Folks, Lies wont stick. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are both inconsistant, and purposefully misrepresents, misinform with a purpose to lie their way to White House....They have been caught with their pants down. The Obama Team are in the offensive and they are in the receiving end. They will remain on the defensive to the voting day....... Tighten your seat belts and enjoy this beautiful music; and please note, the American voters dont play with their democratic voting rights.......The bad thing with lying is that, you forget quickly how you formed your first, second or third lie and your eyes begin to blink, you are left confused..... .......when the lie gets toxic, you are caught.........This is where they act decisively......... Romney and team have no substance, no specifics with no policy statement how they wish to lead.......at the Republican National Congress was the time and place to give detailed narratives of point by point how they plan to take leadership to the next level; but what we were treated to was just rhetorics. If you watch carefully, they are trying to fumble President Obama strategies of the Recovery Act establishment on forward plan of action. Cheers !!!
Watch this !!! Veterans Who Support President Obama Published on Aug 31, 2012 by BarackObamadotcom Are you in? http://OFA.BO/magP4tVeterans share why they support President Obama and what the president has done to support Veterans and Military Families. Mitt Romney Say ...........but no Rachel Maddow - The lie that Eric Cantor forgot Published on Aug 31, 2012 by Licentiathe8th Aug 31, 2012
Rachel Maddow has the details on how Republican House Majority Leader Eric Cantor forgot the lie on Medicare that was championed by his party's leader. The Truth About Romney Economics: Jerry from Ampad Paul Ryan: Wrong for the Middle Class Get the facts on the GOP Convention here: http://OFA.BO/JEX5Nd
Paul Ryan's speech at the Republican National Convention in Tampa was full of wrong and misleading statements. If you've seen any coverage of it, you know that the consensus among journalists and independent observers is that it was factually challenged.
As the National Journal stated:
"Paul Ryan is long on style, shorter on facts"
He lied about Medicare. He lied about the Recovery Act. He lied about the deficit and debt. He even dishonestly attacked Barack Obama for the closing of a GM plant in his hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin -- a plant that closed in December 2008 under George W. Bush.
Paul Ryan failed to offer one constructive idea about what he would do to move the country forward.
Get the facts: http://OFA.BO/JEX5Nd Romney says, "I LIED before, but TRUST me!" - Rachel Maddow Published on Aug 17, 2012 by Romney MrEtchASketch To run for governor in Massachusetts Romney claimed he was a legal resident because he paid his taxes there. Actually, that was a blatant LIE! Romney had been paying his taxes as a UTAH resident! -- but then later "amended" his taxes to qualify for Massachusetts???
Sadly, I really don't believe Mitt even KNOWS what the truth is anymore.
From MSNBC
--- On Fri, 8/31/12, Nelson Oreje <nelsonoreje@gmail.com> wrote:
From: Nelson Oreje <nelsonoreje@gmail.com> Subject: Re: Romney no stronger than before says Obama campaign To: wanakenya@googlegroups.com, "Judy Miriga" <jbatec@yahoo.com>, "progressive-kenyans" <progressive-kenyans@googlegroups.com> Date: Friday, August 31, 2012, 6:26 PM Tell BO to up his game, sending those sorry msgs won't help. Tell him to go on the offensive, if he can't, kindly advice him to ignore Romney and his orator, Paul Ryan, an just talk on issues. He needs to sell his Obamacare as a brand to get him more vote from the middle class. Only the paranoid survive
From: Judy Miriga <jbatec@yahoo.com> Sender: wanakenya@googlegroups.com Date: Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:38:24 -0700 (PDT) To: Judy Miriga<jbatec@yahoo.com> ReplyTo: wanakenya@googlegroups.com Subject: Romney no stronger than before says Obama campaign
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Folks, In a Functioning Government, there are open collaborative dialogue for ways and means engaging the general public shared ideas, the legislators concentrate to policy making, the Religious groups, the NGOs, business CEOs, scholars, and professionals who share and deliberate with the Government administrative system to have services rendered and delivered as needed effectively and timely in a balanced manner. Laws are made to prevent and control deliberate unacceptable business practices, where businesses activities would pose harm or danger to human rights and survival, community welfare progressive development agenda, and the environmental conditions. The Government in these instances plays the role of protecting the consumers and employees from unfair use of economic power by big companies, and rather impact favorable business regulated acceptable practices that harmonizes Partnership relation between the business community, labor and the community. For Free Trading to succeed and all people find opportunity to enjoy common unity of purpose; it is Governments responsibility to provide a sustainable establishment to organize, effect and regulate Trading policies and principles. It is fundamentally important to protect the general interest including providing safety and security of all people without conflict of interest or compromising, which a Government is the central unit where all matters are channeled effectively. A strong and stable Government require Trading enterprising pay their fair share through a system of taxation and tariff, which helps Governments to offer efficient and a balanced Supply Vs. Demand to Social Welfare, Education, helps motivates new ideas and innovation, supports Science and Technology with public service delivery through Community Welfare. Some revenues in taxes that are collected from e.g. for certification or licensing of businesses to operate, go toward facilitating Government programs with other services. Some go towards training and organizing military establishment to provide security to the people and the Nation. Consumer safety and interest are guaranteed in terms and conditions set on Trading Contracts and Transactions in order to protect and preserve the environment, balance employment and Education, and regulate trading conditions that could cause diverse effects and avoid "Market Failure" or face economic with environmental degradation or crisis. Many factories and industries are regularly reviewed to confirm legitimacy and safety and are inspected by Government Officials. If found wanting, their activities can turn harmful to health, environment and survival. For any reason, if they fall out of required standards, there is a penalty because, they are able to bring about significant devastating severe harm to health and the environment that can adversely affect human health, financial well-being, or community instability and disrupt peace. SPECIAL INTEREST RAGE AGAINST PRESIDENT OBAMA AND THE GOVERNMENT'S REGULATORY PRINCIPLES Mitt Romney with Special Business Interest for Free Trading Enterprises contributed to the Great Economic Meltdown during President Bush Administration. It is the reason they have joined forces with a gusto to push to undo, repeal and replace consumer-friendly Healthcare Reforms. Mitt Romney and Team of Special Business Interest hate with a passion Financial Reforms which will require to regulate the Ponzi Schemes and Hedge funding from Wall Street with other big banks which caused contemptible economic crash for which case, all other Financial Institutions shall be required to play by the rule and not rip-off public from credit card bizarre debts and fraud and from weird identity theft including the Intellectual property thieving. The economic crash was an open contempt where Wall Street and Big backers failed American democracy. Since Mitt Romney failed to demonstrate and give clear picture of his Blue Print Fact-Based clear Plan of Action at Republican National Convention; his Presidential leadership still remain smokescreen. From his Baine background and connecting the dots, it is clear they have presented a careful engineered vision of a perfect controlled Government to serve their Special interest against those of the general majority people which they expect to enjoy the unregulated, untaxed free business world. If a business is violating rights, then it is the responsibility of Government leadership to redress the violation and fix the problem; at which case, creating favorable laws is basic fundamental requirement. Obsolutely, doing this will alter comfort zones of some business activity, but adjustment finally brings about security to all. It was the Government during Obama Administration that bailed out big corporations and banks from collapsing after dipping the country into economic crisis during Bush Administration. If Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan with the Rich Special Interest aim to force the Government from regulating good practices for shared sacrifice in paying a small portion in taxes, they are at arms that Government should stay out of their business. It is why they ganged against the President and plan to throw President Obama out of leadership the reason why they played the GAME OF BLOCK AND OBSTRUCTION against Obama; why they said President Obama will be a One-Term-President. We are left wondering, if they take and assume power to push Government out of its Supervisory and regulation for balance, how will things be with the commoner and the middle-class? Is this the reason why Mitt Romney in his speech address threatened to go to war with Putni of Russia???.......The Americans don't want any war, they want peace. With Government's regulations through transparency checks and balances, rights and security would be preserved, good business have a chance to flourish and bad business eventually diminishes and disappear. Without environmental protective laws to air quality statutes and sea pollution, our nature will be destroyed and life will be endangered. