Top-25 List of Mitt Romney’s All-Time, Out-of-Touch, 1% Moments – The ‘Car Elevator’ Edition
March 28, 2012
5 New Failures to Relate to Average Americans Debut This Week
At #6, Romney Once Again Does His Best Gordon Gekko Impression, Tells “Humorous” Tale of His Father Firing 4,300 Michigan Auto Workers
At # 5, We Can’t Possibly Understand the Burdens the .0001% Have to Shoulder: Romney’s Campaign Grouses About Tax-Law Changes That Will Mean Having to Pay a Fairer Share on His $100 Million IRA
At #8, Rivaling Celebrity Homes Featured on ‘Cribs’, Romney’s Renovation Plans for His San Diego Beachfront Mansion Include an Elevator Just For His “Couple of Cadillacs” and a New Basement With More Space Than the Entire House Above It; And If That Didn’t Scream “1%-er” Enough, Romney Paid a Lobbyist Over $20,000 to “help facilitate the construction plans”
In at #14, Romney Enthusiastically Endorses Ryan Budget That Lets Medicare Wither on the Vine so Millionaires Can Have a Bigger Tax Break to Finally Build That New Wine Cellar They’ve Been Putting Off
And at #23, Romney Says Denying Insurance to Americans with Life-Threatening Pre-Existing Conditions is All Part of “The Game” -- The Same Deadly “Game” Insurance Companies Have Been Playing for Decades With People’s Lives Until ObamaCare Declared Game Over
To The List …
25) ‘ROMNEY: MY WIFE DRIVES ‘A COUPLE OF CADILLACS’ , Think Progress, Feb. 24, 2012
24) TIE: Romney Not A NASCAR Fan, But Has ‘Some Great Friends’ Who Own Teams,’ Think Progress, Feb. 27, 2012: ‘/ / Romney: ‘I’ve Got A Lot Of Good Friends’ Who Are NFL Team Owners, Think Progress, March 12, 2012 // [UDATE: Just Yesterday, Romney was toasted at a $1,000 a plate fundraiser at a billionaire NFL team owner’s home in Stockton, CA – ground zero of the foreclosure crisis that he’d ignore as President by “Let[ting] it …hit the bottom”]
23) Romney Justifies Denying Health Care To People With Preexisting Conditions: ‘We Can’t Play The Game Like That’ – Think Progress, March 28, 2012
22) ‘Romney Blows Off Latino Voters When Asked About His Pledge to Veto DREAM Act’, Jan. 11, 2012
21) ‘Romney Struggles to Find Non-$100 Bill in Wallet,’ Gawker, June 21, 2011:
20) Romney calls $1,500 in tax relief for the middle-class “temporary little band-aids”
19) “Romney calls for a tax policy that will help "us" in the middle class,” CBS News, Sept. 21, 2011 // In related note: Boston Globe, Jan. 25, 2012: Romney on personal worth: “It’s between $150 and about $200 some-odd million dollars, I think that’s what the estimates are.”
18) “Romney: Federal Workers Are Making More Money Than I Am,” Huffington Post, Nov. 8, 2011
17) TIE : Romney’s Latest Laugh Line: ‘I’m Also Unemployed,’ Wall Street Journal, June 16, 2011 // “Mitt Romney says he knows the fear of a possible pink slip, but does not provide details,” Boston Globe, Jan. 8, 2012
16) ‘Romney’s New Tax Plan Gives The Richest 0.1 Percent A $264,000 Tax Cut, Think Progress, Feb. 24, 2012 // [In related note: New York Magazine, Jan. 11, 2012: ‘Mitt Romney Says We Must Only Speak of Income Inequality in ‘Quiet Rooms’
15) Romney: “ We’re going to … raise the age of retirement for Social Security,” CPAC convention speech, Feb. 10, 2012 // [SEE “Raising the Retirement Age = A Huge Benefit Cut”]
14) Politico, 3/20/12, ‘Romney endorses Ryan budget’: “I'm very supportive of the Ryan budget plan. It's a bold and exciting effort on his part and on the part of the Republicans and it's very much consistent with what I put out earlier…This budget deals with entitlement reform, tax policy, which as you know is very similar to the one that I put out and efforts to reign in excessive spending. I applaud it. It's an excellent piece of work and very much needed.” // SEE FACT SHEET: “Unpopular Ryan-Romney Budget Puts Millionaires Before Medicare/Medicaid Beneficiaries, Puts Corporations Before Kids, and Puts Oil Subsidies Before Students.”
