We have been discussing how mean=spirited and nasty the presidential campaign has already become on both sides. With Republicans called Obama a socialist and a Muslim, Democrats are saying Romney would not have killed Bin Laden . . . and now that he is vampiric.
The new ad, “Steel” describes GS Technologies, a steel mill in Kansas City, Mo., that was bought by Romney’s private equity firm Bain Capital. One former mill worker says “We view Mitt Romney as a job destroyer, a vampire. They came in and sucked the life out of us.” “Mitt the Job Destroyer” is still better than “Vlad the Impaler” but they seem to be saying that he is both.
The question is how strong the anti-vampire vote is. After all, Obama is no Buffy The Vampire Slayer himself, but then again who is?
Before the Republicans denounce the ad, they should consider that there could be some positive aspects to an undead president for the GOP:
1. They work nights.
2. They truly can take the bite out of crime.
3. They are always taking the pulse of voters.
5. One meeting of the Group of Eight would leave a group of one.
6. The GOP would finally secure the Goth vote.
7. We would finally have a president who is all bite and no bark.
8. Republicans can re-use those “Drill, Baby, Drill” signs.
9. No one is more anti-evolution than a vampire.
10. Perfect for the slogan, “Better Undead than Red.”
Source: Washington Post
rafflaw, your memory is accurate on Monaghan. He has used great chunks of money from his sale of Domino’s to build Ave Maria University as a bastion of conservative Catholicism.
Elaine,
You are right about Nugent.
Matt Johnson,
“With regard to the civilian population, the United States is the most heavily armed nation on the planet. Just an observation.”
Unfortunately, some of the civiilan population is armed with much more fire power than brain power. Singer Ted Nugent is a prime example. Just another observation.
The mob runs a scam that sounds awfully familiar. They buy their way into some small business, arrange to get some control and then borrow every dime they can in the business’ name, buy tons of goods on credit then take the cash & goods and leave the business holding the bag. Guys are doing time for this scam.
Somehow the MBAs of American industry, like those at Bain, have found a way to do this without going to jail.
When the hands become visible, you do not have a free market, but one in which the politicians and those anxious to bribe them can more easily locate each other.
Malisha
i don’t know that anything wards off zombies. shooting them in the head with wolfsbane should kill them though.
Gene,
you beat me to it. I knew about Domino’s because Monaghan went religious and started selling off all of his properties and assets. I think he may be involved in the religious law school Ave Maria, but my memory may be fading this late at night.
Will wolfsbane ward off zombies?
Ralph Adamo,
You can’t keep any of your myths straight, can you?
Domino’s was a successful business run by Tom Monaghan for nearly 45 years before Bain bought them, Staples was a going concern when Bain purchased them and Sports Authority was originally purchased Gart Sports founded in 1928 after K-Mart developed the store to over 130 outlets, so Bain didn’t develop at damn thing about any of them.
And wolfsbane wards off werewolves. It does nothing to vampires.
Willard has a lot of things going for him. He went to a rich boys prep school and he will get the rich boy prep school vote. He worked for Bain Capital which closed a lot of businesses and sent the working men and women packing but he will get the vote of the Bains of capitalism who approve. He puts his dog in a crate and makes him ride on the top of a speeding automobile and will get the vote of dog haters. He wears blue jeans and will get the votes of all of the corporate types who wear jeans to look cool. He says that marriage is between a man and one woman so he will lose the Mormon vote. He invented Obamacare so he will get the vote of all those who approve of Obamacare. Oh, he repudiated Obamacare for anyone outside of Massachussets. Sorry, he will get the Mass vote at least.
Nothing wrong with a smiling schmuck in blue jeans who can talk prep school talk fire the work force abuse dogs offend Mormons and live and let live when it comes to Obamacare in Mass. Atta Girl,Willard!
Obama’s new ad suggesting that Romney’s Bain & Co. was like a Vampire is sheer nonsense. Bain DEVELOPED Domino’s Pizza, Staples, and Sports Authority into MAJOR businesses. What has Obama ever created? Nothing, but “enterprises” like Solyndra, and other business implosions.
And the use of Bain as a metaphor for Vampire is entirely misplaced, and merely demonstrate just how illiterate Obama and his team really are. Everyone who’s read Bram Stocker’s Dracula, or even seen one of the movies, knows that (Wolf)BAIN is a powerful weapon AGAINST Vampires.
“Marx is talking about armed revolution, who among us are willing to DIE over this issue? Which is what Marx is calling for, going up against the police, the FBI, and ultimately (I am sure despite laws against it) the militarized United States.”
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FYI. They are ready.
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With regard to the civilian population, the United States is the most heavily armed nation on the planet. Just an observation.
CBS/NYT Poll: Romney By 3
A new national poll from CBS News and the New York Times shows former Massachusetts Gov. and likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney with a 3 point lead, 46 percent to 43 percent overall. The internals of the poll show Romney leading with men by 3 points, women by 2, and taking unaffiliated voters by 7. The TPM Poll Average shows Romney with a 1.9 percent lead at the moment.
