Priorities USA Action Blog

BURTON: Romney Made $122 million, Western New Yorkers lost jobs

From Bill Burton, senior strategist for Priorities USA Action (and native Buffalonian):

Across the country, Mitt Romney profited from the failure of eight companies that fired 14,000 workers while he walked away with an average $92 million profit. This morning, the Buffalo News reports on the impact Romney's business decisions had on Western New York. 185 workers lost their jobs in a deal where Romney made $122 million even as he drove the company into bankruptcy.

Romney says his business experience qualifies him to be President. Buffalonians already know what that would mean: putting wealthy investors first even when it means devastating communities and middle class families.

BUFFALO NEWS: Bain acquisition sent Holland jobs out of state

Williamhouse closing ended 136 years in Western New York

Updated: June 28, 2012, 2:01 AM

WASHINGTON - The workers at the Williamhouse envelope plant in the Town of Holland most likely never heard Mitt Romney's name. They just knew that an out-of-town owner bought the company and, within a few years, their jobs were shipped to Pennsylvania.

"The company was doing just fine," said Carolyn Gibbon, of West Seneca, who, with her husband, Thomas, worked at Niagara Envelope for 10 years that she now calls wasted. "Then, the following summer, we were being shut down."

Some 185 workers lost their jobs in that 1999 closing of a venerable local company previously known as Niagara Envelope. That happened two years after the company's new owner, American Pad and Paper, or "Ampad," closed the local firm's downtown Buffalo headquarters as well as the main office of a sister company in New York, eliminating 250 jobs.

To critics of Romney, the presumptive Republican nominee for president who will be in Buffalo on Friday for a fundraiser, all this matters in the context of the current campaign.

That's because Bain Capital, the private equity firm then headed by Romney, bought Ampad in 1992 and put it on an aggressive path of borrowing to buy other paper companies. While Bain and its investors made more than $100 million off Ampad, the company plunged deeply into debt and ended up filing for bankruptcy in 2000.

Told of the role Romney's company played in connection to Ampad, Gibbon said: "It really makes me dislike him more than I already did."

Romney, however, has long disavowed responsibility for problems at the companies Bain invested in.

"I'm proud to take responsibility for my own record as a manager," Romney told Bloomberg News in February. "I can't possibly take the blame for all 200 companies in Bain's portfolio, any more than I am going to take credit or blame for all the investments in my 401(k)."

In any case, there's no doubt that Bain Capital, which is otherwise hugely successful, did not succeed in reviving Ampad and that workers at what was once Niagara Envelope suffered as Ampad struggled.

Niagara Envelope was one of the Buffalo area's oldest companies, tracing its roots back to 1863, when it made currency packets for Wells Fargo.

Things still looked bright for Niagara Envelope 131 years later, when the family-owned company moved its local manufacturing operation from Buffalo to a vacant Fisher-Price plant in the Town of Holland.

"We have no set timetable for expansion, but we will grow," the company's president at the time, Frederick G. Pierce II, told The Buffalo News upon moving to the new facility in 1994.

The Erie County Industrial Development Agency bet on that growth, too, giving Niagara Envelope $4.5 million in financing for the move to Holland.

Two years later, though, Pierce opted for another path, selling the company to Ampad, a Bain-backed paper company based in Dallas that merged Niagara Envelope into its Williamhouse operation.

Niagara Envelope was profitable at the time, earning $8.5 million on sales of $106 million in 1995, Ampad said at the time.

Ampad said it paid $48.2 million for Niagara Envelope, financing the move primarily by selling another operation.

"APP is an excellent company, and we're confident Niagara's tradition of quality products and outstanding customer service will continue in the future," Pierce said in 1994.

It didn't continue for long.

First came the closing of Niagara Envelope's downtown headquarters and a similar New York office. Ampad said those moves were among the company's "most significant cost-reduction actions."

And before long, things started changing in Holland.

"There was more talk that the business is getting worse, that things aren't so good," Gibbon said.

The ultimate bad news came in May 1999, when Ampad announced it was moving the Holland operations to a plant in Pennsylvania.

"Suddenly we were both unemployed at the same time, with a baby," Gibbon said. "We had just bought our house. It was bad."

It was bad because things were bad at Ampad.

The company had been struggling for a while. Bain Capital, the private equity firm Romney formed in 1984, bought American Pad and Paper from Mead Corp. in 1992 after Mead admitted in public filings that its acquisition of Ampad hadn't worked out.

