Romney: A Man Who Has a Record of Getting Things Done

I’m sure the Massachusetts liberals will chime in and crap all over this, but WaPo did a nice, balanced story on What Romney’s run with the Big Dig tells us about how he’d manage America.

The story talks about how his CEO style didn’t go over well with state lawmakers, and that is a downside (or maybe an upside.  Do we really need one more unctuous backslapper in our nation's capital?). Another downside is the accusations that he took his eye off the ball towards the end of his term. But it also mentions how he balanced the budget and lowered unemployment.*

The article centers around that Big Dig tragedy where a woman lost her life…

“It was his finest hour,’’ Trimarco said. “He immediately took charge. He really was starting from ground zero, and he was up to 60 miles per hour in like three seconds.’’

This is what caught my eye:

Romney took advantage of the newly receptive mood among legislators shocked by the accident. Dispatching aides to Boston’s Beacon Hill, within 72 hours he pushed through legislation giving him control over safety inspections and reopening the tunnel.

This is a man who runs to the sound of the guns, not away from them. How many politicians fight to take responsibility for something so big and fraught with political peril?

DC is a city where politicians seek glory and fame while assiduously avoiding any taint of responsibility or blame.  Romney could be a refreshing change for the District of Criminals.

* Here is a dimmer view of Romney's record as governor.  He did lower unemployment and he did balance the budget.  All they can pin on him is that he overstates his record and doesn't put it in proper context:   Fact Check - Romney

The Pain of Bain Falls Mainly on the Insane

Romney's time at Bain is the best, most defensible part of his record

Newt Gingrich, fresh off of making tens of millions as a DC insider access provider to the rich and famous, has a lot of chutzpah criticizing Romney, and by implication, capitalism. Operatic bloviator Gingrich sternly intones how Romney has some explaining to do, while laughably characterizing his gold-plated lobbying as "history consulting."  Sure, DC is constantly clamoring for the services of historians.

Romney made billions and saved companies while Newt danced and sang on the Good Ship Freddie Mac, and we are still paying for the malfeasance that went on there while The Great Historian was collecting his government-funded fees.  And only raw politics unencumbered by principle can explain why the inarticulate governor of America's free enterprise job engine would would join in on the gang attack.

Private equity is a route firms in trouble often take.  Usually, the only alternative left is going out of business, resulting in everyone losing their job.

First, a brief explanation of private equity from economy reporter Robert Samuelson. I recommend the entire article. It is a dispassionate, fact-based examination with blessedly lucid explanations:

Private equity refers to groups of investors buying the stock of an existing company, thereby “taking it private.” Because most purchases use borrowed money (“leverage”), these transactions are known as “leveraged buyouts.” Once the investor group has control, it tries to improve profitability by lowering costs and increasing sales. The hope is to resell the business at a huge gain; this usually takes three to 10 years. In 2010, private-equity firms invested $148 billion in 1,234 U.S. companies, says the Private Equity Growth Capital Council. (WaPo - Samuelson)

For those leftists of all parties still bawling about Bain, investment banker and Obama man Steve Rattner comes to Romney's defense.

Bain Capital is not now, nor has it ever been, some kind of Gordon Gekko-like, fire-breathing corporate raider that slashed and burned companies, immolating jobs wherever they appear in its path.

Wall Street has its share of the “vulture capitalists” that Texas Gov. Rick Perry enjoyed mocking in South Carolina earlier this week. But Romney was almost the furthest thing from Larry the Liquidator. (Rattner - Politico)

Don't Blame Bain -- Blame Government Tax Policy

First, it’s fair game to question the amounts of debt that are sometimes used in leveraged buyouts. While higher debt usually means higher returns — because debt is cheaper than equity, thanks in part to its tax deductibility — it also means higher risk of bankruptcy.

Bain had less than its share of bankruptcies, but it had a few — it appears four — that are particularly troubling. In all those cases, when the portfolio companies initially showed signs of promise, Bain took advantage of their progress to borrow more money, which it took out as a dividend. Later, the fortunes of each company turned down, ultimately into insolvency.

When Bain “releveraged” those companies and took the cash out, the investment managers of course had no idea that the companies would later falter. But with the benefit of hindsight, taking a more conservative approach and refraining from squeezing these dividends out of the companies would certainly have been more prudent. (Rattner - Politico)

The liberal Rattner concludes...

It’s certainly fair game for any candidate’s opponents to dig into his record. But in Romney’s case, focusing on questions about his principles — and his current, staunchly conservative ones — could be more productive than trying to rewrite the firm’s history.    (Rattner - Politico)

Indeed.  Go after Romney on his liberal record and statist reflexes, but his Bain actions appear to be on the up and up.  Upon comparison, Obama is clearly the superior job-destroyer and money waster.

