Matt Taibbi Lambastes Romney's Time At Bain—Here Are The Highlights! en-us Wed, 31 Dec 1969 19:00:00 -0500 Sat, 27 Dec 2014 00:36:02 -0500 Linette Lopez Thomas D. Broadwater, Sr. Fri, 07 Sep 2012 16:43:46 -0400 Why not take a look at the relationship of Bain Corp.with the Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), where their plan to make money killed some patients. tom level-headedliberal Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:36:36 -0400 @Adam Smith, (@Peaceman) - Yes, facts are stubborn things. Fact from the article in the link you posted: "GM said last June [2008] it would end local production of light-duty trucks—Suburbans, Tahoes and GMC Yukons—by the end of 2010 at the latest. It also said it would shut down the medium-duty Isuzu line sometime in 2009. SUV production ended in Janesville on Dec. 23 [2008], a little more than five months after the plant lost a second shift of production. More than 2,000 hourly and salaried GM workers were laid off as a result of the production cuts. Supplier companies laid off another 1,200 people. For the Isuzu line, "sometime in 2009" means Thursday [April 2009]." SO - the plant was MOSTLY closed/shut down prior to Obama taking office, with the final line stopping just 3 months after Obama took office. It was already a done deal, and it is ignorant to imply that Obama could really have done anything to stop it, let alone to imply that it was Obama's fault that the plant closed. Facts are bendy - WHEN you leave out part of them. Ryan Quattro Tue, 04 Sep 2012 22:11:04 -0400 Matt Taibbi is a left wing propagandist.He takes facts and interprets them as he pleases. Those who are inclined to agree with him will staunchly defend him. Those who revile him will condemn every word he says. The crux of the matter is not whether his article is factually correct, but whether he is being fair. A real journalist---not a muckraker like Taibbi--will seek to understand a person by looking at them as a historian does an historical event--from all possible sides. Taibbi does not do this and because he does not do this his articles are going to be found wanting in intellectual depth. SImply put, his articles are nothing but angry screeds generously larded with vitriolic metaphors and personal attacks intended to stir up the prejudices and animuses’ of his readers. But what else should one expect from a person who writes in Rolling Stone? That magazine is to politics what Sports Illustrated is to economics. If you really want to know Mitt Romney or Barack Obama you really ought to stay away from partisan magazines and websites(they are full of distortions) and read interpretations from people who actually know what they are talking about. From some strange reason Taibbi has been labeled an expert despite having neither a degree in economics having failed to succeed in his one attempt at running a business. Why is this man given credibility? Is this all the Left can bring to the table? Prep school dilettantes? veleno Tue, 04 Sep 2012 11:42:28 -0400 Bain & Co. did what everyone in private equity does. And by doing so they have made a lot of money for their investors (including many public pension funds) and for, yes, themselves. So crucify Private Equity, crucify capitalism (which is what Obama is doing). That's what the whole article is about. There's no news. He manipulates people ... Perfect politician! So what? Taibbi is entertaining, but he goes overboard with information that's no news but impresses the common and ignorant folk. Matt Finlay Mon, 03 Sep 2012 21:21:01 -0400 Here's a spirited rebuttal of Taibbi's hatchet job if you're interested: <a href="" target="_blank"></a> William Mon, 03 Sep 2012 17:27:27 -0400 Romney DISQUALIFIED HIMSELF ! Of course he registered , who cares, if not he would have gone to jail. He went to France to avoid the chance of getting killed while 100,000 LDS members went to Vietnam I have no idea how many were Romney's age or how many did not come back.But Romney made sure he avoided the risk by walking the streets of France talking to people. Plain english he hid behind his religion instead of first serving and then (if he lived ,doing his religious duty in France). As I have said before he DISQUALIFIED himself from being President of the United States and commander in chief. zzpat Mon, 03 Sep 2012 14:40:20 -0400 Most Americans will never be able to describe exactly what Mitt Romney did for a living and that's why he should never be president. He had an opportunity during the Convention to tell us the names of the people he mentored and tell us where they are now. This great businessman can't name one person he mentored? Com'on...seriously folks, the man is a fake. Did Mitt actually do anything? I don't know. What we know for sure is that he was still the CEO years after he stopped making decisions at the company so clearly he wasn't missed. Mitt can't tell us anything about what he did, because he didn't do anything. Agent P Mon, 03 Sep 2012 13:10:55 -0400 Unfortunately, articles like this contain grains of truth, interspersed with ideological