Buying troubled firms is what private equity firms do: They snatch up companies that aren't reaching their potential in the hopes of installing new management, turning things around and eventually selling the fixed-up outfit for a profit.

Private equity firms often rely on debt to do that, and that's exactly what Bain did when it bought Ampad for $40 million. Only $5 million of that came from Bain's investors. Bain borrowed the rest.

The managers Bain installed at Ampad hoped to revive Ampad through what's called a "roll-up" strategy, where a company buys up competitors in hopes of emerging bigger and stronger itself.

But Ampad rolled up a lot of debt in the process - $450 million as of 1995, up from $20 million a year earlier.

"We were highly leveraged as a company," Russell Gard, the chief operating officer that Bain installed at Ampad, told National Public Radio earlier this year. "Like, squeaky leveraged. We were tight."

At about the same time as the Niagara Envelope purchase, Bain arranged for Ampad to go public. Selling stock to the public allowed Ampad to pay down about $70 million in debt.

But by the end of 1996, Ampad was losing money.

And by January of 1999, two of its top executives had resigned, and the stock had been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

"It became very weak last year for a variety of reasons, with very high leverage," Cynthia Werneth, an analyst with Standard & Poor's Corp. in New York, said at the time.

A few months later, Ampad announced the closing of the Holland plant, and early the following year, Ampad filed for bankruptcy because it could no longer make its debt payments.

The Romney campaign stresses that debt was by no means the central cause for Ampad's troubles. The company had a similar debt ratio as other companies in the paper industry, which was beset at the time with cost competition and other pressures.

But Charles Hanson III, Ampad's chief executive officer in the 1990s, told the Boston Globe in 2002 that he had no doubt Romney approved of the debt-friendly "roll-up" strategy that led to the company's failure.

"Any significant direction we received would certainly have been authorized by him," Hanson said.

That direction may not have worked for Ampad, but it worked for Bain. Bloomberg, citing a prospectus from Deutsche Bank, reported that thanks to the Ampad stock sale and consulting fees, Bain earned $107 million in profits on its $5 million investment in Ampad.

Ampad's bankruptcy, and the closing of its plant in Holland, would be little-known chapters in business history by now if not for one thing.

In 2002, Mitt Romney ran for and won the governorship of Massachusetts.

Ampad's history has haunted him ever since.

The unions made sure of that. John Kaczorowski, president of the AFL-CIO chapter in Buffalo, and other union leaders traveled to Massachusetts at the time to campaign against Romney - only partly because of what happened in Holland.

Kaczorowski said he made the trip "because of how [Romney] treated people all around the country."

Indeed, Romney has found himself under attack for Bain's investments and subsequent layoffs at an Ampad facility in Indiana and at a Kansas City steel mill, among others.

Still, Romney never made day-to-day management decisions at the companies Bain invested in. What's more, Romney left Bain to run the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics in February 1999, three months before Ampad announced the closing of the facility in Holland.

Above all, Ampad was something of an outlier.

As the New York Times reported last week, Bain invested in more than 40 companies between 1984 and 1999, and only seven eventually went bankrupt.

Much more common were the successes, such as Staples and Domino's Pizza, which Bain nursed into the thriving companies we know today.

"The jobs created at Bain Capital by companies that we helped start or that we helped manage, those companies today employ well over 100,000 more jobs than those that were lost," Romney told Bloomberg.

Still, Newt Gingrich bashed Romney on Bain's record during the GOP primaries, and President Obama's campaign has been doing the same for weeks.

And given Bain's history with Ampad, Gibbon, of West Seneca, is ready to join the chorus.

"He's trying to act like he's an average guy and he's trying to help the small people out, and he really isn't," she said of Romney. "He's the reason I lost my job back then."

Posted 08:55AM on June 28 2012 by mstech

CHART: The Numbers Behind our ad 'Briefcase'

Posted 07:42AM on June 28 2012 by mstech

MEMO: Romney Campaign Can’t Spin The Jobs Shipped Overseas

TO: Interested Parties

FR: Bill Burton, Priorities USA Action

RE: Romney Campaign Can’t Spin The Jobs Shipped Overseas

Last week’s Washington Post article on Mitt Romney profiting from companies involved in shipping jobs overseas clearly has the Romney Campaign concerned. Unlike their usual approach of simply not responding to any questions from reporters, the Romney Campaign has been forced to engage.

