Posted on 01/12/2012 6:15:07 PM PST by VinL
Wouldn't it be great if a Republican presidential candidate could just buy the support of just about every major conservative talk show host in America? Well, it may not be as far-fetched as you may think. Clear Channel owns more radio stations (850) than anyone else in the United States. They also own Premiere Radio Networks, the company that syndicates the radio shows of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, and Glenn Beck, among others. Needless to say, Clear Channel basically owns conservative talk radio in the United States. So who owns Clear Channel? Well, it turns out that Bain Capital is one of the primary owners of Clear Channel. Yes, you read that correctly. The company that Mitt Romney ran for so long is one of the "big bosses" over virtually all conservative talk radio in America. Of course Mitt Romney is not running Bain Capital anymore. He is a "retired partner", but he still has a huge financial stake in Bain Capital. We're talking about millions upon millions of dollars. If you doubt this, just check out page 34 of this public financial disclosure report. So if you have been wondering why so many conservative talk show hosts are being so incredibly kind to Mitt Romney, this just might be the answer.
In the media world, there is a clear understanding that you simply do not bite the hand that feeds you. Some of the most prominent conservative talk radio hosts are earning tens of millions of dollars a year.
If you were making tens of millions of dollars a year, wouldn't you be very careful to avoid offending your boss?
The deal in which Bain Capital became one of the owners of Clear Channel was initiated just a short time before Mitt Romney's first run for president. The following comes from Wikipedia....
On November 16, 2006, Clear Channel announced plans to go private, being bought out by two private-equity firms, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital Partners for $18.7 billion, which is just under a 10 percent premium above its closing price of $35.36 a share on November 16 (the deal values Clear Channel at $37.60 per share).
The deal was finalized in 2008. Today, Bain Capital is still one of the primary owners of Clear Channel.
One of the subsidiaries of Clear Channel is Premiere Radio Networks.
Premiere Radio Networks distributes a whole host of conservative talk radio shows. Everyone in the conservative world knows names such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck. Clear Channel also controls some other conservative talk radio hosts (such as Michael Savage and Mark Levin) that are not part of the Premiere Radio family.
The power that Premiere Radio Networks has is absolutely staggering. The following is directly from the official Clear Channel website....
Premiere Radio Networks Inc., a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, syndicates 90 radio programs and services to more than 5,000 radio affiliations and reaches over 190 million listeners weekly. Premiere Radio is the number one radio network in the country and features the following personalities: Rush Limbaugh, Jim Rome, Casey Kasem, Ryan Seacrest, Glenn Beck, Bob (Kevoian) & Tom (Griswold), Delilah, Steve Harvey, Blair Garner, George Noory, John Boy and Billy, Big Tigger, Dr. Dean Edell, Bob Costas, Sean Hannity and others. Premiere is based in Sherman Oaks, California, with 13 offices nationwide.
So do you think that any of those hosts is going to risk viciously attacking Mitt Romney and Bain Capital during this election season?
Not likely.
One of the controversies that has plagued Premiere Radio Networks in recent years has been the uproar over their use of paid actors to call in to their radio shows.
The following comes from Wikipedia....
Clear Channel, through its subsidiary, Premiere Radio Networks, auditions and hires actors to call in to talk radio shows and pose as listeners in order to provide shows, carried by Clear Channel and other broadcasters, with planned content in the form of stories and opinions. The custom caller service provided by Premiere Radio ensures its clients they won't hear the same actor's voice for at least two months in order to appear authentic to listeners who might otherwise catch on.
So perhaps that explains where some of the "Romney callers" come from.
There is nothing illegal about what Romney and Bain Capital have done, but it sure does not pass the "smell test".
Conservative talk radio has the potential to sway millions of conservative voters in one direction or another, and it is just not proper for Bain Capital and Romney to have such an overpowering financial interest in conservative talk radio.
And yes, Mitt Romney is still bringing in lots of money from Bain Capital. The following comes from a Wikipedia article about Mitt Romney....
