In just-released excerpts of Joe Biden's planned speech today in Youngstown, Ohio, the vice president takes aim at Mitt Romney's record at Bain Capital and goes into rather more detail about the company's involvement in GST Steel than you can fit in a 30-second (or even 2-minute) ad
Politico
And below the Orange Squiggle of Power I quote Biden's speech as quoted by Politico (I can't imagine this is a copyright problem).
He thinks that because he spent his career as a “businessman,” he has the experience to run the economy.
So let’s take a look at a couple of things he did.
He’s raised it. So let’s take a real hard look at it.
In the 1990s, there was a steel mill in Kansas City, Missouri. It had been in business since 1888. Then Romney and his partners bought the company. Eight years later it went bankrupt.
After a couple of years, because of the way things were being run, the employees went on strike and negotiated an agreement whereby, if anything happened to the company, they would still get their health care and their pensions.
In the meantime, Romney’s management team added debt on the company. When they bought the company it had only $13 million of debt. By the time it filed for bankruptcy, its debt had increased 40 fold to over $533 million.
Even the CEO of the company said it was far too much debt for a company of that size.
I don’t have to tell you in Ohio that in the late 1990s, the steel industry hit tough times. With high payments to make on all that debt, the company couldn’t weather the storm.
And when the company finally filed for bankruptcy, they reneged on their contract with the workers. No health care, lower pensions. Everyone lost their jobs.
But not everyone got hurt. The top 30 executives walked away with $9 million. And Romney and his partners walked away with at least $12 million.
Romney made sure the guys on top got to play by a separate set of rules, he ran massive debts, and the middle class lost. And folks, he thinks this experience will help our economy.
Where I come from, past is prologue.
So what do you think he’ll do as President?
Notice the three places Romney is mentioned by name:
In the meantime, Romney’s management team added debt on the company. When they bought the company it had only $13 million of debt. By the time it filed for bankruptcy, its debt had increased 40 fold to over $533 million.
But not everyone got hurt. The top 30 executives walked away with $9 million. And Romney and his partners walked away with at least $12 million.
Romney made sure the guys on top got to play by a separate set of rules, he ran massive debts, and the middle class lost. And folks, he thinks this experience will help our economy.
I think Willard M. Romney just started Round One with the Scrapper from Scranton, and took a left jab to the nose, a right hook to the short ribs, and a left hook to the right ear. This is a very fruitful meme, explicitly stated:
Romney made sure the guys on top got to play by a separate set of rules, he ran massive debts, and the middle class lost.
And it's going to work because that is a perfectly accurate description of what Willard M. Romney did - not once, but many times.
Oh Republicans, how could you give us such a gift as running this man in 2012?