Mitts Pick

[Gaspar]

Can't wait to see the VP debate. That at the very least should be entertaining.

[Townsend]

I like the official campaign poster.

Is that to placate the folks that believe dinosaurs and humans lived side by side 6,000 or so years ago?

[Teatownclown]

Violence and Teabagger/GOPeer's go hand in hand...macho jingoism. Seems to have worked so far.

[swake]

Worked in Private Equity. Please illuminate.

Here's a good article:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2012/01/30/120130ta_talk_surowiecki

[Teatownclown]

Here's a good article:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2012/01/30/120130ta_talk_surowiecki

TOO MANY CROOKS!

[Townsend]

Rush Limbaugh: Paul Ryan is 'us'

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0812/79674.html

Paul Ryan is a true conservative whose presence on the GOP ticket is good for Mitt Romney, good for the Republican Party and good for substantive debate, Rush Limbaugh said on his radio talk show Monday.
"We now have somebody on the ticket who's us," Limbaugh said. "[Somebody] who can explain all of this, who believes all of this in his heart, in his soul, and he can do it with optimism and a smile on his face."


The talk show host said Ryan, the wonky chair of the House Budget committee, will force a new election narrative centered on policy and ideology. That will generate further scrutiny of President Barack Obama's record, he said.
"When the vice president starts dismantling the president of the United States and his policies and his ideas and what they have wrought, that's something they're going to have to react to," Limbaugh said. "They're going to have to come back at some point with some substance and when they do that, they don't have substance on their side. When they do that, that brings Obama's record to the fore."
After unveiling the Ryan pick, Romney himself appeared more energized and on-message at campaign events, Limbaugh said. He praised the presumptive GOP nominee, who struggled in the primaries to win over some of the more conservative elements of the base.
"The pick signals a decision was made somewhere that...we're going to go head-first, going to take it straight to them and we're going to win or we're going to lose [but we are going to] articulate exactly what we believe," Limbaugh said.
He added later, "The presence of Paul on stage with Romney has elevated Romney...Romney's a new guy."

I wonder who is Romney's "us".

[erfalf]

Here's a good article:
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2012/01/30/120130ta_talk_surowiecki

So PE firms (according to the article) make an extremely leveraged investment, give themselves dividends that covered the investment that were paid for with the firm taking on additional debt, and that is how they made out like bandits? Sounds to me like they covered their donkey in case of losses, which is far from making boat loads of money. Wasserstein paid $82M cash (before leverage, $230M total) for Harry and David and paid itself dividends of $82.6M and $19M. That still leaves a net loss of $128.4M in debt that was unpaid. Now, if someone can show how PE firms get to have their debt wiped out in bankruptcy along with the company they invested in, they just had a loss of 157% on that one investment, plus interest. Please explain where I am wrong on this.

The real hucksters are investment banks who are collecting far too great of zero risk fees on the whole thing (both sides of every transaction no less).

What people don't understand is what the true function of Private Equity. While there are LBO and takeovers, often times PE is used as a bank more or less. They provide liquidity to companies that need and often can't get it anywhere else. If PE firms operate within the bounds of the laws, more power to them. If you don't like the laws, change the laws, don't curse the companies that operate within their bounds.

[Townsend]

Paul Ryan on Social Issues: Where Does He Stand?

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/OTUS/paul-ryan-social-issues-stand/story?id=16994248#.UCk8PZ1lTYg

Mitt Romney's pick of Paul Ryan as his running mate set off weekend-long debates about the young Wisconsin rep's fiscal policies, but less was said about his stance on social issues. Where does Romney's running mate stand on such issues as abortion and gun rights?

Abortion

Ryan is firmly against abortion rights. He has an 100 percent rating from the National Right to Life Committee, the nation's largest anti-abortion rights organization. He co-sponsored the Sanctity of Human Life Act, a bill that would define human life as beginning at conception.

President Obama tweeted earlier today: "Make sure the women in your life know: Paul Ryan supports banning all abortions, even in cases of rape or incest."

Ryan, however, has said that he was willing to disagree, "with mutual respect," with others on the issue.