At the time of his departure, Romney negotiated an agreement with Bain Capital that allowed him to receive a passive profit share as a retired partner in some Bain Capital entities, including buyout and investment funds.[62][57] With the private equity business continuing to thrive, this deal would bring him millions of dollars in income each year.[57] As a result of his business career, by 2007 Romney and his wife had a net worth of between $190 and $250 million, most of it held in blind trusts.[62] An additional blind trust existed in the name of the Romneys' children and grandchildren that was valued at between $70 and $100 million as of 2007.[63] The couple's net worth remained in the same range as of 2011, and was still held in blind trusts.
In addition, Bain Capital and Bain & Company continue to pour huge amounts of money into Romney's campaign coffers.
Just check out the following list of the biggest donors to the Romney campaign. These numbers come from opensecrets.org....
Goldman Sachs $367,200 Credit Suisse Group $203,750 Morgan Stanley $199,800 HIG Capital $186,500 Barclays $157,750 Kirkland & Ellis $132,100 Bank of America $126,500 PriceWaterhouseCoopers $118,250 EMC Corp $117,300 JPMorgan Chase & Co $112,250 The Villages $97,500 Vivint Inc $80,750 Marriott International $79,837 Sullivan & Cromwell $79,250 Bain Capital $74,500 UBS AG $73,750 Wells Fargo $61,500 Blackstone Group $59,800 Citigroup Inc $57,050 Bain & Co $52,500
As with anything, whenever you want to get to the real truth you just need to follow the money.
Earlier this week, Sean Hannity told Rick Perry that his attacks on Mitt Romney's time at Bain Capital sounded like something that "Occupy Wall Street" would say.
Just the other day, Rush Limbaugh compared Rick Perry to Fidel Castro and rabidly defended Mitt Romney on his radio program....
“There’s no way you can try to dress that up,” Limbaugh fumed. “I don’t understand it. Well, politically I understand it, but that’s just absurd. It’s sad. ‘Cause I really, really, really like Rick Perry! I really do. I had such hopes! I did. I’ll tell you, I did, but all of this talk about “corporate raiders,” and as I listen to politicians start talking about capitalism, lights are going off in my head. “Maybe they don’t really know what it is. Maybe they’re under some misconception about what capitalism is, because this characterization of it? A distinction with venture capitalism and vulture capitalism? This bite from Perry doesn’t compute.”
So why are these conservative talk show hosts defending Mitt Romney so furiously?
I think now we know.
It is all about the money.
When you have enough money, you can get conservative talk show hosts to promote an extremely liberal candidate.
Yes, of course Bain Capital does not "control" what these talk show hosts say.
Yes, of course some of the talk show hosts toss some light criticism at Romney from time to time.
But they simply do not go after Romney like they should be.
The truth is that Mitt Romney is really a Democrat that is masquerading as a Republican. When you closely examine his record, he is very similar to Obama.
There is no way in the world that any self-respecting conservative should ever cast a single vote for him.
But right now Mitt Romney is running away with the race for the Republican nomination.
If Republicans can be fooled this badly, is there any hope for the future of the Republican Party?
I have seen a lot of ignorant statements on FR, but some here are the dumbest I have ever read. You nuts have no ideal what it would cost to micro manage such a large investment. Damn, you buy a business making money to have a return on your investment., You do not buy it, to social engineers, like some of you closet socialist think, so you can lose money.
And this is a bad thing? I thank goodness for clear channel, giving us an alternative to liberalism on the airwaves.
Bain bump
Ok, ok... I give up, bring on socialism’s utopia... better that all be poor and scrounge equally than that some be uber wealthy and the rest have it better in America than the rest of the world.
With reference to your post 32, I’m with you. I quit listening to that man a couple years ago. He is so damn arrogant and pompous, and from certain comments he has made, I think that he thinks very little of his listening audience.
But if that’s what they want, that’s what they get.
I do not understand freeper support for newt. He is untrustworthy. He’d make a horrible president. Yes, he has facts at his fingertips and can debate. We’d all love to see him debate Obama. But that is it.
