Get
to Know “Mitt”
Willard Mitt
Romney was born into privilege and a
Republican pedigree in 1947 as the son
of George Wilcken Romney, Chairman of
American Motors, three-time Governor of
Michigan, 1968 Presidential candidate
(until a remark about having been
“brainwashed” into supporting the
Vietnam War effectively ended his run),
and Secretary of Housing and Urban
Development in the administration of
Richard Nixon. Willard attended the
Cranbrook School and went on to graduate
from Brigham Young University, Harvard
Business School and Harvard Law School.
Ever the opportunist, Romney founded
Bain Capital, a venture capital company
that, through its investments and
leveraged buyouts, came to control
hundreds of well-known companies,
including Staples, FTD Florists,
Domino’s Pizza, Sports Authority, Sealy,
and Brookstone.
Born with political ambitions, Romney
ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S.
Senate against Democratic political
icon, Ted Kennedy, in 1994, spending $7
million of his own money. Upon losing
that election, he returned to make
millions more in the business world,
typically at the expense of labor,
although he likes to say that he created
10,000 jobs while working at Bain. After
gaining national exposure as the
chairman of the 2002 Winter Olympics,
Romney pounced on the opportunity to be
elected Governor of Massachusetts,
mercilessly forcing a vulnerable
incumbent Governor, fellow Republican
Jane Swift, to withdraw from the race.
He won this election with the assistance
of $6.3 million of his own money and
despite the fact that, under residency
requirements within the Massachusetts
Constitution, he was not even eligible
to run for the office. As Governor of
Massachusetts, Romney could best be
described as a ruthless hatchet man who
would balance a budget by shifting
burdens elsewhere. For example, a $140
million reduction in state funding for
higher education led to 63% tuition
increases at the state’s colleges and
universities. In December of 2005,
Romney announced that he would not seek
re-election, establishing his
exploratory presidential campaign
committee the day before his last day as
governor. He left office having spent
219 days campaigning out of state in
2006 and with a favorability rating of
only 43% (and no doubt falling).
As a Presidential candidate in 2007 and
early 2008, Romney once again turned to
his old formula of trying to buy his way
into office, spending over $35 million
of his own money out of the $90 million
raised by his campaign by the end of
2007. Surprisingly, his campaign for the
top of the ticket did not succeed,
despite the fact that he marketed
himself as a “native son” in Michigan,
Utah, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Within a week of suspending his
campaign, Romney endorsed John McCain
for President. He also launched a PAC
under the name of Free and Strong
America which funds conservative
political candidates who, not
surprisingly, include John McCain. What
is wrong with buying one’s way into the
Vice Presidency? In John McCain’s own
words, “There’s nobody who represents me
better today than Mitt Romney.” Oh, what
a team!
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