Romney's Boss Politics

Romney Recorded: Asking Employers to Sway Votes?
(Image source: Mediaite)
BY KERRY LEARY
ANCHOR JASMINE BAILEY

A recording of Mitt Romney made headlines Thursday. The presidential candidate made some controversial comments in a June conference call. But what exactly did he say?

“I hope you make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their job and their future in the upcoming elections.”

Romney went on to say he hoped employers would share their political views no matter which candidate they support.

ThinkProgress reports, Mr. Romney’s not the first person swaying the vote in the workplace.

“There have already been some reports of employers suggesting how their employees should cast their ballots. A CEO of a Florida resort company threatened to fire his employees if Obama won. The CEO of a timeshare company did the same. And the famous right-wing Koch brothers warned of 'consequences' of not voting for Romney.”

Mr. Romney’s suggestion is legal for the first election season ever because of the Citizen United ruling that overturned FEC laws prohibiting employers from campaigning to employees. But In The Times notes, despite it being legal,

“The conference call raises troubling questions about what appears to be a growing wave of workplace political pressure unleashed by Citizens United.”

The conference call is the only evidence discovered that attributes Mr. Romney’s presidential campaign to working behind the scenes. A writer for the Atlantic Wire has a few words for the candidate.

“Okay, Mitt. You're right. It's not technically illegal for employers to tell their employees how to vote. That doesn't mean that it's ethical or understandable or even acceptable to connect people's livelihoods with their political beliefs.”

Mitt Romney’s campaign has not commented on the conference call.


"The conference call is the only evidence discovered that attributes Mr. Romney’s presidential campaign to working behind the scenes."

Well, not anymore:





Published on Oct 17, 2012 by TheBigPictureRT
"There's some breaking news from labor reporter Mike Elk with In These Times magazine...We've seen several CEOs send letters out to their employees urging them to vote for Mitt Romney or else they may lose their jobs during a second Obama term. Now we might know where these threats started...Mitt Romney! In June 6th 2012 conference call with the NFIB (National Federation of Independent Businesses) - Mitt Romney urged employers with the NFIB to make it clear to their employees who they should vote for."