Romney Turns Liability into Profit

[Theb]

Nine news outlets that covered the election sent a joint letter Monday to former Romney campaign officials to contest expenses billed to their reporters.

BuzzFeed, which is among the outlets that signed the letter, first reported on the dispute last week.

The outlets are requesting that the campaign provide a specific price breakdown for every event that cost them $200 or more. Until then, the letter reads, "some of our organizations have alerted American Express that we are contesting these charges."

The letter was sent to former campaign manager Matt Rhoades, and senior advisers Kevin Madden, Stuart Stevens, Beth Myers, Eric Fehrnstrom, and Russ Schriefer, among others.

Here's the letter:

To: Romney For President campaign
From: Members of the Romney press corps

To Whom It May Concern:

We’ve dealt with numerous campaigns over the past decades and understand that we pay a premium to travel with a candidate. But recent invoices from your campaign have raised serious questions about the charges you have forwarded to us for travel with Mitt Romney.

We are not quibbling over charter flights or hotel bills. We are focused on what appear to be exorbitant charges for food, filing centers/holds and ground transportation.

Some examples: $745 per person charged for a vice presidential debate viewing party on Oct. 11; $812 charged for a meal and a hold on Oct. 18; $461 for a meal and hold the next day; $345 for food and hold Oct. 30.

These costs far exceed typical expenses on the campaign trail. Also, it was clear to all present that the campaign’s paid staff frequently consumed the food and drinks ostensibly produced for the media. Were any of the costs of these events charged to the campaign itself, to cover the care and feeding of its staff? We would like to see how exactly the costs were determined for any specific event above $200, including the amounts you were charged and to whom you in turn assessed charges.

We have similar concerns about ground transportation costs, which at times exceeded $1,000 a day and were far higher per capita than what the campaign charged during the primaries--despite the larger numbers of reporters, photographers and television crews travelling and dividing the costs. One news organization contacted two of the bus agencies used by the campaign; it was clear from their reporting that the costs you charged us far outdistanced what you paid for the transportation.

In order to travel with the candidate, reporters were required to agree to costs in advance without knowing specifically what those costs would be. The trade-off in any such agreement is that the campaign will not exceed the normal bounds of propriety in charging news organizations. In this case, that is seriously in question.

Some of our organizations have alerted American Express that we are contesting these charges. We look forward to your response.

Cathleen Decker
Campaign 2012 Editor
Los Angeles Times

Jerry Seib
Washington Bureau Chief
The Wall Street Journal
Dow Jones Newswires

Richard Stevenson
Political Editor
New York Times

Paul Singer
Politics Editor
USA Today

David Millikin
Director for North America
Agence France-Presse

Kevin Merida
National Editor
Washington Post

Beth Fouhy
Senior Editor, Politics and National News
Yahoo

McKay Coppins
Political editor
BuzzFeed

Richard McGregor
Washington Bureau Chief
Financial Times

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mckaycoppins/news-outlets-send-letter-to-romney-campaign-contes

The planet Mitt Romney gets after he dies will probably be called Ferenginar.

 

[Phokus]

I guess he's just... fiscally conservative

 

[Phokus]

Also, Romney is the type of a-hole that would sell his own mother for a buck.

 

[blackangst1]

Also, Romney is the type of a-hole that would sell his own mother for a buck.

And Obama would borrow a buck to fuck her.

 

[Thump553]

Never give a politician a blank check-I guess these news organizations didn't know that before.

 

[Ausm]

And Obama would borrow a buck to fuck her.

You got that wrong it's the Republicons who borrow and spend.

 

[michal1980]

You got that wrong it's the Republicons who borrow and spend.

whats Obama doing? paying that trillion dollar yearly hole out of his own pocket?

 

[LegendKiller]

whats Obama doing? paying that trillion dollar yearly hole out of his own pocket?

Ask Bush and the neocons how they like signing this country up for deficits for over a decade then cockblock somebody when they try to roll back some of the changes.

 

[Jhhnn]

whats Obama doing? paying that trillion dollar yearly hole out of his own pocket?

Heh. It's not like he inherited the greatest Repub policy induced economic depression of the last 80 years, two wars & the lowest federal revenue /GDP as a result of a flawed Repub induced tax structure.

Righties never care when deficits are caused by tax cuts, particularly at the top, and they haven't historically given a damn about it when they occupied the White House, either. When their own policy creates massive unemployment & misery, they object strenuously to efforts to alleviate it, of course, tout the ultra wealthy non-job creators as the answer to everything.

Why let a crisis go to waste, even if you caused it & getting what you want will just make it worse? Why show the slightest chagrin at what you've accomplished when you can convince your delusional base that Cut, cut, Cutting govt spending to force more layoffs will vanquish unemployment?

 

[blankslate]

whats Obama doing? paying that trillion dollar yearly hole out of his own pocket?

Ain't that just like a mofo...

run up the bill and leave it for the next guy to handle...

 

[blackangst1]

You got that wrong it's the Republicons who borrow and spend.

You really need to change your avatar to the kool-aid guy lulz

 

[michal1980]

Ain't that just like a mofo...


run up the bill and leave it for the next guy to handle...

so the debt since Obama came into office stayed flat right?

 

[Jhhnn]

so the debt since Obama came into office stayed flat right?

Obviously not, and obviously for better reasons than wars of adventure, more cold war military hardware & tax cuts for people who don't need tax cuts...

Not to mention that GWB's contribution to the debt was $1T for FY 2008 & nearly $2T for FY 2009.

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo5.htm

Mitt's campaign reaming the media for a profit? Rich Repubs have had a license to ream everybody else for 30 years, so they're just adding insult to injury.

 

[blankslate]

so the debt since Obama came into office stayed flat right?

So lowering taxes while starting two wars (the one in Afghanistan was to be expected since OBL was there at the time) isn't going to have any effect beyond President Bush's presidency?

Especially if one party refused to let some of them expire and both wars were still going on when he left the Oval office?

Stop posting such stupid drivel.

 

[dmcowen674]

Romney Turns Liability into Profit

The planet Mitt Romney gets after he dies will probably be called Ferenginar.

This could have a very good outcome towards getting rid of Republicans altogether once and for all.

Why would the Media send a reporter to follow the next Republican candidate knowing they will get raped financially?

 

[trenchfoot]

This could have a very good outcome towards getting rid of Republicans altogether once and for all.

Why would the Media send a reporter to follow the next Republican candidate knowing they will get raped financially?

I think the journalists overlooked some fine print.

Therein they would find that there was a surcharge applied to all billing for the bonuses Romney earned for losing his race for the presidency and for bonuses due Rove for squandering millions and millions of superpac $$$ in his failed attempt to buy enough votes for Romney to win, just like what happens when their fellow CEO's bleed companies dry for fun and profit.

 

[michal1980]

So lowering taxes while starting two wars (the one in Afghanistan was to be expected since OBL was there at the time) isn't going to have any effect beyond President Bush's presidency?

Especially if one party refused to let some of them expire and both wars were still going on when he left the Oval office?

Stop posting such stupid drivel.

Ahh posting facts now is 'stupid drivel' in the liberal world.

Obama will run a deficit for the next 4 years even with his tax increase and the end of the wars. Whats your excuse there?

Bush's fault? How about you brain dead life leaches MOVE ON

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Ahh posting facts now is 'stupid drivel' in the liberal world.

Obama will run a deficit for the next 4 years even with his tax increase and the end of the wars. Whats your excuse there?

Bush's fault? How about you brain dead life leaches MOVE ON

Excuse? You don't really need an excuse when the private sector has forced half the country onto food stamps and forced the government to provide us with health insurance. You see, when people make less money they need more help from their government, thus you see the consistent balloon effect on our spending. This has been going on for decades now. The only life leeches are you people who go around worshipping the big names in the private sector, oddly enough the same people who would sell you for a quarter and a pack of bubble gum and not think twice about it.

 

[Ausm]

You really need to change your avatar to the kool-aid guy lulz

You must have been in a coma the last 30+ years that's even if you are that old.

 

[Ausm]

Excuse? You don't really need an excuse when the private sector has forced half the country onto food stamps and forced the government to provide us with health insurance. You see, when people make less money they need more help from their government, thus you see the consistent balloon effect on our spending. This has been going on for decades now. The only life leeches are you people who go around worshipping the big names in the private sector, oddly enough the same people who would sell you for a quarter and a pack of bubble gum and not think twice about it.

You have to give Republicons credit how they can totally forget recent history or history in general.

 

[Ausm]

Ain't that just like a mofo...

run up the bill and leave it for the next guy to handle...

I personally like what GWB did to the Republicon party was just icing on the cake on 30+ years of shitty policy.

 

[soulcougher73]

Ahh posting facts now is 'stupid drivel' in the liberal world.

Obama will run a deficit for the next 4 years even with his tax increase and the end of the wars. Whats your excuse there?

Bush's fault? How about you brain dead life leaches MOVE ON

So you are so delusioned as to think that policies and things already in action just magically end when the next president comes in?

Stupid is as stupid is.

 

[Incorruptible]

Excuse? You don't really need an excuse when the private sector has forced half the country onto food stamps and forced the government to provide us with health insurance. You see, when people make less money they need more help from their government, thus you see the consistent balloon effect on our spending. This has been going on for decades now. The only life leeches are you people who go around worshipping the big names in the private sector, oddly enough the same people who would sell you for a quarter and a pack of bubble gum and not think twice about it.

How did the private sector do this?

 

[Nemesis 1]

And Obama would borrow a buck to fuck her.

Say what .The windy city bathhouses for the gay is where obama would spend that buck

 

[zsdersw]

So much fail in this thread. With the exception of the OP, you've all been acting like first-class assholes. Go to the kitchen, I think the baby formula is warm enough for you to drink.