Mitt Romney's Other Problem

Wednesday, 13th April 2011

Apart from the healthcare thing and the Mormon thing and the whole not-always-coming-across-as-an-actual-human-being thing there's the Private Equity thing. Romney, sensibly in my view, began the "official" leg of his Presidential campaign with a pitch about jobs. That, much more than arcane-seeming debates about the deficit, is the key to blue collar America and, by extension, the vital battleground states. The difficulty is that Romney's record at Bain Capital is awfully easy to attack.

Think Progress highlights one problem:

22 percent of the money Bain Capital raised from 1987 to 1995 was invested in five businesses — Stage Stores, American Pad & Paper, GS Indusries, Dade, and Details. These five made Bain $578 million in profit, even as all five eventually went bankrupt.

Politico has more here. No matter how much private wealth can impress some voters it's also easy to see how you can write an attack ad pointing out that Romney became a vastly wealthy man by purchasing ailing companies, firing half the workforce and stripping any assets that could be used to turn a profit.

This isn't entirely fair. Some of those companies might have failed anyway and others were doubtless saved by private equity. If that meant a smaller workforce so other jobs could be saved and the business resurrected then so be it. A price worth paying and so on but a tougher thing to sell during an election campaign.

This won't matter yet because the GOP primary is not likely to worry about this too much (though Mike Huckabee might attack Romney on these grounds). But it could become a problem in a general election. As Intrade confirms, Romney remains a more credible November candidate than most (all?) of his rivals in the primary but you can see how his private equity past could become a problem in, say, Ohio and, more generally, with the high-school educated white voters who are such a vital part of the Republican coalition.

So Romney finds himself in an odd position: the technocratic, can-do, problem-solver who is also reinventing himself as a latterday populist and nationalist. These horses can be hitched together but they will often want to run to different places and keeping them running smoothly without abrupt lurches or sudden, jarring, changes of direction will be quite a task. Is Romney a good enough driver to keep them on the road?

There's another problem too: the more Romney portays himself as a culture and values kind of guy the more he draws attention to the Mormon problem. Perhaps that too is unfair and perhaps it wouldn't matter as much against Obama as it might in opposition to another kind or type of politician. Nevertheless, while Romney has plenty of advantages against the pygmy field currently assembled for the primary you can see why, though he should be respected, he could be quite a fun guy to run against too. A target-rich environment. And that's before you even consider the dog-owning vote.

Imagine what, say, a Lee Atwater would do if asked to run an anti-Romney campaign...

[Thanks to Liz Mair.]

Filed under: 2012 (167 more articles) , Americana (479 more articles) , GOP (332 more articles) , Romney (71 more articles)

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Vulture

April 14th, 2011 6:47pm Report this comment

I thought I'd post a comment as this post has been up for three or four days and no-one has bothered to reply.

I wouldn't want Fraser to get the idea that no-one reads your posts Alex.

So : Hi!

Mitt Romney (what does'Mitt' stand for btw?) Looks like another albeit richer McCain to me: elderly, and a loser. He lacks any sort of killer instinct. If the GOP choose him they are stuffed and the Blessed One will return.

Hayward Maberley

April 15th, 2011 9:41am Report this comment

Mitt Romney yet another Republican chickenhawk who was happy to avoid that “noble cause” of The Faux Texan and others yet who then and NOW still spouts how great it was and even had the chitzpah to say, how much he would have liked to have joined fellow Americans over there...but...?

But... he was over with a "ministerial deferment" in France preaching to the heathens about the righteous ways of Mormon.

Then what when back in the USA?

A further student deferment.

Only two deferments, but probably like Five Deferment Dick Cheney he had "better things to do" at that time.

DavidDP

April 15th, 2011 10:57am Report this comment

Shame really. Romney's the nearest thing the GOP has to a sane and intelligent candidate.

FF

April 15th, 2011 12:33pm Report this comment

The thing in Romney's favour, on the other hand, is his track record of getting himself elected as Governor of Massachusetts. If a Republican, and a Mormon to boot, can win in the Democratic Republic of Massachusetts he shouldn't have a problem in the country at large.

PS I note that Donald Trump was doing an adopt a dog campaign as part of his Apprenticeship show. So not only will the Trumpster get the dog owning vote - Heaven forbid - but he might be able to provide a home for Romney's mutt when his rival decides his dog is not for Christmas.

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