Huffington Post: Mitt Romney, 'Son Of Detroit,' Tools Around Michigan In Car Manufactured In Canada
On February 15, the Huffington Post reported:
Having seen Mitt Romney tool around the Greater Detroit area in two campaign ads in which he nostalgically recalls his childhood and his love of cars, you might be wondering, "What sort of car is he driving?" As it turns out, he's behind the wheel of a cherry Chrysler 300, the pride of Detroit. Oh, wait! Did I say "Detroit?" Sorry, ha ha, I meant "Canada." Yes, as the sleuths at Blue Mass Group report, Romney's whip is a foreign-born Chrysler, manufactured in Brampton, Ontario and imported to Detroit so that it can be imported "from" Detroit.
POLITICO: Romney As Cartoon Millionaire
On February 8, 2012, POLITICO reported:
Meet Mitt Romney, the parody. He’s really rich, worth between $150 million and “$200-odd million,” as he memorably put it. He thinks “corporations are people,” but doesn’t much worry about real people if they’re “very poor.” Homes? Three. Tax returns? None of your business. He invests in the same exotic places a James Bond villain might, the Cayman Islands and a Swiss bank account.
Bloomberg: Private-Equity Lobbying Helped Protect Romney’s Tax Benefits
On February 7, 2012, Bloomberg reported:
The largest U.S. private-equity funds and venture capital firms have relied on a five-year, multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign to protect the carried interest tax break that helped drive presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s 2010 effective tax rate below 14 percent.
NY Times: Romney’s Returns Revive Scrutiny Of Lawful Offshore Tax Shelters
On February 7, 2012, the New York Times reported:
Mitt Romney’s tax returns have drawn political scrutiny on multiple fronts, like his relatively low tax rates and the money parked in a Swiss bank account. But on Capitol Hill, his returns have caught the eyes of members of both parties for what appears to be his use of a type of complex shelter that has been debated for years in battles over evasion and fairness in the tax code.
TPM: GOP Senate Candidate’s Solar Company Took Stimulus Cash
On February 6, 2012, Talking Points Memo reported:
Former Rep. Mark Neumann (R-WI), who is running in a three-way primary for the state’s open Senate seat on a platform of cutting government, has in fact taken government spending from a particular Obama administration initiative: stimulus grants. What’s more, the money was for his solar energy company.
Huffington Post: Denny Rehberg, GOP Congressman And Senate Hopeful, Blasts Child Labor Regulations
On February 2, 2012, the Huffington Post reported:
In a speech expounding on the rift between rural America and Washington D.C., Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) vowed Thursday to use his funding powers to stop the Obama administration from implementing new child-labor rules pertaining to agricultural work, accusing the "urban" Labor Department of meddling in a "rural" industry it doesn't understand.
TPM: Romney Team Silent On Key Offshore Tax Avoidance Question
On February 1, 2012, Talking Points Memo reported:
Romney has disclosed a substantial individual retirement account (IRA) that, as the Wall Street Journal first noted, could have made offshore investments that circumvented an obscure U.S. tax called the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT).
Washington Post: Romney, Citing Safety Net, Says He’s ‘Not Concerned About The Very Poor’
On February 1, 2012, the Washington Post reported:
In an interview with CNN Wednesday morning that should have been a Florida victory lap, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney made a fumble that could give rivals an attack ad sound bite. Asked about his economic plan, Romney said repeatedly that he was not concerned with very poor Americans, but was focused instead on helping the middle class.
Boston Globe: Boston Lawyer Brad Malt In Crossfire Over Romney Investments
On January 30, 2012, the Boston Globe reported:
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.
GQ: How Your Oppo-Research Sausage Is Made: Bain Vs. Newt Edition
On January 30, 2012, GQ reported:
A couple weeks ago I met some of the guys from American Bridge, the pro-Democratic super-PAC, loafing around a restaurant in New Hampshire in between interviews. Pointing out how poorly the Republican candidates have fared in attacking Romney's economic record, American Bridge president Rodell Molineau told me his crew was "here to help" with that job. Unlike the other opposition research shops, which are usually affiliated with actual campaigns and do their business only on an anonymous basis, the unaligned American Bridge actually wants credit for landing hits. Curious to sample their wares, we said we'd be happy to oblige. Here's what they sent us: