Mitt Romney is running on the campaign promise: "Trust Me, I'm Rich and Therefore Good with Money." But in reality, he is displaying the same traits in managing his campaign that America despises in the corporate world.
For instance, Romney's allegedly unbeatable war chest looks better on paper than in reality as small donors are drying up for him. Plus, Mitt did the same thing many coporations do when they are on the ropes - giving undeserved bonuses and golden parachutes to top staffers even when their job performance is an epic failure.
Tell me again why anyone should believe this guy could run the country?
Washington Post Story
Richard Beeson, Romney’s national political director, received a $37,500 payment on Aug. 31 in addition to his salary, according to records filed with the Federal Election Commission.
In addition, records show at least six other top staffers each received $25,000 bonuses on the same date: campaign manager Matt Rhoades, general counsel Kathryn Biber, policy advisor Lanhee Chen, communications director Gail Gitcho, digital director Zach Moffatt and advisor Gabriel Schoenfeld. Two other employees received $10,000 bonuses.
Politico Reports:
Romney spokeswoman Andrea Saul said the bonuses were related to the former Massachusetts governor’s GOP primary performance.
“These were primary win bonuses pursuant to employment agreements paid after the convention,” Saul said in an email Friday morning.
Convention? Oh, you mean that Convention from which Romney/Ryan received absolutely NO bounce, and which is a laughingstock because Romney's own campaign botched the final hour by allowing actor Clint Eastwood to upstage the candidate with an empty chair?
Yeah, that Convention was really worth thousands of dollars in bonuses for staff that clearly don't know how to run a national compaign. But that scenario is right out of the Wall Street playbook. Pay the top tier of staff even as the Titanic is sinking fast.
Romney ought to pay the mainstream media a bonus, too, for spreading the wild rumor all spring and summer that his campaign fundraising was so much greater than the Democrats that Obama was never going to catch up. Not true. Obama is out-fund-raising the Romney camp, especially in donations under $200, and now Mitt is on a budget!
Excuse me while I sit here and quietly laugh over this one.
From Reuters
The FEC reports portray massive spending by both sides in August, as the campaigns approached their party's nominating conventions and sought to establish themes for the fall campaign.
Obama's campaign was particularly active, raising $84.2 million and spending $83.2 million last month as it continued to emphasize Obama's efforts to improve the economy and cast Romney as a wealthy former private equity executive who is out of touch with the concerns of most Americans.
The president's campaign ended the month with $88.8 million, compared with $50.4 million for Romney's campaign.
. . . in August, Romney's key outside "Super PAC" - Restore Our Future - plowed through $21.2 million as its fundraising declined for the second month, according to FEC disclosures.
That left the group with just $7.4 million in cash on hand, raising questions about how much of an ad-buying force it will be in the home stretch.
. . . Romney himself raised $66.1 million in August, according to FEC filings. But the campaign spent $61.2 million and could not dip into a large chunk of its cash because a provision in U.S. campaign law walled it off until after his official nomination at the Republican convention in Tampa in late August.
In fact, because of the law, Romney wound up stretched for cash at the end of August and had to take out a $20 million loan to make it to the general election period.
