Romanoff accuses Sen. Bennet of 'Wall Street greed'

A new TV ad from former House Speaker Andrew Romanoff (D) prompted a sharp reaction from Sen. Michael Bennet's (D-Colo.) campaign. 

Romanoff, who's challenging Bennet for the Senate nod, went up statewide with a TV ad Thursday that accuses Bennet of "Wall Street greed."

"Bennet worked for right-wing billionaire Phil Anschutz. In a corporate takeover they pushed companies into bankruptcy and looted a billion dollars," the announcer says in the ad. "Workers lost their jobs. Bennet made $11 million."

The ad, Romanoff's fourth of the primary, is airing on cable and broadcast. It was produced by Joe Trippi's firm.

Bennet's campaign immediately shot back.

"When people are desperate, they will often say or do anything to get ahead that's exactly what we're seeing here from Speaker Romanoff," said Trevor Kincaid, a spokesman for Bennet, said in a statement. "It's disappointing that Speaker Romanoff is spending the last two weeks of the campaign running commercials that lie to the voters."

The Bennet camp also released a statement detailing his involvement with Anschutz. See it after the jump.

From the Bennet campaign:



The 1990s were a period of competitive over-expansion for the movie theater industry, with companies paying for new and enhanced theaters (i.e. megaplexes with stadium seating). Movie theaters began declaring bankruptcy because they couldn't sustain the debt they had irresponsibly created.

Anschutz Investments (AI), where Michael was an employee, was involved in acquiring three movie chains that were headed toward bankruptcy - United Artists, Edwards, and Regal. 

Regal had been run into the ground by KKR and Hicks-Muse, two of the largest private equity firms in the United States. Had these chains been left to their own devices, they would have shut down and thousands would have lost their jobs.  
 
Michael and his team quickly worked to develop a plan that restructured these companies and put them on solid ground financially. 

Today, Regal Entertainment Group, that Michael helped to save is the flagship in the theater industry and employs 25,832 individuals.  Since Anschutz acquired the company under Michael's leadership, Regal has thrived and has added over 2,000 employees.