slant, which makes it extremely difficult - if not impossible, to come out the other side with a rational opinion based upon factual, untainted evidence provided. Alas, this is how ideological hit-pieces work; they come off attacking something that 'everyone' can agree on - in this case, greedy, sociopathic behaviour, and cleverly couch it in positions that seem 'independent' minded. However, the ideological pull is simply too strong - even for clever writers like Matt T., to hold back their true intent - which of course is to sway the ideological leanings of the reader towards the writers position. In Matt's case, clearly Neo-Bolshevism. Warren Redlich Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:31:41 -0400 Taibbi's analysis is weak: <a href="" target="_blank"></a> oraxx Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:25:08 -0400 Mitt Romney is a man who's bank accounts are inversely proportional to his conscience. Mr. Verdi Mon, 03 Sep 2012 12:17:27 -0400 HERE IS MY REMEDY TO WHAT MATT HAS WRITTEN; RON PAUL...RON PAUL...RON PAUL...RON PAUL...RON PAUL...RON PAUL. Jerry Howe Mon, 03 Sep 2012 10:07:15 -0400 Clete, That is really an amusing comment. Nice try, Keep trying. Jerry Howe Mon, 03 Sep 2012 09:55:38 -0400 It sounds like "Mitt" would be another great manager of our country's economic future, like George W. Bush. But come to think of it, what else would you expect from a Republican businessman ? Jerry Howe Mon, 03 Sep 2012 09:52:31 -0400 Clete, Your perspective is amusing. Very funny. RUSS SMITH Mon, 03 Sep 2012 05:17:22 -0400 Hi!, Patron Of Business Insider Et Al: Do we have our thinking caps on or our dunce caps? There's an election this November, you know so we can vote about our feelings regards abortion, gay marriage, gun controls and anything else useless to the American Status quo? Whether you know or not; whether you care or not there are signifiant signs that major corporations were entertaining thoughts regards bringing back their businesses to US shores from foreign countries, because foreign wages combined with their costs of shipping their goods to US shores/ports was becoming far less competative than over the past decade. However, if the Bush tax incentive cuts are obliterated by law obligatory to both Democratic or Republican incumbants takes place domestically regardless, the decisions fermenting today that would determine whether or not some of our corporations will return with domestic replacement of millions of outsourced jobs will be killed and again placed upon the back burner by the corporate trustees who provide for thess kinds of decisions. If the Bush tax cuts are cancelled, major corporations' intentions to return to US shores will be overridden by negative political posturing. The end product will become that the many presently unemployed and underemployed who would be offered gainful employment & becoming net taxpayers as apposed to collecting unemployment insurance plus food stamps, will continue to be a drain on our overall economy instead of being active contributors to OUR Nations' overall economic health which is highly recessionary isn't it? Another totally negative problem at the voting booth is how do we save the US $ which in turn is linked to saving the profits of US companies who pay wages plus the purchasing power of US consumers symbioticlly linked together in mutual need of co-operation, in order for both to economically suvive? Both require sound store of value purchasing media to both survive and prosper without the long term errosions of purchasing power imposed upon them by inflaion don't they? Without sound money we face not only bankruptsy but the dire prospects associated with having no sound money to help us work out a recovery?. Those who hold the fiduciary reigns of power over the purchasing power of OUR US $ need to account for their remarkable disrespect for maintaining the disciplines required of them to maintain the value of OUR $ plus their blatant disregard for our National Debt obligations running too far out of control for any reasonable balance of repayments which constitutes an obligatory drain on our entire economic system and every member of OUR society encluded. To rebalance OUR system now will take drastic measures for sure and this means a willingness to return to OUR economic heritage husbaned within OUR Nations' Constitution which in Article 1; Section 10 calls for specie gold and silver coins as OUR only daily mediums of exchange in union with the common bonds of store of value money in common with all other Nations as well which will eliminate the debt survitude status that now binds all of us worldwide. Only then can we join with the chorus of Martin Luther King, Jr. in saying: "We are FREE at last!" We can not only KNOW that we can do this but that we need also to be guided by the overwhelming fact that we MUST accomplish this for both ourselves and OUR posterity ASAP. RUSS SMITH, CALIFORNIA (One Of The Broke States) Eric P Sun, 02 Sep 2012 00:06:28 -0400 The article says "the firm's returns were likely less than 30 percent