Their argument goes something like this: The Romney-owned companies that shipped jobs overseas also did other things, such as relocating jobs around the US. Instead of addressing the actual concern about jobs moving overseas, the Romney Campaign feigns semantic outrage over an issue that was never raised.

The Romney Campaign’s response to confirmed news reports of shifting jobs overseas is deceptive, irrelevant, and intentionally confusing.

The new response comes after the Washington Post reported that, “Romney campaign officials repeatedly declined requests to comment on Bain’s record of investing in outsourcing firms during the Romney era.”

Here are the facts:

In 1993, Romney invested in a company that ran call centers for technology companies. “Initially, CSI employed U.S. workers to provide these services but by the mid-1990s was setting up call centers outside the country.”

In a venture related to CSI, Romney’s firm controlled and profited from Modus Media, a company that specialized in outsourcing. That included helping US companies open manufacturing in Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

In 1987, Romney took over Holson Burnes, a maker of frames and photo albums. Under Romney, the firm fired hundreds of workers and, “By 1992, the company manufactured nearly 75 percent of its photo frames overseas, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.”

In 1993, Romney took over and profited from GT Bicycle. The company relied on factories in Asia to produce products it sold in the United States.

In 1998, Romney negotiated the purchase of a company that manufactured computer chips overseas to sell to US customers.

In another company related to CSI, Romney invested in Stream International. “Stream immediately became active in the growing field of overseas calls centers.”

In 1998, Romney negotiated the acquisition of SMTC. Shortly thereafter, the company shifted jobs to Mexico.

Background

WP: Bain Capital invested in Corporate Software, Inc., which began outsourcing jobs in the mid-1990s. According to the Washington Post, "Bain’s foray into outsourcing began in 1993 when the private equity firm took a stake in Corporate Software Inc., or CSI, after helping to finance a $93 million buyout of the firm. CSI, which catered to technology companies like Microsoft, provided a range of services including outsourcing of customer support. Initially, CSI employed U.S. workers to provide these services but by the mid-1990s was setting up call centers outside the country." [Washington Post, 6/21/12]

Associated Press: Romney and Bain Made Millions While New Hampshire Workers Saw Their Jobs Shipped Overseas. According to the Associated Press, “More than two decades ago, Mitt Romney's business venture came to town with a bounty of highly anticipated manufacturing jobs. The new plant, just past the gas station off Interstate 85, needed skilled workers to churn out thousands of photo albums. Four years later, the HolsonBurns Group Inc. — the company controlled by Romney's Bain Capital LLC — closed the factory and laid off about 150 workers. Some jobs were sent north, where months later many of those were also eliminated. Other operations went overseas. But Bain walked away with millions in profits.” [Associated Press, 12/19/11]

Associated Press: Romney and Bain Shut Down New Hampshire Plant, Shifted Work Overseas According to the AP, “Just as executives closed down operations here and sold its South Carolina factory to the Bic Corp., residents 900 miles away in Claremont, N.H., were preparing for the new jobs. The company said in spring 1992 that the expansion in Claremont "will allow us to focus our attention on our rapidly growing base" of products. But the prospect of new jobs — similar to expectations in Gaffney — was short lived. Within seven months, Holson Burnes began issuing furloughs to half its Claremont employees. Even if things looked up, the company told its workers, it would not rehire most of its clerical or managerial staff. Exact numbers of layoffs were never announced. Some workers estimated that 85 to 100 employees were affected, telling the local Claremont Eagle Times that entire departments had been "decimated." The cost-cutting continued at Holson Burnes. By 1992, the company manufactured nearly 75 percent of its photo frames overseas, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. One of the company's clock-making divisions also shipped work overseas from a Rhode Island plant.” [Associated Press, 12/19/11]

Corporate Software, Inc. eventually merged with another company to form Stream and continued to expand its outsourcing practices. According to the Washington Post, "Two years after Bain invested in the firm, CSI merged with another enterprise to form a new company called Stream International Inc. Stream immediately became active in the growing field of overseas calls centers. […] By 1997, Stream was running three tech-support call centers in Europe and was part of a call center joint venture in Japan, an SEC filing shows. […] Stream continued to expand its overseas call centers. And Bain’s role also grew with time. It ultimately became the majority shareholder in Stream in 1999 several months after Romney left Bain to run the Salt Lake City Olympics." [Washington Post, 6/21/12]

Bain Capital was closely involved with the outsourcing practices of Modus Media, another portfolio company. According to the Washington Post, "The corporate merger that created Stream also gave birth to another, related business known as Modus Media Inc., which specialized in helping companies outsource their manufacturing. Modus Media was a subsidiary of Stream that became an independent company in early 1998. Bain was the largest shareholder, SEC filings show. Modus Media grew rapidly. In December 1997, it announced it had contracted with Microsoft to produce software and training products at a center in Australia. Modus Media said it was already serving Microsoft from Asian locations in Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan and in Europe and the United States. Two years later, Modus Media told the SEC it was performing outsource packaging and hardware assembly for IBM, Sun Microsystems, Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Computer Corp. The filing disclosed that Modus had operations on four continents, including Asian facilities in Singapore, Taiwan, China and South Korea, and European facilities in Ireland and France, and a center in Australia. […] According to a news release issued by Modus Media in 1997, its expansion of outsourcing services took place in close consultation with Bain. Terry Leahy, Modus’s chairman and chief executive, was quoted in the release as saying he would be “working closely with Bain on strategic expansion.” At the time, three Bain directors sat on the corporate board of Modus." [Washington Post, 6/21/12]

GT Bicycles relied on Asian labor to produce bicycles. According to the Washington Post, "Bain also invested in firms that moved or expanded their own operations outside of the United States. One of those was a California bicycle manufacturer called GT Bicycle Inc. that Bain bought in 1993. The growing company relied on Asian labor, according to SEC filings. Two years later, with the company continuing to expand, Bain helped take it public. In 1998, when Bain owned 22 percent of GT’s stock and had three members on the board, the bicycle maker was sold to Schwinn, which had also moved much of its manufacturing offshore as part of a wider trend in the bicycle industry of turning to Chinese labor." [Washington Post, 6/21/12]

Within a year of SMTC Corp. merging with a Bain Capital portfolio company, SMTC announced it was expanding operations in Ireland and Mexico. According to the Washington Post, "Another Bain investment was electronics manufacturer SMTC Corp. In June 1998, during Romney’s last year at Bain, his private equity firm acquired a Colorado manufacturer that specialized in the assembly of printed circuit boards. That was one of several preliminary steps in 1998 that would culminate in a corporate merger a year later, five months after Romney left Bain. In July 1999, the Colorado firm acquired SMTC Corp., SEC filings show. Bain became the largest shareholder of SMTC and held three seats on its corporate board. Within a year of Bain taking over, SMTC told the SEC it was expanding production in Ireland and Mexico." 6/21/12]

Romney Negotiated Deal to Purchase Company Manufacturing Chips Made in China to Sell in US. According to the Washington Post, "Just as Romney was ending his tenure at Bain, it reached the culmination of negotiations with Hyundai Electronics Industry of South Korea for the $550 million purchase of its U.S. subsidiary, Chippac, which manufactured, tested and packaged computer chips in Asia. The deal was announced a month after Romney left Bain. Reports filed with the SEC in late 1999 showed that Chippac had plants in South Korea and China and was responsible for marketing and supplying the company’s Asian-made computer chips. An overwhelming majority of Chippac’s customers were U.S. firms, including Intel, IBM and Lucent Technologies." [Washington Post, 6/21/12]

Posted 12:23PM on June 27 2012 by

MEMO: Romney's NALEO Speech Won’t Change His Views on Immigration

TO: Interested Parties

FR: Bill Burton, Priorities USA Action

RE: Memo: Today’s Romney Speech Won’t Change His Views on Immigration

Video: American Bridge 21st Century

Mitt Romney’s speech in Florida today will be an attempt to cover up the divisive rhetoric and draconian policies he has espoused for years on immigration. Romney says many immigrants come to American because they 'are looking for a free deal,' he calls the DREAM Act a 'handout' while promising to veto it, and he boasts about being more extreme that John McCain, Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich.

Here is what to expect from his speech:

Romney’s speechwriters will likely include perfunctory praise of immigrant contributions to America – a departure from Romney’s view that a lot of immigrants come to America because they “are looking for a free deal.”

Romney will continue to dance around the issue of children who were brought here by their parents. But Romney has actually been very clear: “I’ve said across the country, I would veto the DREAM Act.”

