Romney and Bain
Capital: Was he or wasn’t he? (reprinted from http://punditpie.blogspot.com/ )
The Romney/Bain Capital scandal is a delicious soap opera,
getting more juicy by the day. Now we
learn that not only were they busily outsourcing jobs, during the period Romney
claimed not to be involved, but they invested in an aborted fetus dumping
company, which the right wing anti-choice crowd compares to the Nazis. The contentious issue is whether he, as
chairman of the board, CEO and owner, listed on the SEC filings as late as
2002, after claiming to have left control in 1999, to go to the Olympics (No,
he wasn’t in the competitive hair-gel category), was actually responsible for
these decisions, or at least had knowledge of them.
The consensus seems to be, ”Duh, well of course!” At least among the Democratic pundits. Romney’s own camp says, well, he was much too
busy pulling the Olympics’ fat out of the fire to be concerned with the day to
day trivialities of his own company.
If a recent down ticket race in California is any indicator,
the Democratic consensus will win out in the mind of the electorate, anyway.
Stacey Lawson and the
California Second Congressional District Race:
In this race, neophyte wannabe Stacey Lawson touted her
credentials as a “job creator,” claiming
she was the only one who had created hundreds, thousands, or maybe 50
(depending on what day it was) jobs in various start-ups she worked with. She was maddeningly vague about her roles and
it became clear that she was exaggerating her importance to any jobs created,
at the least.
Soon enough, information surfaced about one of her more
recent start-ups, of which she was actually held the title of Chair of the Board.
(or to use a food analogy, Head Chef.) This company, Chelsey Henry, had failed
to remit its payroll taxes, collected from employees for a number of quarters,
to the government, both State (Washington) and Federal. Additionally, it was learned that the
business outsourced its product production (high end women’s handbags) to
China.
This information emerged in a key debate and was quickly picked
up by major news outlets in the District, as well as an anonymous website
entitled “Who is Stacey Lawson?” (Which
itself sparked a mouth-watering buzz in the blogosphere.) Ms. Lawson compounded her culpability by
making several contradictory and misleading statements about her relationship
with the company. First she claimed it
filed bankruptcy after the discrepancies were discovered. Later she had to correct herself when
confronted with the fact that the company was actually taken over by one of its
many creditors.
Then she claimed she and the other board members “rectified”
the errors in reporting once they learned of it. (They did not and sums owed
were still outstanding when the company was acquired by the creditor). She showed a remarkable lack of understanding
of the role of Chair of a corporate board, and these failings, along with a
dismal voting history, led to her being
seen as a less than credible candidate. Instead of being the runner up in California’s
first open-primary, which would have pitted two Democrats against each other, she finished a weak fourth, despite an
incredible war chest filled by investment bankers and venture capitalists.
A Lesson for Democrats
in the Presidential Election:
Even though her role with Chelsey Henry was not as great as
that of Romney in Bain, the lessons are the same. As Chair, it was her responsibility to know
what was happening with the company.
Romney, as Chief Cook and Bottle Washer and sole shareholder of Bain, is
even more culpable for these shortcomings.
His claims to have kept out of the kitchen when the sausage was being
made will not play well with the electorate, so long as the story stays alive.
That should be the Democrats number one job between now and the election. Keep the Bain Capital story in the press and
in the minds of the voters.
Maybe in the heady world of venture capital and money
management, it’s no big deal, but to the average American, who has to watch
every penny, every transaction, and every loaf of bread, it’s majorly huge. Or it should be If a business man claims his way of doing
business is good for the country, make darned sure you know what his way is. Pink Slime in a béarnaise sauce is still just as
bad for you.
