Romney's Retroactive Retirement

Romney’s Retroactive Retirement

A new concept

PoliticsJuly 2012 • Views: 28,150

The latest spin being offered by the Romney campaign about his departure from Bain Capital: according to Ed Gillespie, in 2002 Romney “retired retroactively to 1999.”

Gillespie on Sunday sought to clarify the matter, saying that Romney initially thought he would be leaving Bain on a temporary basis, but the challenges of the Olympics led him to “retire retroactively.”

“There may have been a thought at the time that it could be part time, but it was not part time,” Gillespie said.

“He took a leave of absence and in fact he ended up not going back at all, and retired retroactively to 1999 as a result,” he added.

“Retroactive retirement?” I have to admit, I never knew this kind of thing was even possible.

I’d like to retire retroactively too, back-dated to 2000, please.

(This unfortunate attempt at spin is coming in for severe mockery on Twitter, of course.)

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72 comments

steve_davis Sun, Jul 15, 2012 11:50:43am

I think many, MANY people are having the same thought: "I'd like to retire retroactively." So Charles, you are definitely not alone on that score!

AK-47% Sun, Jul 15, 2012 11:51:48am

Did he pay back the salary he earned?

blueraven Sun, Jul 15, 2012 11:51:56am

When Ed Gillespie, spin master, cant even mount a good defense for this, you know it is bad.

Sionainn Sun, Jul 15, 2012 11:52:18am

I'd like to retroactively retire with a retroactive $100,000,000 IRA, too.

Charles Johnson Sun, Jul 15, 2012 11:52:28am

Doesn't Romney's campaign know how bad this kind of thing sounds?

HappyWarrior Sun, Jul 15, 2012 11:53:13am

This is almost as bad as etch a sketch. Romney's only digging himself in a bigger hole here.

blueraven Sun, Jul 15, 2012 11:53:18am

re: #5 Charles Johnson

Doesn't Romney's campaign know how bad this kind of thing sounds?

Evidently it is not as bad as releasing his tax returns would be.

Sionainn Sun, Jul 15, 2012 11:53:25am

re: #5 Charles Johnson

Doesn't Romney's campaign know how bad this kind of thing sounds?

Nope, because they just keep on doing it over and over and over again.

AK-47% Sun, Jul 15, 2012 11:53:40am

re: #5 Charles Johnson

Doesn't Romney's campaign know how bad this kind of thing sounds?

I assume they are painfully aware that the alternatives, namely full disclosure or total stonewalling, are much, much worse.

labman57 Sun, Jul 15, 2012 11:58:21am

You can almost see and hear the collective eye rolls, face palms, and sighs of disdain across the nation.

"Retroactive retirement" -- title of Chapter 5 in Willard's forthcoming literary contrivance, "My Own Revisionist History, the Mitt Romney Story".

AK-47% Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:00:02pm

If Bush could only have retired retroactively before the 2008 crash...

dragonfire1981 Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:03:18pm

I had to check that link THREE times before finally convincing myself that it was NOT the Onion.

dragonfire1981 Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:03:51pm

I can imagine a husband trying this: I'm divorcing you retroactive to the day before we got married, so you don't get nothing bitch!

freetoken Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:04:31pm

Even categorically partisan George Will states the obvious:

George Will: Romney ‘losing at this point in a big way’

Conservative columnist George Will on Sunday said a series of attacks and questions about Mitt Romney’s association with Bain Capital, his tax returns and offshore investments were adding up to trouble for the presumptive Republican presidential nominee.

“Mitt Romney’s losing at this point in a big way,” Will told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “If something’s going to come out, get it out in a hurry. I do not know why — given that Mr. Romney knew the day that [Sen. John] McCain lost in 2008 that he was going to run for president again — that he didn’t get all of this out and tidy up some of his offshore accounts and all the rest.”

[...]

I propose that, in answer to answer Will's question, Romney was so used to over-the-top positive returns on his money that he wasn't going to repatriate those dollars and invest them into American businesses, which at the time might not have returned a profit for a year or two.

This is Romney's failing - unwilling to pay the price. He's simply unwilling to give up cash profits to be President of the US.

SanFranciscoZionist Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:05:37pm

I just tried to explain this to my husband. It comes off sounding as though Romney traveled through time to 1999 to spend his retirement.

If you can't say it with some grammatical coherence in your primary language, people are probably not going to believe it.

Summer Lovin' Torture Party Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:06:12pm

It's been a really, really bad week, Mitt. You might want to discover alcohol.

Summer Lovin' Torture Party Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:07:33pm

Can Seamus retroactively detach himself from the roof of Romney's car?

dragonfire1981 Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:07:45pm

I know it's an old joke about the best oxymoron being "honest politician" but my god, why are SO MANY of these people apparently allergic to the truth.

I just can't believe the campaign has let it drag out this long and is STILL attempting to spin rather than coming outright and admitting mistakes were made.

I mean think about Romney's response to this thing. Even if you knew NOTHING about him and could only judge him based upon this series of events...would you want him to be President?

PhillyPretzel Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:08:04pm

Geez. That is a load of sh*t. I think I have to order some hip waders. /

freetoken Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:09:19pm

re: #15 SanFranciscoZionist

If you can't say it with some grammatical coherence in your primary language, people are probably not going to believe it.

I dub this the Palin Participle and Punctuation Principle.

AK-47% Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:09:52pm

re: #20 freetoken

I dub this the Palin Participle and Punctuation Principle.

I urge you to refudiate that!

Summer Lovin' Torture Party Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:10:52pm

"Once this baby hits 88 miles per hour, you're going to see some serious retroactive retirement" twitter.com/JuddLegum/stat...
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) July 15, 2012

Mocking Jay Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:11:18pm

re: #5 Charles Johnson

Doesn't Romney's campaign know how bad this kind of thing sounds?

No. They don't. This is really one of the worst political campaigns I've witnessed.

SanFranciscoZionist Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:13:21pm

re: #20 freetoken

I dub this the Palin Participle and Punctuation Principle.

Time doesn't work like that in English. It just doesn't. "In 2002, Mitt Romney retired in 1999". There's no way to make that sound as though it makes sense. In a language with a more fluid concept of time, possibly, but we're pretty hard-locked in English into past, present and future, coming in that order and never reversing except in comic books and movies.

Is this a concept? Has anyone else ever retroactively retired from a company?

HappyWarrior Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:13:34pm

I bet Mitt wishes he could retroactively take back that. It's becoming a train wteck for him.

SpaceJesus Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:14:47pm

The campaign is tone deaf and bumbling and has jack shit for funds until after the RNC. It's like they want to lose.

SanFranciscoZionist Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:15:08pm

re: #23 Mocking Jay

No. They don't. This is really one of the worst political campaigns I've witnessed.

Every time Romney does one of these things, I'm reminded of the scene in Blackadder III, where Pitt the Younger is running his (even younger) brother for a seat in Parliament, and says, "We paid for this seat, and it's a damn imposition that we should have to stand for it as well."

Targetpractice Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:15:11pm

re: #9 Expand Your Ground

I assume they are painfully aware that the alternatives, namely full disclosure or total stonewalling, are much, much worse.

They're very likely also gambling on this being a temporary issue, that they can just keep the bullshit flowing til people throw up their hands and move on.

PhillyPretzel Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:15:16pm

Hip waders. I didn't think there were that many to choose from. [Link: www.cabelas.com...]

Mocking Jay Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:15:48pm

re: #25 HappyWarrior

I bet Mitt wishes he could retroactively take back that. It's becoming a train wteck for him.

I'm very curious to see what he's going to do about the taxes. He's taking a beating from both sides now, and the pressure feels like it's building. Those returns must make him look really bad for him to decide it's better to suffer this.

gwangung Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:15:51pm

re: #25 HappyWarrior

Yup.