“Romney now leads the President among independents; they were nearly tied among this group last month,” pollsters wrote in their analysis. “Obama beats Romney among moderates. Both candidates continue to perform well with their political base: the President gets solid support from Democrats and liberals, while Romney is running strong with Republicans and conservatives. More than seven in 10 white evangelicals are backing Romney – similar to last month.”
However, the poll was conducted in a different way than most surveys – pollsters interviewed registered voters that were surveyed by CBS/NYT in their April poll and called them back, which lessens the amount of people that can (and want to be) reached, which could give more weight to enthusiastic voters who want to give their opinion.
TPM
Tony,
“Marx is talking about armed revolution, who among us are willing to DIE over this issue? Which is what Marx is calling for, going up against the police, the FBI, and ultimately (I am sure despite laws against it) the militarized United States.”
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FYI. They are ready.
http://info.publicintelligence.net/USArmy-InternmentResettlement.pdf
The US hasn’t been a free market capitalist system for a long time. In a free market companies who lose money dissolve. In the US we bail them out and never require them to do a thing to pay for the bail out or even change the conduct that cost taxpayers billions. If a defense contractor fails to fulfill its contract do we that is the government cross the off the list for any further contracts? No we give the more money more contracts and more influence in congress. On the other hand when a hard working person loses his or her job we treat them like criminals and suggest that or require that the take a drug test to continue to receive benefits .
When it comes to corporations they internalize profits and externalize and socialize costs and losses. That is not free market capitalism.
By the way providing Heath care to more people is not fascism it is a corporal work of mercy and an appropriate role for government certainly more appropriate than bailing out billionaires.
Mike A.,
Remember this Romney story?
When Romney sought (and received) a bailout
By Steve Benen
1/6/12
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal/2012_01/when_romney_sought_and_receive034570.php
Excerpt:
It’s a familiar story: Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital takes over a company, the company is ruined, and Romney and his investors make millions. But few of these stories look worse than the circumstances surrounding GST in Kansas City.
Reuters reports today on the “steel skeleton in the Bain closet” — a Missouri steel company called GS Technologies, which had been operating since 1888. Romney and his team took over in late 1993, and the only folks who benefited were at Bain Capital. (via T.O.A.)
Less than a decade later, the mill was padlocked and some 750 people lost their jobs. Workers were denied the severance pay and health insurance they’d been promised, and their pension benefits were cut by as much as $400 a month.
What’s more, a federal government insurance agency had to pony up $44 million to bail out the company’s underfunded pension plan. Nevertheless, Bain profited on the deal, receiving $12 million on its $8 million initial investment and at least $4.5 million in consulting fees.
pete,
“…george hamilton has a better tan though.”
Not better than John Boehner’s!
Elaine:
Thanks for the story on the steel mill. It just goes to show that Mr. Romney is flexible on the issue of government subsidies for private business.
some resemblance, george hamilton has a better tan though.
New Romney Video Touts Steel Mill That Benefited From Government Largesse
By Alex Seitz-Wald on May 14, 2012
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/05/14/483972/mitt-romney-steel-dynamics-vide/
Seeking to combat charges from the Obama campaign that Bain Capital extracted value from companies it purchased by firing employees and cutting benefits, Mitt Romney’s released a web video today profiling Steel Dynamics, one of the companies that Bain invested in.
The ad implies that the plant would not have been built without Romney’s assistance. Steele Dynamics “almost never got started,” the narrator says. “When others shied away, Mitt Romney’s private-sector leadership team stepped in.”
But the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette reported at the time (via Nexis), that Bain was just one of eight financiers for the project — hardly the lone white knight:
Financing to build the plant is coming from the Mellon Bank in Pittsburgh, NBD Bank, Fort Wayne National Bank, Lincoln National Life Insurance Co., the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Germany and the Paris Bank. Capital and Bain Capital are also investors.
And while the video touts Romney’s “private-sector” team, the company was successful thanks, in part, to big government subsidies and grants — $37 million from the state of Indiana and DeKalb County. And as the Los Angeles Times reported in January of this year, the county even raised taxes on residents to help fund the mill:
The county promised $23.4 million in property tax abatements and tax increment finance bonds, as well as a new income tax to generate economic development funds. The latter was required by the state, which shelled out another $13.6 million in tax credits, energy grants, workforce training and funds for roads.
A new quarter-percent tax on DeKalb County residents financed infrastructure improvements such as roads and railroad exchanges that benefited Steel Dynamics.
Indeed, while Romney and conservative allies have attacked President Obama for employing “corporate welfare” and “crony capitalism” to create green jobs, Romney-backed Steel Dynamics enjoyed government largesse on the local level. As the LA Times noted, “The story of Bain and Steel Dynamics illustrates how Romney, during his business career, made avid use of public-private partnerships, something that many conservatives consider to be ‘corporate welfare.’”
Bain invested $18.2 million in Steel Dynamics in 1994. Five years later, it sold its stake for $104 million, walking away with $85 million profit.