re: #288 Killgore Trout

WaPo’s factchecker on Romney’s new ad: 4 Pinocchios for an unproven Romney claim of ‘crony capitalism’

The other piece to this is the only reason it’s even possible for the Romney camp to put forward conspiracies about “bundler payoffs” is because the Obama Campaign in both 2008 (and presently) follow the long standing precedent of disclosing presidential campaign bundlers — a standard the the Romney campaign is refusing to follow.

Then there’s this:

BuzzFeed Politics: In 2006, Romney Filled Most Administration Appointments With Donors

The Romney campaign has begun to allege “crony capitalism” in President Obama’s Administration, with one advisor, Ed Gillespie, saying “if you’re a political donor to Barack Obama, you’re going to do fine, because you’re going to get a payoff.”

But a review of the Romney’s own 2006 appointees to Massachusetts posts — conducted by cross-referencing press releases with a Romney donor database — show Romney himself has a history of rewarding donors with political postions. Indeed, all but one of Romney’s 2006 press releases for appointments are for Romney donors, a total of 15 out of 17 appointees.

One example cited is Romney’s current senior campaign advisor Eric Fehrnstrom:

In November [2006], Romney attempted to appoint longtime aide and current advisor Eric Fehrnstrom to the Brookline Housing Authority. The postion would have put Fehrnstrom in line for a pension worth several hundred thousand dollars, and Fehrnstrom had recently bought back into the state pension system. After a public outcry, Fehrnstorm resigned the post.