All this stuff makes sense in the high flying finance world.

But that's not the REAL WORLD. And, honestly, most CEO's and entrepreneurs know the difference....

freetoken Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:17:30pm

re: #24 SanFranciscoZionist

In tutoring Japanese who are learning English, one of the real challenges is explaining the English perfect to a speaker of a language with no such concept.

You're right of course - English doesn't work the way Mitt wants it to.

Mocking Jay Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:17:38pm

re: #26 SpaceJesus

The campaign is tone deaf and bumbling and has jack shit for funds until after the RNC. It's like they want to lose.

SuperPAC powers activate!

Big Joe Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:18:40pm

Romney Campaign Revives Misleading Claim About Kerry’s Tax Returns

When the it comes to the contentious topic of Mitt Romney’s tax returns, the Romney campaign has invoked precedent, defending their decision to release just two years worth of returns as the standard set by the campaigns of John McCain and John Kerry. The Romney campaign renewed this argument on Sunday.

In fact. Sen. Kerry (D-MA) had released 20 years of tax returns when he ran for president in 2004.

I don't he's going to get very far with this BS.

AK-47% Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:19:48pm

re: #28 Targetpractice

They're very likely also gambling on this being a temporary issue, that they can just keep the bullshit flowing til people throw up their hands and move on.

But in doing so, they leave Obama the initiative. he can bring this up almost any time to put him off his game, and then blind-side him with another bit of his past he would rather gloss over.

I am waiting for them to show how his attitudes on social issues have "evolved" over the past four years and what that will mean to America, especially for women, minorities and gays.

HappyWarrior Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:20:24pm

Wre: #34 Big Joe

Romney Campaign Revives Misleading Claim About Kerry’s Tax Returns

I don't he's going to get very far with this BS.

He's desperate and this shows. Obama is going to embarass him at the debates.

gwangung Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:20:40pm

re: #35 Expand Your Ground

I am waiting for them to show how his attitudes on social issues have "evolved" over the past four years and what that will mean to America, especially for women, minorities and gays.

"Unfair! Unfair!"

Targetpractice Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:20:44pm

re: #34 Big Joe

Romney Campaign Revives Misleading Claim About Kerry’s Tax Returns

I don't he's going to get very far with this BS.

They're throwing everything they can at the wall in the hopes that something will stick.

Ming Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:21:41pm

I guess those aborted human fetuses weren't disposed of by that client of Bain Capital; they were just "retired retroactively".

PhillyPretzel Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:21:51pm

re: #38 Targetpractice

The pasta is not done. /

nines09 Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:23:02pm

No matter how many time you shake that "Etch A Sketch" it still comes up snake eyes. Mitt and company wants their cake and eat it too. This is amazing that a man of such power and influence and capital could be so fucking kiss off arrogant. SWEET.

Targetpractice Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:23:15pm

re: #36 HappyWarrior

W

He's desperate and this shows. Obama is going to embarass him at the debates.

The debates are gonna be a horror show for the GOP. Mitt's performances during the primaries left a lot to be desired, where his strategy amounted to little more than getting through with the fewest fuck-ups. That's not gonna work when the other guy has no compunction against hitting you with everything but the kitchen sink.

Sionainn Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:25:17pm

re: #36 HappyWarrior

W

He's desperate and this shows. Obama is going to embarass him at the debates.

We'll hear wingnuts blathering about Obama not being able to perform without a teleprompter.

AK-47% Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:25:22pm

re: #39 Ming

I guess those aborted human fetuses weren't disposed of by that client of Bain Capital; they were just "retired retroactively".

I regret that I have but one up to ding...

AK-47% Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:26:52pm

re: #42 Targetpractice

The debates are gonna be a horror show for the GOP. Mitt's performances during the primaries left a lot to be desired, where his strategy amounted to little more than getting through with the fewest fuck-ups. That's not gonna work when the other guy has no compunction against hitting you with everything but the kitchen sink.

they will need a pre-emptive strategy, as evinced by their latest "Hope and Change" ad: that Obama is evil and negative and Romney is the White Knight trying to run a clean and fair campaign.

