For now…
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:35pmThe unwillingness of Americans to move to another state for work is a big problem. Jobs go unfilled in Minnesota while workers collect unemployment in Chicago.
Report Post »idarusskie
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:53amI call ******** on this fact check.
THE FACTS: John Adams would be surprised to hear he wrote the Constitution. He was a minister to Britain at the time, after having been minister to France. He was not a delegate to the Constitutional Convention. He was, though, an architect of the Declaration of Independence. And he constructed the
Massachusetts Constitution.http://www.mass.gov/courts/sjc/john-adams-b.html
he is talking about the Massachusetts constitution and ti was the state constitution that was ruled on.
Report Post »katiefrankie
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:14pmThe AP Fact Checkers have a reading comprehension problem. : P
Report Post »tool4rage
Posted on January 9, 2012 at 4:48amThat was one of my first thoughts. “How do they know he wasn’t talking about the Massachusetts Constitution?“ ”The just assume he was talking about the U.S. Constitution.”
Report Post »whereareyourbrains
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:12amGetlife…where did you get the idea Newt wants an European style America. What have you been drinking during these campaigns?
Report Post »GETLIFE
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:28amJust quoting the AP from the above article:
“GINGRICH: “His desperate efforts to create a …. European model.””
Report Post »GETLIFE
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:42amGingrich speaking of Obama.
Report Post »Secret Squirrel
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:45am.
Where can I go to read AP’s fact check on Nancy Pelosi?
“Every month, America loses 500 million jobs.”
Where can I go to read AP’s fact check on Obama?
“I’m gonna post all bills on the internet so you can read them.”
“You won’t see your taxes increase, one penny.”
“I’ll have the most transparent administration ever.”
“I won’t hire lobbyists.”
“We’ll have the negotiations on C-span, so you can see who’s doing what.”
Hmmmmmm?
Oh, AP is still busy fact checking Bristol Palin, can’t be bothered.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:51amI have to concede, I believe you are correct. Conservatives have proved to be much easier to lead to support a specific candidate than I expected. Mitt “IS” the MSM choice for GOP nomination. Why? Because he can’t win against a TRUE communist, BHO.
Mitt “IS” a ‘Scott Brown’ republican. A democrat in GOP clothing. Just like Arlen Specter was. Just like McCain “IS”. The idea the “Mitt is a bad fit” should be the GOP mantra. Let the MSM take the bus.
Report Post »Ruler4You
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:52amor, “If the Mitt don’t fit, you must acquit.”
Report Post »MS-GlenNBC
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 11:01amBeck has been lying about Newt since Nov 23, 2011. If you listen to his shows he has tied everything negative to Newt.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGFxEupRK0E
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRv_FB1SL6E
You tell me where is the basis for this connection??? Glenn is way out of line and spreading lies. Do you really think Newt Gingrich is just as dangerous as the Nazi’s killing 11 million people? Wow!!
Be for something not against something… Over and over they say we are for something not against something. Listen to those clips and tell me how they are for any candidate and not against Newt.
Scott “Kennedy” Brown
Report Post »John Kerry
Ted Kennedy
Babeuf
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:45pmIn the Satuday night debate, Paul calls himself a Democrat, “But, also, I’m the only one up here and the only one in the Democratic Party that understands true racism in this country is in the judicial system.” A Freudian slip?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/election-2012/post/2012-abcyahoowmur-new-hampshire-gop-primary-debate-transcript/2012/01/07/gIQAk2AAiP_blog.html
Is this the political wing of the Occupy movement Van Jones was talking about?
Report Post »whereareyourbrains
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:10amThe left wing networks kept going back to Romney for a response. They avoided Newt (3 Questions) they avoided Santorum (about 4) and they go Ron Paul and Perry in there to make sure Mitt wins the nod. I am try to tell you they want Mitt..as much as they say he is the man to beat Obama….he is not. I want someone who will bring America back. I am tired of being told foreign countries and people are better than us. Newt will be the best and you people think (paid for by the left) Ron Paul is great….wow I hope the people that like this man are liberatarians and not GOP.
Report Post »GETLIFE
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 8:57am“ROMNEY, on Obama: “He wants us to turn into a European-style welfare state.”
