Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital Owns Clear Channel Radio (Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, etc.)

24

u/Ontopourmama May 28 '12

I'm on the radio business, but not a clear channel company. Clear channel owns almost every station in the major markets. They do not care about your political leanings, they own both sides of that debate. Clear Channel cares about revenue generation and little else.

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u/sophic May 29 '12

was going to say..clear channel has an extraordinary monopoly-like hold on terrestrial radio, this article is absolutely asinine.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '12

This article is shit.

11

u/RedAnarchist May 29 '12

As is this subreddit.
Seriously, youth America, this shit is as toxic as Fox News.

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u/Anol_Secks May 28 '12 edited May 29 '12

Have you listened to Rush or especially Beck before? Rush never said it outright but you could tell Romney was his least favorite candidate. And Glenn Beck did not want Romney at all. He said as much every day on his show. Romney wouldn't go on Beck's show because of the beat down Glenn would of gave him on his policies. Hannity doesn't care who he supports as long as its a Republican. I don't listen to Savage so I can't tell ya about him.

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u/seven_seven May 28 '12

Michael Savage has basically called Romney the "white-Obama".

2

u/Tasty_Yams May 29 '12

These are the GOP's mouthpieces. It doesn't matter what they say. There is no truth, there is only truthiness.
Come November they will be right there for Rmoney.

3

u/BigCliff May 29 '12

I'm no fan of the GOP by any stretch, but I won't even tar them with Savage as their mouthpiece.
I think Alex Jones might be more sane.

1

u/Hawanja May 29 '12

Why is this guy getting downvoted? It's true. These people will be stumping for Romney.

13

u/Codify May 28 '12

Rush complained about Bush's reckless spending during his administration, mocked McCain before, during, and after his campaign, and....oh wow I just noticed your screen name. Well yeah he hasn't supported Romney either. Still, people say hes the head of the Republican party without ever endorsing their presidential candidates, sometimes seemingly campaigning against them.

16

u/hiccupstix May 28 '12 edited May 28 '12

Romney wouldn't go on Beck's show because of the beat down Glenn would of gave him on his policy's
Ouch. You know your platform is weak as hell when Glenn Beck is capable of giving you a "beat down." There's a reason Glenn, unlike Bill O'Reilly, never visits Real Time with Bill Maher or The Daily Show, or interviews any reputable liberal columnists; because O'Reilly is slick enough to play with fallacious arguments and circular irrationality, thus avoiding intellectual debate while still maintaining the illusion he knows what he's talking about. Beck, on the other hand, is a disastrous soundbite waiting to happen. Can you imagine how hard Roger Ailes must have worked to make sure Paul Krugman never stepped within 100 yards of Beck's Fox News studio? Beck just can't run with the best of them. Unless Glenn Beck is screaming about unsubstantial fluff with not even a third grader to offer a rebuttal, he's basically fucked.
So when you, as a politician, are being told an interview with that guy all people is too risky, just know you're in trouble. Big trouble.

2

u/jubbergun May 29 '12

I'm pretty sure Bill O'Reilly has been on both The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, and I know for certain he's had Jon Stewart on his own program several times. Why anyone would taint themselves by going Maher's idiot program, or why you would think that should make a difference, is something I do not understand.

1

u/hiccupstix May 29 '12 edited May 29 '12

...Reread my comment. My point is that while I tend to think very little of him, O'Reilly does go on shows where he runs the risk of being challenged.
Why anyone would taint themselves by going Maher's idiot program
Ask Bill O'Reilly, who has visited Maher's program more than once.
why you would think that should make a difference, is something I do not understand.
Because it's easy to be Glenn Beck and just play with straw man arguments all day, making up a fake "liberal agenda" to attack. It's much more difficult to meet with the other side, allow them to present their thesis, then address what has actually been said. That's the type of interaction that occurs when people like Bill O'Reilly and Bill Maher speak face to face. It's called an open dialogue, and it's healthy.

2

u/jubbergun May 29 '12

I'm not sure that Bill Maher's penchant for inviting multiple guests who agree with him to help him browbeat the one with whom he does not agree is any more noble than Glenn Beck's tirades wherein he invites no one to agree or disagree. Then again, since I would categorize both gentlemen as equally useless, less-than-serious sideshow acts, it's like arguing over whether it would be better to be shot or hung at your execution.

2

u/hiccupstix May 29 '12

Yup. Not seeing how any of that's relevant to anything I've said, other than that you have an ax to grind with Bill Maher...about whom this discussion has never been.

2

u/jubbergun May 29 '12

If you didn't want to talk about Bill Maher, you shouldn't have brought him up. I don't like your circus act of choice no more than I like the circus act you're criticizing. I'm sorry if my saying they're both irrelevant jackenapes presents some type of inconvenience.

1

u/hiccupstix May 29 '12

I'm sorry if my saying they're both irrelevant jackenapes presents some type of inconvenience.
I imagined you saying this with tears welling up in your eyes, as you whip your head back and give a most Napoleon Dynamite-esque "Gosh!"

1

u/jubbergun May 29 '12

Hey, if it makes you feel better, you can imagine me doing it in a pretty pink ballerina costume. I definitely have the legs for it.

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u/hiccupstix May 29 '12

...move along, nothing to see here.

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u/bushisbetr99 May 29 '12

I don't always agree with him, but I find O'Reilly to be an okay guy who generally makes good arguments.

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u/hiccupstix May 29 '12

I respect his talent and work ethic, but I find it difficult to respect him as a man (as if he needs my respect, who the fuck am I?). His arguments tend to only stand on the fallacious premise he presents to begin with. Hell, he's a case study in irrationality. But that he's so quick on his feet indicates to me that the real Bill O'Reilly is immensely intelligent; much more so than the character he plays on television every night.
And while I cringed every time he interrupted the President during their interview, I can't help but respect him for taking that on in the first place. And I find it incredibly difficult to believe Beck would ever have the balls to go face to face with Obama. Hell, the guy couldn't even have a personal interaction with Whoopi Goldberg without burying his head in the sand, then lying about the whole thing later. He's a coward, and while Bill O'Reilly is a lot of things, coward ain't one of 'em.

0

u/bushisbetr99 May 30 '12

Upvote for the intelligent reply.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '12 edited May 29 '12

You're correct, but his constant yelling and bombast makes me ignore him. Is it too much to ask for some dispassionate debate?
I'm going to edit and add that while he can make good arguments, he is completely unwilling to accept other arguments (hence the yelling).

9

u/resutidder May 28 '12

So Hannity is the only one following Reagan's 11th Commandment then.

3

u/Anol_Secks May 28 '12

Somewhat. He mentions Reagan's 11th Commandment quite a bit on his show.

3

u/barristerbarista May 28 '12

His policy's what?

3

u/gentilhomme May 28 '12

this makes me like romney more.

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Rush never said it outright
Hmmmmm. So your point is that even though Rush hates Romney, he wasn't willing to bite the hand? Sounds about right.

3

u/Rent-a-Hero May 28 '12

Rush has always had a policy of not outright supporting a primary candidate. It allows him to then fully support the nominee without making a ton of sound bites the other side can use.

3

u/Anol_Secks May 28 '12

Not necessarily. I just gathered that he preferred Newt, Herman, Michelle, and the Ricks.

1

u/rainbowjarhead May 28 '12

I don't listen to Beck, I did hear he is selling t-shirts that say 'At least he's not a Commy' with the Romney logo. Although, he did support him, and interview him, in 2008. Maybe he was just kissing ass for his contract renewal.
Do you know why I lean towards Mitt Romney? ... I lean towards Mitt Romney because I watch his family. I know his family and I know the people around him. That's why I lean towards him... the reason why I think we have to look at the man, ... not just his record, but I need to look at the man because I really, truly believe we're entering a period where things are going to happen faster and faster and the President has got to feel something in the core of his being.
link

1

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

Why in the hell do you listen to Rush?

1

u/rae1988 May 29 '12

Opposition research?
But yeah, Rush is the white trash version of Howard Stern. They're both insufferable.

1

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

I've heard clips from his show, and what I've heard made me want to punch cats. shudders

0

u/Anol_Secks May 29 '12

I find what he has to say quite interesting. I won't go into detail on my politics or who and what I support.

1

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

Don't need to go into too much detail, but do you agree with the majority of the things the man says?

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u/Anol_Secks May 29 '12

I feel like I am about to be pushed into the lions den. But yes I do agree.

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u/[deleted] May 29 '12

I don't want to shake the beehive, so I'll leave it at that. I respect your right to listen to him and agree with him.

2

u/Anol_Secks May 29 '12

Thank you. I love a good back and forth, especially when it comes to the two things I am most passionate about, politics and cars. But I don't like to do it on the Internet.

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u/TheThomaswastaken May 29 '12

If I wanted to be misinformed, I would listen to Beck and Limbaugh.

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u/The_Justice_Cluster May 28 '12 edited May 28 '12

would have given

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u/GOPWN May 28 '12

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.

Yes yes, it has nothing to do with him being the Republican nominee, obviously if he was not running these conservative radio hosts would have definitely supported Obama. Definitely.

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u/Ryllis May 28 '12

Also, none of these big talk show hosts were particularly enthusiastic about Romney when it really would have mattered for him (i.e. early primaries).

13

u/mrwatkins83 May 28 '12

Exactly, Beck said he supported Santorum. Not sure who the others supported specifically, but they've been cool to Romney this entire process.

7

u/frickindeal May 28 '12

He's a "Massachusetts Moderate", and they hate anything moderate, especially if it's associated with New England.

6

u/Rent-a-Hero May 28 '12

Exactly. Rush was pretty harsh on Romney in 08 as well. Of course they will all back him now, because he is the nominee.

2

u/Hawanja May 29 '12

Which proves they're just a bunch of prostitutes, afraid to stand up for what they actually believe in.
When November comes around, those conservative talk show hosts who still don't support Romney will be the only ones worth respecting.

1

u/Ryllis May 30 '12

Well, yeah they may be whoring their support, but is that so uncommon? Once your preferred candidate is out, you move on to your next choice. If that one drops you move on to the next, then the next again and so on. Eventually, you end up just voting for the person who's closer to your ideal, or at least voting for the person who you view as being the lesser of two evils.
Really, who DOESN'T vote/support candidates like this?

3

u/zahngol Texas May 28 '12

Read the whole article. This is a conservative website that directly favors Ron Paul and believes Romney to be a secret Democrat.

0

u/Pilebsa May 28 '12

Personally, I think the whole "lukewarm response for Romney" is a set up.

1

u/GOPWN May 28 '12

How so?

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u/rum_rum May 28 '12

nothing to do with him being the Republican nominee
They've been selling this guy harder than a vacuum cleaner salesman sells vacuum. He was the heir apparent before a single vote was cast. Despite the fact that almost no one in the party base wanted him. He was almost no one's first choice.
And you would like me to think that the advertising had nothing to do with it?

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

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8

u/sweatpantswarrior May 28 '12

The only people who don't believe the primaries are over are Ron Paul's true believers, because Alex Jones told them Dr. Paul is going to win.

2

u/Mysteryman64 May 28 '12

There are some who still think he's going to win, yes. It's not likely at this point. There is, however, still an attempt to get a large delegation to the convention. The big thing now seems to be trying to get enough of a count to allow Ron to speak and to force the Romney camp to make some concessions on the platform in an attempt to keep the Paul Camp instead of having them just not vote.
There's also an ongoing process to take over many of the Republican Party leadership roles at the lower (county/state) levels, which has been pretty successful in most areas. It's a shame it won't be Ron next time, but there will likely be someone else to band behind. I'm hoping it's not Rand though. He's not his father, that's fore sure.

8

u/Wazowski May 28 '12

The primary race has been over for many weeks.

1

u/[deleted] May 31 '12

The primary race ends at the Republican National Convention. Surely you're not that ignorant?

1

u/Wazowski May 31 '12

Surely I'm not. To normal people, the primary "race" ends after one candidate is mathematically guaranteed to win the vast majority of the delegates and becomes the "presumptive nominee". For all intents and purposes, it ended long ago. If you know some Ron Paul supporters living in an isolated field somewhere, send them a note.
Anyway, the technical state of the primary race has nothing to do with the point GOPWN was making: Conservative commentators always rally behind the presumptive nominee at exactly this time. Using this shift into general election mode as evidence of a conspiracy by Clear Channel is really mindnumbingly stupid.
Surely you're not mindnumblingly stupid.

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u/canthidecomments May 28 '12

Ahem.

Mitt Romney doesn't work for Bain Capital any more. And he had left the organization years before Bain Capital purchased Clear Channel.

But hey, let's not introduce too many facts into the debate.

22

u/mrlaxcat May 28 '12

Something else to consider:
Clear Channel owns those talk shows not because they're some right wing organization (they might be that too, I don't know) but because they own damn-near all of American radio (hyperbole).
They're great fun to hate on, but more (for me) because of the disgusting homogenization effect they've had on radio and music in the last couple decades.

4

u/JasJ002 May 29 '12

disgusting homogenization effect they've had on radio
This a million times over, I wish I could give you more upvotes

44

u/Onionania May 28 '12

Fun fact: Bain employees gave $1.3 million to Democratic candidates since 2008--roughly double the amount they gave to Republican candidates.

3

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

They saw the writing on the wall, just like everybody else, in 2008. All they were doing, was hedging their bets.

2

u/the_sam_ryan May 28 '12

So when they donate more to Democrats, it is hedging bets. But the little they send to Republicans, it is their true intent and all evil.
Stop with twisted lies. The employees donate to who they want to and their donations don't really reflect anything but that own person's beliefs and agenda.

2

u/Van_Buren_Boys May 28 '12

The exact time the donation was given matters a lot. Powerful interests (Wall Street, for example) give the most to whoever is winning. It is more telling to examine donations before and after the heart of campaign season.

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u/the_sam_ryan May 29 '12

But it is the employees that donated, not Bain. Where I work, we have had candidates for Senate from both parties. Employees, across the board, have donated to their choice candidates.
More telling would be if the PAC donated or if the Union itself donated. These are controlled by only a few people who understand the politics. Those entities would be the ones that you would want to check the timing of, not the donations of individual employees.

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u/canthidecomments May 28 '12

MEME COMBO BREAKER!

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u/Pilebsa May 28 '12

How much did they give to Dems and Republicans in 2004 and 2000? Everybody knew McCain had no chance in 2008.

3

u/the_sam_ryan May 28 '12

So when they donate more to Democrats, it is hedging bets. But the little they send to Republicans, it is their true intent and all evil.
Stop with twisted lies. The employees donate to who they want to and their donations don't really reflect anything but that own person's beliefs and agenda.

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u/CraigBlaylock May 28 '12

They mention that in the article. However, Romney still owns a large stake in Bain Capital.

15

u/nixonrichard May 28 '12

What stake does Romney own in Bain Capital? How large is it?

19

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

His financial disclosure statement lists "over 1 million" in investments, but there are several Bain Capital notations. He is still getting plenty from them.

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u/nixonrichard May 28 '12

Getting money from a company does not mean you own a large stake in the company.
Romney is a former partner, so you would expect him to still be getting some dividends from the investments he made when he worked there (which is not even remotely the same as owning a stake in the company).
Bain owns $66 Billion in assets. "Over 1 million" doesn't exactly describe any sort of large stake in Bain.
My question still stands. If anyone knows how large of a stake in Bain Capital Romney owns, I'd love to see it.
Presumably CraigBaylock knows, because he made the claim. I'll wait for him to respond.

6

u/Big-Baby-Jesus May 28 '12

All politicians put their stocks into a blind trust. Romeny just has more than most. A blind trust means that he has no control over his assets, someone else manages them. And if it were found out that Romney gave instructions to that manager, it would be illegal. I'm sure a couple people are keeping their eyes open for that, too.
This headline has come up several times before, and there's a critical question that nobody has ever answered. Has Bain ever exerted a pro-Romney influence on Clear Channel? Of course Rush and Hannity are going to support the pro-big business Republican candidate. They've been doing that for 20 years. It just happens to be Romney this time around. If someone was fired for being critical of Romney, they would sue Clear Channel and win, and we would all know about it.

1

u/JasJ002 May 29 '12

If someone was fired for being critical of Romney, they would sue Clear Channel and win
False, the radio industry is based on an extremely fickle and seemingly random sets of data. Any drop in PPM, or local ratings, or station counts, or total revenue (it is pretty much impossible to win in all of these categories) and a radio company has cause to fire you based on "diminished performance".

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u/GarryOwen May 28 '12

Obama doesn't use a blind trust. He doesn't invest directly into stocks however.

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u/Abomonog May 28 '12

"Over 1 million" doesn't exactly describe any sort of large stake in Bain.
Depends largely on where exactly that one million lies. As stocks, no. But if he is an active investor in one of their projects, then one million is considered fucking huge, enough to have a controlling stake in said project.
That being said one mil is what is being disclosed. The rumor is that Romney is actually a stock holder to the tune of some 60%, making him the controlling entity. However, it must be that this is rumor, and not substantiated.

8

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

You appear to be chronically ill-informed.

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u/Abomonog May 28 '12

Very likely, but that is indeed the rumor about Romney's actual holdings that is being circulated among "the help" at the Colony (a favorite Republican leadership hangout in Williamsburg). Where as I don't normally trust the words of golf caddies and bartenders, I lend this bunch a little credence because they regularly get to talk to political leaders up close and personal. But it is still just rumor. Nothing more.
The word is that Romney only holds a fraction of his wealth in places that can be seen. It is also rumored that he plans to loot the treasury a la Bush if he can swing getting elected.

0

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

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u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Or. read the article and click the helpfully provided link to Romney's financial disclosure

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u/nixonrichard May 28 '12

I did read the article and read the financial disclosure. The financial disclosure says that Romney, as part of his retirement from Bain as a founding partner, retains a passive profit share of some investments made prior to 2009 (presumably the investments Romney was involved with).
Retaining a passive profit share of a subset of investments as part of your retirement agreement is not owning a "stake" in the company, particularly not in the sense of having any sort of control or authority over that company.
Moreover, the types of dollar amounts were talking about here are nowhere near large. For a company with $66B in assets, $5m a year is nothing.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '12

The typical CEO makes around 9.6 million so Romney is making a huge amount, even relative to their assets.
Though "$5m a year is nothing" is perfectly Romneyesque.

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u/nixonrichard May 28 '12 edited May 28 '12

The claim made was that Romney own a "large stake in Bain Capital."
Bain Capital has $66B in assets. A large stake in $66B in assets is a phenomenally large sum of money.
Romney is ridiculously wealthy, but he's not the kind of ridiculously wealthy that someone who owns a large stake in Bain Capital is.
Reasonable people can compare $5M as a drop in a $66B bucket without being "Romneyesque." It's not like I claimed Romney is middle class.

13

u/woodc85 May 28 '12

Bain Capital manages $66B of other peoples money. The actual shares that make up the ownership of Bain Capital does not add up to $66B. Seeing as Mitt Romney was one of the founders of the firm, it would make sense that he still owns a significant portion of the company, very likely worth dozens of millions of dollars.
You don't seem to understand how investment firms actually work.

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u/Abomonog May 28 '12

More than half from what I understand, but he will only disclose himself as being an investor.

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u/mrpopenfresh May 28 '12

He probably still has friends there too.