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan Republican ticket cannot be trusted; …….it is clear their intention is to make maximum profit from their businesses without paying taxes and provide unreasonable situation for drug companies to exploit public from unrealistic profit margin they expect to make and pay big salaries to their CEOs which again will not provide a balance needed to stabilize economy…..etc…No, Government must put them in checks. During George W. Bush administration, U.S. economy was in deep trouble and it was the Big Banks from Wall Street where the problem hit the snag from Ponzi Scheme and Hedge funding etc.,…..needing urgent fix where President Obama used stimulus package with good planning to rescue the country…..which President Obama did….. because without this and other strong corrective measures taken in response to the crisis, the damage to the American economy could have been far worse than it was…. the Romney campaign -- - is against the "fix" that saved America (Like they wanted America to be a write-off the map) they want to go reverse back to force bad business practices that dipped America into the mess by avoiding Government regulatory principles by sidestepping the democratic process entirely of protecting, preserving and sustaining livelihood and survival. Therefore, if Romney becomes President and Ryan his VP, they both will exercise Presidential Romney executive order to issue Special Interest creed to benefit the rich without congressional approval, monopolizing and owning control of all businesses and making the Government to work for the rich against the interest of the middle-class and the poor. To the poor, old and the disadvantaged, he repeatedly was heard saying that he does not care for the poor………in which case, in their plan and budget plan, it is survival for the fittest and the disadvantaged and poor don't count. This is why, details of Mitt Romney's proposed Plan for Action or Blue print is not clear, has not been tabulated for public information and has not been presented to public for analysis and debate so to be debated for its validity and suitability and therefore has remain questionable in the minds of many American people. It is therefore true that "the regulatory principles" is not something that Wall Street has ever really warmed up to yet through (Wall Street) its business engagement and undertaking, they brought America down. It is also true that during the Republican leadership, negligent stewardship the American economy, and the investment with credit markets in particular, spiraled out of control and brought many pain and sufferings to many middle-class, the disadvantaged and the poor and was the reason for housing bubbles……where many people lost their housing Mortgages….while Wall Streets, Big Banks, with other connected businesses and CEOs of Special Business Interests wound up with very big bonus checks in the wake of Economic Crash…..and instead, they stepped out of the wreckage without a scratch……. Therefore it is clear, Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan's team of Special Interest of the rich harbor open hostility against President Obama and want to "through him out" as John Boehner puts it; and it is why Special Interest of the Republican business community are against the idea of "a government of the people, by the people, and for the people" they want to turn it around to suit "Government for the Special Business Interest" to zero in utter contempt for Government Service Delivery Mandate to people as constitutionally known. Romney's remarks were aimed at selling him to voters, but instead he made repeated argument against an Obama second term—insisting the president has simply not turned things around. He repeatedly emphasized that his focus would be on creating jobs—which hasn't been Obama's focus, and that was a LIE. Romney touched on foreign policy ideas was nothing more than confirming war with Iran, non-cooperation with China, and basically indicating war with Putin & Russia. Essentially, telling the rest of the world he will be quick to abandon diplomacy in favor of military action tells a lot and is something known to be a costly strategy, both in terms of adding trillions to the already fiscal debt, but also, in terms of our fostering good relationship with the rest of the world, this idea is not feasible. With this strategy, Mitt Romeny will expect to spend more Trillions on new war with Iran and Rassia. With Romney's 12 million outsourcing jobs, it will be difficult for him to create more jobs in USA as his aim is for outsourced low wage jobs to China. Not good paying US jobs. He has no plan to create jobs other than cutting taxes for the rich in the US. We saw how well his promise to deregulate wall street worked - it killed millions of jobs and caused a depression, while GOP paid the banks. Then the GOP forced austerity measures on hundred thousands of public employees. That is not a sustainable jobs plan, it is a recipe for disaster which as a show-case, resulted in economic collapse when President Obama took office. Rubio's inference that President Obama's HOPE became a divide and concur; that People who came to America, get away from their country. Do I detect a hint of racism here? Clearly, President Obama has suffered severe racial bashing and overtone to indicate he is not an American; the birther issue that originated from Tramp, he is dividing Americans, is not qualified or experienced to be a President, has put America at risk in the World, failed foreign policy, it was shameful and embarrasing to disrespect the President through an 80 year old Movie actor Clint Eastwood. That HOPE became a divide and concur and led by John Boehner, President Obama will be thrown out of the White House, that he want to give black hand-outs in government dependents instead of creating jobs for them BLACKS……. etc., the fact remain that, Mitt Romney did not deliver a clear vision of how he intend to lead America. So nothing new....... this becomes a fact that they have nothing to convince the America people and the world that they have fundamental objectives for rulership except going for their special business interest against public interest, the middle-class and the poor. All these calculated spite from the Republican are weighing on President Obama are ways to paint the President unfavorably bad; so to confuse voters using LIES…..and have the American voters not seen the REALITY of how President Obama has remained faithful, clearly put down his feasible plan in Blue Print on the Stimulus Recovery Act and passionately to implement the same equally succeeding in most of his campaign promises………BUT, have been constantly blocked and obstructed by the agents of Special Interest so he does not fully succeed ??? ……… and by Rubio relating President Obama as a tired and old big government ideas that people come to America to get away from……REALLY ??? …. Are Americans so naïve, foolish and blind to be hoodwinked by shrewd skewed LIES, that President Obama is an enemy of America and is not true to his promises to the America, has no qualifications or experience and have failed to deliver…???....... is his dedication and commitment to public service not a success story and the result not real??? In his mission where he toils and strives against ODDS of HATERS to deliver and bring peace to America and the world has been reduced to ploy of LIES from the camp of Special Interest….After President Obama struggle to steady and level the economic collapse, instead of working together to effectively utilize the STIMULUS PACKAGES to create Regional Jobs, what did they do with the money????? Why do they blame President Obama…..??? because some Special Business Interest want control of the GOVERNMENT FOR THEIR MEAN SELFISH BUSINESS PROFIT AND INTEREST……..???? People, if you see someone vying for Presidency leadership and basing 90% of their arguments on LIES instead of TRUTH, be very suspicious, cautious and wary. They want power in a hurry not for the good of the country, but for their unspecified secret Special Business Interest. This is unacceptable …….President Obama need to be treated better than this………President Obama is a good man………He needs a second chance, he must not be denied because of his poor background; it is in Africa where unscrupulous corrupt Special business Interest ganged and scramble with the CHINESE as their COMMISSION AGENTS with imported Chinese workers with Pirates and Terrorist, engage to steal PUBLIC WEALTH which is the BACKBONE OF THE WORLD's STABILITY and SUSTAINABILITY, will American voters relax, listen to LIES and THROW AWAY PRESIDENT OBAMA??? What voters need to do is to elect responsible, committed Leaders (Governors, Congress men and women, with senators) people of integrity, to join President Obama form second term and expect good result from the best leadership in public service delivery. America will provide a show-case to the rest of the world and help Africa come along and the world will be a better place to live in. People, you can take my word of wisdom to the bank………..that, with the scramble to Africa by the unscrupulous corrupt and thievers who have over the years brought us so much loses, spill of blood, our people being butchered, with excessive pain and sufferings; it is only President Obama who can deliver mostly reliable and trusted leadership we all want. Under Mutual Business Partnership he will deliver to public in a balance without much pain and sufferings……It is President Obama who can be trusted to make a fair DEAL for common good of all, and on a "Give and Take" principles, we all shall have access in a competitive edge void of MONOPOLY and control from a few special interest. We will engage in a progressive agenda based on lasting Trading mutual exchange practices shared with the American community and with the world at large; we all will share and enjoy natural happiness united under peace in the principle of LOVE………This is what we all want and we must unite for the same. Mitt Romney Double-Crossed By GOP Spoilers Sore Losers War Talk To Ensure Loss Mepac For Published on Aug 31, 2012 by peppahot58 Mitt Romney will not elected as president of the U.S.A, - his 'double-crossing' Republican friends assured his loss, by encouraging him to talk war and race. War-Fatigued Americans do not want another war. Nor, do they want race injected into the presidential race. A majority of Americans know our destinies are intertwined as brothers and sisters, and want to end this race war, or at least forget about, and certainly don't want a US president from a political party that is infamous for lies, hate and bigotry. I truly believe in the goodness of most Americans, and believe they will reject Mitt Romney and his race politics. And, they certainly will reject him for his talk of war. which will suck trillions of taxpayer dollars from the economy, and costing thousands of live.
Mitt Romney, in his RNC speech, talked about war with Iran and Russia. Then accused the U.S. of throwing Isreal under the bus. That is losing talk, and the GOP knows it. They really don't want Romney to win.
Then Newt Gingrich encouraged him to inject race, by running the lying Welfare Ads, demonizing poverty victims, for the sake of appealing to white voters. This is a losing strategy, because most Americans know poverty and welfare recipients, are not only black, and they are white. Newt knows that will lose Romney the election, because there are too many white people that benefitting from welfare and other social programs than are "Helping Hands", when they're drowning. It is our constituional duty to helps fellow citizens in need.
The GOP also encouraged him to run a "business" campaign - another loser. This push for business at the top of the platform, alienates millions of other Americans who contribute to this great country, that are not in business, but as equally important; ie, scientists, engineers, school teachers, cops....etc. Somebody forget to tell Romney, that cops safeguards business, and firefighters put out their fires... President Obama tired to make this point of business collaboration - Romney turn his sniped speech into to presidential campaign,omitting 80% of Americans. I could go on....don't need to. I think you get the picture of how a double-crosser works. If Mitt Romney's being double-crossed by GOP haters, and not realizing it, this shows how he will be used by big corporations, Sheldon Adelson and others - he will 'tripled-crossed' into using the White House for personal gain by special interests entities.
A man that can be that easily "doubled-crossed', and doesn't see it, should not be trusted with the keys to the White House. A person that is easily doubled-crossed, will double-cross another it is in their DNA. And, Romney will certainly "double-cross' America, if given the opportunity. Clint Eastwood Published on Aug 30, 2012 by gopconvention2012 Clint Eastwood addresses the 2012 Republican National Convention. RNC 2012 - What you didn't see (Romney may not be the real nominee) Published on Aug 31, 2012 by OneJHWH Please help share.
The Convention is where delegates are meant to cast votes for the nominee, yet the Tampa Bay Times Forum was already plastered with embedded Romney banners, and additional 'Mitt' signs for people to hold were also smuggled in to make it appear that many are behind him. All Ron Paul material was promptly confiscated.
Six states filed to put Ron Paul into nomination while the rules still said it only took five states. Realizing this, the RNC met early Tuesday morning to change the rules in order to make the minimum needed as eight states, which Ron also would have had if the RNC had not decided to take the Ron Paul delegates away from LA and ME. One bus of delegates on the way to the RNC was essentially kidnapped for two hours, and arrived too late to vote on the matter said the RNC.
Rather than taking proper vote counts or listening to objections, several votes were clearly not unanimous, but this didn't stop the RNC "leaders" from ignoring the dissent. Video surfaced just after this video published, but a link is in the video showing that the teleprompter already had pre-approved results before the public vote was taken. Ron Paul's name and delegate totals were not allowed to be mentioned officially on the stage, even when he won the specific state.
The Republican Party has lost all hope, and the disrespect Paul supporters received will eventually be replied with "I told you so."
thanks to "CollectiveCheckup" please help share, comment, & subscribe to his page
see original video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B39W91O-rUg Mitt Romney Acceptance Speech at the Republican National Convention (C-SPAN) - Full Speech Published on Aug 30, 2012 by CSPAN Mitt Romney accepts the Republican Presidential nomination at the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa Bay Times Forum. From C-SPAN's LIVE gavel-to-gavel coverage. http://www.c-span.org/RNC/ Boehner Booed Over Rule Change At RNC BREAKING: GOP Leadership Calls for Reince Priebus to Resign! Unethical Rule Violation Published on May 9, 2012 by TheJoshTolleyChannel When GOP Chairman, Reince Priebus violated Rule #11 of the RNC, that was enough for leadership at the state and local level to call for his resignation! Now a petition is circulating and the Romney camp needs to do damage control! Ron Paul - Mitt Romney Federal Lawsuit In Court Now - RNC No Chance with Romney Published on Jul 4, 2012 by RONPAULONE If you saw any fraud at a voting precinct, congressional meeting, county meeting or state convention please contact: electionfraudremedy.com
Demand for Romney Disqualification Growing. Rampant Fraud well documented.
Concern to the Pentagon and U.S. Armed Forces are allegations contained in an 11th hour lawsuit that Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney and Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus conspired and continue to conspire in an organized crime racket to steal the office of United States Presidency and Commander in Chief.
As the Romney Campaign went from state to state breaking people's bones, rigging voter machines and closing down meetings they forget the most dammin courtroom evidence of the 21 century - cell phones are video cameras. These videos form a forensic chronologic evidence folder of hard fact videos that neither Mitt Romney nor Republican Chairman Reince Priebus can refute and will likely result in the disqualification of Mitt Romney. Felony convictions can result in serious prison sentences. Republicans see the enemy in their own candidate - The Rachel Maddow Show (June 29th, 2012) Published on Jun 30, 2012 by Panzerfaust04 MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry talks with Rachel Maddow about how (if at all) Republicans can attack President Obama's Affordable Care Act and support their own candidate, who is responsible for an identical plan, with any credibility. From the June 29th, 2012 edition of The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Rachel Maddow - The big money players in 2012 politics Published on Jul 7, 2012 by Licentiathe8th July 6, 2012
Harvey Weinstein, movie producer, co-founder of Miramax, co-chairman of The Weinstein Company and Obama fundraiser, talks with Rachel Maddow about why big money donors are giving disproportionately to Mitt Romney in 2012 and what motivates big money bundlers and political backers. Stephanie Cutter: Get the facts on Mitt Romney, Big Oil, and the Koch Brothers Published on May 2, 2012 by BarackObamadotcom Join the Truth Team: https://my.barackobama.com/cutter4vid
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Stephanie Cutter, Deputy Campaign Manager, shares the facts about Big Oil's latest attack.
"Hi I'm Stephanie Cutter I'm the Deputy Campaign Manager here at Obama for America and I wanted to arm you with the facts about the latest attach from Big Oil. You may have heard of the Koch brothers they're secretive oil billionaires bankrolling Republican campaigns and now they're backing Mitt Romney. Pretty simple reason for this, President Obama would take away billions of dollars in unnecessary oil tax breaks --Mitt Romney would protect them.
So now they're spending six million dollars on an ad that is so blatantly false the Washington Post said that they have no shame.
Let's get the facts out because it's important that you guys know the truth. President Obama has helped create hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs. Projects in all 50 states. And the way these oil billionaires and their front group completely ignore the truth is breathtaking.
Let's take some crazy examples from their attack ad. They claim the administration gave money to build electric cars in Finland. No, the Department of Energy's funding was specifically for U.S. jobs at U.S. facilities. Sure enough the company is employing 700 workers in California and their planning to build a plant in Delaware.
Okay another ridiculous claim: they said we sent money to China to build traffic lights. That's wrong again. Those traffic lights were built here, in this country, and helped expand our light manufacturing industry in this country.
They said we gave money to a company building solar plants in Mexico. Nope. And again, our money is going to a solar plant here in America with American workers.
These guys are going to say whatever it takes to tear down the President. They will literally say anything. They oppose expanding clean energy. They oppose higher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks.
So we're going to call their BS when we see it. And we need your help to call them on it too and to set the record straight.
So share this, Tweet it, Facebook it. I keep hearing about Tumblr and whatever that is please use that too. And thank you, for all of your help." Mitt Romney Versus Reality: Global Edition Are you in? https://my.barackobama.com/globalttvid
Mitt Romney continues to distort reality in this global edition of "Mitt Romney versus Reality" Mitt Romney - Serial Flip Flopper! FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
See a list of Mitt Romney's other flip flops here: http://the-opinionated-fool.blogspot.com/2011/11/mitt-romney-flip-flops-is-th...
Overview Video of Mitt Romney's Flip Flops
Mitt Romney Flip Flopping on Various Important Issues Thanks to whichmitt.com for a lot of the video clips and the effort that went into putting them together. A lot of the quotes come from mittromneyflipflops.com, thanks for putting the list together.
Mitt Romney on Immigration
'Those... paying taxes and not taking government benefits should begin a process toward application for citizenship.'
'Amnesty only led to more people coming into the country.'
Mitt Romney on Roe v. Wade / Abortion
'I respect and will protect a woman's right to choose.'
'I never really called myself pro-choice.'
'Roe v. Wade has gone too far.'
'I believe that since Roe v. Wade has been the law for 20 years we should sustain and support it.'