- SEE ALSO: Let Romney’s history with Medicare be the judge of how well he’d treat it as President: ‘Romney's Involvement in Damon Corporation's Medicare Fraud’: During his 2002 run for governor, Romney told reporters that, while sitting on the board of Damon Corporation, he “blew the whistle” and “put in place a program to stop [the fraud] immediately.” … In fact, court records show that Damon’s fraudulent activities persisted until Corning Inc. put a stop to them and even then-U.S. Attorney Donald Stern said that there was no proof that Romney did anything to alert investigators of the company’s illegal actions. [DNC Memo, Jan. 27, 2012]
13) Romney on Home foreclosure crisis: “Let It...Hit the Bottom," Mother Jones, Oct. 18, 2011
12) Romney: ‘$374k In Speaking Fees “Not Very Much” Money,’ Buzzfeed, Jan. 17, 2012
11) ‘Romney: I Have ‘Lived In The Real Streets Of America,’ Think Progress, Jan. 19, 2012: // BuzzFeed, Jan. 19: “Here's a gallery of his homes…”
10) ‘Romney seeks $10,000 bet during GOP debate’, CBS News, Dec. 10. 2011:
9) Romney: ‘We’re Going To Get Rid Of’ Planned Parenthood, Think Progress, Mar 14, 2012 // [IN RELATED NOTE via Planned Parenthood, 3/3/11: Two new public polls released show majority support for Planned Parenthood, and clear opposition to efforts to bar Planned Parenthood from receiving federal funds for preventive health care such as lifesaving cancer screenings, breast exams, birth control, and STD testing and treatment, including HIV testing.]
8) Who Doesn’t Have a Car Elevator? Politico, March 27, 2012: ‘Romney's four-car fantasy home’: “At Mitt Romney’s proposed California beach house, the cars will have their own separate elevator. There’s also a planned outdoor shower and a 3,600-square foot basement — a room with more floor space than the existing home’s entire living quarters…To help facilitate the construction plans, Romney has paid San Diego attorney Matthew A. Peterson $21,500 since 2008 to lobby city officials for the renovation.”
7) “Let Detroit Go Bankrupt,” by Mitt Romney, New York Times op-ed, November 18, 2008: [SEE: WH Blog: ‘Resurgence of the American Auto Industry’ In the face of stiff opposition, the President made a tough choice to help provide the auto industry the temporary support it needed to rebuild their companies and get moving again. Today, the American auto industry is coming back, creating jobs and moving cars off the line. Last month, the automotive industry added nearly 11,000 positions, bringing the total number of jobs added in the fourth quarter of 2011 to 36,000. The industry added 100,000 jobs over the course of 2011.]
6) TIE: Romney: “I like being able to fire people,” CBS News, Jan. 9, 2012 // “Mitt Romney Tells 'Humorous' Story About Father Closing A Michigan Factory,” Huffington Post, 3/28/12
5) UPDATE on Romney's "Tax Problems" : ‘Romney Campaign Gripes About The ‘Tax Problem’ Created By Romney’s $100 Million IRA,’ March 29, 2012 // “An ordinary Swiss bank account”: ABC News, Jan. 18, 2012: “Romney Parks Millions in Cayman Islands” // L.A. Times, Jan. 26, 2012: ‘Romney tax returns detail funds not identified in ethics forms’: “A review … found that at least 23 funds and partnerships listed in the couple’s 2010 tax returns did not show up or were not listed in the same fashion on Romney’s most recent financial disclosure, including 11 based in low-tax foreign countries such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Luxembourg. “ // Romney money manager Brad Malt on previously undisclosed Swiss Bank account: “It’s a bank account, nothing more, nothing less. An ordinary bank account.” // Boston Globe, Jan. 30, 2012: In 2007, as Romney prepared his first run for president, Malt sold stock in dozens of potentially controversial companies, including casino operators, tobacco growers, and firms with ties to Iran. Last year, after Romney pushed for tougher trade sanctions against China, Malt dumped a number of Chinese holdings. He recently shed a money market mutual fund that had invested in government-backed mortgage companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are blamed for exacerbating the housing bust.
4) Romney's Cruel Canine Vacation, TIME, June 27, 2007: “Romney strapped a dog carrier — with the family dog Seamus, an Irish Setter, in it — to the roof of the family station wagon for a twelve hour drive from Boston to Ontario, which the family apparently completed, despite Seamus' rather visceral protest.”
3) Romney: ‘I’m not concerned with the very poor.’ CNN, Feb. 1, 2012:
2): Romney: ‘Corporations Are People, My Friend,’ Think Progress, August 11, 2012
1) THIS PHOTO from Romney’s days as CEO of Bain Capital, where he made over a hundred million dollars (and continues to receive millions a dollars a year from) as [at least] five of the companies under his firm's direction went bankrupt and thousands of workers lost their jobs. Apparently, finding places to stuff all those profits became something of a joke amongst Romney and his cohorts. Mitt’s “Greed is good,” profits-before-people attitude perfectly encapsulated in the photo is celebrated by Americans United for Change’s mock “Romney-Gekko 2012” campaign as nothing to be ashamed of. Visit www.RomneyGekko2012.com
- UPDATE: ROMNEY ON WEALTH AMASSED AT BAIN, Mar 14, 2012: ‘GUESS WHAT? I MADE A LOT OF MONEY; “I’ve been very successful. I’m not going to apologize for that.”’ // Yes, Romney makes no apologies for how he made a lot of money, “bankrupting five profitable businesses that ended up firing thousands of workers.”. SEE: New York Times, June 4, 2007: Romney on Bain Capital job eliminating /outsourcing: “Sometimes the medicine is a little bitter” // Boston Globe, January 27, 2008: “In assessing deals, Romney and partners didn't consider whether they saved or created jobs, according to a former Bain employee who requested anonymity, citing confidentiality guidelines. When Bain partners discussed shutting down failing businesses in which they invested, Romney never suggested they had to do something to save workers' jobs. "It was very clinical," the former employee said. "Like a doctor. When the patient is dead, you just move on to the next patient."