Stephanie Cutter who works for the Obama campaign just released a memo that just eviscerates Romney on Bain. It also shows the contrast that voters are going to choose in the Fall about Romney vs Obama if indeed Romney is the nominee.
http://images.politico.com/...
From Politico:
http://www.politico.com/...
The Republicans don't know just how devastating Romney's tenure at Bain would be for a general election. The Obama campaign and Democrats do know because Romney's tenure at Bain will show a strong contrast with Obama's vision of the economy and Romney's.
The Obama memo starts out by stating just what Romney did at Bain that has been labeled "creative destruction".
First of all, Romney made hundreds of millions of dollars off of bankrupting companies, firing workers, and shipping American jobs over seas.
Romney closed over a thousand plants, stores and offices, and cut employee wages, benefits and pensions. He laid off American workers and outsourced their jobs to other countries. And he and his partners made hundreds of millions of dollars while taking companies to bankruptcy.
Secondly, Romney is lying about how many jobs he created overall while at Bain.
Although some of the businesses in which he took a stake undoubtedly added jobs, neither Romney’s campaign nor any independent fact checker has supported his claim of producing a net increase of 100,000 American jobs – or even anything close to it.
Next, the memo contrasts what Obama did and what Romney did in the "real economy" as Romney says it.
Mitt Romney boasts about understanding the “real economy,” but President Obama has worked alongside hardworking Americans in that “real economy.” President Obama – who, like Mitt Romney, earned a degree from Harvard and all the opportunities that affords – began his career helping jobless workers in the shadow of a closed-down steel mill. Mitt Romney, on the other hand, made millions closing down steel mills.
In other words, Romney hurt middle class Americans by shutting mills down (and made millions of dollars) while Obama helped middle class Americans whose mills were shut down. Powerful stuff.
Next, what Romney did at Bain is part of the problem we have in our economy in which the rich get richer and the middle class gets the shaft.
Our economic crisis and endemic income inequality were caused in large part by a few who put profits over people. Taking advantage of an uneven playing field, where there was one rulebook for those at the top and another for everyone else, Mitt Romney and his friends made money hand over fist while working families lost their grip on the middle-class lifestyle they earned.
Finally, this is what the 2012 election will be about. It will be a choice:
Between now and November the American people will decide whether to respond to this crisis by electing a corporate raider who profited from – and promises to restore – the conditions that caused it, or re-electing a President fighting to level the playing field for American businesses, restore fairness for consumers and help the middle class reclaim a sense of economic security that will benefit the entire economy. That’s what’s on trial, not “free enterprise.”
Gingrich started to explain this but the Democrats are taking it a step forward. Practices like Romney's is what has made it harder for the middle class over the past 3 decades and Obama wants to rectify it. That is why Obama is saying that this is a make or break point for the middle class. Do you want a Bain capital mentality for our economy which is focused on the rich or do you want an economy that works for the middle class which helps everybody?
Addendum:
Add this with the fact that Romney who is worth $250 million pays only a 15% tax rate because of carried interest (the Romney loophole) while the middle class pays a 35% tax rate and you have one hell of a talking point. Where are Romney's tax returns?
Now in order to explain the choice of 2012 as effective as possible, the Obama team needs to lay out SPECIFIC PLANS of what they want to do for the middle class to rectify the problem. Hint: It has to be about tax reform, infrastructure, education, regulation, and innovation.