GINGRICH: “His desperate efforts to create a …. European model.”
THE FACTS: Republicans seldom make clear what they are talking about when they accuse Obama of trying to turn the U.S. into a “European-style welfare state.”” (AP)
Do your own research, lazy AP reporter.
Report Post »GETLIFE
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:21amGo to Europe, see what, say “healthcare” means over there–just about anywhere. Compare. See if you can come up with a better definition of this administration’s policies– without getting into conspiracy theories, that is.
Report Post »Vechorik
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:38amYes — very biased article. The AP always is when it comes to Obama and his “European style of socialism” — which WE know is based on UN Agenda 21!
They think the public is stupid (well, most of it is, come to think of it)
Report Post »Byzantine_Catholic
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 8:07amWhy DR. Ron Paul is our best bet to beat Obama (more so than Romney)
We are ALWAYS told that elections are determined by the “independents and moderate”.. Well guess who wins those voters?
CNN did exit polling in Iowa and found the following (google cnn exit polls Iowa for more info)
• Ron Paul won the Independent vote by more than 2:1 (43% to 19%) over Romney
• Ron Paul won the Moderate vote by (40% to 35%) over Romney
• Ron Paul won the first time voters by (33% to 17%) over Romney
• For voters who want a “True Conservative” (37% to 1%) over Romney
• Paul and Romney tied (26% each) for the urban vote – typically strong democratic vote.
Dont let the Media fool you that Romney is the only one who can beat Obama by “winning the Middle”
Vote Ron Paul for Liberty
Report Post »chips1
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:41pmRon Paul won’t win because of his followers. People still think that birds of a feather, flock together and this site is full of Paul nutcases. Each time you post, you cost him 100 votes. People just don’t like his mob. Being mean and nasty and forcing your viewpoints on others tends to drag Paul into the gutter with you. Back off. “Be nice. Until it’s time to NOT be nice”.
Report Post »recoveringneocon
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 6:53pmchips1
What did Byzantine say that was mean and nasty? I think you may want to take a closer look at who on “The ezalB” is mean and nasty. here is just a small sample.
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:34am
Hey! Ron Paul supporters. If Ron tells you that he wants to move everyone to Central America to build a perfect constitutional society…….Don’t Do It!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For those of you who would move to Central America, be very afraid if you are asked to load boxes of flavored drink mix onto the cargo plane.
NILAP
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:32am
The blather Paul barfs is astounding.
dwh320
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:29am
The paulbots are out in force tonight. Is it because they feel a need to rally around their tinfoil caped leader after his butt got kicked in Iowa? Their hero worship of a loser like Ron Paul boarders on comical but their actions to destroy a good man like Rick shows they are no different then Obama’s Progressive army of Union thugs. For them it is not conducting themselves with honor and respect because those two concepts only get in the way of their agenda to crown their messiah.
Sick and twisted are the best I can do to describe the Politics of personal destruction that paulbots practice
dwh320
Report Post »Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:32am
Paulbots are self destructive. Their sick and twisted agenda of politics of personal destruction are the same as Obama’s. Lies lies lies and not truth will flow f
recoveringneocon
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 6:54pmKka76
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:39am
Ron Paul 2012…. Ha ha, you’ve got me….. Dumb a__! How much are you getting paid by the Paul campaign? Keep up the good work! I have other thing to do than go back and forth with paid operatives!
Mr_Meaner
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:40pm
The only difference between Palestinians and Paulistinians, is that one group prefers tin-foil turbans.
If my saying that bothers you…good.
It’s the same way I felt, when the deranged hobbit told Leno that “Michelle Bachmann hates Muslims…She wants to go get ‘em”
Ron Paul is a liar, and his supporters are fools
Johnny2Guns
Report Post »Posted on January 8, 2012 at 5:42pm
You Paulie kooks will find a conspiracy at every turn. When do you suppose Pastor Paul will try and move your cult to the jungles of South America and start passing out the kool-aid?
barber2
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 8:07amWe all know that the Republican candidate not only faces the onslaught of the Democrat Character Assassination Squad, but also the onslaught of their Dominant Media Propaganda Machine who still isn‘t bothered by all of the secrecy of Obama’s past records but will examine with a microscope every little detail of a Republican. Lap Dogs.