Mitt Romney on Health Care
'I like mandates. The mandates work.'
'I think it's unconstitutional on the 10th Amendment front.'
'If Massachusetts succeeds in implementing it, then that will be a model for the nation.'
'What works in one state may not be the answer for another.'
Mitt Romney on Ronald Reagan
'I'm not trying to return to Reagan-Bush.'
'Ronald Reagan is... my hero.'
For more information read "I'm Not Trying to Return to Reagan-Bush!" and "Deroy Murdock: Romney is like Reagan: an actor".
Mitt Romney on Payroll Tax Cut
'I believe the tax on capital gains should be zero.'
'It's a tax cut for fat cats.'
Mitt Romney on Climate Change
'My view is that we don't know what's causing climate change on this planet.'
'I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that.'
'These carbon emission limits will provide real and immediate progress.'
'Republicans should never abandon pro-growth conservative principles in an effort to embrace the ideas of Al Gore.'
Mitt Romney on the Recovery Act / Stimulus / Bailouts / TARP
'The TARP program... was nevertheless necessary to keep banks from collapsing in a cascade of failures.'
'When government is... bailing out banks... we have every good reason to be alarmed.'
'The all-Democrat stimulus that was passed in early 2009 will accelerate the timing of the start of the recovery...'
'The all-Democrat stimulus passed in early 2009 has been a failure.'
'I'm going to take burdens off the back of the auto industry.'
'Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.'
Mitt Romney on Stem Cell Research
'I will work and fight for stem cell research.'
'In the end, I became persuaded that the stem-cell debate was grounded in a false premise.'
Mitt Romney on Muslim Cabinet Members
'Based on the numbers of American Muslims... I cannot see that a cabinet position would be justified.'
'A person should not be elected because of his faith nor should he be rejected because of his faith.'
Mitt Romney of the Gun Control / the NRA
'I don't line up with the NRA.'
'I'm a member of the [NRA].'
Mitt Romney on Hunting
'I've been a hunter pretty much all my life.'
'Any description of my being a hunter is an overstatement of capability.'
Mitt Romney on Campaign Finance Reform
'I would like to have campaign spending limits.'
'The American people should be free to advocate for their candidates and their positions without burdensome limitations.'
Mitt Romney on Being a Conservative
'Relative to the leading candidates, some people see me as being more conservative.'
'I'm not the most conservative candidate.'
Mitt Romney on the Minimum Wage
'I think the minimum wage ought to keep pace with inflation.'
'There's no question raising the minimum wage excessively causes a loss of jobs.'
Mitt Romney on Seeing Martin Luther King March
'I saw my father march with Martin Luther King.'
'I did not see it with my own eyes.'
Mitt Romney on Social Security
'I'm not in favor of privatizing Social Security or making cuts.'
'Social Security's the easiest and that's because you can give people a personal account.'
Mitt Romney Flip Flopping on Being a Flip Flopper
'I'm a strong believer in stating your position and not wavering.'
'I changed my position.'
Mitt Romney on Dog Kennel on Top of Car
'This is a completely airtight kennel mounted on the top of our car.'
'They're not happy that my dog loves fresh air.'
Mitt Romney on Catching Ben Laden
'It's not worth moving heaven and earth spending billions of dollars just trying to catch one person.'
'He's going to pay, and he will die.'
Mitt Romney on Fannie and Freddie Romney no stronger than before says Obama campaignAFP – 10 hrs ago The Obama campaign declared Friday that Republican Mitt Romney left his convention in no better political shape than when he arrived and complained he ignored the Afghan war in his big speech. President Barack Obama's team also fact-checked Romney's speech at the Republican National Convention in Florida, seeking to set the record straight on what it saw as distortions of the administration's record. "Much like the entire Republican convention, Mitt Romney's speech tonight offered many personal attacks and gauzy platitudes, but no tangible ideas to move the country forward," said Obama campaign manager Jim Messina. "What he didn't share were his actual proposals, which would take our country backwards." Messina said Romney would provide another $5 trillion in "budget-busting tax cuts for the wealthy paid for by the middle class" and would turn the Medicare health program for seniors into a voucher system. "In an almost 45-minute speech, Mitt Romney didn't find a moment to mention Afghanistan. With no new plans and evasion about his real plans, Mitt Romney leaves this convention no stronger than he came." The president himself sent out an email to his millions of supporters moments after Romney wrapped up his speech, calling on them to donate to his campaign before the latest monthly fundraising deadline expires Friday. "Tonight was their night. But our focus must be on tomorrow," Obama wrote. The Obama campaign also responded to the speech with a blizzard of tweets and emails pushed to reporters' inboxes, fact checking what they said were Romney's repeated distortions about the president's record. "Tonight, Mitt Romney once again repeated his long-debunked claim that President Obama apologized for America," one email said. "But as independent fact checkers have exhaustedly said over and over again, the 'apology tour' never happened." The campaign also hammered Romney over his critique of the president's policy towards Iran's nuclear challenge: "Romney has failed to suggest anything he would do that President Obama isn't already doing," another email said. The Obama campaign also accused the Republican of plotting to raise middle class taxes to benefit the rich, said he would not create jobs and criticized him for opposing an auto industry bailout. Obama's campaign foreign policy spokeswoman Marie Harf tweeted that it was "offensive" that Romney did not mention the war in Afghanistan or veterans in his speech. During Hollywood icon Clint Eastwood's rambling and bizarre appearance in the prime-time hour, Obama's deputy campaign manager Stephanie Cutter simply tweeted "Wow." Obama will have his own chance to make his case to American voters two months before he asks them for a second term at the Democratic National Convention beginning Tuesday in Charlotte, North Carolina. Full transcript of Mitt Romney's speech at Republican National Convention 2012 Published: Thursday, August 30, 2012, 11:15 PM Updated: Friday, August 31, 2012, 12:28 AM Mr. Chairman, delegates. I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America. I do so with humility, deeply moved by the trust you have placed in me. It is a great honor. It is an even greater responsibility. Tonight I am asking you to join me to walk together to a better future. By my side, I have chosen a man with a big heart from a small town. He represents the best of America, a man who will always make us proud – my friend and America's next Vice President, Paul Ryan. In the days ahead, you will get to know Paul and Janna better. But last night America got to see what I saw in Paul Ryan – a strong and caring leader who is down to earth and confident in the challenge this moment demands. I love the way he lights up around his kids and how he's not embarrassed to show the world how much he loves his mom. But Paul, I still like the playlist on my iPod better than yours. Four years ago, I know that many Americans felt a fresh excitement about the possibilities of a new president. That president was not the choice of our party but Americans always come together after elections. We are a good and generous people who are united by so much more than what divides us. When that hard fought election was over, when the yard signs came down and the television commercials finally came off the air, Americans were eager to go back to work, to live our lives the way Americans always have – optimistic and positive and confident in the future. That very optimism is uniquely American. It is what brought us to America. We are a nation of immigrants. We are the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the ones who wanted a better life, the driven ones, the ones who woke up at night hearing that voice telling them that life in that place called America could be better. They came not just in pursuit of the riches of this world but for the richness of this life. Freedom. Freedom of religion. Freedom to speak their mind. Freedom to build a life. And yes, freedom to build a business. With their own hands. This is the essence of the American experience. We Americans have always felt a special kinship with the future. When every new wave of immigrants looked up and saw the Statue of Liberty, or knelt down and kissed the shores of freedom just ninety miles from Castro's tyranny, these new Americans surely had many questions. But none doubted that here in America they could build a better life, that in America their children would be more blessed than they. But today, four years from the excitement of the last election, for the first time, the majority of Americans now doubt that our children will have a better future.
It is not what we were promised. Every family in America wanted this to be a time when they could get ahead a little more, put aside a little more for college, do more for their elderly mom who's living alone now or give a little more to their church or charity. Every small business wanted these to be their best years ever, when they could hire more, do more for those who had stuck with them through the hard times, open a new store or sponsor that Little League team. Every new college graduate thought they'd have a good job by now, a place of their own, and that they could start paying back some of their loans and build for the future. This is when our nation was supposed to start paying down the national debt and rolling back those massive deficits. This was the hope and change America voted for. It's not just what we wanted. It's not just what we expected. It's what Americans deserved. You deserved it because during these years, you worked harder than ever before. You deserved it because when it cost more to fill up your car, you cut out movie nights and put in longer hours. Or when you lost that job that paid $22.50 an hour with benefits, you took two jobs at 9 bucks an hour and fewer benefits. You did it because your family depended on you. You did it because you're an American and you don't quit. You did it because it was what you had to do. But driving home late from that second job, or standing there watching the gas pump hit 50 dollars and still going, when the realtor told you that to sell your house you'd have to take a big loss, in those moments you knew that this just wasn't right. But what could you do? Except work harder, do with less, try to stay optimistic. Hug your kids a little longer; maybe spend a little more time praying that tomorrow would be a better day. I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed. But his promises gave way to disappointment and division. This isn't something we have to accept. Now is the moment when we CAN do something. With your help we will do something. Now is the moment when we can stand up and say, "I'm an American. I make my destiny. And we deserve better! My children deserve better! My family deserves better. My country deserves better!" So here we stand. Americans have a choice. A decision. To make that choice, you need to know more about me and about where I will lead our country. I was born in the middle of the century in the middle of the country, a classic baby boomer. It was a time when Americans were returning from war and eager to work. To be an American was to assume that all things were possible. When President Kennedy challenged Americans to go to the moon, the question wasn't whether we'd get there, it was only when we'd get there. The soles of Neil Armstrong's boots on the moon made permanent impressions on OUR souls and in our national psyche. Ann and I watched those steps together on her parent's sofa. Like all Americans we went to bed that night knowing we lived in the greatest country in the history of the world. God bless Neil Armstrong. Tonight that American flag is still there on the moon. And I don't doubt for a second that Neil Armstrong's spirit is still with us: that unique blend of optimism, humility and the utter confidence that when the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American. That's how I was brought up. My dad had been born in Mexico and his family had to leave during the Mexican revolution. I grew up with stories of his family being fed by the US Government as war refugees. My dad never made it through college and apprenticed as a lath and plaster carpenter. And he had big dreams. He convinced my mom, a beautiful young actress, to give up Hollywood to marry him. He moved to Detroit, led a great automobile company and became Governor of the Great State of Michigan. We were Mormons and growing up in Michigan; that might have seemed unusual or out of place but I really don't remember it that way. My friends cared more about what sports teams we followed than what church we went to. My mom and dad gave their kids the greatest gift of all – the gift of unconditional love. They cared deeply about who we would BE, and much less about what we would DO. Unconditional love is a gift that Ann and I have tried to pass on to our sons and now to our grandchildren. All the laws and legislation in the world will never heal this world like the loving hearts and arms of mothers and fathers. If every child could drift to sleep feeling wrapped in the love of their family – and God's love -- this world would be a far more gentle and better place. Mom and Dad were married 64 years. And if you wondered what their secret was, you could have asked the local florist – because every day Dad gave Mom a rose, which he put on her bedside table. That's how she found out what happened on the day my father died – she went looking for him because that morning, there was no rose. My mom and dad were true partners, a life lesson that shaped me by everyday example. When my mom ran for the Senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way. I can still hear her saying in her beautiful voice, "Why should women have any less say than men, about the great decisions facing our nation?" I wish she could have been here at the convention and heard leaders like Governor Mary Fallin, Governor Nikki Haley, Governor Susana Martinez, Senator Kelly Ayotte and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. As Governor of Massachusetts, I chose a woman Lt. Governor, a woman chief of staff, half of my cabinet and senior officials were women, and in business, I mentored and supported great women leaders who went on to run great companies. I grew up in Detroit in love with cars and wanted to be a car guy, like my dad. But by the time I was out of school, I realized that I had to go out on my own, that if I stayed around Michigan in the same business, I'd never really know if I was getting a break because of my dad. I wanted to go someplace new and prove myself. Those weren't the easiest of days – too many long hours and weekends working, five young sons who seemed to have this need to re-enact a different world war every night. But if you ask Ann and I what we'd give, to break up just one more fight between the boys, or wake up in the morning and discover a pile of kids asleep in our room. Well, every mom and dad knows the answer to that. Those days were toughest on Ann, of course. She was heroic. Five boys, with our families a long way away. I had to travel a lot for my job then and I'd call and try to offer support. But every mom knows that doesn't help get the homework done or the kids out the door to school. I knew that her job as a mom was harder than mine. And I knew without question, that her job as a mom was a lot more important than mine. And as America saw Tuesday night, Ann would have succeeded at anything she wanted to. Like a lot of families in a new place with no family, we found kinship with a wide circle of friends through our church. When we were new to the community it was welcoming and as the years went by, it was a joy to help others who had just moved to town or just joined our church. We had remarkably vibrant and diverse congregants from all walks of life and many who were new to America. We prayed together, our kids played together and we always stood ready to help each other out in different ways. And that's how it is in America. We look to our communities, our faiths, our families for our joy, our support, in good times and bad. It is both how we live our lives and why we live our lives. The strength and power and goodness of America has always been based on the strength and power and goodness of our communities, our families, our faiths. That is the bedrock of what makes America, America. In our best days, we can feel the vibrancy of America's communities, large and small. It's when we see that new business opening up downtown. It's when we go to work in the morning and see everybody else on our block doing the same. It's when our son or daughter calls from college to talk about which job offer they should take….and you try not to choke up when you hear that the one they like is not far from home. It's that good feeling when you have more time to volunteer to coach your kid's soccer team, or help out on school trips. But for too many Americans, these good days are harder to come by. How many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in America? Many of you felt that way on Election Day four years ago. Hope and Change had a powerful appeal. But tonight I'd ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn't you feel that way now that he's President Obama? You know there's something wrong with the kind of job he's done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him. The President hasn't disappointed you because he wanted to. The President has disappointed America because he hasn't led America in the right direction. He took office without the basic qualification that most Americans have and one that was essential to his task. He had almost no experience working in a business. Jobs to him are about government. I learned the real lessons about how America works from experience. When I was 37, I helped start a small company. My partners and I had been working for a company that was in the business of helping other businesses. So some of us had this idea that if we really believed our advice was helping companies, we should invest in companies. We should bet on ourselves and on our advice. So we started a new business called Bain Capital. The only problem was, while WE believed in ourselves, nobody else did. We were young and had never done this before and we almost didn't get off the ground. In those days, sometimes I wondered if I had made a really big mistake. I had thought about asking my church's pension fund to invest, but I didn't. I figured it was bad enough that I might lose my investors' money, but I didn't want to go to hell too. Shows what I know. Another of my partners got the Episcopal Church pension fund to invest. Today there are a lot of happy retired priests who should thank him. That business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great American success story. Some of the companies we helped start are names you know. An office supply company called Staples – where I'm pleased to see the Obama campaign has been shopping; The Sports Authority, which became a favorite of my sons. We started an early childhood learning center called Bright Horizons that First Lady Michelle Obama rightly praised. At a time when nobody thought we'd ever see a new steel mill built in America, we took a chance and built one in a corn field in Indiana. Today Steel Dynamics is one of the largest steel producers in the United States. These are American success stories. And yet the centerpiece of the President's entire re-election campaign is attacking success. Is it any wonder that someone who attacks success has led the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression? In America, we celebrate success, we don't apologize for it. We weren't always successful at Bain. But no one ever is in the real world of business. That's what this President doesn't seem to understand. Business and growing jobs is about taking risk, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding, but always striving. It is about dreams. Usually, it doesn't work out exactly as you might have imagined. Steve Jobs was fired at Apple. He came back and changed the world. It's the genius of the American free enterprise system – to harness the extraordinary creativity and talent and industry of the American people with a system that is dedicated to creating tomorrow's prosperity rather than trying to redistribute today's. That is why every president since the Great Depression who came before the American people asking for a second term could look back at the last four years and say with satisfaction: "you are better off today than you were four years ago." Except Jimmy Carter. And except this president. This president can ask us to be patient.
This president can tell us it was someone else's fault.
This president can tell us that the next four years he'll get it right.
But this president cannot tell us that YOU are better off today than when he took office. America has been patient. Americans have supported this president in good faith.
But today, the time has come to turn the page. Today the time has come for us to put the disappointments of the last four years behind us. To put aside the divisiveness and the recriminations. To forget about what might have been and to look ahead to what can be. Now is the time to restore the Promise of America. Many Americans have given up on this president but they haven't ever thought about giving up. Not on themselves. Not on each other. And not on America. What is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. It doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what America needs. What America needs is jobs.
