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13 replies
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Lived in SLC while he went to Brigham Young University and then during the Olympics planning. You can't really say that he's from Utah.
...and an uncanny ability for a filthy rich guy in being able to ''put the beg on'' harder than anyone in living memory:
[font size=3]Feds Bailed Out Romney's 02 Winter Olympics[/font]
by Associated Press
Posted on July 27, 2012 at 5:57 AM | Updated yesterday at 6:40 AM
The Olympic appearance carries special significance for Romney. His political career was born out of his leading role at the Salt Lake City Games, which were plagued by scandal before he was tapped to take over. "One of the things he talks about most is how he heroically showed up on the scene and bailed out and resolved the problems of the Salt Lake City Olympic Games," Rick Santorum, now a Romney supporter, said in February when he opposed Romney for the GOP nomination. "He heroically bailed out the Salt Lake City Olympic Games by heroically going to Congress and asking them for tens of millions of dollars to bail out the Salt Lake Games — in an earmark."
Romney took over the games in 1999 after its leaders were accused of sending money to members of the International Olympic Committee to help Salt Lake City win the games. By Romney's account, the government spent about $600 million helping the Salt Lake Olympic Committee. An additional $1.1 billion was planned for projects like roads and bridges, infrastructure improvement projects that the government probably would have paid for eventually, though the timing of the games may have sped up the construction.
Romney has made himself the very public face of the effort, claiming that he personally cut millions from the budget, wooed major companies and won sponsorships himself and pulled the whole endeavor back from the brink of failure. His record in Salt Lake was the cornerstone of his run for governor in Massachusetts, a campaign he announced in March 2002, just weeks after the games concluded. Romney, who promises to slash federal spending if elected president, rarely acknowledges the federal support for the 2002 games on the campaign trail. His aides say much of it was for increased security costs after the 2001 terrorist attacks, which occurred about five months earlier.
But Romney doesn't mention the commitments the government had already made to cover costs associated with the games — or elaborate on his role in persuading congressional appropriators and critics to give the games more money. In the 2004 book he wrote about the games, "Turnaround," Romney outlined how he revamped the Salt Lake Olympic Committee's lobbying operations in Washington. He directed plans to hire experienced transportation lobbyists and wooed congressional leaders.
In one instance, Romney highlights how he made arrangements for different states to send experienced bus drivers to Utah. He helped arrange to pay them union wages, he wrote in the book — and he persuaded the federal government to pick up the tab. One of the lessons he learned: "If you work at it long enough, there is always another way to get the help you need in Washington," he wrote.
MORE
by Associated Press
Posted on July 27, 2012 at 5:57 AM | Updated yesterday at 6:40 AM
The Olympic appearance carries special significance for Romney. His political career was born out of his leading role at the Salt Lake City Games, which were plagued by scandal before he was tapped to take over. "One of the things he talks about most is how he heroically showed up on the scene and bailed out and resolved the problems of the Salt Lake City Olympic Games," Rick Santorum, now a Romney supporter, said in February when he opposed Romney for the GOP nomination. "He heroically bailed out the Salt Lake City Olympic Games by heroically going to Congress and asking them for tens of millions of dollars to bail out the Salt Lake Games — in an earmark."
Romney took over the games in 1999 after its leaders were accused of sending money to members of the International Olympic Committee to help Salt Lake City win the games. By Romney's account, the government spent about $600 million helping the Salt Lake Olympic Committee. An additional $1.1 billion was planned for projects like roads and bridges, infrastructure improvement projects that the government probably would have paid for eventually, though the timing of the games may have sped up the construction.
Romney has made himself the very public face of the effort, claiming that he personally cut millions from the budget, wooed major companies and won sponsorships himself and pulled the whole endeavor back from the brink of failure. His record in Salt Lake was the cornerstone of his run for governor in Massachusetts, a campaign he announced in March 2002, just weeks after the games concluded. Romney, who promises to slash federal spending if elected president, rarely acknowledges the federal support for the 2002 games on the campaign trail. His aides say much of it was for increased security costs after the 2001 terrorist attacks, which occurred about five months earlier.
But Romney doesn't mention the commitments the government had already made to cover costs associated with the games — or elaborate on his role in persuading congressional appropriators and critics to give the games more money. In the 2004 book he wrote about the games, "Turnaround," Romney outlined how he revamped the Salt Lake Olympic Committee's lobbying operations in Washington. He directed plans to hire experienced transportation lobbyists and wooed congressional leaders.
In one instance, Romney highlights how he made arrangements for different states to send experienced bus drivers to Utah. He helped arrange to pay them union wages, he wrote in the book — and he persuaded the federal government to pick up the tab. One of the lessons he learned: "If you work at it long enough, there is always another way to get the help you need in Washington," he wrote.
MORE
- K&R