Targetpractice Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:27:01pm

re: #43 Sionainn

We'll hear wingnuts blathering about Obama not being able to perform without a teleprompter.

The wingnuts I've talked to are pulling the "It's a non-issue! He has nothing to prove!" approach, trying to act as though the only people who care won't vote for him anyway. Not exactly the best approach when your candidate's failing to gain real traction with independent voters.

wrenchwench Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:30:28pm

re: #41 nines09

No matter how many time you shake that "Etch A Sketch" it still comes up snake eyes.

That could rotate.

blueraven Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:32:33pm

re: #34 Big Joe

Romney Campaign Revives Misleading Claim About Kerry’s Tax Returns

I don't he's going to get very far with this BS.

Get the fact checkers out!

So they revise a statement that few will ever hear about, while 100s of thousands heard the original on CNN.

Shame on Candy Crowley for letting him get away with it.

No wonder the general public is ill informed. So called journalist are just as clueless.

Targetpractice Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:32:54pm

OT:

Well fuck, there goes part of my amusement at the RNC:

Ron Paul's delegate insurgency ends in Nebraska

Ron Paul's delegate insurgency has come to an end.

Supporters of the libertarian GOP presidential candidate fell short at the Nebraska GOP convention, where they had hoped to out-organize Mitt Romney's delegates and push Paul over a critical threshold that would have ensured him an official presence and speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., in August.

As the last state where Republicans will hold a convention in which delegates are up for grabs, Nebraska represented the last chance for Paul's supporters.

Instead, Nebraska Republicans elected a slate of Mitt Romney delegates to represent the state in Tampa. Paul's supporters won only two of Nebraska's 35 national delegates, according to Laura Ebke, who leads the Nebraska chapter of the Republican Liberty Caucus and who has led Paul supporters' effort to win delegates in the state.

William Barnett-Lewis Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:34:29pm

Hey Mittens? How many jobs did you retroactively outsource today?

austin_blue Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:40:01pm

re: #38 Targetpractice

They're throwing everything they can at the wall in the hopes that something will stick.

Unfortunately, everything that is sticking smells like shit.

AK-47% Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:42:21pm

re: #49 Targetpractice

OT:

Well fuck, there goes part of my amusement at the RNC:

Ron Paul's delegate insurgency ends in Nebraska

The Paulians can take a leaf, so to speak, from the Tea Party and simply declare that they have a "God-Given Right" to be heard at the convention and to ignore whatever party rules they find "unconstitutional".

researchok Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:45:47pm

re: #26 SpaceJesus

The campaign is tone deaf and bumbling and has jack shit for funds until after the RNC. It's like they want to lose.

That may not be so far off.

AK-47% Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:47:30pm

This is what the GOP gets for not nominating a True Conservative, isn't it?

Mocking Jay Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:50:10pm

re: #54 Expand Your Ground

This is what the GOP gets for not nominating a True Conservative, isn't it?

This might be the third time I'm saying this: The GOP deserves Mitt Romney.

Targetpractice Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:52:54pm

re: #55 Mocking Jay

This might be the third time I'm saying this: The GOP deserves Mitt Romney.

And come 2016, we'll be told how they would have won had they put a "true conservative" on the ticket.

wrenchwench Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:54:15pm

Gleaned from the Twitter:

Image: 20120714-232618.jpg

AK-47% Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:54:25pm

re: #56 Targetpractice

And come 2016, we'll be told how they would have won had they put a "true conservative" on the ticket.

And they had so many fine examples to choose from: Bachmann/Santorum, Gingrich/Perry, Cain/Abel...