He’s a very emotionally needy guy. That’s why he cheats. That’s why he falls for “popular” things (global warming with nance) and stupid things (attacking mitt from the left - he was CROWing about that video before it came out). His ideas are 10% genius and 90% “win the future.”
This intense insecurity, coming out of that estrogen-dominant chubby belly, looks like confidence but it isn’t.
I don’t know why most of you would trust him with our presidency. He’s not truly conservative or constitutional. He is pro-newt only.
I’d much prefer trusting Santorum with our highest office for 4-8 years.
Newt would make the best president since Ronald Reagan. Give me 10 names other than Ronald Reagan of elected federal government representatives who have accomplished more conservative things than Newt since 1980?
He didn’t “fall” for global warming. He has the most correct, balanced position on the issue (we haven’t proved if it is or is not happening) and his collaboration on this was about reducing dependence on foreign energy. His views on it are discussed completely in this interview:
http://www.breitbart.tv/newt-hammers-wapo-in-dana-loesch-interview/
He’s not attacking Mitt “from the left,” he’s questioning the character, ethics, judgment and motivation of a man who was able to do things in his career would almost guarantee he has no conscience or sensitivity. Mitt has admitted according to the New York Times that he regrets some of his actions at Bain Capital. Newt is just trying to make sure the voters become aware of those actions and don’t get an October Surprise about them.
No one cares about the “meme” of him being an “untrustworthy cheater.” He has never been untrustworthy in dealing with the people who elect him. I haven’t heard one person say he went back on a campaign promise. What he did in his personal life had no effect on me and he has repented and it happened at least 10 years ago. If you’re going to make these types of things litmus tests for public officials, you’ll seriously limit your pool and deny yourself talent. If you were running a company, would you only hire employees who had perfect marriage lives or would you look for the most qualified person?
Bashing him for being “fat” was about as helpful and relevant as the rest of your critique.
Santorum would make a fine junior partner in the V.P. slot and would set us up for a 16-year reign in the White House.
Some days, others, not so much.
Yes, THANKS, Newt for exposing Romney’s record now so we can pick an ELECTABLE candidate, not one that would have been taken down by Obama with a billion-dollar October Surprise.
He won’t make anybody in Washington afraid if he is attacking Wall Street Was that a typo? Are you even paying attention to what goes on in the world? Haven't you been watching the likes of Jeffrey "tax-free" Immelt and John "I can't show you the money" Corzine buddying up with Obama?
Newt gave a speech demanding that Fannie and Freddie NOT be bailed out by the taxpayer in 2008. They were not funded by taxpayers back when his firm worked as consultants for them.
He said several times he is going to fire everyone at the EPA and create a new agency with a very different purpose.
As I understand it, Newt is a tax credit guy. He wouldn't give taxpayer money away to companies but he may give tax breaks to help promote stuff like American energy development.
It wasn’t just Newt either. Both him and Perry got in a bidding war over the King of Bain film, which was produced by a former Romney staffer(!). I’d like to hear that guy’s story. Most likely he got a good close-up look at the Mittster and out of sheer disgust at his hypocrisy and motives was motivated to make this film.
Obama may be the enemy but Romney is the enemy WITHIN. Whichever one wins, we lose. We need to clean up the mess in our own party before we have a strong enough platform from which to launch an attack on B.O.
Nobody’s criticizing anyone for making money. But it becomes an issue of character if you make your money by scalping tickets, by charging people 100% interest for payday advances, by selling worthless mortgage-backed securities, by taking government bailouts (that’s you, Bain) and by doing con artist pump-and-dump schemes on a grand scale (Bain again). The full story hasn’t been written on Bain yet but when you really look into what they do and the kind of financial mechanisms they put into place, they were able to make millions on companies even while driving them into bankruptcy. What they did is morally suspect at best.
