Romney team defiant in response to Bain attack
Boston (CNN) – Senior advisers to Mitt Romney's campaign are calling the latest round of Bain attacks from Team Obama "an act of desperation" and "beyond the pale."
"Either they don't understand what they are talking about or they are completely reckless," a senior Romney adviser tells CNN.
- Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker
- Check out the CNN Electoral Map and Calculator and game out your own strategy for November.
Romney's advisers are referring to Thursday's political back-and-forth ignited by a new Boston Globe story maintaining Romney had an active role in overseeing the private equity firm Bain Capital until 2002. The report points to official documents bearing his name as CEO were filed at the time.
The Romney campaign calls the idea "ridiculous," saying the documents were filed with his name because he left abruptly to run the Olympics in February 1999.
Romney has been the target of a relentless multi-million dollar assault by Team Obama over the last several weeks regarding Bain Capital and allegations some of the companies in which it invested outsourced jobs overseas - a contention that the Romney campaign disputes completely. In fact, the campaign earlier Thursday released a full-blown rebuttal of the Obama charges in the form of a television ad, using the criticisms of Obama's campaign staff leveled by newspapers and fact-checking organizations.
Some Republicans charge the Romney team waited too long. "We'd rather be bullet proof and get it right," says a senior Romney adviser. "Obama will have a hard time justifying his charges."
While the Obama campaign clearly sees even more of an opening on the Bain Capital attack front, one senior Romney adviser says the Bain attacks won't get them off its game - relentlessly focusing on the economy. "It is designed to make us change our strategy and it won't."
The Romney campaign calls the Bain attacks "demonstrably false." In fact, one adviser says that for the Obama campaign to suggest that the Bain company filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission could be a felony is "beyond the pale." In the end, this adviser predicts, "voters will have a sense of where the boundaries are."
So far, each campaign seems to be testing that premise - Romney has an ad effectively calling the president's team liars, and the Obama campaign has accused Romney's former company of possibly committing a felony.
And it's only July.
- CNN's Kevin Bohn contributed to this story.
From CNN Politics
- Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade
- Top 10 Credit Cards for Excellent Credit
- A 2018 exchange between Susan Collins and Jake Tapper on Roe that you need to see
- 6 mistakes that led to 1972 Watergate burglars being caught
- This Republican senator keeps changing his story on the fake electors scheme
- Supreme Court sides with doctors challenging their convictions in opioids 'pill mill' case
So who is Mitt lying to? the SEC then, the American people now, the Bain investors then?
Oh, I think everyone that has been paying attention has a pretty clear idea about what Bain was doing.......and it wasn't "creating jobs". It was about creating wealth, which it did very well......at the expense of a lot of the "little" people and the U.S. economy in general. Thanks a lot Bain......and Mitt!
"Either they don't understand what they are talking about or they are completely reckless," a senior Romney adviser tells CNN. – Romney
This sounds more like his own Party's behavior over the last 10 years.
Hey Mitt.. did you or did you not SIGN the SEC filings...?
There is nothing reckless about facts. Just because Mitt doesnt like the facts doesnt make them reckless.
"JUST SHOW US THE CAR FACTS!"
Gov Robme is not made of presidential material. It's pretty obvious that he does'nt possess the qualities needed to be president. He is though, the perfect candidate for the 1%. President Obama deserves 4 more years for killing Osama bin Laden under his administration
"An act of desperation" and "beyond the pale." Sorry not true , this politics
Democrats and president faced same situation in 2010 , now time for republicans go through the same
.. the attacks "won't get them off their game."
translation: won't make one bit of difference in their constant lying. Mitt's been at it for years.
America needs another self serving corporate hack in the White House like it needs another Dick Cheney.
Shipping jobs to china is not desperation, idiot, 47/50 job creation is not lie, idiot, stashing money in cayman island is not desperation. Obama12.
You cannot trust Romney – Now the claim is out there that Romney bused his own supporters in at the NAACP Convention – It that is the case, then
1. That was the total number of African Americans in the Republican Party –
2. Maybe it was those African Americans who initiated the BOOING –
3. That must be the section that gave Romney a standing ovation because less than a third of the room stood up –
AND
4. The African Americans he talked to after the speech claims they told him that they were not going to vote for Obama or they were disappointed with Obama, etc., must be the ones that he bused in!!
WAKE UP AMERICA!!
Obama 2012 – The Only Trusted Way Forward!!
Meet Dummy is confused where he's supposed to be running for president. Should give up the US citizenship so he can run for president for ?
Romnycare the clown is toast !!!!
0bama is a dirty and shameless liar. He has used lies to advance himself in his entire life.
Without lies and dishonest attacks on Sec. Hillary Clinton and Sen. MacCain, a junior senator and an empty suit could have never become the president of this great country.
All Romney has to do is release his tax returns, but he won't, because they'll clearly prove Willard Romney to be the serial liar that he is.
Yeah right!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This republican party is so evil now. Wake up America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Right. I think Romney has lost his "sense of where the boundaries are" and the facts are coming at him hard and
fast. He was either CEO, only stockholder, Chairman of the Board, or he lied. Bain says the papers were kept
that way until they could find someone who would take over. Well, I guess it took them 3 years to find somebody.
Now there is "sworn testimony" that Romney left the Olympics to attend a Board Meeting for some reason.
Also, as I understand it, he would have been the sole person liable for anything going wrong at Bain. So, was
he or wasn't he. I admit this is beyond me, but they are having too much trouble explaining it, and that makes
me nervous.
Can't wait to wake up and all this multi billion dollar BS is done. Attack Ad's, political games, and an absolute useless congress making thier Number one job a partisan joke instead of doing the work of the people. Please give us a break from your baby tantrums and get back to work.
"Either Mitt Romney through his own words and his own signature was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the SEC, which is a felony, or he was misrepresenting his position at Bain to the American people to avoid responsibility for some of the consequences of his investments"
a felon or a fraud? in either case he is a liar
If Romney was a CEO and/or on the board he should know the dealings of his companies. Unless he was an incompetent board member then he knew of at least the general direction each of his companies were doing. This includes layoffs, or outsourcing strategies.... common sense for board people (or CEO). They may not have known the day to day actions, but they certainly knew the general direction. If he was incompetent and really didn't know, he is then too incompetent to be a president.
just release ur taxes and put this to rest...there must be something rather damaging
It appears as if either Romney:
a) lied to the SEC, when he claimed he was the CEO (an active tole) of Bain or
b) he lied to the American people when he told us he wasn't
Romney needs to come clean – his taxes will tell us the truth
I think Romney should release his tax returns from 1999 to date to be sure he was not receiving pay checks during those periods. Should he be receiving any, then he is liable for felony and perjury. He needs to release his multiple tax returns.
I need to see the notarized, dated original of Romney's letter of resignation from Bain Capital or I won't believe what he says regarding the issue. The GOP started and tacitly supports their "birthers," well I gues I am a "Bainer."
The US Founders never would have imagined an American elite so corrupt that they would dissolve the people and import a new one. But how about the WHITES? There future?
How is this not genocide:
White countries are being flooded by non-whites. We are told to be TOLERANT. We are forced to integrate.
With assimilation we see the extinction of one race only, the white race. Its not funny, not comedy, its white genocide.
Relentlessly focusing on the economy? Really... I guess it's never too late may as well start now mittens ya' putz
Mittens, you lie! You were the only one in charge of Bain from 1999 -2002 even though you said you left. Being the only one in charge of the company while being on leave and still attending a board meeting should get him liar of the party award.