Interesting Times Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:55:36pm

re: #57 wrenchwench

Gleaned from the Twitter:

Image: 20120714-232618.jpg

Gleaned from the facebook:

Image: 559066_502515113107338_1337036012_n.jpg

freetoken Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:55:39pm

My unsolicited advice to the Romney campaign: If you want to distract the public's attention away from the Bain and foreign deposits stuff, you need to dangle a big bobble in front of the public's eyes.

E.g., Gillespie could say "Look, over there, Kim Kardashian is wearing a bra!".

Randall Gross Sun, Jul 15, 2012 12:56:05pm

re: #5 Charles Johnson

Doesn't Romney's campaign know how bad this kind of thing sounds?

Retroactive has become radioactive by now...

MittDoesNotCompute Sun, Jul 15, 2012 1:10:15pm

re: #25 HappyWarrior

I bet Mitt wishes he could retroactively take back that. It's becoming a train wteck for him.

I seriously don't think that Mitt really knows how bad all of this sounds to people not in the same social strata as he is in; apparently, his campaign staff doesn't have the balls to tell him, "All of this shit you're saying about 'retroactive retirement' from Bain in 2002, backdating it to 1999, makes absolutely no fucking sense!"

jaunte Sun, Jul 15, 2012 1:35:25pm

Sounds like "retroactive retirement" is much like stock-option dating in exec. comp packages. Used to just pick date when price was high.
— Jessica Pieklo (@Hegemommy) July 15, 2012

"...companies can use backdating to produce greater executive incomes without having to report higher expenses to their shareholders, which can lower company earnings and/or cause the company to fall short of earnings predictions and public expectations."
[Link: en.wikipedia.org...]

SanFranciscoZionist Sun, Jul 15, 2012 1:40:46pm

re: #62 TedStriker

I seriously don't think that Mitt really knows how bad all of this sounds to people not in the same social strata as he is in; apparently, his campaign staff doesn't have the balls to tell him, "All of this shit you're saying about 'retroactive retirement' from Bain in 2002, backdating it to 1999, makes absolutely no fucking sense!"

Honestly, I could see a company backdating an official retirement by a few months, to ensure a retiring employee gets some tax or pension or healthcare benefit that way. I'm sure people fiddle the dates slightly for various reasons.

But three years seems excessive.

CuriousLurker Sun, Jul 15, 2012 2:33:35pm

David Frum: Romney: Too Weak?

Ouch.

teresa Sun, Jul 15, 2012 2:35:09pm

"But officer I really will retroactively stop at that stop sign!"
Hahahaha.
Mitt Romney and his campaign are in fail mode for some reason. It is kind of awesome to behold.

Mich-again Sun, Jul 15, 2012 2:37:20pm

Since Mitt retired retroactively, did Bain ever go back and refile the SEC forms to reflect who was in charge at the time?

William of Orange Sun, Jul 15, 2012 3:28:45pm

"Retroactive Retirement?"

I expect another classic Stephen Colbert hastag in the near future!

Remember this one??

William of Orange Sun, Jul 15, 2012 3:43:48pm

re: #22 Summer Lovin' Torture Party

[Embedded content]

I retweeted that one! Priceless!

William of Orange Sun, Jul 15, 2012 3:46:31pm

Retroactive reitrement? Is that a different word for etch-a-sketch salary?

TheSwedish Sun, Jul 15, 2012 5:11:28pm

Clears throat, readies best Don LaFontaine voice:

"From the party that brought you 'Enhanced Interrogation Techniques,' it's 'Retroactive Retirement!' "

Ming Sun, Jul 15, 2012 10:49:18pm

re: #26 SpaceJesus

The campaign is tone deaf and bumbling and has jack shit for funds until after the RNC. It's like they want to lose.

Sorry, but I believe the polls are very close. Florida and Pennsylvania may succeed in disenfranchising thousands of voters. Romney is expected to have more campaign money than Obama. Yes, Romney is unlikable, and no one has a clue what his positions are. He himself may not have thought much about what he would do as President. But he's in this to win.

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