Limbaugh is his own guy, and he has reached a point in his life he doesn’t care what other people think, he says what he wants - place marker
I do understand your misgivings. I have them, too. One thing -- he has more than facts at his fingertips. He has a record, and while it's loaded with crap (don't get me started on the global warming thing! It betrays his vaunted "intelligence"), it's also loaded with something none of the other candidates can even touch: a record of grasping and carrying through Reagan's concepts, and fighting to see them done.
He’s a very emotionally needy guy. That’s why he cheats. That’s why he falls for “popular” things (global warming with nance) and stupid things ...
Maybe that's why he cheats. Nobody except that immediate circle knows, nor is it any of our business, the full-spectrum circumstances of his family life. Just because someone has an odd and "not normal" personal life doesn't mean they're not extremely valuable and worthy. "There's no normal life, there's just life." I find it to be true.
On the other hand, I agree that a kind of neediness is why he falls for fads like Global Warming (don't you just want to scream at all these perfectly good, "normal," nice Americans dutifully carting reusable grocery bags to the store, in the ridiculously vain notion that it's "necessary" and "responsible" !!!). I've fallen for fads myself, but I hope a lot less now than I used to.
This intense insecurity, coming out of that estrogen-dominant chubby belly, looks like confidence but it isn’t.
That's practically poetic, it's so well-said! Very observatnly put. But honest, I think Newt's insecurity is at most, medium, maybe a little above average.
I don’t know why most of you would trust him with our presidency. He’s not truly conservative or constitutional.
It ain't looking like we're going to get "truly conservative" this time around, but I'm counting blessings: Santorum, Gingrich, even Perry, are a hell of a lot better than the ones we ultimately ended up with last time. I mean, get real: Huckabee??? Was the GOP on crack??? McCain?
I like that Gingrich has at times confessed, admitted, that he's screwed up. That rings true, and there was a lot to be said for the Contract for America. So what if the guy behind it was a bit of a Mama's boy. It takes all kinds.
Gingrich is human. Very human.
Which is a lot more than you can say for Romney!
... And we'd have to have detailed daily climate records going back about 50 million years to hazard a guess if it were ... ...
Nobody’s criticizing anyone for making money. But it becomes an issue of character if you make your money by scalping tickets, by charging people 100% interest for payday advances, by selling worthless mortgage-backed securities, by taking government bailouts (that’s you, Bain) and by doing con artist pump-and-dump schemes on a grand scale (Bain again). The full story hasn’t been written on Bain yet but when you really look into what they do and the kind of financial mechanisms they put into place, they were able to make millions on companies even while driving them into bankruptcy. What they did is morally suspect at best.
Yep! Scalping tickets is perfectly within the realm of capitalism, and the scalper takes a risk. But scalpers rightly piss people off. They're jerks -- can't they think of a better way to make money? They don't produce a thing -- they just leech off somebody else's product and make things cost more for everybody else. BUT PEOPLE, IT IS FREE MARKET CAPITALISM.
Whether or not a guy's been divorced a bunch of times is small potatoes. The real indicator of character is how he makes a living.
Of course i would vote for newt if I have to. He’s still a not Romney. But I would never trust him. He does crazy things because he thinks it will benefit him. In both his professional and private life. I have known for years that he would make a poor president.
I respect your support for him. There are parts of him that I could see being great to have on our team. But we’d never know what tack he’d take on issues. I don’t even know if he could beat Obama. He is unpredictable enough to play the wrong card or say something campaign ending and we’d be pulling our hair out. He just cannot be trusted.
C. Edmund -- wait a minute now. Your words again: Bain is not paying Rush - Rush’s profits are paying Bain and Clear Channel. Anyone investing in Clear Channel is investing in the chance to get a share of Clear Channel’s profits which are driven by their talk revenue, NOT the other way around.
"Rush has a 400mil contract."
So say Rush broke the contract and went nuclear on Bain and Romney. They cancel the contract and Rush is no longer on any Clear Channel stations.
Where's Rush going to be? Clear Channel owns a lot of the infrastructure of his medium. He needs CC as much as it needs him -- maybe even a little more.
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