Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) said Mitt Romney’s private equity firm Bain Capital engaged in “raping companies and leaving them in debt” for the benefit of the top executives.
“This is not an attack on free enterprise," Clyburn said Tuesday on MSNBC. “There’s something about raping companies and leaving them in debt and setting up Swiss bank accounts and corporate businesses in the Grand Caymans. I have a serious problem with that.”
While the language is harsher, it’s similar to the line of attack used by Romney’s presidential rivals in the GOP primary, Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich, who accused the firm of “vulture capitalism,” or the practice of taking over a company not to turn it around but to break it down for a quick profit.
The Obama campaign has tried to be more cautious in its approach, saying that it’s not attacking the practices of private equity firms but rather calling into question Romney’s reasoning that because he has private sector experience, he is better equipped to run the economy.
Still, two campaign ads released this week focused on the hardships of those who lost their jobs following Bain acquisition.
Clyburn says this is fair game.
“What are we supposed to be comparing President Obama to if we don’t compare it to the record that this man has with Bain Capital?”
Clyburn has not been shy about using pointed language against Romney. In April he said Romney was like a “foreign despot” for having Swiss bank accounts.