Romney will likely call for Congress to work on sensible immigration reform. But Romney’s preferred policy is not sensible or reform – he repeated every time he had the chance that, “The answer is self-deportation.”

Romney will certainly call for ‘bipartisan’ progress to fix immigration. Unfortunately, Romney has viciously attacked any Republican who has attempted to approach the issue in a serious fashion from John McCain and Mike Huckabee to Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry.

Today’s slick speech will not change the fact that Romney has repeatedly used divisive language to propose an extreme immigration policy.

Background

While speaking in Keene, New Hampshire, Mitt Romney said that many people come to America “looking for a free deal.” In September 2011, Mitt Romney in New Hampshire said, “My own view is, you know, a lot of people just come here, or come across, or walk across the border, that have no skill, no education, and are looking for a free deal.” [Romney Event Video]

Romney Wanted To Turn “Off The Magnets Of Amnesty, In-State Tuition For Illegal Aliens” Arguing Immigrants Can “Become Burdens on Our Society” During a CNN Debate, Romney said, “But in order to bring people in legally we’ve got to stop illegal immigration. That means turning off the magnets of amnesty, in-state tuition for illegal aliens, employers that knowingly hire people that have come here illegally. We welcome legal immigration. This is a party, this is a party that loves legal immigration. But we have to stop illegal immigration for all the reasons the questioner raised, which is, it is bringing in people who in some cases can be terrorists, in other cases they become burdens on our society. And we have to finally have immigration laws that protect our border, secure the border, turn off the magnets, and make sure we have people come to this country legally to build our economy.” [CNN, 11/22/11]

Romney Has Focused on Heated Rhetorical Attacks on Immigration. According to the Washington Post, “In dealing with the issue of immigration, Mitt Romney’s 2012 strategy is exactly like his 2008 strategy — run to the right, liberally use the words “amnesty” and “magnet,” and occasionally refer to illegal immigrants as simply “illegals.”” [Washington Post, 11/28/11]

Romney Suggested “Self-Deportation” of Immigrants. According to the Los Angeles Times, “At a Republican presidential campaign forum in South Florida on Wednesday, Newt Gingrich mocked Mitt Romney’s suggestion earlier this week that illegal immigrants would "self-deport" back to their home countries once job opportunities dried up in the United States, and accused him of having little sympathy for Latino families that might be broken apart by an aggressive deportation policy.” [Los Angeles Times, 1/25/12]

Mitt Romney Repeatedly Promised He Would Veto the DREAM Act. According to ABC News, “Mitt Romney explicitly stated today that if he is elected president he would veto the Dream Act, legislation that would give permanent residency to some illegal immigrants who met certain criteria, such as having proof that they entered the country before age 16 or having a graduated from a U.S. high school.” Romney repeated and defended his promise to the veto the DREAM Act in subsequent appearances, calling the DREAM Act a “handout.” Romney said: “I’ve indicated I would veto the DREAM Act.” He told a young woman questioning his position, ““I’ve said across the country, I would veto the DREAM Act.” [Huffington Post, 1/16/12; ABC News, 12/31/11; Crooks and Liars, 1/20/12; The Hill, 1/16/12; CNN, 1/5/12]

After Perry Entrance, Romney Claimed Allowing Children of Immigrants In-State Tuition, “Only Attracts People to Come Here and Take Advantage of America’s great beneficence” At the MSNBC debate at the Reagan Library, the first with Perry on stage, Romney dialed up his rhetoric on immigration stating: “The reason they come in such great numbers is because we've left the magnet on. And I said, what do you mean, the magnet? And they said, when employers are willing to hire people who are here illegally, that's a magnet, and it draws them in. And we went in and talked about sanctuary cities, giving tuition breaks to the kids of illegal aliens, employers that, employers that knowingly hire people who are here illegally. Those things also have to be stopped.” Romney stated at the CNN/Tea Party debate that providing low tuition to children of undocumented immigrants, “only attracts people to come here and take advantage of America's great beneficence.” [Reagan Debate Transcript, 9/7/11; CNN Debate Transcript, 9/12/11]

Romney touted endorsement of Kris Kobach, Author of Anti-Immigrant Laws. “In Florida, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney is airing campaign commercials in Spanish telling Hispanics he's "one of us." In South Carolina, he is touting the endorsement of Kris Kobach, an anti- immigration activist who helped spearhead state laws that have sparked anger among Latinos.” [Bloomberg News,1/17/12; New York Times, 1/11/12]