per year, which happened to track more or less with the stock market's average during that time" . Is "30 percent" a typo? The stock market has never returned that. Jerry Sat, 01 Sep 2012 19:04:17 -0400 If you think this load of crap article is going to convince any informed American to vote for the Socialist currently occupying the White House, you are dreaming. We are more concerned about getting out from under his regime, applying sensible economics, and getting our country back on track. nofluer Sat, 01 Sep 2012 11:33:46 -0400 So if Mr Taibbi is such an amazing "journalist" tell me why he's trying this crap: Mitt Romney’s Bain sidled Dunkin’ Donuts with crushing debt. "In 2010, a year after the last round of Hertz layoffs Guilt by former association. Romney was LOOOOONG gone from Bane in 2010. And Tabbi uses a technique that he KNOWS most people will miss... he states/implies that Romney still OWNED or was involved with Bane, when this happened - which is not true. Guilt by mis-association. This technique could be used on Angela Merckle - she's German, Hitler was German, and they BOTH ran the country - so Merckle is a Nazi!!!!! I respected Taibbi and read his work - until today. He now appears to be just another hack writer. Sure glad I didn't subscribe to RS based on his material appearing there... Adam Smith Sat, 01 Sep 2012 08:41:20 -0400 "...thanks to the Reagan years, changes in tax law allowed this manner of 'business' or shall I say theft to become legal." Enlighten us, Genius - exactly what changes during the Reagan years allowed this manner of business to become legal? You are just a DNC troll with no concept of reality and no idea what you are talking about. And Obama has failed: unemployment over 8%, underemployment over 15%, all despite a helpful Fed with ZIRP; half of all American deaths in Afghanistan have happened during Obama's term; let's not forget $Trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see; a 50% increase in the national debt; gasoline has gone from $2 to $4 and will soon be at $5; total failures in foreign policy everywhere (how did that Copenhagen thing work out for you?); a fake executive privilege assertion to hide criminal activity in Fast and Furious; executive orders countermanding legislation in regard to illegal immigration...shall we go on? Adam Smith Sat, 01 Sep 2012 08:30:44 -0400 Facts are stubborn things. The Janesville plant was open and producing vehicles until April 2009. Here is the article from the local newspaper in April 21, 2009: <a href="" target="_blank"></a> The plant was definitely open and producing in 2009. Obama WAS president then, and the Obama White House was totally in command of decisions relating to GM through the Rattner "Auto Task Force". Obama even decided to replace the GM CEO, and later to ignore established bankrutpcy law to put the union pension in front of creditors. In addition, let's keep in mind what Ryan said in quoting Obama. Obama went to Janesville TWICE in 2008 and said words to the effect that if you vote for my administration, we will create green jobs which will keep this plant open. These were typical Obama empty promises, from an empty suit sitting in an empty chair. Facts are stubborn things, and you are unfamiliar with the facts. Peaceman Sat, 01 Sep 2012 07:19:43 -0400've overdosed on the 'kool-aid' and it's reeking. Apparently you missed the memo on what equity firms (LBO's) are really about; thanks to the Reagan years, changes in tax law allowed this manner of 'business' or shall I say theft to become legal. I would also agree that Obama's admin has hired a few people including Geitner who should be in jail. However, that's been pretty much the story with all admins going back to JFK. Hell, Rove should be in jail just for the outing of Plame alone... Romney's record is getting fleshed out and it's not too 'nice' for his image. Get a grip; this guy has a reputation that's just beginning to surface and might quickly become an embarrassment fairly quickly and he's worried... Peaceman Sat, 01 Sep 2012 07:12:27 -0400 It continues to amaze me how unbelievably consistent you Repub boys are in your posts. The plant did officially close in 2008 and had only a small crew to finish up orders and final closing around April 2009. All this is found by doing some 'fact-checking' (which you obviously haven't done): <a href="" target="_blank"></a> <a href="" target="_blank"></a> <a href="" target="_blank"></a> <a href="" target="_blank"></a> Gee, tired of fact-checking yet? Well, there's plenty more saying the SAME THING. Ryan 'played' badly with the facts only to make Obama look bad; a real cheap shot and he's your boy...doesn't say much about you Peaceman Sat, 01 Sep 2012 06:41:23 -0400 wouldn't know a 'commie' if they bitch-slapped you in the face. The stupidity of you and your friends just astounds me, and the empty criticisms are mind-numbing. Taibbi has been vetted and has come through very cleanly in his writings. Have anything to cite??? All of you 'girls' (right-wing pastie boys) can only just flash your skirt...nothing of subtance