Gay Rights

Ryan's record on gay rights is mixed, and gay rights is one issue on which Ryan and Romney disagree somewhat. Ryan's said he's anti-same-sex marriage, and he's voted against adoption rights for same-sex couples.

Romney has said he believes same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt.

But Ryan did break with his party to vote for the Sexual Orientation Employment Nondiscrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination in hiring on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Romney has said that he would not support that legislation at the federal level, saying those decisions should be made by the states.

Guns

An avid outdoorsman who hunts, Ryan has received an "A" record from the National Rifle Association for his stance and voting record on gun rights. In the past, Ryan has voted "yes" on the Firearms Manufacturers Protection Bill, which would prohibit "misuse" lawsuits against gun manufacturers, and "no" on the 72 Background Check Amendment, which would increase the required background check time period for purchasing a gun from 24 hours to 72 hours.

Immigration

Ryan voted against the Dream Act, legislation that would offer a route to citizenship to illegal immigrants who came to the U.S. as children and had gone to college here. On his congressional website, Ryan said that the legislation "attempts to treat a symptom, rather than the root cause, of our current problem." Ryan favors placing a priority on securing the border, "developing a more secure employee verification system" and working on creating "an enforceable guest worker program."

[carltonplace]

From a political perspective it is not the same as Palin at all. Ryan may represent a strong, vocal part of the party but he is capable and bankable. He'll maintain liason with those donors and leaders.

As far as Ryan's views and actions, they are anathema to mine. But Romney didn't stumble here.

Interesting that Romney required multiple years of tax returns from his potential VP candidates.

It was a great pick. I can't believe that Mitt was able to make both Republicans and Democrats happy with this one move. Probably the first time they've agreed on anything for a long time.

[Gaspar]

I find it entertaining that the left has taken to demonizing PE.  It's a great example.  It wouldn't matter what industry Romney achieved great success with, it would be necessary for Democrats to tear it down.  The sad thing is that there is no effort to build their own candidate up?  Their politics seems to revolve around trash talk.  

Ryan worked for Oscar Myer, a company that will soon be accused of cruelty to animals.

My cousin owns a PE/VC firm.  He views it as the ultimate way to give back.  He was a very successful in the software industry.  He retired, and rather than let his money sit around, he formed a PE/VC firm and now he "rescues good businesses from bad management."  He saves jobs, creates prosperity, and helps individuals realize their dreams.  I can't think of a better way to use wealth.  It's like helping addicts get clean.  Sure, some will relapse, but you can't blame the PE firm for that.

[nathanm]

My cousin owns a PE/VC firm.  He views it as the ultimate way to give back.  He was a very successful in the software industry.  He retired, and rather than let his money sit around, he formed a PE/VC firm and now he "rescues good businesses from bad management."  He saves jobs, creates prosperity, and helps individuals realize their dreams.  I can't think of a better way to use wealth.  It's like helping addicts get clean.  Sure, some will relapse, but you can't blame the PE firm for that.

What you fail to understand is that the rules are different for folks that operate on the scale that Romney did. And VC is vastly different than neo-LBO shops like Bain. You're comparing a diesel generator to a semi truck. Some commonality, but one tells you little about the other.

[erfalf]

I find it entertaining that the left has taken to demonizing PE.  It's a great example.  It wouldn't matter what industry Romney achieved great success with, it would be necessary for Democrats to tear it down.  The sad thing is that there is no effort to build their own candidate up?  Their politics seems to revolve around trash talk.  

Ryan worked for Oscar Myer, a company that will soon be accused of cruelty to animals.

My cousin owns a PE/VC firm.  He views it as the ultimate way to give back.  He was a very successful in the software industry.  He retired, and rather than let his money sit around, he formed a PE/VC firm and now he "rescues good businesses from bad management."  He saves jobs, creates prosperity, and helps individuals realize their dreams.  I can't think of a better way to use wealth.  It's like helping addicts get clean.  Sure, some will relapse, but you can't blame the PE firm for that.

That's the interesting thing about VC in particular. There are no banker VCs. They are all former execs or founders of companies similar to the ones they invest in. All but KPCB.