Romney Focused Attacks on Gingrich Over Immigration. According to The LA Times, “Romney also took on Newt Gingrich for his comments on illegal immigration at Tuesday's debate. He said what Gingrich was describing amounted to "a new doorway for amnesty" and he noted that Gingrich voted for amnesty in the past. "We make a mistake as a Republican Party to try and describe which people who come here illegally should be given amnesty to be able to jump ahead of line of the people who have been waiting in line," he said. "It’s the wrong course for a Republican debate.”[LA Times, 11/23/11]

Romney Attacked McCain From Right on Immigration Then Claimed to Have Not Seen His Own Ads. In 2008, Romney attacked Senator McCain’s plan for comprehensive immigration reform, calling it amnesty. Romney then falsely claimed at a debate his ads didn’t use the term amnesty. Confronted the next day my ABC, Romney claimed he hadn’t seen either of his two television ads on immigration. McCain said, “you can spend your whole fortune on these attack ads, but it still won't be true.” [ABC News, 1/6/08; ABC News, 1/5/08]

Romney Attacked Huckabee From Right on Immigration For Arkansas Law Providing Access to College for Children of Immigrants. According to the New York Times, Romney’s ad, “says that Mr. Huckabee, as governor of Arkansas, supported in-state tuition benefits for illegal immigrants and taxpayer-financed scholarships for illegal immigrants….A spokesman for the Huckabee campaign, Joe Carter, said of the advertisement: “We’re just kind of disappointed that he’s taking this kind of approach. We’d just ask people to compare our proposal on immigration and his, and our record on immigration and his.”” [New York Times, 12/11/07]

Joe Arpaio Praised Romney's Approach to Immigration. Controversial Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio praised Romney's approach to immigration. Arpaio said, "He's a great guy. He did a good job in Massachusetts, especially against the illegal immigration problem." [Fox News, 2008]

Posted 11:33AM on June 21 2012 by mstech

Priorities USA Action and SEIU Launch One of the Largest-Ever Independent Spanish-language Campaign Efforts

Mitt Romney In His Own Words: Reactions From Working Latinos ("Mitt Romney: En Sus Propias Palabras") is one of the largest ever independent Spanish-language campaigns and highlights working Latinos' reactions to Romney's own words on jobs and other key issues.

Our ad running in Florida:

Posted 13:48PM on June 12 2012 by mstech

NEW AD: "This was a booming place. And Mitt Romney and Bain Capital turned it into a junkyard"

Ad features Donnie Box, a former employee at GST Steel in Kansas City, MO. For more information, visit www.RealRomneyRecord.com

Romney and Bain Capital shut this place down, they shut down entire livelihoods.

They promised us, healthcare package, they promised us, maintain our retirement program, and those were the first two things to disappear.

This was a booming place. And Mitt Romney and Bain Capital turned it into a junkyard. Just making money and leaving.

They don’t live in this neighborhood. They don’t live in this part of the world.

Posted 12:11PM on June 10 2012 by

MEMO: What do voters think about Romney’s business record?

TO: Interested Parties

FR: Bill Burton, Priorities USA Action

RE: Sunday Memo: What do voters think about Romney’s business record?

While criticism of Romney’s business record may not resonate with elites, it is clearly resonating with the actual voters who will decide this election. New independent data this week replaces theoretical banter by pundits with empirical evidence from voters. Middle class Americans across this country are concerned about Romney’s record of profiting from bankruptcies and are affected by the stories of people like Loris Huffman and Pat Wells who lost everything so that Romney could make millions.

According to a report by ABC’s Amy Walter, a focus group in Richmond showed that voters are familiar with Priorities USA Action advertising and connect Romney’s business record to an overall economic system that too often feels rigged against the middle class. New polling from two different organizations show Romney’s business record is already beginning to serve as a drag. By a 4-1 margin, independent voters said Romney’s business record made them less likely to vote for him.

Throughout this race, Mitt Romney has made his supposed private sector job creation experience the defining qualification for the Presidency without explaining how his time as a corporate buyout CEO prepares him to represent all Americans or create jobs. Contrary to his unsupported generalizations about his time as CEO, Romney and his firm often made millions in profit while driving companies to bankruptcy, slashing jobs and eliminating promised health and retirement benefits.

