Romney Leads Anti-EFCA Charge, Spurs Presidential Discussion

April 13, 2009 at 02:20 PM

Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney hosted a conference call with the Workforce Fairness Institute on Monday in an attempt to drum up opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act. Ideologically, it was an obvious position for the 2008 Republican presidential candidate to take. Politically, lending his voice to a cause dear to the conservative movement’s heart will undoubtedly spur additional speculation that Romney is gearing up for another run at the Oval Office in 2012.

The former governor has been building the institutional base within the Republican Party that he lacked during the ‘08 primary. While not in elected office, he has lent his voice to various other candidates and committees, either through speeches or fundraising. His appearance at the CPAC convention was one of the most widely attended and crested with him winning the conservative group’s informal presidential straw poll for the third year in a row. One highly respected Republican strategist said he was incredibly impressed with the path Romney was taking. “He’s building relationships and staying relevant,” said the strategist, who added that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin would be well suited to follow such an example.

“This is not just a matter of ‘oh, let’s help the working folks,’” he declared during Monday’s conference call. “That’s not what this is. This is a matter of: ‘let’s get the money for the unions.’ This is really targeted at small business as well as big business. Take something like Wal-Mart, 1.4 million U.S employees at Wal-Mart. If unions were able to get, you know, $400 in union dues annually from each one of those folks, you are talking a half a billion dollars in revenues to unions. And a hundred million dollars would go into elections in this country, their favorite politicians. This is about money and about politics and it is sacrificing the rights and freedoms of the American worker to be able to get big bucks for the unions bosses.”

Last November Mitt Romney wrote an Op-Ed that struck a cord with analysts around the country. He said THEN that Detroit should be allowed to go bankrupt, and to bring in new proven leaders - NOT from inside the auto industry. In typical Romney form, Mitt called for innovation and accountability! See the entire Op-Ed here.

Let Detroit Go Bankrupt
November 19, 2008
By MITT ROMNEY

IF General Motors, Ford and Chrysler get the bailout that their chief executives asked for yesterday, you can kiss the American automotive industry goodbye. It won’t go overnight, but its demise will be virtually guaranteed.

Without that bailout, Detroit will need to drastically restructure itself. With it, the automakers will stay the course — the suicidal course of declining market shares, insurmountable labor and retiree burdens, technology atrophy, product inferiority and never-ending job losses. Detroit needs a turnaround, not a check.

This week Pres. Obama has placed the VP and CEO of GM as the Chairman. Doesn’t sound like “change” or innovation to me. Mitt goes on to call for accountability of Management:

….management as is must go. New faces should be recruited from unrelated industries — from companies widely respected for excellence in marketing, innovation, creativity and labor relations.

The new management must work with labor leaders to see that the enmity between labor and management comes to an end. This division is a holdover from the early years of the last century, when unions brought workers job security and better wages and benefits. But as Walter Reuther, the former head of the United Automobile Workers, said to my father, “Getting more and more pay for less and less work is a dead-end street.”

Mitt Romney also shares how in his father’s day, management saw trouble and cut costs. Sacrifice for the greater good…

The need for collaboration will mean accepting sanity in salaries and perks. At American Motors, my dad cut his pay and that of his executive team, he bought stock in the company, and he went out to factories to talk to workers directly. Get rid of the planes, the executive dining rooms — all the symbols that breed resentment among the hundreds of thousands who will also be sacrificing to keep the companies afloat.

And, finally, Mitt Romney shares that it’s important to recognize government’s role in advocating for research to improve industry. Not that the government should RUN industries…

It is not wrong to ask for government help, but the automakers should come up with a win-win proposition. I believe the federal government should invest substantially more in basic research — on new energy sources, fuel-economy technology, materials science and the like — that will ultimately benefit the automotive industry, along with many others. I believe Washington should raise energy research spending to $20 billion a year, from the $4 billion that is spent today. The research could be done at universities, at research labs and even through public-private collaboration. The federal government should also rectify the imbedded tax penalties that favor foreign carmakers.

But don’t ask Washington to give shareholders and bondholders a free pass — they bet on management and they lost.

The American auto industry is vital to our national interest as an employer and as a hub for manufacturing. A managed bankruptcy may be the only path to the fundamental restructuring the industry needs. It would permit the companies to shed excess labor, pension and real estate costs. The federal government should provide guarantees for post-bankruptcy financing and assure car buyers that their warranties are not at risk.