Peaceman Sat, 01 Sep 2012 06:29:02 -0400 other right-wing lemmings, you post without facts to support any point you might make. Hint: if you want to be take seriously then provide your points to counter what Matt has written. The problem for you will be that Matt's info has been around for awhile; he's just making it public...and what are you doing? NOTHING... Peaceman Sat, 01 Sep 2012 06:25:47 -0400 thedemented...envy is not even close to the equation. You impress in just how dumb a person can be in the face of the facts and there are plenty that reveal Romney as the 'greedy-curmudgeon' he really is...Basic economics and an understanding of equity firms and LBO's would be a good place for you to start... Peaceman Sat, 01 Sep 2012 06:21:22 -0400 another comment, you bring NO facts to your post. John's post is factually supported and your ass is going to be handed to you if Romney gets elected. You make Gomer Pyle look like a PhD scholar... Pauly Sat, 01 Sep 2012 00:40:53 -0400 Thats funny. Thats what communists always say. frodisman Fri, 31 Aug 2012 23:42:11 -0400 So the author writes: something his campaign hasn't necessarily been completely transparent about Transparent? Really? And Obama HAS been? At least we know what Mitt was doing at the time. We know nothing about Mr. Transparent. Obama has covered up his life pretty much so the American public wouldn't know the truth about his questionable life. I'd take Romney any day over Obama. He's lied about transparency, Just look at Obamacare. He hid the facts and refused to show us what was in the bill. "Gotta pass it to find out what's in it". He then threatened Senators to cut their funding if they didn't sign it. I work in the healthcare and the healthcare industry is not looking forward to it. Yes the drug companies are evil but so is Obamacare. Transparent. Why didn't you just show us your birth certificate when asked? Being the President of the US is easier than being a cashier at Wal Mart. Sad. I'm not saying he wasn't born there but he laughed at the people and refused to show it. Why? Hiding something? Occidental? What happened there? You only wanted friends who were anti American? He said it. He's the biggest liar ever. I watch old Reagan clips and wonder "where is that America I knew"? With unemployment out of this world it's a wonder if we'll ever get back on track. So if you don't care about the awful things Obama did and the awful people he hung around then this article should mean nothing to anyone. Clint Eastwood nailed it when he said how STUPID it was to try terrorist in New York. How did that go Prez? Not well. He has anger at American colonialism, he does not like white people who make a good living, and his wife is right there with him with her greed while she worked at a Chicago hospital staff and reaped profits off the uninsured. Wake up America. john1066 Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:56:01 -0400 Amazing. So greed can just be covered up with well I own a business? PolitiJim (@politiJim) Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:36:12 -0400 Paul Weyrich (founder of Heritage Foundation and Moral Majority) threatened to lead a revolt of the GOP if McCain chose Romney. The reason was because Romney lied to his face about his positions including claiming he was "forced" to adopt gay marriage by the Mass Supreme Court, when just the opposite happened. He implemented it by Executive Order over the objectives of the former MA governor and his own AG. Weyrich not only was mad at the whole "gay marriage" thing, but refused to endorse someone who would override the Republican form of government via abuse of Executive Power. Had Weyrich lived to see those happen under Obama, he might have just shot himself realizing the whole damn system is corrupt. PolitiJim (@politiJim) Fri, 31 Aug 2012 18:30:53 -0400 The truth is that Romney is - by every account - a faithful husband and great father who can adapt to be "severely" in favor of whatever he believes at the moment. He can stand outside a coal plant 6 years ago and call them "killers," and with equal conviction deplore the EPA mercury regulations at a coal plant in West Virginia six weeks ago. He isn't evil but he certainly isn't dogmatic about any particular political philosophy other than what he needs it to be for the moment. And while he indeed invented a method to crash a company - it was (largely) with private investor dollars to investors who were given disclaimers that there was risk involved. Not so with Barack Obama who stole billions from tax payers who had NO warning or choice to NOT allow their money to be whittled away. The bottom line for me is this. JFK, Clinton and Reagan have proven when you cut the corporate tax rate - greedy businesses flock there to make more money. Look at Ireland which was a British slum until they dropped the corporate tax rate to 12.5%. Ireland has sustained more job growth and economic activity than nearly any other country or region in the world for the past 3 years. Just like it did Wisconsin. There is NO WAY that Obama will ever