Romney’s memory lapses

By Dr. E. Faye Williams, Esq.
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

Mitt Romney obviously has a very short memory. We are blessed that it has been recorded what Romney did through the years. He has tried to flip flop on so many issues, but he won’t be able to hide from his record on jobs and the economy. Among those that recorded his words and actions is the Boston Globe—the newspaper that knew him best! He can run, but he can’t hide from them. Some of us wondered why the Globe endorsed Jon Huntsman instead of Romney in the days leading up to the New Hampshire Primary. We now know.

Would you believe a man who so detests government help for people in need through no fault of their own would allow Romney’s Bain Capital interests to receive a $10 million government bailout without a recorded objection from Romney?

When Romney ran against the late Senator Ted Kennedy for the U.S. Senate in 1994, the Kennedy campaign produced an ad that shows Romney took a $10 million federal bailout, and would not have been able to save Bain without the bailout. How did he help workers or save jobs? When he took over a lot of people were fired! You can’t call that a jobs producing plan by any standard other than Romney’s who now claims his business expertise gives him superior knowledge to handle jobs and the economy!

President Obama is working to create jobs, while Romney, whose actions caused many layoffs, thinks he can do better. He calls the President’s actions to create jobs socialism, such as when President Obama bailed out General Motors, saving thousands of jobs. The President’s efforts have been successful in pulling America up from the financial crisis in which former President George W. Bush left us, to a situation in which President Obama’s policies have us steadily gaining jobs. By the way, General Motors has been paying back the bailout money. There’s no record of Romney paying back any of his bailout money. Is that socialism or just Romneyism?

Some of Romney’s other qualifying experience on jobs brought about a $44 million bailout from the government—the one he says cannot create jobs. Romney’s company made a fortune downsizing companies, not creating jobs. Romney benefitted big time. After padlocking GS Technologies with its $44 million dollar bailout, a loss of 750 jobs, a loss of employees’ severance pay, health insurance and cuts in pension benefits on his watch, a government insurance agency had to help the underfunded pension plan, but Romney’s company profited him $12 million on its $8 million investment, and at least $4.5 million in consulting fees. Is this what free market, capitalistic purity looks like? It sounds like a lot of government help to me. The problem is, “Them that already had, got a whole lot more than them that had little or nothing”! Meanwhile, Romney was enjoying over a $200 million fortune. Others were left out of jobs!

There are other important examples of Romney’s callous disregard for working people that I could give, but I think you get an idea of what he thinks are his unique skills to do what he claims the President hasn’t done. Donald Trump was right about Romney being someone who bought companies, closed companies and got rid of jobs. Romney’s record reveals that he is a fake free market worshipper and hater of government bailouts unless they benefit him and the super rich. He’s very good at flip-flopping and hoping voters have no memory of the real Mitt Romney, including his being on a board of a medical supply company (Damon Corp.) that was fined $119 million for billing unnecessary blood tests to Medicare!

This article was originally published in the January 23, 2012 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper