Perry labels Romney, Bain Capital as "vultures"

Republican presidential candidate, Texas Gov. Rick Perry speaks during a campaign stop at the Sun City Lake House, Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012, in Fort Mill, S.C.

/ AP Photo/David Goldman

FORT MILL, S.C. --Rick Perry upped the ante on his criticism of rival Mitt Romney on Tuesday, likening the former Massachusetts governor's company, Bain Capital, to a band of "vultures" who wait to loot failing companies.

"They're vultures that sitting out there on the tree limb waiting for the company to get sick and then they swoop in, they eat the carcass," Perry told a group of about 200 voters here during a town hall here. "They leave with that and they leave the skeleton."

Talking to reporters after the event, the Texas governor suggested that Romney's record hasn't been assessed in the race, though other candidates recently have been joining that line of attack. He has talked about businesses in South Carolina that were restructured or shut down by Bain Capital, costing people jobs.

He fended off criticism of his own his attacks by people who say Bain Capital is just an example of the free market at work - a concept Perry champions in his stump speech, especially when talking about the energy industry. He disagreed with the premise of the criticism, saying that "greedy people" on Wall Street have been taking advantage of Americans.

"Instead of trying to work with them to try to find a way to keep the jobs and to get them back on their feet, it's all about how much money can we make, how quick can we make it, and then get out of town and find the next carcass to feed upon," he said.

While deflecting questions about how the Obama administration had failed to enforce existing regulations - Perry has argued those were sufficient to regulate the banking industry without the Dodd-Frank law that is intended to further rein in Wall Street firms -- he suggested that President Obama's chiefs of staff have been failing to properly control the banks because they have backgrounds on Wall Street.

"You got ask yourself when the last three chiefs of staff for this president came out of Wall Street, you don't think there's a little bit of inside dealing going on there, that their buddies on Wall Street are calling them up and saying, 'hey, how about let's not be quite that tough on those of us on Wall Street, we're just good old boys out here trying to make a buck,'" Perry mimicked.

That stance is at odds with that of other Republicans, who regularly accuse Obama of not being pro-business enough to revive the ailing economy.

While he did not name names, Perry was presumably referring to former chief of staff and current Chicago mayor Rahm Emanuel, current chief of staff Bill Daley, who announced his resignation on Monday, and Office of Management and Budget director Jack Lew, who will assume the post next. All three have banking industry experience; though Daley did not work on Wall Street he was on the executive committee of JP Morgan Chase & Co.

As he campaigns in South Carolina while his counterparts compete in New Hampshire, Perry displayed a significant amount of bravado about his chances in the first Southern primary.

"This isn't our Alamo. This is our San Jacinto," Perry said, referring to two mythical Texas battles fought in 1836, the first of which was won by Mexican soldiers and the second of which was won by Texans seeking independence from Mexico.

He is refusing to discuss what might happen if he doesn't win the state, telling reporters, "I'm not here to come in second."

[aldrich617]

Some interesting dirt is finally coming through the wash -
OUT DAMNed SPOT. This gives me hope that some of the really
nasty stuff will yet appear. Which candidate is the drug cartel associate, the black ops connection, the human trafficer lookout?
Maybe today's big time politician is several layers of middlemen
removed from those types of things in the spirit of the Plausible
Denial, or maybe not. It is the money men that are going to have
know about such things, and the main players are sure to have representatives that reside in the Super-Pacs. Most of the candidates are probably kept in the dark by their backers because most politicians simply cannot keep their mouths closed, but still
I feel there must be one among them with a closet full of real
skeletons.

[sandy 1027]

I don't think that most people are against Free Enterprise, but there have been excesses in the business sector, within the last decade, that have helped to put this country in financial turmoil; and they are like spouses who have been unfaithful, and then are resentful because the faithful spouse doesn't trust them anymore, are suspicious of them , or demand that they check in with them.Wall St. was bailed out with our tax dollars, and this was after they ran wild; yet they are resistant to any regulation that has teeth that would prevent this from happening again.How ungrateful and arrogant.Mitt Romney is a Capitalist,so people should closely scrutinize what he did at Bain( I'm not suggesting that it was illegal); and his views about deregulation, unions, etc.