make those moves. The REAL underemployment rate is nearly 20% (not the fake U3 unemployment of 8.3 which doesn't account for people who've given up looking.) My guess is - Romney will have some early victories on tax cuts, etc but when it's too tough or his "image" looks sullied - he will go back to be whatever he has to be. Think of it as George HW Bush reincarnated. Jon Corzine Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:52:31 -0400 Matt. you go girl - stomp those Repubes. Matthew Fri, 31 Aug 2012 17:04:35 -0400 Everyone that is not a moron and devoted to the tired, old, and crushing economic policies of the GOP, is a leftist. Jesus, the entitlement in this country is amazing alright. Every one of these little pricks thinks that a college degree entitles them to bankrupt our nation. Go listen to Andy Dean and Rush. Nothing here will interest you at all Ed Meadows Fri, 31 Aug 2012 16:25:33 -0400 Oh boy, here we go. I was waiting for some moron to bring up communism. Regardless of what Alan West sputtered, there are about 3 communists left in the US (more or less). It's a dead issue except for the dimwitted Conservatives. Success Hating Liberal Fri, 31 Aug 2012 14:53:53 -0400 Taibbi is a success hating loser upset he will never be half the man Romney is.... Jealous Envious Loser....get a life! Ali Goria Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:36:02 -0400 HEY MATT! Where's the part about Top Obama Bundler Jonathan Lavine - Bain's Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer - who joined Bain in 1993 and has bundled between $100,000 and $200,000 in contributions for the 2012 Obama Victory Fund? Remember him? The guy in charge of Bain during the GST Steel Layoffs that you "journalists" and Obama tried to pin on Romney? Your readers are a bunch of Lemmings. Obama knows this which is why he goes after Bain knowing that you dopes will never even know that his campaign is funded by this guy and other private equity firms. OH and Dunkin Donuts is doing fine, thanks. One of the most successful IPO offering of 2011. Furthermore, Romney's net worth pales in comparison to the most wealthy people in America. Even David Letterman is "worth" twice that of Romney. thedementedliberal Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:07:16 -0400 Let me've never started or operated a business before? You clearly have no idea what the hell you're talking about. Hey genius, why don't you show us by example by sending the IRS 1000% of your paycheck...Idiot. thedementedliberal Fri, 31 Aug 2012 13:03:20 -0400 We need to cheat now more than ever. Somebody....please get the illegal voters to be prepared to vote! LIberal Freaktard Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:59:54 -0400 Matt who? What comic book is this idiot reading? Can't find any of the kind of dirt and corruption on Romney that Obama reeks of, so has to resort to this nonsense. Just like the idiots who "fact checked" Ryan and called him a liar on the GM plant mentioned in his speech...the REAL liars are the folks who claimed that plant closed in 2008, when it closed in 2009, as Ryan said. If Tabooboo and the rest of these comic book communists could read, they could look at a local newspaper from back then to see the truth but no...why bother with the truth? Not madoff Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:39:54 -0400 Hmmm...another fact-free comment by someone backing Romney. It has been clearly shown that Romney gives the vast majority of his contributions to the Mormon church, which is hardly a charity - it's more like a corporation. Also, Obama gave most of his book royalties in the last couple of years to legitimate charities. This was all clearly outlined in the tax returns put on public display - unlike a certain other politician we all know. You could look it up... Gordon Gekko Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:39:15 -0400 Its the American Dream Baby ! Destroy and Profit My Matt Taibbi Impersonation Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:38:54 -0400 Private Equity steals perfectly healthy companies with good paying jobs from their owners (somehow, not sure how, though) Banks are forced to make loans they don't want to (they have NO CHOICE) They fire everyone even those adding more value than their cost (just because their mean, they look past economic value) The company gets torched like a Mafia movie, but somehow priavte equity escapes by stealing everything before the fire (unusually there aren't a ton of lawsuits threatening the Private Equity's existence, though). Please ignore the inconvenient stuff in the parentheses. Take my word, it jsut happens I am not an expert but have some experience Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:35:15 -0400 Many Private Equity deals are for distressed companies that have no chance to survive on their own The private equity firm takes risk and goes to banks to secure funding with a plan to extract value form this almost dead company The banks review the plan and decide to lend based on thier risk The project is either successful