The Daily Caller – Wed, Jan 18, 2012

If you think you’ve already heard everything there is to know about Mitt Romney, think again. A 200-page document that appears to be Sen. John McCain’s entire 2008 election-year opposition research file on the former Massachusetts governor hit the Internet with a vengeance Tuesday evening. And it’s an eye-opener.

The file explores everything from the assessed value of Romney’s house (“$3.162 million”) to his views on the Boy Scouts’ ban of homosexuals (“publicly opposed … in 1994 and 2002 campaigns”). It was made public Tuesday on the social media website Buzzfeed, although it appears to have been accessible online for two months.

The document, given the name “The Romney Book,” was viewed less than 100 times on the page where it was originally uploaded by its anonymous leaker on November 11.

Neither McCain nor his former presidential campaign staffers have authenticated the untitled document, and McCain’s recent endorsement of Romney makes that highly unlikely. Still, the file is comprehensive enough — even by Washington, D.C. opposition-research standards — to suggest that it was assembled as a tool to counter a Romney candidacy on a national scale. And the news articles it references stop late in 2007.

After a four-page introduction and timeline of Romney’s personal and professional life, the file’s next six pages cover what the authors called “top hits.” The last six pages are an appendix describing a “Boston Video Archive.”

The biggest portion consists of a detailed and heavily sourced exploration of Romney’s evolving positions on social issues (22 pages), economic issues (21 pages) and domestic policy (48 pages).

A 33-page section details his business record at Bain Capital, and 16 pages cover political issues that the authors believed can be exploited against Romney.

Another 11 pages are devoted to his “flip-flops.”

Read the Romney file:

The Romney Book

The extensive research on Romney’s business history includes many snippets and quotations from news stories that are no longer available online or have disappeared behind newspaper paywalls, making the file a likely gold mine for Romney’s political rivals this year.

For instance, a 1991 Boston Globe article explored how Bain “cultivated a mystique around the secretive firm, which was once dubbed ‘the KGB of consulting.’ Partners didn’t carry business cards and referred to clients by code names. … And it inculcated in the recruits such a sense of mission that young consultants became known as Bainies, a reference to the Unification Church’s Moonies.”

Citing a 1994 Globe article, the file concludes that “Romney used Drexel Burnham junk bonds to finance [a] 1988 leveraged buyout, right around the time SEC officials were taking formal action against the company.”

In a followup article cited in the file, the Globe reported that Romney and another Bain Capital partner “defended their decision to hire Drexel before the SEC suit — at a time when rumors of the investigation were rife on Wall Street — as well as after the suit was filed.”

The dossier also explores the history of Bain’s business transactions related to Ampad, Maytag, Haier Group, and seven other companies that were subjects of Bain takeovers.

In the section covering Romney’s political liabilities, the document’s authors note his praise for Hillary Clinton during a 1998 event where he declared, “Hillary Clinton is very much right, it does take a village.” They also explore his support for former Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson, who returned the favor by running an ad in which he said, “Take it from this liberal Democrat. If you want an amazing leader, vote for Mitt Romney.”

The authors also claim Romney “opposed [Newt Gingrich's 1994] Contract with America without even reading it.”

The video library, if it still exists, includes undated footage of Romney describing his position on assault-weapon bans as the “same as [Sen. John] Kerry and [the late Sen. Ted] Kennedy.”

In another video clip described in the file, Romney outlines a position on illegal immigration that closely approaches a recommendation for amnesty. “[T]hose who are here contrary to the law should seek to establish legal residence,” the document claims he said, “and if they do so, I’d be delighted to provide support.”

One tape, filed under the heading “awkward moments” is summarized by noting Romney’s observation that the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team has trouble making touchdowns.

In another, the documents authors claim, Romney had this pearl of wisdom: “I thought becoming rich and famous would make me happy. Boy was I right.”

David is The Daily Caller’s executive editor.

The least of BAD!

Apparently the Republicans and Democrats are in the same boat.
THEY DON’T GET IT!

The public is tired of having to choose between equally incompetent politicians on a vote.

This just happened in Arizona with McCain coming out smelling like a rose (HE THINKS … THE REPUBLICANS THINK). What we the people UNDERSTAND is again we are cheated with someone who is half-assed. This is simply another half-assed Republican willing to shift to ANY SPEECH that he can con the public with for a vote. We the people are suppose to believe all of a sudden McCain has changed his mind on the border situation?