Lots of jobs. In the richest country in the history of the world, this Obama economy has crushed the middle class. Family income has fallen by $4,000, but health insurance premiums are higher, food prices are higher, utility bills are higher, and gasoline prices have doubled. Today more Americans wake up in poverty than ever before. Nearly one out of six Americans is living in poverty. Look around you. These are not strangers. These are our brothers and sisters, our fellow Americans. His policies have not helped create jobs, they have depressed them. And this I can tell you about where President Obama would take America: His plan to raise taxes on small business won't add jobs, it will eliminate them; His assault on coal and gas and oil will send energy and manufacturing jobs to China; His trillion-dollar cuts to our military will eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs, and also put our security at greater risk; His $716 billion cut to Medicare to finance Obamacare will both hurt today's seniors, and depress innovation – and jobs – in medicine. And his trillion-dollar deficits will slow our economy, restrain employment, and cause wages to stall. To the majority of Americans who now believe that the future will not be better than the past, I can guarantee you this: if Barack Obama is re-elected, you will be right. I am running for president to help create a better future. A future where everyone who wants a job can find one. Where no senior fears for the security of their retirement. An America where every parent knows that their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and a bright horizon. And unlike the President, I have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. It has 5 steps. First, by 2020, North America will be energy independent by taking full advantage of our oil and coal and gas and nuclear and renewables. Second, we will give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow. When it comes to the school your child will attend, every parent should have a choice, and every child should have a chance. Third, we will make trade work for America by forging new trade agreements. And when nations cheat in trade, there will be unmistakable consequences. Fourth, to assure every entrepreneur and every job creator that their investments in America will not vanish as have those in Greece, we will cut the deficit and put America on track to a balanced budget. And fifth, we will champion SMALL businesses, America's engine of job growth. That means reducing taxes on business, not raising them. It means simplifying and modernizing the regulations that hurt small business the most. And it means that we must rein in the skyrocketing cost of healthcare by repealing and replacing Obamacare. Today, women are more likely than men to start a business. They need a president who respects and understands what they do. And let me make this very clear – unlike President Obama, I will not raise taxes on the middle class. As president, I will protect the sanctity of life. I will honor the institution of marriage. And I will guarantee America's first liberty: the freedom of religion. President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. MY promise...is to help you and your family. I will begin my presidency with a jobs tour. President Obama began with an apology tour. America, he said, had dictated to other nations. No Mr. President, America has freed other nations from dictators. Every American was relieved the day President Obama gave the order, and Seal Team Six took out Osama bin Laden. But on another front, every American is less secure today because he has failed to slow Iran's nuclear threat. In his first TV interview as president, he said we should talk to Iran. We're still talking, and Iran's centrifuges are still spinning. President Obama has thrown allies like Israel under the bus, even as he has relaxed sanctions on Castro's Cuba. He abandoned our friends in Poland by walking away from our missile defense commitments, but is eager to give Russia's President Putin the flexibility he desires, after the election. Under my administration, our friends will see more loyalty, and Mr. Putin will see a little less flexibility and more backbone. We will honor America's democratic ideals because a free world is a more peaceful world. This is the bipartisan foreign policy legacy of Truman and Reagan. And under my presidency we will return to it once again. You might have asked yourself if these last years are really the America we want, the America won for us by the greatest generation. Does the America we want borrow a trillion dollars from China? No. Does it fail to find the jobs that are needed for 23 million people and for half the kids graduating from college? No. Are its schools lagging behind the rest of the developed world? No. And does the America we want succumb to resentment and division? We know the answer. The America we all know has been a story of the many becoming one, uniting to preserve liberty, uniting to build the greatest economy in the world, uniting to save the world from unspeakable darkness. Everywhere I go in America, there are monuments that list those who have given their lives for America. There is no mention of their race, their party affiliation, or what they did for a living. They lived and died under a single flag, fighting for a single purpose. They pledged allegiance to the UNITED States of America. That America, that united America, can unleash an economy that will put Americans back to work, that will once again lead the world with innovation and productivity, and that will restore every father and mother's confidence that their children's future is brighter even than the past. That America, that united America, will preserve a military that is so strong, no nation would ever dare to test it. That America, that united America, will uphold the constellation of rights that were endowed by our Creator, and codified in our Constitution. That united America will care for the poor and the sick, will honor and respect the elderly, and will give a helping hand to those in need. That America is the best within each of us. That America we want for our children. If I am elected President of these United States, I will work with all my energy and soul to restore that America, to lift our eyes to a better future. That future is our destiny. That future is out there. It is waiting for us. Our children deserve it, our nation depends upon it, the peace and freedom of the world require it. And with your help we will deliver it. Let us begin that future together tonight.
On Mitt Romney, Bain Capital and Private Equity POSTED: August 29, 2:15 PM ET
Mitt Romney Justin Sullivan/Getty Images So our new magazine piece, Greed and Debt, about Mitt Romney's past with Bain and the use of debt to finance takeovers, is online, and already I'm getting some questions that I am anxious to answer. There's a subtle point about the private equity business that I may not have made clear enough in the piece. One emailer writes: "You've completely misunderstood what private equity does and ignored the many success stories in the industry. There is a reason why many of PE's biggest investors are unions and pension funds . . . who have benefitted more than once from private equity deals." This is a valid point. It is true, many of the biggest investors in private equity deals are pension funds and workers' unions. I think this is unfortunate, and I know for a fact that many union leaders discourage unions from investing in private equity takeovers. But it's an undeniable fact that unions and pension funds do sometimes make money on private equity deals. But what people need to understand about private equity firms like Bain is that they are not in the business of turning around companies and creating jobs. The unions and pension funds that invested in those deals did not do so to rescue companies. If you invest in a Bain or a Carlyle or a KKR takeover deal, you're not betting on the future success of whatever company they took over. You're betting on the ability of those firms to make money on the deal, which may – or, just as importantly, may not – involve turning the target company around. If you borrow billions to buy Dunkin' Donuts and the firm flourishes post-takeover, that's one way for investors to get paid. But another way is getting Dunkin' to take out a $1.25 billion bank loan to hand its investors $500 million in tribute payments. It's hard to imagine anything that's dumber, from the standpoint of trying to grow a business, than taking out a billion-dollar loan to pay a dividend – one buddy of mine on Wall Street used the word "retarded" – but for a private equity firm and its investors, that might very well be a smart way to get your investors paid. This is really the point of the piece. The interests of PE firms and their investors do not coincide with the companies that have been taken over, not in the way that Romney and his adherents would have you believe. In fact, they're often at cross-purposes. You invest in a PE deal to make money – not to grow businesses. And not to create jobs. Again, that's not to say leveraged buyout deals don't work for investors. They frequently do. But such deals are designed for the benefit of the investor – not for the takeover target. It's two different sets of interests that have been mistakenly portrayed, in the press, as being aligned. Bain Documents: Romney Offshore Investments Used 'Blockers' To Avoid Taxes The private equity firm founded by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney made use of arcane techniques in several of its Cayman Islands-based funds to avoid U.S. taxes, according to a trove of Bain Capital's private audit and finance records made public on the website Gawker today. The audited financial statements of one of the Cayman Islands funds make note of the use of "blocker" entities, which are used to help retirement accounts and nonprofit entities avoid some taxes. Financial statements for another fund note that it "intends to conduct its operations so it will … not be subject to United States federal income or withholding tax ..." Those details emerge on the statements of two funds in which Romney still holds a sizeable investment, according to the financial disclosure statements he filed when he announced his bid for president. The publication of the Bain Documents on the Gawker website could rekindle debate about Romney's role at the company, and specifically about Bain's decision to domicile many of its funds in offshore locations known as tax havens. Critics say Romney's investments in these funds offer just the latest example of how wealthy Americans can shelter their investments to limit the amount they pay in taxes. "The only reason they structure it that way is to avoid tax," said Rebecca Wilkins, senior counsel with the group Citizens for Tax Justice. "It just confirms what everyone already believes about the tax system -- that it's rigged. That the rules are rigged to favor the well off." Romney campaign officials did not immediately respond to questions about the newly published papers. But when ABC News first reported on Bain's Cayman Islands accounts, campaign officials said the purpose of locating offshore was to help attract money from foreign investors. The accounts provided no tax advantage to American investors like Romney. Romney, the campaign said, has paid all U.S. taxes on income derived from those investments. "The tax consequences to the Romneys are the very same whether the fund is domiciled here or another country," a campaign official said at the time. The issue of Romney's taxes have plagued his campaign. Just last week, a press conference set up to focus on Romney's Medicare plan turned into a back and forth about Romney's tax returns, and whether he had ever paid less than 13.9 percent. Romney called the question "small-minded," lecturing reporters about the other issues facing American voters that he deems more important than his tax returns. "I just have to say given the challenges that America faces -- 23 million people out of work, Iran about to become nuclear, one out of six Americans in poverty -- the fascination with taxes I paid I find to be very small minded compared to the broad issues we face," he said at the time. "But I did go back and look at my taxes and over the past 10 years I never paid less than 13 percent. I think the most recent year is 13.6 or something like that." The admission by Romney came after he told ABC News in an interview that he wasn't sure if he'd ever paid less than 13.9 percent but said that he'd "be happy to go back and look." Romney has so far released what is legally required of him, one complete year of tax returns from 2010 and an estimate for his 2011 returns. He filed an extension on his 2011 returns and the campaign has said they will be released in full by October. Mitt Romney Reaped Huge Tax Benefits Based On 'Active' Role At Bain Capital WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney has repeatedly insisted during the presidential campaign that layoffs and other controversy surrounding Bain Capital companies for the past decade are not his responsibility, because he retired in 1999. When tax experts charged that he benefited from legally dubious tax avoidance strategies employed by Bain, his campaign noted that the investments are kept in a blind trust completely out of his control. "As we have said many times before, Governor and Mrs. Romney's assets are managed on a blind basis. They do not control the investment of these assets. The investment decisions are made by a trustee," spokeswoman Michele Davis said. But according to his 2010 tax return, when the Internal Revenue Service comes calling in April, Romney has a different answer: The presumptive GOP nominee reaps lucrative tax breaks for "active" participation in the private equity firm he founded, as well as a host of other investments. As David Kautter, a tax expert at American University, explains, the concept of active investment has different meanings for the IRS and for regular people. "When you say you're actively involved in all these businesses, people do think, OK, you're actively involved. But the tax law has its own definition," he said. The IRS advises that "[f]actors that indicate active participation include making decisions involving the operation or management of the activity, performing services for the activity, and hiring and discharging employees. Factors that indicate a lack of active participation include lack of control in managing and operating the activity, having authority only to discharge the manager of the activity, and having a manager of the activity who is an independent contractor rather than an employee." Even if Romney could persuade the IRS his involvement was legitimately active, that still leaves him in a rhetorical jam: For tax purposes, he claims an active status; for political purposes, he claims to have zero to do with the investments. The distinction is valuable, for the IRS treats passive and active income and losses differently. If a passive investment loses money, the taxpayer can only write off that loss if passive gains have also been made. But active losses can be written off at a 35 percent rate and deducted from the taxpayer's ordinary income. In other words, a taxpayer wants active losses, not passive losses. So by describing many of his investments as active, Romney saves himself millions of dollars in taxes. With those active investments, he is also securing a tax break few Americans enjoy: When he wins, he's paying a 15 percent rate on the gain. When he loses, he's writing it off at 35 percent, meaning that tax policy is subsidizing Romney's risk in his Bain investments. In other words, Romney didn't build that, at least not without taxpayer backing. [This story was the result of a reader tip. To tip us off to another, write to offthebus@huffingtonpost.com.] Federal rules allow many of these tax loopholes. But under the technical terms of the retirement package that Romney negotiated for himself, he has borne a lighter tax load than most other retired financial professionals. And the unusually large scope of his deductions and the generous rate at which they are recognized have some tax experts questioning their validity. Romney's 2010 tax return lists $301,630 in "trade or business interest" deductions and $503,737 in "trade or business expense" deductions -- all of it described as expenses from his business partnerships, including Bain. Specifically from his various Bain-related activities, Romney scored a total of $547,525 in such deductions. These kinds of deductions are only available to "active" participants in business partnerships. While Romney filed as an active participant for tax purposes, there is no evidence that he took part in Bain management decisions in 2010, and he has denied doing so. The sophistication with which Romney used Bain's later efforts to boost his own income could serve as fodder for political campaign advertisements. Since Romney has been willing to profit from Bain's later activity, the Obama campaign may well argue that such practices are fair game for attack ads. Some Democrats are already on the attack. "Governor Romney appears to be saying one thing to the American people and one thing to the Internal Revenue Service," Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.) said to The Huffington Post. "Right now we are just seeing inconsistent statements. The American people are entitled to know more than that. If there's a legalistic distinction, we are entitled to know what that is. ... Has he played too close to the line or over the line?" It is also possible that these deductions are all legitimate expenses for Bain and the handful of Goldman Sachs subsidiaries in which Romney is a partner. But listing personal expenses as business expenses is not allowed. In addition, some tax experts are surprised by the size of the deductions he takes as business expenses and the aggressive nature of the deductions. "One question is just the amount of the expenses," said Rebecca Wilkins, senior tax policy counsel at Citizens for Tax Justice. "At half a million dollars, you have to wonder what all of that is." Romney's income can basically be divided into two parts. His "ordinary" income triggers the top 35 percent tax rate to which America's wealthiest earners are subject. But most of his income comes in the form of capital gains, which are taxed at only 15 percent. According to the Washington Post, 50 percent of all capital gains in the United States flow to the top 0.1 percent of taxpayers. These two different tax rates present a tempting opportunity: By applying deductions to the pool of money taxed at 35 percent, rather than the pool of money taxed at 15 percent, Romney can reduce his overall tax bill. The $805,367 in deductions from his partnerships all receive exactly this useful treatment -- which may or may not be appropriate, depending on the nature of the expenses incurred. "What's problematic is that these expenses are being deducted at the ordinary income tax rate of 35 percent, while the related income is mostly subject to the preferential long-term capital gain tax rate of 15 percent," Wilkins said. Whether these expenses rightly apply to the pool of money taxed at 35 percent can only be determined by accessing the tax returns of Romney's Bain partnerships, which are not public documents. But many investment partnerships recognize stock losses that could not receive this favorable treatment. In the years after Romney insists that he ended any active role at the firm, Bain Capital companies suffered huge job losses, plant closures and bankruptcies. KB Toys may be the saddest example. The New York Times has reported that after Bain bought the toy company in 2000, KB Toys filed for bankruptcy, laying off more than 3,000 workers. Bain's aggressive financial maneuvering, however, scored a 370 percent return on its investment. Romney's own testimony and Securities and Exchange Commission filings demonstrate that he might not have been as hands off decision-making during those later years as he's suggested. Either way, his sophisticated tax practices show that he continued to benefit not only from Bain's profits but, at least in his tax bill, from Bain's losses. Thursday, Aug 23, 2012 01:59 PM CDT Secret Bain documents reveal that Romney has a lot of money doing complicated things in a lot of strange places
 (Credit: AP/Charles Dharapak) In other words he has a lot of people who work very hard to make sure Romney has to pay as little in taxes as possible. Eight of the strangely named entities Romney has millions of dollars invested in are in the Cayman Islands. As Bain Capital Fund VIII LP helpfully points out: "Under the current laws of the Cayman Islands, there are no income, estate, transfer, sales, or other Cayman Islands taxes payable by the Partnership." As everyone knows, Romney made his fortune with complex ("innovative") financial instruments that are basically designed to be impossible to understand so that no one can regulate them. (This is also known as "job creation.") So obviously his money is still being used to create more money through credit default swaps and short sales and other things that rich people did that blew up the world economy a couple of years ago. Some of the documents lend support to a common interpretation of Mitt Romney: That he's just playing pretend with all this conservative anti-Keynesian stuff. One fund Romney has a million or so dollars in sent its investors a letter acknowledging that the economy is "still highly dependent on fiscal support" — or, in other words, the stimulus worked. (Though that's just what some money manager thinks. Romney picked Ryan, I think conservatives needn't be worried.) Oh also some of the funds in Romney's retirement package from Bain Capital were created years after he "retired." (One as late as 2008.) Obviously Romney's incredibly sudden/lengthy and drawn-out ex post facto 1999/2002 Bain retirement is still a matter of some confusion, and this won't help matters. As Cook says: But what's interesting about Sankaty Credit Opportunities is that, according to his 2012 financial disclosure, Romney's interest in the entity was part of his retirement package: It was made "pursuant to an agreement with Bain Capital regarding Mr. Romney's retirement" in 1999. But according to its audited financial statement, Sankaty Credit Opportunities didn't exist yet when Romney retired: "Sankaty Credit Opportunities, L.P., is a Delaware limited partnership which commenced operations on August 12, 2002." In other words, Romney's 1999 retirement agreement included an investment in an entity created in 2002—in fact, was created in the heat of his first gubernatorial campaign in Massachusetts. When Romney explained at an October 29, 2002, debate in Massachusetts that he wasn't responsible for Bain's actions after his 1999 retirement, it was just 8 weeks after the creation by Bain of a fund that was part of his retirement agreement. Anyway, a Fortune editor says none of this is newsworthy because it's all just regular rich guy stuff (or private equity stuff), but the thing is, for normal people all this regular rich guy stuff is insane and scandalous. And also, sure, I totally believe that there's "little" tax benefit to doing weird financial stuff in the Cayman Islands. I definitely buy that. Mainly, though, the takeaway from these documents is that Mitt Romney just collects millions upon millions of dollars, much of it untaxed, while sitting on his ass doing nothing to earn it, like a welfare queen. Continue ReadingClose Full Text: Marco Rubio's Speech to the Republican National Convention By National Journal Staff Updated: August 30, 2012 | 10:14 p.m.
August 30, 2012 | 10:00 a.m.  AP Photo/Evan Vucci Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. gestures during a speech at the Latino Coalition annual economic summit, Wednesday, May 23, 2012 in Washington, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington. In 1980, I watched my first Republican convention with my grandfather. He was born to a farming family in rural Cuba. Childhood polio left him permanently disabled. Because he couldn't work the farm, his family sent him to school, and he became the only one in the family who could read. As a boy, I would sit on our porch and listen to his stories about history, politics and baseball while he puffed on one of his three daily Padron cigars. I don't recall everything we talked about, but the one thing I remember, is the one thing he wanted me to never forget. The dreams he had when he was young became impossible to achieve. But there was no limit to how far I could go, because I was an American. For those of us who were born and raised in this country, it's easy to forget how special America is. But my grandfather understood how different America is from the rest of the world, because he knew what life was like outside America. Tonight, you'll hear from another man who understands what makes America exceptional. Mitt Romney knows America's prosperity didn't happen because our government simply spent more. It happened because our people used their own money to open a business. And when they succeed, they hire more people, who then invest or spend their money in the economy, helping others start a business and create jobs. Mitt Romney's success in business is well known. But he's more than that. He's a devoted husband, father and grandfather. A generous member of his community and church. Everywhere he's been, he's volunteered his time and talent to make things better for those around him. We are blessed that soon, he will be the president of the United States. Our problem with President Obama isn't that he's a bad person. By all accounts, he too is a good husband, and a good father -- and thanks to lots of practice, a pretty good golfer. Our problem is he's a bad president. The new slogan for the president's campaign is "Forward." A government that spends $1 trillion more than it takes in. An $800 billion stimulus that created more debt than jobs. A government intervention into health care paid for with higher taxes and cuts to Medicare. Scores of new rules and regulations. These ideas don't move us "Forward," they take us "Backwards." These are tired and old big government ideas. Ideas that people come to America to get away from. Ideas that threaten to make America more like the rest of the world, instead of helping the world become more like America. Under Barack Obama, the only "Change" is that "Hope" has been hard to find. Now millions of Americans are insecure about their future. But instead of inspiring us by reminding us of what makes us special, he divides us against each other. He tells Americans they're worse off because others are better off. That people got rich by making others poor. Hope and Change has become Divide and Conquer. No matter how you feel about President Obama, this election is about your future, not his. And it's not simply a choice between a Democrat and a Republican. It's a choice about what kind of country we want America to be. As we prepare to make this choice, we should remember what made us special. For most of history almost everyone was poor. Power and wealth belonged to only a few. Your rights were whatever your rulers allowed you to have. Your future was determined by your past. If your parents were poor, so would you be. If you were born without opportunities, so were your children. But America was founded on the principle that every person has God-given rights. That power belongs to the people. That government exists to protect our rights and serve our interests. That we shouldn't be trapped in the circumstances of our birth. That we should be free to go as far as our talents and work can take us. We are special because we've been united not by a common race or ethnicity. We're bound together by common values. That family is the most important institution in society. That almighty God is the source of all we have. Special, because we've never made the mistake of believing that we are so smart that we can rely solely on our leaders or our government. Our national motto is "In God we Trust," reminding us that faith in our Creator is the most important American value of all. And special because we've always understood the scriptural admonition that "for everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required." We are a blessed people. And we have honored those blessings with the enduring example of an exceptional America. I know that for so many of you, these last few years have tested your faith in the promise of America. Maybe you are at an age when you thought you would be entering retirement. But now, because your savings and investments are wiped out, your future is uncertain. Maybe, after years of hard work, this was the time you expected to be your prime earning years. But instead, you've been laid off, and your house is worth less than your mortgage. Maybe you did everything you were told you needed to do to get ahead. You studied hard and finished school. But now, you owe thousands of dollars in student loans. You can't find a job in your field. And you've moved back in with your parents. You want to believe we're still that place where anything is possible. But things just don't seem to be getting better. And you are starting to wonder if things will ever be the same again. Yes, we live in a troubled time. But the story of those who came before us reminds us that America has always been about new beginnings. And Mitt Romney is running for president because he knows that if we are willing to do for our children what our parents did for us, life in America can be better than it has ever been. My mother was one of seven girls whose parents went to bed hungry so their children wouldn't. My father lost his mother when he was nine. He left school and went to work for the next 70 years. They emigrated to America with little more than the hope of a better life. My dad was a bartender. My mom was a cashier, a maid and a stock clerk at K-Mart. They never made it big. They were never rich. And yet they were successful. Because just a few decades removed from hopelessness, they made possible for us all the things that had been impossible for them. Many nights I heard my father's keys jingling at the door as he came home after another 16-hour day. Many mornings, I woke up just as my mother got home from the overnight shift at K-Mart When you're young, the meaning of moments like these escapes you. But now, as my own children get older, I understand it better. My Dad used to tell us: "En este pais, ustedes van a poder lograr todas las cosas que nosotros no pudimos" "In this country, you will be able to accomplish all the things we never could." A few years ago during a speech, I noticed a bartender behind a portable bar at the back of the ballroom. I remembered my father who had worked for many years as a banquet bartender. He was grateful for the work he had, but that's not the life he wanted for us. He stood behind a bar in the back of the room all those years, so one day I could stand behind a podium in the front of a room. That journey, from behind that bar to behind this podium, goes to the essence of the American miracle -- that we're exceptional not because we have more rich people here. We're special because dreams that are impossible anywhere else, come true here. That's not just my story. That's your story. That's our story. It's the story of your mother who struggled to give you what she never had. It's the story of your father who worked two jobs so doors closed for him would open for you. The story of that teacher or that coach who taught you the lessons that shaped who you are today. And it's the story of a man who was born into an uncertain future in a foreign country. His family came to America to escape revolution. They struggled through poverty and the great depression. And yet he rose to be an admired businessman, and public servant. And in November, his son, Mitt Romney, will be elected President of the United States. We are all just a generation or two removed from someone who made our future the purpose of their lives. America is the story of everyday people who did extraordinary things. A story woven deep into the fabric of our society. Their stories may never be famous, but in the lives they lived, you find the living essence of America's greatness. To make sure America is still a place where tomorrow is always better than yesterday, that is what our politics should be about. And that is what we are deciding in this election. Do we want our children to inherit our hopes and dreams, or do we want them to inherit our problems? Mitt Romney believes that if we succeed in changing the direction of our country, our children and grandchildren will be the most prosperous generation ever, and their achievements will astonish the world. The story of our time will be written by Americans who haven't yet been born. Let's make sure they write that we did our part. That in the early years of this new century, we lived in an uncertain time. But we did not allow fear to cause us to abandon what made us special. We chose more freedom instead of more government. We chose the principles of our founding to solve the challenges of our time. We chose a special man to lead us in a special time. We chose Mitt Romney to lead our nation. And because we did, the American Miracle lived on for another generation to inherit. | |
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