In a managed bankruptcy, the federal government would propel newly competitive and viable automakers, rather than seal their fate with a bailout check.

Don’t miss Mitt Romney discussing the economy with Larry King tonight!

Thurs, 3/19 at 9:30 EST

AIG, Bain, and Financial Pain [Mitt Romney]

The news that employees at AIG are on the verge of being rewarded $165 million in bonuses at a time when the insurance giant is on the verge of collapse is rightly shocking to taxpayers who have pumped billions into the company to keep it afloat. Of course, the Obama administration was wrong to initially defend the bonuses as contractually obligated. In 1990, I was asked to assume the CEO position at the management consulting firm Bain & Co., then in acute financial distress. The need to restructure was paramount or else the company would fail, leaving 1,000 employees without a job. We renegotiated debt with bankers. We rewrote leases with landlords. We designed a whole new governing system. We also had to convince the founding partners to turn back profits they had already taken out of the company. Of course, we had no legal basis for making such a request, but without a shared sacrifice we couldn’t keep the company alive. Generously, the founders returned the money, putting us on a path to stabilizing the firm and turning it over to new leadership. It’s difficult to understand why the same lesson about shared sacrifice is lost on AIG’s executive team and their government overseers.

Prepare to be shocked, as the Boston Globe has written a relatively (operative word here) sensible and positive piece about Mitt! And, quite honestly, I have noticed a general shift in the tone of news reports on him. I feel the past few years of campaigning have been a valuable experience for Mitt Romney and his supporters. So many rumors and myths dispelled. From The Globe:

…with a more statesmanlike bearing and some measured criticisms of the Obama administration, Romney suddenly seems like the only adult left standing among the 2012 Republican presidential hopefuls.

The article attempts to drag out the last months of the 2008 campaign, but I think none of us care about that. We know that Mitt Romney worked diligently through his Free and Strong America PAC to campaign for Republicans all over the country - not just McCain. Which is more than some former Presidential Republican candidates can say.

Looking to the future, this report points out the obvious - that this country is still looking to Mitt Romney for guidance during this economic crisis:

…the focus on economic issues that followed the campaign actually played to Romney’s strengths. The former head of a private-equity firm, Romney has been one of the few Republicans to go beyond anti-pork rhetoric and talk in depth about economic issues.

Like the title of this post suggests, somebody just might be on the chopping block over at the Globe. I hope not - we need folks who are actually paying attention and report in a fair and balanced manner. In our current day where newspaper agencies are on their way out, they should consider that being fair and balanced just might save them.

I hear many folks asking the question - what would Mitt have done about America’s economic crisis?

There are many reasons why Americans are asking this about him. Take a look at the past successes of Mitt Romney and why he’s that man with the plan!

Governor Romney is a leader that brings many talents to the table. None of the current presidential candidates can touch the Governor’s corporate experience and leadership. He is known for stepping out of the box with innovative ideas and energizing concepts. His touch is like gold and he has made many companies successful. Here is a segment from his Wiki entry:

Mitt Romney Wikipedia Entry

After graduating from Harvard, Romney went to work for the The Boston Consulting Group, where he had interned during the summer of 1974.[13] From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a vice president of Bain & Company, Inc., another Boston-based management consulting firm. In 1984, Romney left Bain & Company to co-found a Bain & Company spin-off private equity investment firm called Bain Capital.[14] During the 14 years he headed the company, Bain Capital’s average annual internal rate of return on realized investments was 113 percent,[15] making money primarily through leveraged buyouts.[16] He invested in or bought many well-known companies such as Staples, Brookstone, Domino’s, Sealy Corporation and The Sports Authority.[17]

In 1990, Romney was asked to return to Bain & Company, which was facing financial collapse. As CEO, Romney managed an effort to restructure the firm’s employee stock-ownership plan, real-estate deals and bank loans, while increasing fiscal transparency. Within a year, he had led Bain & Company through a highly successful turnaround and returned the firm to profitability without layoffs or partner defections.[15]

CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee

Romney served as president and CEO of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games held in Salt Lake City. In 1999, the event was running $379 million short of its revenue benchmarks. Plans were being made to scale back the games in order to compensate for the fiscal crisis.[20] The Games were also damaged by allegations of bribery involving top officials, including then Salt Lake Olympic Committee (SLOC) President and CEO Frank Joklik. Joklik and SLOC vice president Dave Johnson were forced to resign.[21]

On February 11, 1999, Romney was hired as the new president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.[22] Romney revamped the organization’s leadership and policies, reduced budgets and boosted fundraising. He also worked to ensure the safety of the Games following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 by coordinating a $300 million security budget.[23] Despite the initial fiscal shortfall, the Games ended up clearing a profit of $100 million, not counting the $224.5 million in security costs contributed by outside sources.

Last week, Governor Romney talked about his economic vision for America. This is truly impressive and I challenge any other candidate to come up with a plausible, comprehensive, CONSERVATIVE plan. The Associated Press wrote this about Romney’s plan:

AP Article

Republican Mitt Romney says Washington must act to open more foreign markets to American products, and he wants the president to have new authority to negotiate such agreements.

The Republican presidential candidate proposes what he calls a “Reagan Zone of Economic Freedom” that would include U.S. free-trade partners such as Europe who commit to opening up markets and “playing by the rules.” Such an alliance could operate inside and outside the World Trade Organization to push for trade agreements as well as labor, environmental and other reforms.

“Governor Romney would seek to expand these efforts to include the European Union and other nations that agree to meet these standards, while challenging China and others advancing agreements that exclude America,” the plan says.

In it, Romney, who amassed a vast personal fortune as a venture capitalist, says a president who is going to expand the economy through new trade agreements needs his kind of experience. He also calls on Americans to “reject the Democrats’ policies of retreat from the world.”

“Denying America the ability to negotiate to open markets while our competitors gain advantages is no strategy,” the proposal says.

Governor Romney is a leader that brings many talents to the table. None of the current presidential candidates can touch the Governor’s corporate experience and leadership. He is known for stepping out of the box with innovative ideas and energizing concepts. His touch is like gold and he has made many companies successful. Here is a segment from his Wiki entry:

Mitt Romney Wikipedia Entry

After graduating from Harvard, Romney went to work for the The Boston Consulting Group, where he had interned during the summer of 1974.[13] From 1978 to 1984, Romney was a vice president of Bain & Company, Inc., another Boston-based management consulting firm. In 1984, Romney left Bain & Company to co-found a Bain & Company spin-off private equity investment firm called Bain Capital.[14] During the 14 years he headed the company, Bain Capital’s average annual internal rate of return on realized investments was 113 percent,[15] making money primarily through leveraged buyouts.[16] He invested in or bought many well-known companies such as Staples, Brookstone, Domino’s, Sealy Corporation and The Sports Authority.[17]

In 1990, Romney was asked to return to Bain & Company, which was facing financial collapse. As CEO, Romney managed an effort to restructure the firm’s employee stock-ownership plan, real-estate deals and bank loans, while increasing fiscal transparency. Within a year, he had led Bain & Company through a highly successful turnaround and returned the firm to profitability without layoffs or partner defections.[15]

CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee

Romney served as president and CEO of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games held in Salt Lake City. In 1999, the event was running $379 million short of its revenue benchmarks. Plans were being made to scale back the games in order to compensate for the fiscal crisis.[20] The Games were also damaged by allegations of bribery involving top officials, including then Salt Lake Olympic Committee (SLOC) President and CEO Frank Joklik. Joklik and SLOC vice president Dave Johnson were forced to resign.[21]

On February 11, 1999, Romney was hired as the new president and CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee.[22] Romney revamped the organization’s leadership and policies, reduced budgets and boosted fundraising. He also worked to ensure the safety of the Games following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 by coordinating a $300 million security budget.[23] Despite the initial fiscal shortfall, the Games ended up clearing a profit of $100 million, not counting the $224.5 million in security costs contributed by outside sources.

Last week, Governor Romney talked about his economic vision for America. This is truly impressive and I challenge any other candidate to come up with a plausible, comprehensive, CONSERVATIVE plan. The Associated Press wrote this about Romney’s plan:

AP Article

Republican Mitt Romney says Washington must act to open more foreign markets to American products, and he wants the president to have new authority to negotiate such agreements.