Which is worse?  Greedy Wall Street bankers making money by saving (or sometimes dismantling) sinking companies, or rapacious federal flying monkeys snatching tens and hundreds of billions from innocent citizens and blowing it on green energy  failures and government-funded car fires?

Finance is only one part of capitalism.  To put all of this in a larger context, I recommend Adam Davidson's excellent article in Atlantic, Making it in America, where he gives us insight into manufacturing in America.

Further Reading:

The Great Bain Diversion
The Truth about Bain and Jobs
The Battle of Bain Capital
Romney Doesn't Need to Apologize
Does Romney have the Right Kind of Business Background?

Why I Hate Politics

 (AP/CBS News) WASHINGTON -- First lady Michelle Obama is challenging assertions she's forcefully imposed her will on White House aides, saying she's tired of people portraying her as "some kind of angry black woman," adding with a dagger-sharp glance at the unfortunate reporter, “and I’m going to start kicking some honky ass if it doesn’t stop.”

GOP Contest Suffers from Leftist Rhetoric Infestation

In other news, Mitt Romney is taking heat for his predatory capitalism, being called a “Vulture Capitalist,” not by poop-throwing OWS monkeys, but by big statist Newt Gingrich and inarticulate Texas Governor Rick Perry.

It’s helpful to remember that Bain didn’t swoop down in their flying Greedmobile and gobble up these companies. When a company or an investor group is in trouble (and everyone's job is in peril) they often turn to a capital group like Bain as their last chance. Sometimes they can save the patient, sometimes they can’t. Sometimes it takes an amputation. Bain’s job is to look out for the investors that hire them, not unfortunately, for the poor schlubs who have the misfortune of being deck hands on a sinking ship.

Capitalists do not enter the market to “create jobs” or destroy jobs. That doesn’t put food on the table; making money does, and that is the goal of a capitalist, or a cab driver for that matter. Asking why Mitt threw all those people out of work? You may as well ask why cab drivers don’t give rides to freeloaders, why restaurants insist on charging for their meals, and why retail stores don’t give away free stuff. Why don’t you work for free?

Yes, it's true that unlike some Republicans, Democrats don't "enjoy firing people." They enjoy "investing" your money in exploding electric vehicles, bullet trains and other highly unprofitable but morally satisfying economic misadventures. Venture socialism is certainly empathetic. (David Harsanyi)

Unlike Mitt, Obama’s Job Destruction has Cost us Hundreds of Billions

Romney beats Obama because Romney’s Bain actions didn’t cost taxpayers any money. Obama’s “job creation” programs have cost us hundreds of billions, and his job destruction programs even more, ending in solar panel company scandals, green battery factories closing down, and government-funded car fires.

The alternative to Schumpeter’s creative destruction is malaise-filled stagnation, where a society of government-protected betamax and rotary phone manufacturers goes down the economic tubes.

Finally, to wrap it all up and put it in Election 2012 perspective, I ask you this question: Which is worse, a candidate saying “I like to fire people who give me bad service!” while empowering ordinary Americans to choose their own health care, or a sitting Vice President declaring “The Taliban is not our enemy?”

Jim Manzi has a cogent summation in his National Review Article, Romney and Bain.

Mitt Romney a Cyborg, Ron Paul Supporters Allege

Courtesy of Proof Positive

"Dude, he's like so upright and never makes a mistake. And what does he put in his hair, shellack?" said 23-year-old anti-war activist Shay Leggard.

Romney supporter Norman Workman dismissed the robot allegations as the ramblings of pot-smoking draft-dodgers.

"That's bogus, dude!" countered Leggard, spilling bong water all over his medical marijuana card, adding an emphatic "dammit," before warning reporters to clear out before his mom got home from work and "got all pissed because there's too many people in the house."

I love this picture.  Wish I'd thought of it...

A big-time blogger quoted me!

How cool is this?  Walter Russell Mead quoted me in a blog post!  And he agreed with me.  It was a comment I made in a previous post of his, concerning discipline and self-improvement.

  I'm the second quote that he introduces with ... " Another reader countered, writing..."

Check it out here: http://blogs.the-american-interest.com/wrm/2011/09/11/self-improvement-isnt-only-for-elites/

Professor Mead writes cogently of the failures of "The Blue Model."  Yeah, anybody, including me, can write about that, but he provides in-depth analysis and explores solutions.  I highly recommend him to my fellow Right Blogistan thinkers.