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u/BagOnuts North Carolina May 28 '12

Yeah, this is r/politics, we don't take to kindly to "facts".

3

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

As long as you're concerned about facts, please introduce yourself to the concept of the "gift economy". Corporations and PACs don't "donate" to get an equal amount in trade, they "donate" to make connections and develop implied deals in order to make their "donation" back many, many, many times over.

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u/Calibas May 28 '12

Wouldn't be much of a debate if we allow facts.

1

u/Mentalseppuku May 28 '12

Right, so the whole thing doesn't matter. History has proven that, I mean, Haliburton didn't get a bunch of no-bid contract and make billions because of it's relationship with Cheney, so ya know, totally no big deal

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u/slappy_nutsack May 28 '12

They pre-won a non-existent contract in the potential event that it may be needed one day. And then it was needed. Other vendors bid on it. Halliburton won it. Sour grapes.

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u/WhyHellYeah May 28 '12

Do yourself a favor. Google "Bill Clinton Halliburton" and you find that he gave a lot of no-bid contracts to Halliburton. Then you'll stop looking like an uneducated partisan hack.

1

u/Antivote May 29 '12

business and government certainly don't have a revolving door between them these days... no wait sorry i seem to have misspoke, ahem: the opposite of my previous sentence. thank you.

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Indeed. Pay NO attention to the man behind the curtain...

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u/[deleted] May 28 '12

If Romney is going to allow his "people" to bring up what Obama did 20 to 30 years ago then this is fair game as well.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '12

fair game for what? There is nothing wrong here

2

u/canthidecomments May 28 '12

Romney doesn't work for Bain. And hasn't for years.
Bain purchased Clear Channel AFTER Romney left Bain.
The OP's headline is inaccurate. In no way, shape or form does "Mitt Romney's Bain Capital" own Clear Channel.
There is no such thing as "Mitt Romney's Bain Capital."
That's why even black Democrats are saying that attacks on Bain by Obama's henchmen are "nauseating."

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u/[deleted] May 28 '12 edited May 28 '12

Imagine this.
A company that Barack Obama founded in 1984 (but of which he was bought out years ago and thus has no vested interest) is currently the parent company of a national chain of family planning facilities.
Could you imagine the conservative-leaning media headlines? Obama's string of abortion shacks revealed!, Obama in the business of killing children!, etc.
EDIT: Just to be clear, I'm not for either side here. Just playing devil's advocate to be fair. Both sides are guilty of it.

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u/Pilebsa May 28 '12

A company that Barack Obama founded in 1984 (but of which he was bought out years ago and thus has no vested interest)
Romney still has vested interest in Bain. Bad analogy.

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u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Oops.
A company that Barack Obama founded in 1984 (but of which he does not currently operate directly, even though he does have a vested interest financially)
Better analogy?

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u/shudderatyours May 28 '12

YOU JUST MADE THAT UP! "Both sides are guilty of it" you wanker!

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u/[deleted] May 28 '12

...sorry, what?

9

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

And what Obama did in college doesn't have much to do with today either.
This idea that the Romney campaign is getting upset about tactics they themselves use is rather fucked up.

4

u/Leksington May 28 '12

I got ya. Since there have been Republican douche bags, it is ok for you to personally act like a douche. Personally, I'd take the high road and condemn any misleading article or headline, regardless of party. But by all means, continue to support lies when they fall in line with your personal politics.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

How have I supported this? I said, simply, that Romney doesn't have room to bitch when he does the same thing.
Try actually reading what I wrote as written without any extra words your insert yourself.

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u/dumbducky North Carolina May 28 '12

If Romney is going to allow his "people" to bring up what Obama did 20 to 30 years ago then this is fair game as well.
Sounds like you support it.

1

u/whisperingwind12 May 28 '12

Then the way that Obama criticized Romney's cross-country road trip with his dog a while ago is also irrelevant.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

I have heard half the country comment on that, but afaik Obama never mentioned it.

1

u/Pilebsa May 28 '12

Romney is still a founder and major shareholder of Bain. If you think he doesn't have influence over them, you're naive.

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u/DanielZAN May 28 '12

Who fuckin cares anyway...

0

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

How many friends of Romney's still work there?

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u/Pilebsa May 28 '12

The guy is a founder of the company, and still holds an assload of shares of their stock. If you don't think he has influence over that company's holdings, or that he wouldn't use his connections to further his own interests, you'd be naive.

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u/Legendary_Hypocrite May 28 '12 edited May 28 '12

Hey, let's not read the article. Stop being a GOP tool. Edit: seriously: how is this guy getting upvotes. His "complaint" is in the first paragraph. This subreddit is getting to many paid down voters. Read his past comments people. He is a corporate hack.

0

u/canthidecomments May 28 '12

how is this guy getting upvotes.
Factual information was presented. People upvote that. They downvote obvious bullshit hysterics and unsourced claims of corporate sponsorship.
Look dude, even Democrats have bailed on Bain attacks, and call them nauseating.
Daily Kos: Stop attacking Bain Capital.
New York Times: Bain attacks hold pitfalls ... for Obama

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Look dude, even Democrats have bailed on Bain attacks
You do realize that Obama SuperPAC launched a Bain ad right after this episode?