For voters across the country, profiting from failure and breaking promises to employees illustrates that Romney would not stand up for the middle class as President.

Background

ABC’s Amy Walter: “It is clear that ads attacking Romney for his record at Bain Capital have penetrated.” According to ABC’s Amy Walter who reported on focus groups in Richmond and Las Vegas, “As for Mitt Romney, he remains a blank slate. Most of these women knew little to nothing about him. But it is clear that ads attacking Romney for his record at Bain Capital have penetrated. Stephanie and Rebecca voted for McCain in 2008, but both expressed worry over Romney’s business record. When asked by the moderator what they’d heard or seen about the campaign so far, Rebecca replied, “That whole thing where factories have shut down, that concerns me. … That’s scary because I work for a small business.” “Little guys like us are like a gerbil on the wheel, OK?” she said. ”Where’s my break? We don’t get anything other than another day of work”” [ABC News, 6/8/12]

Reuters: “In the aisles of Wal-Mart, Bain is a four-letter word.” According to Reuters, “Female shoppers at the big-box superstore are viewed as crucial swing voters in the closely fought 2012 election, and a pair of recent focus groups suggest that Obama's attempts to portray Republican rival Mitt Romney as a ruthless corporate raider might bear fruit…"The main thing I've heard that kind of scares me is ... the whole Romney thing, where all these people, the factories that have been shut down where they've worked over 30 years and then they are left with nothing," said Rebecca W., a participant in the Virginia focus group whose last name was not given. "That concerns me."” [Reuters, 6/9/12]

CNN’s Maria Cardona: “Focus group shows Bain image hurting Romney.” According to CNN contributor Maria Cordona, “When asked to use one word or phrase to describe Romney, the words or phrases they used included "Don't know that much about him," "selfish, "businessman who is concerned with making himself some money," "concerned about the wealthy," "can't be trusted," "scares me," and "lackluster" -- again, echoing some of what is being said in the Bain ads around the country.” [CNN, 6/8/12]

LA Times: New Purple Poll Shows Criticism of Romney Business Record Works. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Across the 12 battleground states the monthly poll surveys, 47% of likely voters said they agreed with the statement that private equity firms “care only about profits and short-term gains for investors. When they come in, workers get laid off, benefits disappear, and pensions are cut. Investors walk off with big returns, and working folks get stuck holding the bag.” By contrast, 38% agreed that “private investment and equity firms help the American economy grow. They launch new companies and rebuild existing ones, including some of the biggest employers in America. Their work has created millions of jobs, and will help drive America’s recovery.”… the attack on Romney’s record at Bain has “the hallmarks of a classic wedge issue for the president,” Purple Poll analysts wrote. “It consolidates Democrats (64% to 22%) and has a plurality of support among independents (48% to 38%).”” [Los Angeles Times, 6/7/12]

Public Policy Polling: Independents, by 40-11 margin, say Romney’s private sector experience makes them less likely to vote for him. Moderates, 48-8, say the same. By a 40-11 margin, independents say “Mitt Romney’s work at Bain Capital” makes them less likely to support him. Among moderates, it is a 48-8 margin. [Public Policy Polling, Conducted: 5/31-6/3]

Bruce Gyory: Wall Street Journal Polls Shows Romney Weakened by Continued Focus on Bain According to Bruce Gyory, a professor at University of Albany, “The more the spotlight hits Bain, the worse it could get for Romney. A recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that voters have a negative reaction to Bain of 19 percent, compared to 9 percent positive. If this 2 to 1 negative ratio holds as more voters form opinions on Bain, Romney will be weakened.” [Newsday, 6/7/12]

Conservative Byron York: “The average independent voter in Ohio doesn't live in a private equity world.” According to conservative columnist Byron York, “Since those Democrats are also in the center of the media world, their criticism of Obama for hitting Romney on Bain received a huge amount of attention. But the average independent voter in Ohio doesn't live in a private equity world, and the Purple Poll suggests his or her reaction to the Bain issue is quite different.” [Washington Examiner, 6/7/12]

Priorities USA Action Advertising on Romney’s Business Record:

Loris: http://bit.ly/MSuqjO

Pat: http://bit.ly/MSusIE

World View: http://bit.ly/MSuBfa

Posted 13:49PM on June 09 2012 by Bill Burton