# Romney the Outsourcer/Offshorer and Corporate raider meme **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [July 9, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708 "2012-07-09T16:29:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/81 "2012-07-13T16:13:30Z")
[QUOTE=Hentor the Barbarian] Mother Jones? I linked to a Boston Globe article. Why are you talking about re: Mother Jones? [/QUOTE] From your article: > [@](#): > > Evidence emerged last week in reports by Mother Jones that Romney had maintained an ongoing leadership role at Bain beyond February 1999. Citing SEC documents, the magazine said Romney had played a role in Bain investments “until at least the end of 1999” and that a 2001 document listed him as a member of the “management committee” of Bain funds. Talking Points Memo reported this week on additional SEC filings listing Romney’s position with Bain in July 2000 and February 2001. > [@](#): > > Also, why are you making FactCheck the final arbiter on this? They don’t seem to have adopted an impartial position on this. Impartial organizations don’t respond by saying one party is all wet. And if you read the link, it’s pretty indisputable that Romney was describing himself in positions of management and responsibility well beyond 1999. I’m not making them the final arbiter on anything…I said I’m going with them PERSONALLY, until I see some real EVIDENCE that contradicts what they said and what Mitt and Bain are saying. If that comes out, I believe FactCheck will actually do a retraction and new article stating that, but that’s neither here nor there. > [@](#): > > Yet your position is that we should wait for FactCheck to decide? Not at all, and I’m sorry that you read my post as saying that. I’ve reread it, and I still don’t get that out of it, but you obviously do, so must just be me. Let me be more clear…if any real, substantial evidence comes out, which I’m sure it will considering that microscope Romney is under, then I’ll be happy to come back in here and say what I said I would, regardless of what FactCheck does or doesn’t do. > [@](#): > > Eta: And your little dig? Sure, I’ll acknowledge being wrong if I am. I’m just not often because I employ a better r method of evaluating information than “well, [factcheck.org](http://factcheck.org) says so.” Do what you like. I love YOUR little dig here. How about ‘you are focused on a cite that is generally highly regarded around here but that I don’t like, and here I’ve posted what amounts to some speculation and ‘just asking questions’ stuff that should trump that automatically, but you stubbornly cling to your original site…sheesh XT, you are such a tool.’ 😛 -XT ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/82 "2012-07-13T16:29:37Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Not at all, and I’m sorry that you read my post as saying that. I’ve reread it, and I still don’t get that out of it, but you obviously do, so must just be me. Let me be more clear…if any real, substantial evidence comes out, which I’m sure it will considering that microscope Romney is under, then I’ll be happy to come back in here and say what I said I would What counts as real evidence? I’d say the evidence that Romney was involved in operations at Bain during the time period in question is pretty “real and substantial” already. (I also like the Romney campaigns response to the SEC filings showing him as manager is basically “its complicated”. I’m sure SEC filings are complicated, and there very well might be a complicated reason that Romney was listed as manager when he wasn’t really managing. But you can’t just say “its complicated” and leave it at that, you have to actually follow that up with saying what the complicated reason is). ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/83 "2012-07-13T16:59:01Z")
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm… _Business Insider_ appears to think there’s a problem here: [Sorry, Mitt Romney, You Can’t Be Chairman, CEO, And President Of A Company And Not Be Responsible For What It Does…](http://www.businessinsider.com/sorry-mitt-romney-you-cant-be-chairman-ceo-and-president-of-a-company-and-not-be-responsible-for-what-it-does-2012-7?op=1) ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/84 "2012-07-13T17:25:11Z")
> [@XT](#): > > The fact that it’s mostly a BS claim (exaggeration through outright distortion and into the realm of a bald face lie, at least according to [FactCheck](http://factcheck.org/2012/06/obamas-outsourcer-overreach/) ) is beside the point… When FactCheck says something is a lie, it’s good evidence that it is true. > [@](#): > > Personally, I think Obama and the Dems have hit on a sliver bullet here… Do you mean like a\* flechette\*? > [@John\_Mace](#): > > **BD** : Do you realize that most economists believe outsourcing is a net plus for the US economy? That’s not the kind of blanket statement I expect from you. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/85 "2012-07-13T17:32:07Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > [Sorry, Mitt Romney, You Can’t Be Chairman, CEO, And President Of A Company And Not Be Responsible For What It Does…](http://www.businessinsider.com/sorry-mitt-romney-you-cant-be-chairman-ceo-and-president-of-a-company-and-not-be-responsible-for-what-it-does-2012-7?op=1) Yea, I think that article raises a good point. There are two issues here: The first is whether Romney lied about being an active participant in Bain after 1999. I think the SEC filings (and the fact that he won’t rule out that he participated in Bain meetings during the time in question) are pretty good evidence that that was the case. But they aren’t absolute proof, and maybe the Romeny campaign will flesh out their “its complicated” story into a convincing refutation. (or more likely, I suspect they’ll just engage in some acrobatic parsing of what it means to be an “active participant”) The second issue is whether or not Romney can really declaim responsibility for the actions of a company he was owner and CEO of and was drawing a salary as executive manager in _even if_ he wasn’t active in decisions made at the company. That isn’t really a factual claim, so different people can hold different views. But I suspect most people would consider someone responsible for the actions of a company that they owned and were ultimately in charge of, even if they’d delegated the actual management. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/86 "2012-07-13T20:07:22Z")