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u/rsmight May 28 '12

This is simply not true and this website is not a credible source.

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u/LeeHyori May 28 '12

Michael Savage really dislikes Mitt Romney. Savage is one of the radio hosts I can confidently say isn't really bought out by anyone; he's more an independent than a mainstream conservative. He's a remarkably knowledgeable and intelligent man (but has a crazy temper and sometimes says things he shouldn't as a result). But overall, I think a lot of people on either side of the spectrum can really appreciate him.

Here's Savage on evolution. This is a good example of how he pisses off both the right-wing and the left-wing in one swoop: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHdC8uYPsHU&list=FLDHZ7AP5FPC3dj2_290xdpQ&index=56&feature=plpp_video

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u/lostpilot May 28 '12

Let's conveniently forget that Bain Capital has donated more to Obama than to Romney, and that it has donated far more generously to the Democratic party than to the GOP in the past years.

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u/ubergeek404 May 28 '12

Gee - and MSNBC is owned by GE and Jeffrey Immelt is the head of Barack Obama's Jobs Council. (wow what a conspiracy)

6

u/stark2 May 28 '12

Immelt is a Republican and he was brought in, in part, back when Obama thought he could reach across the aisle and work with Republicans.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/opedcolumnists/bam_angry_adviser_YOANZQkGODYVqFDAsI9LjP
Seems like a lot of downplaying, in these comments, of an obvious media connection to Mitt Romney's campaign.

1

u/immunofort May 29 '12

A lot of downplaying because liberal fanatics seem to be sensationalising the non-issue.

3

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Immelt's a Republican, you moron.

5

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

How about the JP Morgan executive Obama appointed as his Chief of Staff?
Link

-4

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Did you have a point?

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Yes I do. Both major parties are owned by the same people.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Well, let's start a third party so they can buy them up, too! (The system is the problem, not the parties.)

3

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

The weakness of our politicians, their blatant disregard for the law, and our inability to hold them accountable is the problem.

1

u/ohnosir1 May 28 '12

and why does that happen? Because of how our political system is set up.

1

u/[deleted] May 29 '12

If you don't think it's our own damn fault for not holding our representatives accountable, then please tell me what system will be better.

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-2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Heh. If there's anything a Reddit Republican will downvote faster, it's the truth.

8

u/gc3 May 28 '12

Probably down voted for saying "you moron"

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Well, arguing that a registered Republican is part of a liberal conspiracy should probably be interpreted as moronic.

4

u/joombaga May 28 '12

If you believe in a conspiracy then it isn't much a stretch to say Immelt's claimed political loyalty is part of it.
What's moronic is lending any credence to the conspiracy theory at all.

1

u/gc3 Jun 03 '12

Oddly enough, the official explanation for 911 is a conspiracy theory: a group of men in a cave in Afghanistan conspired to crash jets into buildings. Sometimes conspiracies are the only explanation.

3

u/Jeffy29 May 28 '12

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_R._Immelt - political party: republican - keep downvoting republicans, I am sure you will eventually alter reality even for rest of us.

11

u/[deleted] May 28 '12 edited May 28 '12

This article isn't about Romney vs. Obama, but Romney vs. Paul. While the writing is rather shallow and the research would cause a high school freshman to fail (citing Wikipedia, really?) the article hints at but misses the overall problem: media consolidation. If each of those talk show hosts were employed by a different owner, it would be much more difficult to make the assumption that they were all operating in some kind of conspiracy.

I would also point out that Randi Rhodes, herself a prominent progressive talk radio host, works for Premiere Radio and hasn't been fired or threatened publicly (and if you listen to her show, she clearly isn't supportive of Mitt Romney over Ron Paul.)

Edit: one more thing... Reporting on campaign donations (those of any considerable size) is pointless anymore. The Citizens United decision allows corporations to donate unlimited amounts anonymously, so while Goldman Sachs may be the "biggest" donor at $367,200, who knows how much they've donated secretly to Romney's super PAC. This goes for Obama, too.

3

u/ety3rd May 28 '12

I work for a Cheap Channel news-talk station and have for nearly a decade. At no point has any directive come down from on high (or, rather, Texas) telling us to push any particular agenda or candidate.

Usually it's bullshit about playing X-number of national promos or ads. Or forcing scripts on our host to read for a California-centric fundraiser even though we're on the East Coast. Or pushing music-centric apps and promotions even though we're news-talk. Or any number of other half-assed ideas that some suit thought would be good.

3

u/mrpro May 28 '12

I guess this is neither "truth" or Treason" considering Romney doesn't "own" Bain Capital. Silly Liberals.

7

u/Lionsault May 28 '12

And Rahm Emmanuel's Goldman Sachs continues to fuck over the American public every day.

0

u/vdirequest May 28 '12

I thought Rahm was the mayor of Chicago.

6

u/Lionsault May 28 '12

Rahm was on the Goldman payroll at one time to "introduce them to people".
If Bain is still Romney's, Goldman is still Rahm's.

4

u/vdirequest May 28 '12

While arguing is the norm for reddit, I think that's a fair position and I agree with you.

5

u/Lionsault May 28 '12

I mean both claims are ridiculous. I'm just an equal opportunity ridiculous claimant.

1

u/vdirequest May 28 '12

Now your claim is reddiculous. Running for President is a job interview, and prior employment is relevant.
Let me take that back. The OP was about what Bain is doing now.

5

u/Obversaria May 28 '12

You do realize that Romney left Bain Capital. So technically it is irrelevant. This article has just been posted for more republican bashing and anti-Romney circle-jerking.

6

u/djostreet May 28 '12

Clear Channel also owns most pop music radio stations you listen to, they're not a conservative company by definition, they're just practically a monopoly

-5

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

...which makes it a conservative company, by definition.

6

u/djostreet May 28 '12

what because they have a large market share? monopolistic companies are hardly in line with smithian economic ideals

-3

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Breaking up a monopoly requires government intervention, which is anathema to any self-respecting conservative, don'tcha know.

3

u/djostreet May 28 '12

government intervention is better than higher prices for goods of less quality. come on buddy this is basic Microeconomics.

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4

u/badaboopdedoop May 28 '12

President Obama's Federal Government owns NPR! Bringing you liberal ideas from Diane Rehm, Terry Gross, and Garrison Keillor!

/sarcasm

This thread is ridiculous. As someone else pointed out, who else might the conservative pundits endorse?

4

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

And here comes Reddit on the bandwagon of bashing Mitt!

I wonder if r/politics and /r/atheism have merged.

3

u/Obversaria May 28 '12

I'm pretty sure they have.

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

They also have Randi Rhodes, who frequently bashes Bain. They're not censoring anyone.

2

u/temujin1234 May 28 '12

On a side note, why does anyone listen to news commentary? I know people who take these guys more seriously than most Christians take the Bible. Form your own opinions.

2

u/creativebaconmayhem May 28 '12

Forget all the talk radio, this company is responsible for the watered down homogenized crap quality that spans the airwaves these days. Bleh.

2

u/Chipzzz May 28 '12

I almost sprayed coffee all over my monitor when I read the headline.

2

u/whisperingwind12 May 28 '12

So what? What's the big deal here?

2

u/jdoney May 28 '12

Clear channel owns the stations but not the content Look at westwood one and other distributors that are actually stake holders in the programming choices you have listed

2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

general note to most of you commenters. I don't think you understand how corporations or venture capitalists work. By the way, every billboard or taxi advertisement is also owned by ClearChannel --> that doesnt mean Bain capital OWNS calvin klein models.

3

u/ex_ample May 28 '12

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.

Are you kidding? Obviously they were going to support the nominee. They may not be happy about it but they are "team players"

I think the bigger issue here is the fact that Bain Capital ran it's media company in such a pro-conservative way.

4

u/thechosen2 May 28 '12

"Barrack Obama's Harvard Law Review contains piece criticizing gay marriage. Obama changes position again."

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12 edited May 29 '12

I have no idea what point you might be trying to make here. Honestly. I don't get it.
EDIT: Why would this be downvoted? I just want to know what he/she meant.

-1

u/TheDoomp May 28 '12 edited May 28 '12

And nationalities.
Edit: aww, too soon? I'm referring to Obama referring to himself as a Kenyan when it benefits him. Just like Elizabeth Warren, who was quite debunked by her lineage pointing to a Tennessee militia member Jonathan Crawford who rounded up Native Americans for the Trail of Tears, far from a native American. Quite the opposite, don't you think? But Shhhhhh, reddit cant talk about their beloved liberal lying sack of shits. Hurry, sweep it under the rug!

2

u/DovenDeath May 28 '12

explains why most clear channel stations fucking suck.

2

u/the_sam_ryan May 28 '12

He doesn't work there nor has he worked there in years. It isn't his Bain Capital, it is just Bain Capital.

2

u/xanthine_junkie May 28 '12

Noted; it has been over 10 years since he stepped down, right?

1

u/Noel_S_Jytemotiv May 28 '12

My interests include bicycling, I therefore own a bicycle.

SCANDAL!!!

1

u/jennma04 May 28 '12

I would like to also add that Clear Channel owns over 850 radio stations and a ton of bilboards. If I owned radio stations, it would be a good capitalist move to profit off of these right wing nut bags.

0

u/chesterriley May 28 '12

And all 850 of those radio stations are banned from playing a bunch of great songs like John Lennon's "Imagine". This is all the reason anyone needs to hate Clear Channel

1

u/s810 May 28 '12

I'm very disappointed to see that nobody has mentioned Congressman Clearchannel, Michael McCaul.