Also , during the last administration, thousands of corporations moved abroad, which left masses of people unemployed here.During Romney's tenure at Bain, some of his clients moved operations abroad, or completely closed up shop here.He has painted himself as a "job creator"; so the public has a right to know how many jobs he created( He didn't create any directly); how many were lost by business closings, how many were lost by outsourcing, etc.He is running for president, and people want to know whose side he would be on.

[immcoyle]

Rick Perry is a dim witted George W Bush... is that even possible?

[levelheadedtoo]

Bain purchased controling interestm in Holson Album. Their first move was to replace management with a bunch of hand picked hatchet men. Their plan was to move manufracturing out of the northeast to cut labor cost. Thier first look was Mexico, however, the company didn't make enough product to justify the move. Determined to show they were right in moving, they picked up shop and moved to South Carolina. It turned out to be a bad choice and the company didn't survive. Everyone except the Bain people lost their jobs. Bain took a tax loss and the American people paid for that error.

[franknkissy]

We here suggest that Rick Perry get some real world experience in business before he criticizes Mitt Romney as a vulture ! For even my one-legged world war ii veteran father would either fire or send home a worker who was not giving it their best in a days labor ! As for Bain doing the same thing - dismissing what doesn't contribute to a firm's production & profitability - we should thank Mitt & Bain for rescuing Staples Computer Centres & Domino's Pizza in this tough business paradigm ! And so also should the workers who have profited from these successful businesses ! We are Democrats - but recognize a good man !

[bennyblack1]

Oh, God, the spins are crazy. First of all, I haven't heard of Romney doing anything crazy. Second of all, Governor Perry was once a partner until it nearly went bankrupt and it was sold to Australia. Third of all, Governor Perry continued to serve on the board after its sale, which means he had an interst in it. Fourth of all, while Governor Perry was still on the board, the company put charges for non-existent services on peoples accounts, and made them outstanding on their credit reports. Furthermore, they collected on Medicare and continued to charge the patients for services rendered and paid for. So, ya'll, this spin is to get the attention OFF of Rick Perry and ON to someone else.

[retm-w]

But it's ok for rick to steal money from seniors to balance the Texas budget. Talk about a vulcher.

[greenlantern1]

Was the Howard Hughes Loan, to Richard Nixon, good business?

[rick_fman]

This is just beautiful - after all the wailing and crying by Republicans that Obama is "anti-business" because he's had the temerity to actually suggest that banks and financial transactions should be regulated, they're now completely undermining their own message for momentary political advantage...who could have predicted? Does this mean that the hedge funds, mortgage brokers, and private equity firms that they've been shileding from Dodd-Frank are also "vultures"? How do they intend to square that circle? Of course, for the core base they're now competing for, the know-nothing contingent of the right wing, incongruities and outright contradictions mean nothing - but in the general election, when independents enter the contest, this blatant hypocrisy will sting...and whoever is the nominee will be tainted.

[skyk801]

I know this Pandering Fool doesn't care in the least if a Working Man can pay his bills at the end of the week. He says what he said because he's behind and desperate. That being said, the man is spot on. In this Community I live in, we had FIVE Plants running when I grew up. You could go to any of them and get a good paying job with benefits. The Company was profitable and the Workers lived like American's were SUPPOSED to live. After all it was THEY who won WW II. They out produced the entire world. What we allowed the Greedy and Wall Street to do to them? THAT was a crime. To elect someone a cold blooded and heartless as Romney to the White House.. to have someone sit in that House and wouldn't give a second thought to taking the Job of a Working Stiff? THAT would be a VERY big mistake.

[paulaswernke]

you are right on... we all need to particpate so we can have a open and compassionate discussion. the news media is like the gossip page and most do not contribute good information