Since the tangent seems to be getting more response than the actual point of the thread, here is [CNN’s take](http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/12/politics/john-king-bain/index.html?hpt=hp_t1) on this (note, I find CNN, as several of the other cites less meaty than the FactCheck, but that’s just me): > [@](#): > > No is the word from four sources who communicated with CNN on Thursday – all of whom have firsthand knowledge of Bain’s operations at the time in question. Three of the four are Democrats, and two of the four are active Obama supporters in Campaign 2012. > > All four told me Romney is telling the truth. > [@](#): > > In explaining the SEC documents filed in 2000 and 2001, Pagliuca said, “Due to the sudden nature of Mr. Romney’s departure, he remained the sole stockholder for a time while formal ownership was being documented and transferred to the group of partners who took over management of the firm in 1999. Accordingly, Mr. Romney was reported in various capacities on SEC filings during this period.” > [@](#): > > “Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. He was just gone. And it happened very suddenly. … After that, he was not on calls or writing memos. He was gone.” And, to be fair, this is speculation just like most of the other cites claiming Mitt et al lied: > [@](#): > > To be clear, all four of the sources voiced professional loyalty and personal respect for Romney. And all four have a vested interest in defending the work of Bain. But they were consistent in describing Romney’s departure as abrupt and in saying they could not recall him around the office in the months that followed. > [@](#): > > Two highly reputable arbiters of political debate – The Washington Post’s fact-checking arm and [FactCheck.org](http://FactCheck.org) – also on Thursday stood by their earlier findings that Romney stepped away from any active role at Bain when he accepted the Olympics post. And Fortune reported that it obtained private Bain documents that support the Romney account. > [@](#): > > “You don’t see his name anywhere – in the meetings list, the investor documents, the manager paperwork – it would have to be there if he was involved in any way,” one current Bain officer said of Romney and Fund VII. “He was long gone then.” [QUOTE=Simplicio] What counts as real evidence? I’d say the evidence that Romney was involved in operations at Bain during the time period in question is pretty “real and substantial” already. [/QUOTE] I disagree, and it seems that the issue is far from settled. What will convince me or ‘counts as real evidence’? I couldn’t say at this time. What will convince you or ‘counts as real evidence’ that this is all basically just a spin job by folks trying to dig dirt on Romney? If you are like me then it’s going to be hard to answer that…you’ll know it when you see it. -XT ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/87 "2012-07-13T20:17:51Z")
> **[Latest Political News & Articles | Observer](https://observer.com/politics/)** > > Observer covers the most current political news and political opinion articles, including local, national, and international politics. > [@](#): > > Prior to taking leave to run the Olympics in 1999, Mr. Romney took a leave of absence from Bain Capital during his 1994 Senate campaign. Another Globe article published in 2002 contains a quote from a former Bain Capital executive named Marc B. Wolpow who said Mr. Romney remained in a very active role at Bain Capital while he was supposedly on a leave of absence for his Senate race. > > “I reported directly to Mitt Romney . . . You can’t be CEO of Bain Capital and say, `I really don’t know what my guys were doing,’” Mr. Wolpow said of Mr. Romney role at the company during his leave. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/88 "2012-07-13T20:31:50Z")
> [@XT](#): > > And, to be fair, this is speculation just like most of the other cites claiming Mitt et al lied Neither SEC filings or statements from people that worked at Bain at the time are “speculation”. > [@](#): > > I disagree, and it seems that the issue is far from settled. What will convince me or ‘counts as real evidence’? I couldn’t say at this time. What will convince you or ‘counts as real evidence’ I already said that I think the SEC documents are evidence. As are the statements from the people that worked at Bain from the CNN article you linked. I think your confusing evidence with proof. Neither of those two items are proof either way, but they’re both substantial pieces of evidence. But we’ll see. Romney is giving a bunch of interviews today with real news outlets, so if nothing else we should get an “official story” rather then some handwaving towards nameless “complexities”. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2012, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/89 "2012-07-13T20:38:58Z")
[QUOTE=Simplicio] Neither SEC filings or statements from people that worked at Bain at the time are “speculation”. [/QUOTE] The speculation is in what it means. > [@](#): > > I already said that I think the SEC documents are evidence. As are the statements from the people that worked at Bain from the CNN article you linked. I think your confusing evidence with proof. Neither of those two items are proof either way, but they’re both substantial pieces of evidence. You are correct…I’m talking about proof and you are asking about evidence. My bad. I see it all as evidence, and from my perspective I don’t know how to interpret it at this time. > [@](#): > > But we’ll see. Romney is giving a bunch of interviews today with real news outlets, so if nothing else we should get an “official story” rather then some handwaving towards nameless “complexities”. We’ll see. -XT ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/90 "2012-07-14T09:45:31Z")
I didn’t watch the interviews by the overall impression I am getting is that Romney was as evasive as ever and didn’t really clear the picture. Has he explained what he was being paid $100,000 for? This is not big money in the world of high finance but it’s still a lot of money if you are doing absolutely nothing. While we don’t have hard facts on what Romney’s exact role was post-1999 it beggars belief that he completely washed his hands off the company. After all he was the owner and a large fraction of his personal fortune was tied up in the company. And as CEO and managing director he was legally responsible for the affairs of the company. Of course he was going to keep a close eye on the big decisions that Bain was making. That’s not hard to do even if you are not physically present at Bain. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/91 "2012-07-14T11:38:37Z")
It isn’t just $100,000. The SEC filings had brackets, and the top bracket was $100,000+. It could have been $100,000, it could have been two million. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2012, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/92 "2012-07-14T19:51:30Z")
the facts seem to be the following: mr romney is on sec filings for bain after 1999. mr romney drew at least a 6 figure salary at bain after 1999 mr romney’s own words that he returned to mass. for board meetings after 1999. he stated this along with other things to prove residency for his gov.s race. that makes his statement about having “nothing to do with bain after 1999” a bit difficult to reconcile. who (other than sgt. shultz) would have their name all over something, take a salary, attend meetings, but say “i know nothing, i did nothing”. ---
**Author:** ![Lantern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d26b3c/32.png) [@Lantern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lantern)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/93 "2012-07-15T06:59:22Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > mr romney’s own words that he returned to mass. for board meetings after 1999. he stated this along with other things to prove residency for his gov.s race. I think he attended board meetings of companies like Staples but IIRC his campaign refuses to answer questions about Bain meetings themselves. Of course as owner and CEO he was perfectly capable of keeping an eye on Bain without physically attending board meetings and had every incentive to do so. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/94 "2012-07-15T16:19:58Z")
to prove residency he had to be in mass. for some part of the time. he sited personal and business reasons, with board meetings as part of the business reasons. granted they haven’t stated which board meetings, what they were about, or where the meetings were. it makes for a very odd narrative, with bouquets of technicalities. for the most part american voters do not think well of technicalities. they tend to see them as a negative thing. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/95 "2012-07-15T17:13:22Z")
This argument over 1999 vs. some other date is so stupid and tendentious, a great example of why Democrats lose arguments all the fucking time, they let the other guys do the framing. Fact is, Romney was President, CEO and chairman of the board of Bain the WHOLE FUCKING TIME and he is DAMN RESPONSIBLE for what Bain did during his tenure, even if he was working on the Summer Olympics. (And you don’t believe there were phone calls? Really?) Getting caught up in this crap is just damn stupid, look at the big picture, IT WAS ROMNEY’S DAMN COMPANY THE WHOLE TIME! I just LOVE how these businessmen are always sharp-eyed eagles of industry, running their company with vigor and attention when things are going well, then become meaningless figureheads when things go south. And I HATE how people allow this narrative to be advanced, unopposed, or get caught up in tendentious, minor details, as is happening now, with this argument. Look at the big picture, people! ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/96 "2012-07-15T17:41:04Z")
