What’s the best way to deflect a political attack?
It is well established that Mitt Romney left Bain to go salvage the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. It is also well established that his name remained on some SEC documents. This stems from winding down his partnership interest in Bain Capital. It is a quirk in the law. It has been well vetted. Even FactCheck.org and the Washington Post are unpersuaded by Team Obama’s hyperbole.
Really? A felon? Hey! Let’s accuse Barack Obama of being a foreign born Muslim! There’s about the same validity to both. Meet the Bainers — they are the members of Team Obama demanding proof from Mitt Romney that he is a liar or a felon. Next they’ll ask when he stopped beating his wife.
The Bainers will not take any answer that does not show Romney to be a liar or felon in the same way Birthers will take no answer other than one that shows Barack Obama is not an American citizen. In fact, pointing this out on twitter today I was barraged from both sides that Obama has still never shown his real birth certificate and Mitt Romney has still not shown his tax returns.
Also, similar to Birthers, Bainers claim they are only asking questions. Of course, the questions in both cases demonstrate a considerable separation from reality. And in the case of the Bainers, Erickson points out, there is a considerable amount of ignorance of private enterprise as well.
Kathleen Parker points to another issue where the Bainers have lost contact with reality: Romney’s recent appearance before the NAACP convention, where his mention of the word “Obamacare” — and subsequent booing by the crowd — has been interpreted by the geniuses on the left as a way for Mitt to incite “his racist base”:
The notion that Team Romney wanted to jazz up all those “very white” racists requires a level of delusion that one usually associates with the fringies. Does anyone really imagine that Romney is worried about the racist vote? While we’re hearing voices, let’s eavesdrop on a Very Secret Meeting:
“Mitt, you know, there’s one demographic we’re worried about.”
“What’s that, Stu?”
“Well, sir, the Aryan Nation. Their votes? Hanging from the precipice, sir. We have to reel them in.”
“Holy moly, Stu, but how?”
“I have a plan. When you speak to the NAACP next week, we’re gonna have you say ‘Obamacare.’ You’ll get booed, of course, but no Aryan will vote for Barack Obama, I can promise you that, sir.”
“Jumpin’ Jehoshaphat, Stu, that’s sheer genius! But won’t the liberal media figure it out? Won’t they see our plan?”
“With all due respect, sir, don’t be ridiculous.”
Is anyone tethered to Earth anymore? Romney said he would repeal Obamacare because he always says this. What would the word-parsers have said if he had adjusted his message to be more palatable to a crowd from which no one expected more than basic civility? They would have said he was a deceiver, a shape-shifter, a manipulator and a dishonest broker.
One of the remaining questions about the Bainers is, will they prove to be as resilient as the Birthers? A year from now will they be insisting that President Romney should be indicted for filing false papers with the SEC? Will they be demanding that Romney “come clean” on his foreign holdings?
The nuts are always the most entertaining part of politics. The Bainers are proving to be no exception.
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