Romney presents vision of dominant America

[Ed Jewett]

Romney presents vision of dominant America


By The Associated Press
Sat, Oct 8 - 4:53 AM


CHARLESTON, S.C. Mitt Romney, the leading Republican presidential candidate, said Friday that he would strive for a century of American dominance, outlining proposals to strengthen the military while rejecting multilateral institutions like the United Nations when necessary.


The former Massachusetts governor also condemned the isolationist policies supported by the libertarian wing of his party in a speech delivered at The Citadel, a historic military college in South Carolina, which will hold the first presidential primary in the South early next year.


Romney's first major foreign policy speech as a candidate amounted to a show of force of sorts as he tries to position himself as the clear Republican front-runner in the White House race. Some Republicans remain reluctant to support him but Romney has resumed his place atop national polling following Texas Gov. Rick Perry's recent stumbles and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's decision not to run.


"When America is strong, the world is safer," Romney said.


The hawkish policies Romney outlined are designed to confront what may be the former businessman's most glaring weakness. While he served as a Mormon missionary in France more than four decades ago, he has only limited foreign policy experience. As he says in nearly every campaign stop, he has spent most of his life in the business world.


More at the link (and add'l coverage elsewhere):
http://thechronicleherald.ca/World/1267275.html

[Ed Jewett]

Mitt Romney taps foreign policy, national security advisers


By Philip Rucker, Published: October 6


CHARLESTON, S.C. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Thursday announced a team of dozens of foreign policy and national security advisers, tapping an array of Bush administration veterans and former lawmakers to help him shape his defense, intelligence and counterterrorism proposals.

The announcement of 22 special advisers as well as leaders of 13 separate regional and issue-specific working groups comes as Romney, a former Massachusetts governor and businessman, prepares to deliver a major foreign policy address at the Citadel here on Friday.

By rolling out his advisory team and policy specifics this week, Romney, the front-runner in national polls for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, is trying to stand out from his opponents by showing a command of foreign policy and national security issues.
"America and our allies are facing a series of complex threats," Romney said in a statement. "To shape them before they explode into conflict, our foreign policy will have to be guided by a strategy of American strength. I am deeply honored to have the counsel of this extraordinary group of diplomats, experts, and statesmen. Their remarkable experience, wisdom, and depth of knowledge will be critical to ensuring that the 21st century is another American Century."
Here are the 22 special advisers and brief biographies, as announced by Romney's campaign:
Cofer Black, Vice President of Blackbird Technologies; Director of the CIA Counter-Terrorism Center (1999-2002); United States Department of State Coordinator for Counter-Terrorism (2002-2004)
Christopher Burnham, Vice Chairman of Deutsche Bank Asset Management; United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Management (2005-2006); United States Under Secretary of State for Management (2001-2005)
Michael Chertoff, Chairman of the Chertoff Group; United States Secretary of Homeland Security (2005-2009); Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (2003-2005)
Eliot Cohen, Director of the Strategic Studies Program at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; Counselor to the United States Department of State (2007-2009); Defense Policy Advisory Board Member (2001-2009)
Norm Coleman, Chairman of the Board, American Action Network; Adviser to the Republican Jewish Coalition; United States Senator (R-MN) (2003-2009)
John Danilovich, Member of the Trilantic European Advisory Council; CEO of Millennium Challenge Corporation (2005-2009); Ambassador to Brazil (2004-2005); Ambassador to Costa Rica (2001-2004)
Paula Dobriansky, Senior Fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University; Under Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs (2001-2009)
Eric Edelman, Visiting Scholar at School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University; Under Secretary of Defense for Policy (2005-2009); Principal Deputy Assistant to the Vice President for National Security Affairs (2001-2003)
Michael Hayden, Principal of the Chertoff Group; Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (2006-2009); Director of the National Security Agency (1999-2005)


http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/m...story.html

[Jan Klimkowski]

Has Mutt Romney ever had an original thought?

[Ed Jewett]

Has Mutt Romney ever had an original thought?

Has American politics ever allowed one?

[Ed Jewett]

Romney made huge fortune while workers lost jobs, stockholders and creditors lost money.

Here's just one example:
In 1992, Mitt Romney was running Bain Capital, a private equity firm. Bain Capital bought American Pad & Paper Co. (Ampad) for $5 million.
Over the next several years Romney's firm bled the company dry. Hundreds of workers lost their jobs. Stockholders were left with worthless shares. Creditors and vendors were paid less than 50 cents on the dollar. While they were exploiting the company, Romney's firm charged Ampad millions of dollars in "management fees." In all, Romney and his investors reaped more than $100 million dollars from the deal.
Last summer the Boston Globe published this account of Mitt Romney's acquisition of Ampad while he was running Bain Capital:

From [URL="http://www.boston.com/news/politics/2008/specials/romney/articles/part3_main/?page=8"]"The Making of Mitt Romney,"
Boston Globe, June 26, 2007[/URL]

In 1992, Bain Capital acquired American Pad & Paper, or Ampad, from Mead Corp., embarking on a ''roll-up strategy'' in which a firm buys up similar companies in the same industry in order to expand revenues and cut costs.
Through Ampad, Bain bought several other office supply makers, borrowing heavily each time. By 1999, Ampad's debt reached nearly $400 million, up from $11 million in 1993, according to government filings.
Sales grew, too - for a while. But by the late 1990s, foreign competition and increased buying power by superstores like Bain-funded Staples sliced Ampad's revenues.
The result: Ampad couldn't pay its debts and plunged into bankruptcy. Workers lost jobs and stockholders were left with worthless shares.
Bain Capital, however, made money - and lots of it. The firm put just $5 million into the deal, but realized big returns in short order. In 1995, several months after shuttering a plant in Indiana and firing roughly 200 workers, Bain Capital borrowed more money to have Ampad buy yet another company, and pay Bain and its investors more than $60 million - in addition to fees for arranging the deal.
Bain Capital took millions more out of Ampad by charging it $2 million a year in management fees, plus additional fees for each Ampad acquisition. In 1995 alone, Ampad paid Bain at least $7 million. The next year, when Ampad began selling shares on public stock exchanges, Bain Capital grabbed another $2 million fee for arranging the initial public offering - on top of the $45 million to $50 million Bain reaped by selling some of its shares.
Bain Capital didn't escape Ampad's eventual bankruptcy unscathed. It held about one-third of Ampad's shares, which became worthless. But while as many as 185 workers near Buffalo lost jobs in a 1999 plant closing, Bain Capital and its investors ultimately made more than $100 million on the deal.

Alongside the article, the Boston Globe also published a separate chart showing the timeline of the Ampad acquisition. Below is also text from the chart:

Text from Globe's accompanying chart (above) on the Ampad acquisition:

Ampad: A controversial deal

Bain Capital put $5 million into its purchase of American Pad & Paper and quickly began charging management and other fees. It also made payments to investors. In all, Bain and its investors reaped more than $100 million even though Ampad went into bankruptcy, workers lost jobs, and stockholders were left with worthless shares. [And creditors got less than 50 cents on the dollar.] A look at the deal:
· 1992: Bain buys American Pad & Paper from Mead Corp. They invest $5 million.
· 1993: After Bain takes control, Ampad pays advisory fees to Bain under a management agreement.
· 1994: Bain acquires plant in Marion, Ind. Workers strike over layoffs and wage benefit cuts. The events become a campaign issue in Romney's challenge to Senator Edward M. Kennedy.
· 1995: Bain shuts down the Marion, Ind., plant. Roughly 200 lose jobs. Bain gets at least $2 million in annual fees, plus additional fees for each acquisition Ampad makes. Ampad borrows more to acquire an envelope and stationery maker and uses some of the proceeds, about $60 million, to pay Bain investors.
· 1996: Ampad completes an initial public offering. Bain sells about 3 million shares, reaping about $45 million to $50 million for investors and itself. It also takes $2 million in fees for arranging the IPO, plus other fees.
· 1998: With Ampad struggling, Bain agrees to cut the annual fee $1.5 million a year. It also agrees to start forgoing payment until the company turns around.
· 1999: Revenues continue to slide. Ampad closes a plant near Buffalo, with up to 185 losing jobs.
· 2000: Creditors force Ampad into Chapter 11 bankruptcy to reorganize.
· 2001: Judge puts Ampad into Chapter 7 to liquidate assets and pay creditors. Senior secured lenders get less than 50 cents on the dollar.
STOCK PRICE
July 2, 1996: $15.13 - IPO Price
Jan. 27, 1997: $26.00 - Peak
Sep 16, 1997: $13.13 - Stock loses 42% of its value
Nov 1, 1999: 35 cents - Ampad looks to sell assets to reduce debt
Jan 14, 2000: 15 cents - Ampad forced into bankruptcy


http://www.massresistance.org/romney/amp...index.html

[Ed Jewett]

Romney Pledges to Increase U.S. Military Spending

October 9, 2011 by legitgov

...
[URL="http://www.businessweek.com/news/2011-10-08/romney-pledges-to-increase-u-s-military-spending-deter-iran.html"]
Romney Pledges to Increase U.S. Military Spending[/URL] 08 Oct 2011 Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney accused President Barack Obama of bowing to global adversaries and promised, if elected, to boost America's military strength by expanding the Navy and missile defenses. Romney presented his national-security vision in a speech yesterday set against a backdrop of grey-uniformed cadets at The Citadel, a military academy in Charleston, South Carolina. Romney pledged in his first 100 days in the White House to boost naval shipbuilding, deploy Navy carriers to deter Iran's suspected military ambitions, increase intelligence cooperation with Israel, review military and aid spending in Afghanistan, and invest heavily in missile defense and cybersecurity.

[Magda Hassan]

Yes, more spending on the military. It has barely enough to get by......