Arizona was faced with a flaming liberal on one hand and someone ethics-deprived on the other.

This was another NO WIN for the public.

Looks like John McCain is going to have the run of a life with Former congressman J.D. Hayworth nipping at his heels.

McCain known as a renegade has not had much challange in the past. Well buckle up little buddy the smooth ride is over.

Hayworth, a conservative talk-radio host, has tossed his hat in the ring. Conservatives have long thought McCain was not really on their side.

It will be an interesting race to watch.

Well it’s been one excruciating month of our communist educated president’s term in office. The teleprompter reading dolt has given the American people a press conference. Probably one of the few where he answers questions in an open manner. And the democrats are running full bore on destroying freedom and capitalism by any means necessary.

We got our fourth round of deficit spending. For those who forgot we had the bail out checks for a $152 billion. Then we got the housing bail out for $300 billion. Of those who took advantage of this 55% are now in default from this and the numbers are rising. Then we got the $700 banking bail out. These previous bail outs under Republican President Bush and the traitors to the people and most Republicans John McCain and John Boehner providing support and cover for democrats. Granted the democrats were in control of the congress and senate but Bush had the veto power. And now the latest buffoonery from the dictators in Washington the $825 billion bail out or as some would call it the Democratic Party pay out bill. So what we have here is a full blown assault on the treasury by both Republicans and Democrats.

And how have the capitalist reacted to this massive stupidity? Well in April of 2008 the stock market was in a rally up to 12,800 with the anticipation Bush would act like a Republican and veto any lack of common sense from Nancy Pelosi and congress. Bush proved to be as much of dumb ass as Nancy and bail out number one was soon signed for $152 billion and we all got a rebate check. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged to 11,380 by June 2008. There was another rally to 11,450 but that was soon squashed like an honor student in a Detroit ghetto. The second bail out of $300 billion sent the stock market down to 9,000 and the third $700 billion bail out along with our Dear Leader’s election sent the market to 8,800. Now with the latest socialist fascist bail out the market stands at 7,365.

Socialist and fascist would argue that the banks were failing and the stock market would have crashed anyway. Nothing could be further from the truth. If the banks were allowed to fail and the good assets divvied up among stronger banks the capitalist would be celebrating. That’s not to say that there would not have been fluctuations in the stock market. Of course there would be as the giants came crashing down. But the well run banks would have picked up the pieces and in the long run the economy would have been stronger as well as the stock market. Capitalism only works if the incompetent and weak are allowed to fail. Citibank should be history but they live on as some sick deranged animal infecting the healthy.

Is the lesson sinking in? Nothing could be clearer here. The government’s job is to protect the people and currency. When they fail to protect the currency the markets reacts. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Alan Greenspan, Maxine Waters and George Bush failed to protect the currency all in their own destructive ways.

Let’s be clear. All these people and our Dear Leader have led us down the road to a mixture of fascism and socialism. We are going there. These movements can last 12 years as the case with Hitler or 72 years in the case of the former USSR. What we have here is the stupid and incompetent have gained control of the federal government as our founding father warned us would happen someday and they are taking us down the road to dictatorship and war.

How do I know the economic policies of the Dear Leader and the democrats will fail? Democrats and Keynesians always like to point to FDR’s New Deal. Well the New Deal brought a average unemployment rate of 17.2%. No thanks.
Then the democrats argue well FDR just wasn’t spending enough money and when WWII came finally enough money was in the system to reduce unemployment. Well let’s look at this argument. 9 million men and women enlisted in the military during WWII. Of those 416,800 died. Certainly a way to reduce the unemployment rate but it would be nice not to repeat this experiment in American history.

And what about the spending? In WWII 37% of the economy was devoted to war. The debt was 118% of the GDP. Currently our monetary base is up about 105% right along with our debt.

To counter these inflationary forces democrats conveniently forget to tell people the federal government had to have massive bond buying programs to get money out of circulations. Another fact conveniently omitted is the black market was a large part of the economy during WWII. Gasoline, sugar, meat, flour were all sold on the black market at extremely expensive rates with no supervision over the sanitary or quality of these products. Finally the other thing Keynesian economists forget to tell you about WWII spending getting the United States out of the Great Depression is the rationing. Yes everything was rationed just like in the former USSR or Cuba today. So many gallons of gas. So many eggs, flour, and so forth. Complete control over the people. Thanks but no thanks. Think I would rather put up with the capitalist pigs.