or a failure and the Private equity and the banks profit form the sucesses. If they are all failure, I don't really see how thes eprivate equity firms would stay in business. JM23 Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:08:45 -0400 You idiot, he gives away huge percentages of his income away to charity. Something Barry O and what's his name don't do. Midtown vs. Downtown Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:05:00 -0400 So as someone who obviously understands the nuances... what makes Taibbi's representation of private equity -- specifically leveraged buyouts conducted by Bain Capital during Romney's tenure -- so far distorted that it isn't remotely right? Jacques Villeneuve Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:02:04 -0400 Well, Myron, I prefer to think of myself not as a big man but as a real man. You know - the kind who work hard for our money and don't use acronyms like PE, VC, FCFF and other fictions such as risk free rate to define who we are. And as we real men say "don't step in sh*t you can't wipe off". Here endeth the lesson. Just remember Myron: don't piss off the real men. MHRobson Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:49:10 -0400 I don't have one of those, nor have I ever seen one. Nor an EBT card for that matter. I will, however, go and enjoy spending some of the money that is directly deposited into my account every other week. After all, I deserve to enjoy it after working through 5 years of graduate school while raising 2 children. So you can thank me for chipping in to the government assistance that you take. And ad hominem attacks? It was an accurate description. I only assailed his writing, which is in my opinion, crap. I don't think that he is uncomfortable being called a communist. After all, he idolizes Che. So suck it, douche bag. Gary Anderson Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:47:45 -0400 It should be illegal for takeover firms like Bain to put companies in debt in order to skim the money for Bain's investors. Spacial Jesus Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:47:13 -0400 Obama couldn't be substituted in every instance your comment doesn't even make since. Obama didn't work in private equity, to which the Whole article was about Mitt and his time at Bain Capital. Also Obama's father wasn't in politics, which in the article if you actually read it, which i doubt you did. It states that Mitt Politically did the opposite of what his father as far has his platform and what he stands for. Mitt got a deferred status for the War i believe 3 or 4 different time so he wouldn't actually be drafted (which was longer than normal for the morman religion), and protested FOR the Vietnem war, there are well documented pictures of Mitt doing this, Then Mitt in interviews as the article actually pointed out that he was against the War. YOU seriously need to get your fact straight, oh wait Republicans can't be bothered by fact as the Romney campaign pointed out Honest Answers Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:37:56 -0400 If Romney and his partisan GOP supporters can't accept 'heat' for all his claims of success and hard work, then he is simply unfit for the office which he is himself applying. Gault Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:34:56 -0400 Haven't seen a review of the movie 2016 here yet - why am I not surprised . . . Goodbye, Mr. Chips Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:33:16 -0400 Just ad hominem attacks? Nothing of substance? No surprise there. Why don't you go cash your taker red state socialist republican federal welfare check. The choice is simple Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:31:15 -0400 The Democrats propose to continue the policies that have us improving. The republicans propose to revert to their self-acknowledged failed policies that got us into the most recent republican economic failure pit. Continue up with the Democrats, or go back down with the republicans. DMG Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:30:27 -0400 If people want to understand what Bain Capital is all about all they need to do is watch the original 'Wall Street' movie from 1987. When Charlie Sheen's character tries to get his dad to convince the union to agree to sell the airline where he has worked for 30 years his dad (played by Martin Sheen) tells him to go to hell. He realizes that Michael Douglas (or Mitt Romney) isn't investing money to save the airline but to break it up because it's worth more dead than alive. This movie should be mandatory viewing before this election. That said, Obama and his massive deficits aren't the way to go either. Once again we are stuck choosing between the 'lesser of two evils' which guarantees we get more of the same. In the wall, X Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:29:54 -0400 Jesus Christ understands all of that. He is the One Who will hand you the bill. MHRobson Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:29:17 -0400 My prose could be used to describe me? Do you find my original opining to be onerous (alliteration! we have moved away from prose now!)? Also, where was my logic off track? Is it unreasonable to think that someone will refute the claims made here? And the only facts that I laid out were descriptors of Comrade Taibbi; he is a commie. Read his crap and look how he frames his arguments. Did I miss anything? In the wall Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:28:52 -0400 Jesus Christ understands private equity. He is the one who will hand Mitt the bill. Mr. Hominem? Your Ad is ready Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:27:13 -0400 Equally as not-shocking that you have nothing of substance to say, so you attack something else to try to change the subject and/or blow smoke and bullshit. slowriver Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:22:40 -0400 I love American Republicans! Go ahead, vote for a Mormon( another crazy religion that allowed multiple wives-kinda cool actually), who was born rich+ who dodged the draft ( just like the last guy you voted for), + who doesn't pay taxes and is proud of it + who got rich loading up companies with debt but now tells you debt is bad in order to get elected, + who is still rich only because Bain was bailed out by you-the tax payers. Mitt is sitting around laughing his ass off at just how stupid the people who will vote for him really are. God Bless America. Matt tries to present the facts and you attack him for being left wing. He presents facts and you attack him as if they are opinions. Idiots. Jacques Villeneuve Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:22:35 -0400 That's right, you don't. PE/VC - nice acronyms - just spell 'em out, dude - we know what private equity and venture capital mean. Fly your jet up to Canada since you're the big swinging dick - head straight for Northern Ontario - and bud ... you won't need your spreadsheet - won't do you much good. So come on up - we'd love to see ya. Twerp. aMErica Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:20:31 -0400 MHRobson is hardly Libertarian. He sounds like a fascist who would vote for Romney. Libertarians are smart enough to know what communism really means. Romney is out there to enrich himself Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:18:57 -0400 He was already a cunning salesman at 16, a great manipulator at 20 and an accomplished politician at 30. He has helped no one but himself and perhaps his immediate family. No one else. He has not cared for anyone but himself and perhaps his immediate family. He doesn't give a damn about the common American. Think about this when you are deciding who to vote for in November. slj Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:08:59 -0400 Dunkin Donuts and Baskin Robins are very disturbing... for either destroying nearly destroying our favorite icons...not going to endear my vote. Another icon Domino's: "Bain’s various investments in fast food do not all fit in exactly the same box. When Mitt Romney personally signed the check to buy Domino’s in 1998, the pizza company wasn’t in trouble. But if you want proof that quality does not coincide with profits, Domino’s example is instructive. The deal worked out fantastically for Bain. According to the Boston Globe, Bain extracted cash from Domino’s “in several chunks including: a 2003 refinancing of the company’s debt, a 2004 initial public stock offering, and an $897 million ‘monster dividend’ paid to Bain and other investors in 2007.” But by the time Bain got out of Domino’s in 2010, Domino’s pizza was regularly placing last in taste tests when compared to its major competitors. That Philly Cheese Steak Pizza (introduced in 2003) just wasn’t doing the trick." -<a href="" target="_blank"></a> The dude is a vampire. Randy Travis Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:07:25 -0400 Obama could be substituted for Mitt in almost every point, so what's the point, Matt? For instance, there is a question about whether Obama followed the law and registered for selective service - it's a felony not to register, Matt. Obama is a con man, Matt, and he apparently has easily fooled you. DMG Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:03:45 -0400 I don't know why but i still find it amazing how many people don't mind being robbed as long as their guy is doing the robbing. There are two sides destroying this country...the fat cat, leeches who think business isn't about production and employment but about monetizing assets and avoiding taxes and the other side which believes they "deserve" a certain standard of living just because they were born American and have become so used to 'entitlements' that they actually complain (when they receive 'something for nothing') that it isn't enough! Obama needs to acknowledge that you can't help people who won't help themselves and Romney needs to acknowledge that 'trickle down' doesn't work. Why does Romney keep talking about lowering taxes for "small" businesses but never defines what a small business is and never talks about getting large multinational corporations (like GE and