[erfalf]

What you fail to understand is that the rules are different for folks that operate on the scale that Romney did. And VC is vastly different than neo-LBO shops like Bain. You're comparing a diesel generator to a semi truck. Some commonality, but one tells you little about the other.

The only rules that are different are that they have the resources to do deals that you and I could never dream. You are just trying to denegrate something that many people know very little about. It is easy to do. Just through out some " they just don't understand you" or "tax cheats" and people will believe you.

[Townsend]

Paul Ryan's Wife Janna's Resume, Life Before Politics & Family History

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/08/13/paul-ryan-s-wife-janna-s-resume-life-before-politics-family-history.html

She may be a new to the national political scene, but Janna Ryan already seems comfortable with the spotlight. Eleanor Clift on the potential second lady's high-powered first career, family politics, and down-home image.

For a newcomer to the national stage, Janna Christine Little Ryan comes across as remarkably poised and confident, with a winning smile and a fashionably windswept look—in short, what's known in the business as a natural.

And no wonder; politics were in her DNA long before she met and married Rep. Paul Ryan, at the time in his first term in Congress and considered one of the Capitol's most eligible bachelors.

They dated for a year until they were wed in 2000. Janna Little had been comfortably settled into a career track as a high-powered attorney and lobbyist for Price Waterhouse Coopers in Arlington, Va. A graduate of the prestigious women's college Wellesley, she had a résumé reflecting the leadership skills instilled by her education and in her upbringing as the eldest of three daughters whose mother had blazed the path both to Wellesley and law school.

 
The couple married in Janna's hometown in Oklahoma, and without missing a beat, or so it seems, she adopted as home her new husband's congressional district in Janesville, Wisc. Three children followed in quick succession, a girl and two boys, and the family lives in what is described as a Civil War-era home with six bedrooms and eight bathrooms. A stay-at-home mother who, a neighbor told USA Today, attended a recent "porch party" showing off the cute sandals she'd gotten at Goodwill for $2, Janna appears as down-home and unpretentious as her husband, who sleeps in his office weekdays when he's in Washington.

News reports describe Janna as quiet, gracious, and comfortable with being in the background, but her smooth debut as a potential second lady suggests someone who understands and is at ease with public life. Her first cousin is Oklahoma Rep. David Boren, a Democrat, who said in a statement Saturday that he and Janna "grew up together and I couldn't be more proud of my cousin. Like my late mother after whom she is named, Janna is a wonderful parent to their children and will be Paul's strongest supporter on the campaign trail."

Janna's grandfather, Reuel W. Little, a lawyer and rancher, was the American Party's candidate for governor in 1970. The Oklahoman reported on its political blog that the American Party was organized as a third party to support the presidential candidacy of Alabama's then-segregationist governor George Wallace, and that Little was instrumental in the party's founding in Oklahoma in the 1960s. He died in 1993 at age 92.

Third-party politics are not unusual in fiercely independent Western states like Oklahoma, and Janna, 43, would have no firsthand memory of her grandfather's foray into elective politics.

A more likely and powerful role model is her late mother, Prudence Little, who graduated from Wellesley with honors and was first in her class at the University of Oklahoma law school. Janna was the eldest of three daughters, and soon after the birth of the youngest, Little was diagnosed with melanoma, the first of what would turn out to be four cancer diagnoses over 35 years. She died in 2010 at age 68, amid tributes to the grace and courage she showed in living her life, practicing law, raising her daughters, and serving on numerous boards and charitable causes despite the health challenges she faced.

A devout Catholic, Janna Little Ryan will have her faith to help her withstand the scrutiny and the criticism that is inevitable over the next four months, and perhaps the next four years. Her husband has been in Congress for almost 14 years, but it's only been the last two years, since he introduced what's been dubbed the Ryan budget, that he's become a lightning rod. If her role is to help him weather the storm, she's clearly up to the task.

[Gaspar]

What you fail to understand is that the rules are different for folks that operate on the scale that Romney did.

I don't "fail to understand".  Bain operates on a far grander scale, with a more complex service offering, and answers to stockholders. They, however, play by the same rules and operate under the same laws.  What they do is necessary and noble.  

They are the mechanics.