And this is the “rational” argument people like Fox News contributor Democratic strategist Tonya Acker spits out week after week to the pundits on Bulls and Bears and the other three Cost of Freedom business related programs. Completely absurd arguments to the highly educated capitalist pig panel of mostly stock brokers.

Our Dear Leader is no different from Tonya Acker. Totally clueless about capitalism and how it works because of indoctrinations in primary, secondary, junior college, college and finally graduate school. None of these people have run a business. None of them could tell you the difference between a marginal rate and average rate of taxation. They are completely clueless reading their Rules of Radical books and Chairman Mao’s little Red Book. If they knew what they were arguing for, really understood the implications of these disastrous policies, I seriously doubt any of them would be arguing for these policies. The people at the top would be just fine with these policies but any working man or woman who understood the death, desperation, deprivation that will results would change political registration from democrat and republican to libertarian in a New York minute.

And of course there is the republican argument that if they get control of congress in 2010 it will be reversed. No it will not be reversed. Republicans believe in these policies as much s democrats do. Not all republicans but the leadership does. The Republican Party is corrupt and people who believe in freedom and liberty need to accept that fact. They are part of the problem not a solution. Change your registration to libertarian.

And how do I know these policies will lead to war? What if you were the leader of China right now? You bought trillions of US debt. You bought these financial instruments in good faith with the expectation that while they were not stock market killers at least they would appreciate in value. Now a socialist fascist government is in control in Washington printing and borrowing money like its water. You and your country will lose trillions. Your population of 1.3 billion people is struggling on a per capita income of $6,100 per year. What to do? South Korea would be a nice acquisition to the empire. Taiwan is part of China why not retake ownership? Invading and expanding the economic pie would certainly be tempting in bad economic ties. And Japan with no military sits just a few kilometers to the east of South Korea. Suddenly the lemons the United States has given you become an opportunity to make some lemonade. With a weak and dysfunctional United States suddenly everything changes. Bad economic policies lead to war plain and simple.

So what to do? Insist republican purge their leadership of sell outs like John McCain, John Boehner, Susan Collins, Arlen Specter, and Olympia Snowe. Tell them to switch party affiliations to democrats and run against them in the primaries if they don’t. We need fighters not traitors. Time to send the traitors packing. Court blue dog democrats and try to get them to switch party affiliations. Draw up the battle lines. Change is coming. Fight or get out of the way. Better yet change party affiliation to libertarian. This would send a clear message to the democrats that the dog is about to fight and to China we will take care of our own house.

With out this total and complete devotion to freedom and liberty we will suffer years of economic malaise and finally end up in horrible war if Keynesian economics works like it did in the 1930’s and 40’s.

As for our Dear Leader he’s an affirmative action dolt who reads a teleprompter and fires up the ignorant masses. Hugo Chavez and Barrack Obama are on the same game plan and path to be dictators for life. In Venezuela Chavez controls elections much like democrats do today. Did any Republican win a close governors or senators race since 2004? Why? Statistically impossible. Chavez rigs elections plain and simple. Democrats are no different. Get use to it. Free elections are a thing of the past and even then they were fraudulent but at least the fraud was on both sides.

We have a dictator and a legislative branch that will support the dictator much the same as in Venezuela. Soon armed bands of Obama supporters will be roaming our cities killing opposition leaders and terrorizing civilians the same as in Venezuela. Death squads will kill opposition college students and leaders like in Venezuela. When the people elect a third world politician they will get third world policies. Elections have consequences.

Obama will go after gun owners. The Democratic Party will continue marginalizing religion and family pretty much the same way they have since 1965. Free speech will be squashed by the Fairness Doctrine and teams of lawyers suing television, radio and web sires. The usual tyrant goals of disarming and enslaving the population. And most likely no one will oppose the stupid bastard and his party until we are a conquered nation much like Germany in 1945. The Affirmative Action President gets an “F” in the real word but an “A” from his blind worshipers in the press and his party.