GM) to pay SOMETHING!!! If requiring these corporations to pay taxes means they will all move to China I say let's buy them the ticket. My fellow Americans, Democrats and Republicans, please, I'm begging you, wake up...we are all being played! djmidwest Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:00:02 -0400 You need to get off your Libertarian unicorn...your logic is developing saddle sores. Your prose could be used to describe you. Try verifying the facts instead of exposing your bigotry. djmidwest Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:55:14 -0400 Nice last sentence :-) RacerX Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:46:20 -0400 guess i don't, been in PE/VC, special situations for 20 years. meet me on the corner of park & e 53rd. will bring my spreadsheet. you can bring matt if you'd like. Tmac Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:45:58 -0400 . . I'm gonna guess that you didn't read the article. Don't worry. There aren't too many big words Liberidiot Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:44:56 -0400 Isn't Matt Taibbi the liberal idiot who hates women? He is the one who said that Michelle Malkin should have a hairy set of balls in her mouth? Why is he quoted in the Liberal Insider? MHRobson Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:42:13 -0400 I bet there will be a scathing take-down of Matt Shitaibbi's scathing take-down of Mitt Romney. The guy is a useless, leftist hack who writes nothing but crap as filtered through a very red (as in communist) lens. Jacques Villeneuve Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:40:58 -0400 Neither could you, bozo. What's difiicult to understand about the private equity model? Simple. Go play with your spreadsheet. RacerX Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:39:25 -0400 this is a hack piece by a hack leftist clown. doesn't understand PE, turnaround investing. so grind away on that axe Matt. does have credibility with Occupy folks though. good luck with those superstar marxists. Surprise me Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:35:15 -0400 Does Anyone believe that someone as successful as Romney, Buffet who is Romney like, and many others who have made it big, are not ALL capable of being thoroughly despicable? How is this news or even interesting. Let's search through everyone's hero Buffett's past....a total insider like Romney (insider knowledge trades) or Kerry and Bush or Clinton and Gore and see which one is the least corrupt or one that has not manipulated someone or bent the law...and what about Obama? Unfortunately that's what America worships. Point is, Obama's done. Bubba Shawn Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:33:47 -0400 American voters, specifically Republican voters, need to ask what did Republican Nominee John McCain see in Romney's tax returns that made him decide Sarah Palin was a better fit. So are Bain Capital's leveraged buy-outs what Missouri Republican Senate candidate Akin was referring to when he said"legitimate rape"? r cohn Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:30:44 -0400 He is obviously not a fan of Mr Rpmney.However,the LBO business is one which should never have existed and did so because of the treatment of debt by the IRS. john1066 Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:29:32 -0400 "Keep shorting the US" - Really no. Mitt did anything and everything to make himself more money. That it. He had some of the companies he owned take out huge loans and then use that money to pay a special dividend to himself and the other "owners" of the company. The companies go zero from those loans except a huge amount of debt. So Mitt made millions piling on huge debts on companies. He got millions and the companies got huge debt. And now he want to be President. He will have no issue pushing huge tax cuts for himself and his ultra rich buddies while pushing the debt on most everyone else on the US. A Trickle Down Tax Bill for the middle and lower class. A LBO of the US. He'll make millions and most everyone else will have to pay for years and years and years. He cares about one thing... Mitt. The Real Dale Gribble Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:23:50 -0400 Yes, he is. But he works for a leftist magazine that hasn't ever pretended to be anything else, and that's fine. You just have to know that going in. Rusty Shackleford Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:20:55 -0400 On the contrary. Taibbi is one of the few actual journalists left in America. RacerX Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:16:32 -0400 got it. Matt's not going to vote for Mitt. huge story... yippie! PS pls stop retreading hack tired slow leftists. matt couldn't run the counter at a dunkin donuts much less understand private equity. Clete Fri, 31 Aug 2012 10:14:22 -0400 Wait, this is really shocking! Rolling Stone is going after the Republican nominee?! Suddenly everything I thought I knew was wrong. Keep shorting the US, Henry -- that's got to be the only reason you're beating Obama's drum.