Evil Captor, you might want to read the whole thread. The Democrats are _winning_ the argument that Romney is a lying weasal. Romney is the one who keeps trying to say that he quit in 1999. Obama is the one who keeps saying that Romney is responsible for the whole time he was there. So it’s Sunday, and we have a new excuse from the Romney camp: he “retroactively” retired in 1999. > **[Adviser Says Romney 'Retired Retroactively' From Bain Capital](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ed-gillespie-mitt-romney_n_1674281)** > > Adviser Says Romney 'Retired Retroactively' From Bain Capital > [@](#): > > “There may have been a thought at the time that [Romney’s Bain work] could be part-time. It was not part-time. The Olympics was in a shambles,” Gillespie told Candy Crowley on CNN’s “State of the Union.” > > “He took a leave of absence and in fact, Candy, ended up not going back at all and retired retroactively to February 1999 as a result,” Gillespie said. Yeah, that’s not at all going to clear everything up. He was a part-time CEO, that’s the ticket! Meanwhile, yet another document has turned up showing that Romney was working for Bain, this one from 2002, after he’d taken office as governor. > **[New Document Adds To Evidence Against Romney's Bain Claims](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mitt-romney-bain-capital_n_1674209)** > > New Document Adds To Evidence Against Romney's Bain Claims > [@](#): > > A corporate document filed with the state of Massachusetts in December 2002 – a month after Romney was elected governor – lists him as one of two managing members of Bain Capital Investors, LLC “authorized to execute, acknowledge, deliver and record any recordable instrument purporting to affect an interest in real property, whether to be recorded with a Registry of Deeds or with a District Office of the Land Court.” ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/97 "2012-07-15T22:38:43Z")
> [@XT](#): > > Personally, I think Obama and the Dems have hit on a sliver bullet here…it’s a meme that resonates and has resonated with the American people for years now, if not longer. The fear of outsourcing and offshoring, the anger over it, the lack of general understanding of the public of why it happens or what the actual real world effects are, all culminating in this effort to paint Mitt as one of these vile folks who do this sort of dastardly deed to good, hard working Americans, blah blah blah. I think that Obama et al are going to be successful in painting Mitt with this label (I think they are already successful at doing so in fact), and that it’s going to resonate with voters. It’s a brilliant, if slimy tactic that I think is going to win Obama another 4 years in office…IMHO anyway. What think you, 'dopers? > > -XT What do I think? I think you’re wrong about this: > [@XT](#): > > It’s a brilliant, if slimy tactic that I think is going to win Obama another 4 years in office…IMHO anyway. This isn’t at all what’s going to win Obama another 4 years as POTUS. Obama has never been in danger of not being re-elected. If anything, this is just fuel for the fire that is already burning up the right wing. Also, I don’t think it’s really “painting” anyone with a label if the label is a) already affixed and b) credibly accurate. The refutation in your linked article can be summed up in one sentence: > [@](#): > > But all of them fail to support the claim that Romney was **personally responsible** for sending U.S. jobs to those countries This is a dodgy assertion at best. If Romney was in charge of Bain, then he was responsible for the actions of the company, just like a parent is responsible for the actions of their child. To most people, it won’t matter that it was actually John Smallberries who supervised the closures/outsourcing/offshoring; if Bain did it while Romney was in charge, then Romney was responsible. For the party that talks so much about how important personal accountability is, the GOP seems loathe to actually take responsibility for damn near anything they do. Everything is someone else’s fault, unless it’s something they can try and re-label as “a feature, not a bug”. And yeah, FWIW, I can kinda see where this November, the GOP will be handed their asses at the polls, as least as far as Mr. Romney & his running mate are concerned. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2012, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/98 "2012-07-15T23:02:41Z")
He should get himself a ranch, and then get out there and clear some brush. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/99 "2012-07-16T01:18:23Z")
Romney seems to have been the Republican Kerry: sufficiently savvy to put together the funds and support to guarantee a nomination, but without the explicit message (or charisma) to beat an incumbent. Romney seems to have been running on the “not Obama” platform that worked so well for Kerry and he comes with enough baggage–from his religion, (that still scares a lot of the Religious Right), to his misstatements about enjoying firing people to his proud connection–that he also disavows–to a company that made a lot of money shutting down other companies while we are currently still frightened about keeping our jobs. (That his connection to Bain ended 13 years ago, (or ten years ago, depending on which Romney statement one chooses to believe), is irrelevant to the perception that he made money off a practice that is feared today.) Can Obama still lose the election? I suppose he could, but Romney is going to make it difficult for Obama to throw it away. ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2012, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708/100 "2012-07-16T01:59:23Z")
> [@XT](#): > > As you said, Mitt was probably the worst candidate they could have picked in the current climate. He’s a weak candidate, but do you think Rick Santorum would be a better one? Now you’re just replacing one seemingly out-of-touch guy with another, just over different issues. Newt Gingrich? Rick Perry? Romney was the best of a bad lot. The GOP has socially moderate guys who project “competent executive” without looking like someone starched their underwear; none of them ran. If Mitch Daniels had a different wife or Jeb Bush a different brother, they’d have been good candidates. But they don’t, so it was Romney or one of the freaks. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/romney-the-outsourcer-offshorer-and-corporate-raider-meme/627708.md?page=6)