Mitt’s China Syndrome

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This just up at Mother Jones —

… according to Romney’s recent tax returns, between 2008-2011 Romney invested more than a half million dollars in the stocks of 10 Chinese companies—including firms that embezzled, partnered with Iran, and stole US intellectual property.

Coming to an Obama campaign video near you.

Romney has long invested in China, putting millions into Chinese firms back when he ran Bain Capital, as MoJo’s DC bureau chief David Corn first exposed in several reports this summer.

Romney has said that he has no role in managing his personal investments; one of his aides told the Financial Times recently that Malt works “to make the investments in the blind trust conform to Governor Romney’s positions, and whenever it comes to his attention that there is something inconsistent, he ends the investment.” But back in 1994 Romney himself said that blind trusts don’t absolve an investor of responsibility: “The blind trust is an age old ruse, if you will, which is to say, you can always tell the blind trust what it can and cannot do. You give a blind trust rules.”

Lots of interesting details here. For example, while Mitt has been railing against Chinese companies stealing U.S. patents, one of the companies he invested in is a convicted patent-stealer.

Update: See also “Bain Tobacco” —

Ghosh’s work for cigarette companies was chaotic, unbridled and, ultimately, deadly. To Mitt Romney and his colleagues at Bain & Co., it was a chance to rake in money. Ghosh said he reported directly to Romney, who was excited about the Russian market. “He was my boss,” Ghosh said.

At the time, Romney was CEO of Bain & Co., the Boston-based consulting firm that launched his white-collar career and led him into the high-stakes world of corporate buyouts. Although Romney’s activities helming the private equity giant Bain Capital have drawn significant attention, his role at Bain & Co. has received almost no public scrutiny. A Huffington Post investigation into Bain’s tobacco work found that the consulting firm helped Philip Morris increase its revenues in the U.S., and aided two other tobacco titans as they vied to move forcefully into the Russian market.

Yes, Mittens was pushing American cigarettes in Russia. But, really, this was about patriotism. Since Russia is America’s “number one geopolitical foe,” Mittens was doing his bit by giving the Russians lung cancer.

7 thoughts on “Mitt’s China Syndrome”

  1. This proves that Mitt’s color-blind – he only sees green.

    “… according to Romney’s recent tax returns, between 2008-2011 Romney invested more than a half million dollars in the stocks of 10 Chinese companies—including firms that embezzled, partnered with Iran, and stole US intellectual property.”

    I can hardly wait for this great patriot’s explanation for this.

    It could be right up there with his explanation of why he decided, after protesting FOR the war, to spend his time during the Vietnam War in the non-killing fields of Provence, France.
    Or why none of his 5 strapping young white Mormon bucks joined the military, and instead, did their duty to their country trying to get their father elected Governor, and now, President.
    The ‘Fortunate son’s’ of a “Fortunate Son,” indeed.

  4. Just saw on Politico a Jim Van de Hei article on Mitt’s family intervening to enable Mitt to do speeches like his foreign policy “back to the Future” delusional mind-meandering mess of nostalgic idiocy. They want him to do more speeches like that. If they think “let Mitt be Mitt” is a winning position, they may be what we need. Delusions may be popular, but they are ultimately indefensible to people who think just a little bit.

  5. Romney doesn’t invest in the sense that people generally view investing, where you buy stocks and sit back and collect dividends..Any money Romney invests is only for the purpose of gaining controlling interest and actively harvesting profits. His history and strategy is to put a tap into companies where he drains profits and enslaves the company to debt.

    Even for a paltry half million dollars split up among 10 companies you can be assured that many Chinese have been shackled with economic servitude. Romney is a vulture capitalist, as the name implies, and he won’t spend a dime anywhere that that dime won’t come back to him a thousand fold.

    moonbat twice posted a link to an article by Matt Taibbi from Rolling Stone Magazine that explains just how vicious and cruel Romney’s brand of vulture capitalism is and how it sucks the life blood out of any economy it touches. It also sets the reader wise to understand the dynamic in the shift of wealth that is putting our entire nation in the situation we currently find ourselves.. a gradual growth of economic disparity that is enslaving us all.. More than a must read!

    http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/greed-and-debt-the-true-story-of-mitt-romney-and-bain-capital-20120829

    Read it and weep..it’s not coming..it’s already here.

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