The Republican presidential candidate proposes what he calls a “Reagan Zone of Economic Freedom” that would include U.S. free-trade partners such as Europe who commit to opening up markets and “playing by the rules.” Such an alliance could operate inside and outside the World Trade Organization to push for trade agreements as well as labor, environmental and other reforms.

“Governor Romney would seek to expand these efforts to include the European Union and other nations that agree to meet these standards, while challenging China and others advancing agreements that exclude America,” the plan says.

In it, Romney, who amassed a vast personal fortune as a venture capitalist, says a president who is going to expand the economy through new trade agreements needs his kind of experience. He also calls on Americans to “reject the Democrats’ policies of retreat from the world.”

“Denying America the ability to negotiate to open markets while our competitors gain advantages is no strategy,” the proposal says.

From Governor Romney’s campaign:

The Federal government must stop its borrowing and spending binge. The debt is a burden on our economy, our currency, our foreign policy, and our future. This is beyond pork barrel spending. We must address entitlement programs - not just to save money - but to give Americans confidence in their future.

Governor Romney: “Every legislator and politician knows this spending can’t be justified, so why do they do it ? Because it gets politicians praised — and re-elected. There’s no courage involved in spending more money. Drawing a line on spending is hard and fraught with criticism. When I vetoed $458 million of excessive spending in the budget this spring, I knew that community newspapers across the Commonwealth would decry my elimination of local pet projects. And, I knew that the Legislature would over ride most of my vetoes. In fact, they over rode all of them, to a chorus of community acclaim. But someone has to say no.”
(Boston Globe, September 12, 2006)

Governor Romney: “I don’t want to add entitlements. I want to find ways to reform our entitlement programs.”
(Boston Globe, January 27, 2006)

Former Gov. Mitt Romney launched his presidential campaign far from Massachusetts, near his hometown of Detroit, where he emphasized his managerial skills.
BY STEVEN THOMMA  |  Miami Herald   Feb 13, 2007

DEARBORN, Mich. - Mitt Romney ran away from home Tuesday to seek a new one — the White House.

The former one-term governor of Massachusetts decided not to kick off his campaign for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination in that state, which conjures images of liberal Democrats such as Sens. Ted Kennedy and John Kerry.

Instead, he flew to his childhood home of Michigan, hoping to wrap himself in the mantle of conservative Midwestern values.

His venue was the Henry Ford Museum, whose icons of industrial innovation he used as symbols of his private-sector background, which he said gave him can-do management skills rarely found in government and absent in his political rivals.

Romney, 59, hopes that twin-theme approach will set him apart from a long line of Massachusetts liberals — and from such likely Republican rivals as Sen. John McCain of Arizona and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who have longer résumés in public office.

”I do not believe Washington can be transformed from within by lifelong politicians,” Romney said in Dearborn. “There have been too many deals, too many favors, too many entanglements and too little real-world experience managing, guiding and leading.”

Romney underscored his record as a man who gets things done — successful venture capitalist, the man who rescued the scandal-plagued and debt-ridden 2002 Winter Olympics — as well as a governor who restored his state’s fiscal health and expanded healthcare.

”I do not believe Washington can be transformed by someone . . . who has never run a corner store,” he told several hundred supporters.

Romney said he staged his announcement in the Ford Museum to underscore the country’s history of innovation, particularly in the auto industry.

”If ever there were a time when innovation and transformation were needed in government, it is now,” he said.

Run for president begins to rev up   |   February 8, 2007
BY DAWSON BELL  |  FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney endorsed tax cuts and free enterprise Wednesday in a speech at the Detroit Economic Club that served as a prelude to his scheduled announcement next week in Dearborn that he will run for president in 2008.

Romney, a Michigan native, said the U.S. economy is the strongest and most innovative in the world but faces a daunting challenge to maintain its lead.

He rejected what he predicted would be a “growing clamor for protectionism,” which Romney said “might work for a few years but would virtually guarantee we become a second-class economy” in two decades.

Romney, a Republican, also said it was “absolutely critical” to renew tax cuts proposed by President George W. Bush. Letting them expire would result in a “massive tax increase” that would retard economic growth, Romney said.

Romney, 59, received a warm, if not rousing, reception from a crowd of about 800 that attended the luncheon at Cobo Center.