Priorities USA Action ad revives Bain attack

(CBS News) As Mitt Romney tries to reshape his campaign message to focus on the middle class, the pro-Obama super PAC Priorities USA Action is hitting back with an attack on his record at Bain Capital.

The super PAC's new ad revives a specific line of attack employed by the Obama campaign and stars the same disgruntled steelworker featured in an Obama ad in May.

In the new Priorities ad, called "Understands," former GST Steel employee Joe Soptic recounts how he lost his job and health benefits after Bain Capital -- the private equity firm founded by Romney -- purchased and shut down the Kansas City plant. Soptic's wife was ill but could not afford to go to the doctor; by the time she went to the hospital, she was already dying of cancer.

"I don't think Mitt Romney understands what he's done to people's lives by closing the plant," Soptic says in the minute-long spot. "I don't think he realizes that people's lives completely changed."

The ad is part of a $20 million television and online campaign that scrutinizes Romney's business record and its impact on the middle class.

If the story sounds familiar, that's because Soptic appeared in a two-minute Obama ad that aired in five battleground states in May. In that ad, Soptic lamented that Bain sought to eliminate GST Steel's pension plan and retiree benefits. "Those guys were all rich, they all had more money than they'll ever spend, and yet they didn't have the money to take care of the very people that made the money for them," he said.

According to Federal Election Commission rules, super PACs are allowed to support a candidate -- as long as they don't directly coordinate with that candidate's campaign. Priorities USA Action said it filmed this ad months ago, independent of any other campaign or committee.

While using the same steelworker in an ad may seem like coordination, it's just the latest example of how narrow the rules are. For instance, as the New York Times reported, some super PACs and the campaigns they support have worked with the same consultants (Priorities, however, doesn't share any vendors with the Obama campaign). Additionally, some super PACs were founded by former aides to the candidates they support; Priorities USA Action, for instance, was founded by former Obama White House officials.

If Soptic's re-emergence means anything, it's that both the Obama campaign and Priorities USA Action see his story as an effective way to counter Romney's pitch to voters.

Romney has sought to cast himself as an effective manager who can turn the economy around using his private sector experience. In recent days, Romney has specifically talked about helping the middle class, hammering Mr. Obama for the still-sluggish economy. After the Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate ticked up to 8.3 percent in July, Romney called the jobs report "another hammer blow to the struggling middle class."

As Romney has attacked Mr. Obama for his economic record, he's run his own ads featuring working-class, white males. Those ads have criticized Mr. Obama for saying at a campaign stop, "If you've got a business, you didn't build that. Somebody else made that happen." (Read more about Mr. Obama's remarks and the Romney attacks here.)

Blue collar white males, like Joe Soptic and those featured in the Romney ads, could be critical in this year's election in Rust Belt states like Ohio and Pennsylvania. Democrats, and Mr. Obama in particular, have struggled to appeal to that demographic. Recent polls show Mr. Obama performing well against Romney in Ohio and Pennsylvania, but to win Pennsylvania, for instance, he'll have to bolster his support in working class areas like Pittsburgh.

[italianwolf2]

The FACT is that outsourcing destroys middle class jobs & infuses the already ridiculously-rich (narcissistic money-addicts) with even more "capital" to repeat the process ad nauseum. Run these ads endlessly; they're the only way to make a dent in the "minds" of the plethora of low-information (Fox Faux News addicts) in our society. Sad, but necessary.

[erniest]

Every word Romney utters is a lie, including 'and' and 'the.'

[Miliman]

Yes well thank goodness Obama is as honest as Abe Lincoln and keeps to his word. LOL- wow is all I can say-

[Thinkbeforeyouwrite]

It's not so much the buying and selling of companies. It's not so much the closing of companies that were not making the profit required or how much mercy they gave to the workers losing jobs. (Actually, that does matter.) It's not so much that they were in it to make money as that is what business does. It is the amount of money they made. Romney's take was only a fraction of what they made and his wealth is estimated to $250 million. Call me naive (go on, I know you want to. LOL) but it doesn't "smell right".