Report Post »rambosharley
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 9:48amIsn’t that the truth!
Report Post »CONNIPTION FITZ
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 10:58amYou mean the Democrat AND MEDIA character assassination squad…. even the so-called Conservative media is doing it to our GOP candidates (esp, Coulter and Drudge). T
The lies, name-calling and accusations have been disgusting.
Report Post »debbiebf
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 7:56amNot a Romney fan, but…
Of COURSE he saved jobs with Bain. Every company still open and every person working there NOW is a direct result of his pulling those companies out of the toilet. Give him credit where credit is due. He didn’t save EVERY company or EVERY job, just as a doctor won’t save EVERY patient. Seriously, he can’t be held accountable for the ones that failed, but he does get credit for the ones that succeeded. The only companies he dealt with were already on life support.
Report Post »Romney-Rubio 2012
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:36amHere are a ton of the highlights on the debate: http://www.americanparchment.com/ . I think Romney probably was given this debate, we will see how they do when they are just waking up.
Report Post »Love_John_Galt
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 7:26amLooks like Ron Paul gave Glenn Beck the platform for his economic and international predictions. Please note the year was 2002! We were warned..and did NOTHING!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGDisyWkIBM
Report Post »Drakkhanlord
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 6:31pmdam nice video…facts…
Report Post »Drakkhanlord
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 6:33pmpeople , watch the video…
Report Post »mrmikejohnson
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:56amI wish there were a conservative media watchdog group that would track statistics like the ratio of “fact check” stories that the AP does on Republicans vs. “fact check” stories that they do on Democrats. I’ve only seen them do one fact check story on Obama in the past two years. Yet, they seem to do one every week that tries to hurt Republicans. I know that 87% of the AP’s staff identifies themselves as liberal, but this is getting pretty absurd. My guess is that it will only get worse during the presidential election.
Report Post »Grannie4news
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 5:07amThat is similar to what I was going to say, they don’t check out anything Obama does, or has done in the past and the AP is so biased why would we take their word for anything. I think they all did pretty good toniight, except for Looney Tunes Paul.
Report Post »TomFerrari
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 5:22am@MrMikeJ… good idea, start one!
——
Romney is certainly not my favorite candidate!
But…
having been involved with MULTIPLE startups, and MANY M&A’s (mergers and acquisitions), I have worked with people like Romney (Bain). When a company fails, venture capitalists like Bain come in, and rescue the secured creditors (by LAW, they must be made whole FIRST – unlike obama who gave away the company to the unions and stuck it to the creditors, ILLEGALLY).
The creditors want their money, NOW! They are people like you and me who bought stock in the company, or, who sold inventory to the company on credit, and they need their money to live on, or to keep THEIR company going! So, they cannot be blamed for wanting their money. If you invested $1,000 and you heard they were going under, what would you do?
So, Bain comes in, pays off the creditors, and assess the remaining assets.
If the company CAN be saved, they WILL! (Corning, Monsanto)
If not, they will sell off the assets to recoup THEIR money.
They also work with STARTUPS! (Staples)
It is just good business!
Remember, I’m not a Romney fan, either.
Report Post »Psychosis
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:48amTHE FACTS: Republicans seldom make clear what they are talking about when they accuse Obama of trying to turn the U.S. into a “European-style welfare state.”
we all know what is meant by that statement
it means a money sucking bureaucracy that robs the public to give third rate care and claims its a success
when the government can run a post office in the black then maybe i would consider giving them more responsibility
until then, bugger off washington
Report Post »grandmaof5
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 6:13amObama has talked in circles for his entire political career, voting abstentia when the subject would reflect harshly on him. There is not a bone with integrity in Obama’s body, he is simply one of Soros’ progressive puppets.
Report Post »teahugger
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 6:47amYou are on target, Psychosis!
Report Post »Romney-Rubio 2012
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:28amAnyway, in case you want to watch it, there is a debate tomorrow morning 9AM ET, here is the link: http://url2it.com/leec
Plus they use the same link, usually to replay the whole debate later.
We will see the sparks fly when these guys are just waking up. There will be a lot of coffee sold tomorrow morning.
Report Post »Rational Man
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:29amFailure of a career politician named Ron Paul
Paul, who has served 11 terms in three different stages dating back to 1976, didn’t get a single law passed until 2009, when he authored a bill that allowed for the sale of a customs house in Galveston, Texas. Failure is often the norm in Congress, where only 4 percent of proposed bills get a President’s signature, but Paul’s approach to lawmaking is particularly suited to not getting things done.
Of the 620 bills sponsored by Ron Paul during his long career in the House of Representatives, only four have ever made it to a vote on the House floor and only one of those became an actual law. An analysis by The Washington Post shows that Paul’s success rate of 0.2 percent falls far below that of most legislators, as Paul has chosen to stand up for his personal crusades, rather that build coalitions for more popular, but less ambitious, proposals.
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2011/12/ron-pauls-long-record-glorious-failures-congress/46661/
Report Post »LibertarianRight
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:20am“Paul’s approach to lawmaking is particularly suited to not getting things done.”
I assume that you are referring to the “approach” of writing Constitutional legislation, and refusing to use unethical earmark bribes and tit-for-tat logrolling that would require him to vote for unconstitutional legislation? Because who successfully passed the most legislation is more important than principles, values, the Constitutional constraints government is supposed to be required to follow, and all that. I guess we better vote for Obama instead – I hear he has been instrumental in successfully passing (by signing) all kinds of unconstitutional and bad legislation.
Report Post »Kevin The Elder
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 3:37amTo Rational Man:. I am still not committed to any candidate, though I will admit to leaning more and more toward Dr. Paul and to be honest, what you consider to be criticism only serves to look closer at a man who doesn’t pass bills and/or laws. I suspect that the founding fathers thought they had created a pretty stable country. I further suspect that they probably envisioned a legislature that would ‘tweak’ what was created, but never massively changing; probably expecting new laws to dwindle down each year as the country was perfected. Instead, this year alone we have 40,000 new laws!!! I’m impressed with any legislator today who looks to dismantle rather than increase the laws and agencies who pass regulations. If my local candidate pledged to go to Washington to vote No on every new law and to consider not funding many existing agencies, he or she would almost assuredly have my vote.
Report Post »SpinMD
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:12amAmen to my brother Kevin the Elder… Last thing we need are politicians passing more laws. Need more naysayers up yonder in D.C.
Individuals not collectives.
Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem
Report Post »hallkbrdz
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 6:27amI would like to vote for the candidate who repealed the most laws, not created more.
We can’t understand or enforce all the laws we have now – why do we need more?
Paul, having created the least – wins here for me in that argument.
Report Post »tajloc
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 8:07amYou just don’t get it do you Rational Man. The purpose of the leg is to take away our money and Paul is failing at that. I say YES! May they all fail more than they are successful. Read Bastiat please.
Report Post »Rational Man
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:51pmWhat your arguement for Paul’s failing to get anything done convienently overlooks is that he did try to pass 620 bills and FAILED! He is a career LOSER! Except the one time he partnered with Barney Frank.
Report Post »Not someting for a so called conservative to boast about. IMO
So what is his great acomplishment in 11 terms and 23yrs? Your saying that nothing is an acomplishment?
recoveringneocon
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 6:57pmratboy
Report Post »Ron Paul has been busy defending The Constitution, your Freedoms and Liberties against bills like the Patriot Act and The National Defense Act .
The Dr. also wrote or sponsored 620 bills.
