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July 18, 2012

Bain, Cicilline, Reed and Whitehouse

Carroll Andrew Morse

Rhode Island First District Congressman David Cicilline was quoted yesterday in a WPRO (630AM) blog item yesterday on the subject of Bain Capital's relevance to the 2012 Presidential campaign...

“I think it is pretty clear that Governor Romney was at Bain Capital and that was a key part of their strategy to be outsourcing American jobs. I think it is a fair question to be asked during this campaign,” said Congressman David Cicilline.
But if Congressman Cicilline has determined that the Bain business model is fundamentally wrong, does he intend to return the sizeable campaign contribution he accepted from a Bain Managing Partner and Chief Investment Officer...
Jonathan Lavine, Bain Capital: Cicilline Committee contribution, $2,500, 6/27/2011.
...or are there times when Congressman Cicilline doesn't find anything wrong with Bain's business practices -- like when he's cashing a check from one of the firm's senior managers?

The same question can be asked of Rhode Island Senior Senator Jack Reed. He is both a Bain critic in the WPRO post, and has been a recipient of multiple contributions from Bain managers over the years...

Jonathan S. Lavine, Bain Capital: The Reed Committee contribution, $2,300, 6/26/2007.
Jonathan S. Lavine, Bain Capital: The Reed Committee contribution, $200, 6/26/2007.
Mark Nunnelly, Bain Capital: The Reed Committee contribution, $2,300, 12/26/2007.
This, of course, is the Rhode Island way. Attitudes of the political class towards a particular business have less to do with the substance of the actual business, and more to do with whether personalities connected to a particular venture are political allies or not.

For the record, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse has also been the recent beneficiary of some of Bain management's Rhode Island largess...

Mark E. Nunnelly, Bain Capital: Whitehouse for Senate contribution: $2,400, 6/22/2010.
Joshua Bekenstein, Bain Capital: Whitehouse for Senate contribution: $2,200, 12/31/2010.
Joshua Bekenstein, Bain Capital: Whitehouse for Senate contribution: $2,400, 12/31/2010.

Comments

Obama himself has accepted nearly $120k in contributions from Bain employees since his first run for Senate...not to mention The Obama's collectively have at least $200k invested in the Vangard 500 Index Fund which has huge holdings in...you guessed it...many companies that are pioneers in outsourcing. But politicians (both sides of the aisle) rarely let the truth get in the way of a good sound bite...especially when the media is either too inept or beholden to call them on it.

Posted by: JTR at July 18, 2012 4:01 PM

Do individuals who accept Government money have the right to criticize the Government? Do individuals who work for a company have the right to contribute legally to any candidate?

Posted by: Phil at July 18, 2012 6:12 PM

So with these contributions, you could make the case that Cicilline, Reed and Whitehouse have benefitted (campaign-wise) from the outsourcing of American jobs. That sounds awfully inconsistent to me.

Posted by: Monique at July 18, 2012 6:16 PM

The good folks at Bain Capital who know Mitt Scissorhands Romney better than us peasants, have donated, raised-bundled $250,000++ for Obama ? ?

Posted by: Sammy in Arizona at July 18, 2012 7:09 PM

obama not only takes Bain money but also think highly enough to make Jeff Zients his budget director.

That money list also includes a who's who of Northest Democrats.

Candidate Bain Capital Donations
John Kerry $76,200
Jack Reed $15,000
Sheldon Whitehouse $11,800
Joe Kennedy III (Candidate For Mass. District 4) $10,000
Richard Blumenthal $9,600
David Cicilline $5,000
Niki Tsongas $2,500

Posted by: dave at July 19, 2012 7:37 AM

Don't forget GE. It's simply amazing that this megacorp paid no taxes last year, hides it's money overseas to avoid additional tax, outsources more than most has it's CEO on the President's team. The hypocrisy is breathtaking....

Posted by: Mike678 at July 21, 2012 7:05 AM