[sjc_1]

There have been successful bank robbers through out history, but we do not admire them because they are thieves. Robme looted the companies Bain bought, no difference.

[alanrobisch]

apparently the writer of this article notices nothing false or below the belt about this ad. I assume its because she believes its true. His statement that somehow Romney is responsible for his wifes death is ridiculous. There is no connection except in the minds of the producers of this ad.

[alanrobisch]

This is one of the more despicable ads put on by the Obama supporters. It seems no matter how much they lie or make blatant mistatements they find a way to top it. I hope the man Obama loses and people state its because of extraordinarily low road he is taking in his campaign. I hope the people associate this kind of attack ads with the person who they support and show his apparent willingness to win at all cost.This ad demonstrates the total lack of integrity of Obama.

[sjc_1]

While he was in Utah he signed corporate papers saying he was running the company. Either he was or he was not, either way he is lying.

[wfw3536]

I would have to say Obama and his Chicago gang have hit a new low. To make it seem like Romney is to blame for Mr Soptics wife, is really a new low. It would be nice to see Obama defend his failed economic record of 8.3% unempolyment or 23.5 million folks, or the fact that Obama is spending over a trillion dollars a year we have to borrow. Most reasonable folks understand that if you keep borrowing 40 cents of every dollar you spend year in and year out there is only one road you will go down, and that is bankruptcy.

[Thinkbeforeyouwrite]

No, the "low" has been seen in a few campaigns before now.

[sjc_1]

Remember Willie Horton, or Swift Boats? Both of those were brought to you by the GOP.

[RepealObamacare]

I am empathic for Mr. Soptic's loss. The blame for his wife's death in 2006 does not lay at the feet of Mr. Romney however. The steel industry was reeling from Chinese imports. The world market had excess capacity at the time. President Bush imposed steel import tariffs in 2002, however by this time thirty-one U.S. steel companies had filed for bankruptcy protection including GS Industies. Nearly 47,000 steel and iron jobs had vanished. Not Mitt Romney's fault.

Did GST want to go out of business or did it want to make a profit? Health care benefits ceased when bankruptcy was declared. The legal system permitted it. GS Industries emerged from bankruptcy but the KC plant did not. Do we blame the court?

The gentlemen had been making $72,000 a year in 2001. Had he not saved for a foreseeable industry downturn? Where was the drive to replace this important lost benefit? It is reported Mrs. Soptic had health insurance through her employer until 2003. I am sorry Mr. Soptic but this responsibility is not a corporate, union, or government responsibilty, but the individual and the family foremost. Quit looking for a scapegoat and distorting the events.

[A_Canadian_Opinion]

Romney = Chancellor Palpatine, Sith Lord

[realist2O1O]

President Obama's renewable energy initiatives will more than make up for any jobs lost at Bain Capital.

[Concerned2009]

Works for me. Shuttering the manufacturing base of the United States by acquisition, layoffs and sending those jobs overseas in just what firms such as Bain are created to do - its called business. That's why Romney is so wealthy - he did a good job! He did a great job, however, at creating havoc for those who were laid off, lost health insurance and ultimately loved ones. He did a great job, however, of promoting unemployment benefits for those who's jobs he sent overseas.
He did NOT however, stop putting money in his overseas accounts to perhaps host a job fair for those who his company caused so many hardships. He probably did continue to tithe to the Mormon church so I suppose one could say he maintained his "religious principles" while putting people on the street. Wonder if he contributed to a homeless shelter or a food bank while he was causing all the havoc?
This is NOT about religion .... take a breath. This is about someone benefiting tremendously at the expense of others. This is about someone who is completely OUT OF TOUCH with mainstream America - whom he has tried to put on the street so he could continue to build his HUGE wealth. He calls that good business.
He may be good for business, but he is a mistake for the American people.