Which of the 620 did you not agree with? Which of the 620 did your Senators and Congressman vote for or vote against? Which of the 620 was unconstitutional? Oh, I’m assuming you read them. How stupid of me.
recoveringneocon
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 7:00pmratboy
While Ron Paul was not busy being a Career Politician, he was sloughing off becoming a
Report Post »Doctor of Medicine getting his degree from Duke University’s School of Medicine, then doing his
medical internship at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, after that he
served as a flight surgeon in the United States Air Force and then
in the United States Air National Guard. In his spare time he became a
obstetrics and gynecology, and then began his own private practice delivering over 4000 babies
recoveringneocon
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 7:02pmAs a member of Congress, Dr. Paul continues to refuse to sign up for the government pension that he would be entitled to in order to avoid receiving government money, saying it would be “hypocritical and immoral.”[
Report Post »flagkeeper
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:17amJohn Adams and The Mass. Constitution –
http://www.mass.gov/courts/sjc/john-adams-b.html
Gosh, they would love to make an idiot out of Mitt. Unfortunately, as time goes on, there is less and less for them to talk about, seeing as thay could only rehash old stories. Oh yeah, Mitt not being dinged too badly is supposed to make him weaker against Obama. Let them keep thinking that, and when they have to dredge up the same old stories, we will see how far that tkes them.
Report Post »Darren
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 2:05amRegarding John Adams: “And he constructed the Massachusetts Constitution.”
Isn’t that what Romney was saying when he said, “And John Adams, who wrote the Constitution, would be surprised,” or di the MA Supreme court refer to the US Constitution when they declared that homosexuals have the right to marry?
Report Post »Doctor Nordo
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 4:20amI suppose it could go either way. Regardless, when “the Constitution” is brought up during a Presidential debate, it would be wise to specify what you’re talking about if talking about anything other than the United States Constitution, since that is what everyone is going to assume you’re talking about.
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 10:54amDoctor Nordo,
Report Post »Why are you so generous to AP while so quick to jump on Blaze posters like me? AP has done what they are so very good at. They act as though they didn’t know that Romney was talking about the Massachusetts Constitution when he was discussing a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that dealt with the Massachusetts Constitution. Anyone familiar with that case would have kown that the US Constitution was not at issue — maybe Romney could have done some hand-holding for the less-informed, but was AP right in projecting their own ignorance onto another? And then AP acts as if they are soooo knowledgeable. Classic liberal bias.
It reminds me of dim-witted lamestream media coverage of the Tea Party. In particular, there was a sign the said “Where is John Galt?“ The lamestreamer said something like ”The actual quote is ‘Who is John Galt’, but we get the idea.” As IF the person who made the sign wasn’t saying something a little different than “Who is John Galt?”!!
bullcrapbuster
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:15amNote how the hypocrites at AP are carefull make excuses for Obama’s actions in Iran.
Report Post »gogogoff
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:09amWow, people are idiots.
Company goes under 1,000 people lose job.
Romney goes in, 800 people laid off, but 200 people keep job.
Then they QQ, and they want it done gov style.
They want someone to go in, save ALL 1000 jobs, form the company, and then ADD MORE, and then months later EVERYONE loses their job, even the 200.
Report Post »spk2moi
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:57amNot too hard to understand this. European countries take far more in taxes for far more government related services, and hire hordes of government workers to do their bidding. They give away lots of services, stipends and grants, not to mention free health care in some countries, and promise even more. This is perhaps (of course) the reason they are all about to go into bankruptcy. Yet their people are in the streets, complaining about their benefits being cut. Europe is an entitlement zone, and that’s what all the Republican candidates are talking about.
Report Post »PJL
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:53amWhat ever the exact number of jobs Mitt helped to create, it was more than Obama.
Report Post »barber2
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 8:04amYes. And the Obama – created government jobs are paid for by our tax dollars while his policies scare the private sector and hamper private expansion. ( Democrat “ jobs” buy votes with our tax dollars )
Report Post »Chuck Stein
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 12:52amAP does it again. They act as though they didn’t know that Romney was talking about the Massachusetts Constitution when he was discussing a decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that dealt with the Massachusetts Constitution. AP projects their own ignorance onto another — then AP acts as if they are soooo knowledgeable. Classic liberal bias.
Report Post »It reminds me of dim-witted lamestream media coverage of the Tea Party. In particular, there was a sign the said “Where is John Galt?“ The lamestreamer said something like ”The actual quote is ‘Who is John Galt’, but we get the idea.” As IF the person who made the sign wasn’t saying something a little different than “Who is John Galt?”!!
READRIGHTHERE
Posted on January 8, 2012 at 1:09amWas about to say the same thing. Kudos.
Report Post »