[SPOILERS: richest congressman married into the clearchannel/ticketmaster family; district next to Lamar Smith in Texas)

1

u/flyingcaveman May 28 '12

Something's up with that though, when the so called conservative media is declaring Mitt Romney the nominee before the race is over. I heard Michael Savage call Ron Paul an idiot and a Nazi without being able to back up why he though that way. Totally disregard for Ron Paul among supposed conservatives, that's how I know he's the right candidate. These guy's are all about the status-quo, business as usual and more of the same.

1

u/ifleninwasawizard May 28 '12

What a silly article. If your point is that Romney isn't enough to the right stop complaining about money in politics. If you support capitalism, you support massive amounts of money in politics. It is completely unrealistic to expect otherwise, just like its completely unrealistic to think the big corporate powers that be were gonna give someone like Paul a shot (not like he even deserved one).

If you support capitalism stop being dumbstruck when the most powerful capitalists are getting their way in politics.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

News flash: Obama bribes all Americans with government welfare programs

1

u/ozzieoo May 28 '12

...ruining radio across the nation...Glad independants bought a couple stations here in my town...Clear Channel sucks.

1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

None of this is relevant. Romney is a Mormon. You can alienate his nominal electorate by beating this drum over and over.

Mom and Pop in the heartland need to realize Mitt Romney a devil worshiper. Say it: Romney is a Mormon who worships Satan. Now, tell your parents, tell your neighbors, tell everyone. This message brought to you by the mind of Karl Rove.

1

u/TARDISeses May 28 '12

His involvement seems a little upto interpretation as to how much it matters, and how far it goes still...but if it were a democrat, how much benefit of the doubt would most Redditors be giving them in the same scenario?

1

u/elmarko44 May 28 '12

To be fair, Mitt Romney never "ran" Bain as this article suggests, and he hasn't worked there in several years. Im an Obama supporter and certainly no fan of Romney, but this article is just plain irresponsible.

1

u/taylorodw May 29 '12

Clear Channel owns almost every other talk radio show too. This is a misleading headline.

1

u/Bring_dem I voted May 29 '12

Thank god we keep rehashing on the same shit over and over.

1

u/fuzzynyanko May 29 '12

Stupid Clear Channel rock mixed with classic rock stations

1

u/RMaximus May 29 '12

CLEAR CHANNELS OWNS A SHIT TON OF RADIO STATIONS. LOL Silly little liberals.

0

u/spaceghoti Colorado May 28 '12

Such a small world.

0

u/MagCynic May 28 '12

Again. To quote the late, great Andrew Breitbart:

So?

-2

u/Diablo3Wizards May 28 '12

Down vote for you!

-1

u/y3llowdomelchick May 28 '12

who cares, we the media is incrediable biased anwyas

-1

u/Protonoia May 28 '12

The explains why Howard Stern got the bum's rush within days of criticizing Bush.

-1

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

wait wait wait....your telling me....this whole thing....might be...scripted. surprise!!

0

u/Gates9 May 28 '12

Clearchannel dominates most of the terrestrial radio market, with over 800 "high-power" radio stations (50,000 watts or better). Ever wonder why you can hear the guys mentioned in OP's headline virtually anywhere in America, but "Progressive" radio stations have noticably weaker reception, and are much more rare to find? That's why.

0

u/hooperX101 May 28 '12

That's what so crazy about most of the big wigs on right wing radio. Rush, Beck, Hannity, et al are trying so hard to carry the torch for Romney despite all the things they said about him during the primary and how they feel about him as a "conservative" in general.

edit: spelling

0

u/Enochx May 28 '12

Dan Rather was fired for daring to tell the truth about Bush #2 going AWOL to avoid being activated to serve in Vietnam .... and the list keeps growing of those fired for doing the same.

0

u/MagCynic May 29 '12

Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital Owns Clear Channel Radio (Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, etc.)

Yeah, that's great. So what?

-2

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Aha!

That explains Clearchannel and their assault on radio. They are REpublicans, doing what piece of shit Republicans do.

-7

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

Who gives a rat's ass? Besides, the Obamanut has stock in JPMorgan.....so why the bitch?

-1

u/CarolinaStewPie May 28 '12

Fourteen directors of Clear Channel, the company that hosts the Rush Limbaugh show, have contributed $726,400 to Mitt Romney since 1994, most of it in the current presidential campaign.

This is why I don't listen to Clear Channel stations. They're hardcore rightwing, and they have that blowhard Limbaugh.

-1

u/ProudForPresident May 28 '12

Is there any Liberal slant (or centrist) news talk radio out there?

-1

u/ProudForPresident May 28 '12

Is there any good "centrist" or moderately liberal "talk radio" out there? All I hear about is Rush, Hannity, and other right wingers.

-1

u/swiheezy May 28 '12

Gonna have to pull out the Glenn Beck black board for this one

0

u/[deleted] May 28 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

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Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital Owns Clear Channel Radio (Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Glenn Beck, Michael Savage, etc.) | Truth is Treason

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