Narrative Fail: Romney Advisor Claims He “Retroactively Retired” in 1999

July 16, 2012 | Filed under 2012 Presidential Race,Mitt Romney | Posted by

From The Hill:

Senior Mitt Romney campaign adviser Ed Gillespie blasted President Obama’s attacks on the GOP candidate, saying Romney had been honest about his tenure at the private equity giant Bain Capital.

“We now know this president will say or do anything to keep the highest office in the land, even if it demeans the highest office in the land,” Gillespie said, during an interview Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Democrats have raised questions about when exactly Romney left Bain. Romney has said he left in 1999 to oversee preparations for the Salt Lake City Olympics, but SEC documents show him listed as Bain’s CEO beyond that time.

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. “He left a life he loved to go to Salt Lake City and help a country he loves more, and somehow Chicago… is trying to make it something sinister.”

He made the same claim on Meet The Press, shown in the video below:

Really, that’s how they’re going to play this?

They deserve the mocking that they’re getting on Twitter. There’s even a hash tag for it… #retroactive.

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Posted by on July 16, 2012.
Filed under 2012 Presidential Race, Mitt Romney.
Doug Johnson is a news junkie and long time blog reader, turned author.

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  • Commander_Chico

    Boston is supposed to have a big rep for political operatives, but could you have run more inept campaigns than Dukakis, Kerry and now Romney so far?

    Might as well get Jon Lovitz as Tommy Flanagan to be Romney’s campaign spokesman.

    • jim_m

      but could you have run more inept campaigns than Dukakis, Kerry and now Romney so far?

      Martha Coakley and Elizabeth Warren.

      The answer to your question is yes.

  • herddog505

    Jebus. I understand the concept of “retroactive retirement”, but it sounds so phony and made-up. How stupid can these people be?

    • http://www.outsidethebeltway.com rodney dill

      I suspect it only sounds worse than it is, but I can only speculate on what it means. I don’t think it in any way changes whether Mitt actively left involvement in Bain, in 1999 or 2002. I think that determination stands or falls on other documents and events.

      After thinking about it, I would suspect it refers to something contractual. After he left Bain and found he wasn’t going back (at whatever point). Designating what he wanted that departure time to be, could possibly invoke certain retirement benefits for him (Contractual benefits for his CEO position, not retirement benefits as most of us 99% would think).

      That’s my best guess, and I doesn’t otherwise settle any questions about his time at Bain.

      • herddog505

        I agree.

        It seems to me akin to turning in one’s notice and then using vacation days:

        “It says here that you turned in your notice on July 17. Did you give two weeks’ notice?”

        “Yes.”

        “Then why was your last day of work July 20? That’s not two weeks. LIAR!”

        “Um… I had accrued vacation days—”

        “LIAR!”

  • Wild_Willie

    I explain this to my wife. It is the summer. Most citizens are not paying attention. Just political wonks and beltway folks. Obama is spending like a drunken sailor to try to stay even with Romeny in the swing states. Come convention time, Romney will have his millions ready and Obama will be trying to raise millions. I understand the frustration, but I agree with the strategy. ww

    • Hugh_G

      Oh how quickly you forget the past when it suits you.

      Bob Dole, John Kerry defined before the conventions. It stuck. That’s what’s happening with Romney. Out of touch, either hiding something or just plain stupid.

      • 914

        DERP!

        • Hugh_G

          You must play in the same sandbox the alleged “moderator” does. Two children showing your maturity.

          Again, pathetic shit.

          • http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves

            And yet your whiny comment was allowed to remain…

          • Hugh_G

            No, just stating the obvious.

          • http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves

            As well as your whiny apologia for whining. Project you very much when it comes to “pathetic shit.”

          • Hugh_G

            Ha! If ever there is a demonstration of juvenile behavior aka “pathetic shit” you’ve perfected it. Projection? No, just describing infantile behavior of a so-called moderator..

            Again, pathetic shit.

          • http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves

            Do you need help finding the door?

          • Hugh_G

            Ooooooo….a further demonstration of your maturity as an alleged grown up and as a so-called moderator. I’ll bet take your bat and ball and go home when you can’t get your way – just like 7yos.

          • http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves

            DERP!

          • Guest

            It’s as if this blog was intentionally doing the worst possible job it could with regards to comment moderation. Wadney is a joke.

          • http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves

            DERP!
            Whiny!
            DERP!

          • jim_x23

            Great way to demonstrate maturity. lol

          • http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves

            Duly noted, appropriately filed.

      • http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson

        Both Dole and Kerry were examples of “Well, hell. It’s their turn at bat, and the only chance they’ll have before they retire. Let ‘em go out on a high point.”

        As far as hiding things goes – if you couldn’t figure out Obama was hiding something with his “blank slate”, how would you recognize if Romney is?

        • Hugh_G

          You may be right about Dole but I disagree about Kerry. He was defined as a flip flopper before the convention.

          I’m not sure what the relevance of ‘Obama….hiding something…. has to do with Romney other than an attempt at false equivalence.

          It certainly appears (the operative word) that Romney is hiding something with his refusal to disclose his tax returns. Even high ranking members of his own party are telling him to. The “appearance” is that he is hiding damaging information. Between that and the contradictions about his tenure at Bain are what he is being defined about now. That’s my only point.

          • http://www.rustedsky.net JLawson

            That’s reasonable to me. Thanks for explaining it.

          • Hugh_G

            Thanks. Nice to chat with you – always.

  • Guest

    Release the tax returns back to 1999.

    Try honesty for a change, Mitt.

    • http://wizbangblog.com/author/rodney-graves/ Rodney G. Graves

      DERP! DERP!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Chas-Holman/1333779011 Chas Holman

    C’mon now…
    “retroactively retired’ is no less plausible than ‘self deportation’.

  • blogagog

    I’m just glad it wasn’t the pot smoking Nick Gillespie.