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(116,464 posts) Tue Jul 31, 2012, 12:46 PM Jul 2012

Romney did NOT "save" 2002 Olympics. Lost his cool. Likely breached his contract. Profiteered

Romney did NOT "save" 2002 Olympics. Lost his cool. Likely breached his contract. Profiteered

by mikepridmore

Government funding, not Mitt Romney, saved the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics:

Mitt Romney did manage to raise money that helped secure Salt Lake as the venue of the 2002 Winter Games. Some of that came from corporate sponsorships, but most of the money came from the US government. (link) And most of the money that was needed was already in place before Romney took over, some $1.5 billion in government support. Both the Utah governor at the time and a US Senator from Utah at the time have confirmed that Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton both cooperated to make sure the Winter Games happened.

Governor Leavitt:

"Within a couple of days, I flew to Washington and met with President Bush," former Utah Governor Mike Leavitt told Terry Gildea of NPR affiliate KUER. "I said to him, 'I think this is an important moment.' And he ... gave the clear order that we would move forward and that the federal government needed to be as fully engaged in this as possible to ensure that nothing stood in our way."

US Senator Bob Bennett:

''In fact, most of the federal money was already in place before Mitt came on,'' said Senator Bob Bennett, a Utah Republican who supports Romney and served as point man for the federal funding. ''The Clinton administration was completely supportive in saying these are America's games, we will do whatever we can to make sure they are successful. The one concern I had was whether we would get the same degree of support from the Bush administration, which we did.''

In addition, there was a lot of other money in revenue contracts and support from the state of Utah (link):

While Romney's moves energized the committee, some people familiar with the budget insist his dire forecasts were overstated. A Globe review of archived records showed the organizing committee already had secured commitments of nearly $1 billion in revenues, including $445 million as its share of the NBC contract and nearly $450 million in contracts for sponsorships, before Romney arrived.

In addition, the Utah Legislature already had loaned $59 million in sales tax revenue to the Games and Congress was prepared to provide hundreds of millions in direct support, despite protests from Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona. Direct federal aid for the Games ultimately totaled $382 million.

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Interestingly, Romney, who in recent months has been de-emphasizing the role of government in helping businesses function and survive, did use his success at getting government support as one of his qualifications when he was running for governor in Massachusetts:

So much of the success of the 2002 Olympics depended on government support that some campaign videos have actually been made emphasizing that fact:

Romney lost his cool.

There was one incident that really calls into question whether he is level-headed enough to be president:

Romney found himself stuck in a huge traffic backup on the road to the men’s downhill ski area, because some buses had not received the proper security-clearance placards and were being prevented from proceeding. Romney, who had organized the Salt Lake Olympics, jumped out to take charge. He started directing traffic, over the objections of a sheriff’s deputy, Kodi Taggart; she later filed a report on Romney’s interference. And he lit into an 18-year-old volunteering as a security officer, Shaun Knopp. Knopp told reporters that Romney had asked “who the fuck” he was and “what the fuck” he was doing and had then told him, “We got the Olympics going on, and we don’t need this shit going on.” Romney denied this at the time, saying he had not used such language since high school. “I would not, have not, and never would use the f-word,” he said. The worst word he used with Knopp, he said, was “H-E double hockey sticks.”
....

In the days after the incident, the state’s top law enforcement official decided against an investigation. But the officer in charge of security at the downhill site, Weber County Sheriff’s Office Captain Terry Shaw, said a police sergeant from Colorado working under his command had corroborated Knopp’s account, and Shaw demanded an apology from Romney.

This incident did have broader implications, including the effect on relations with those in public safety positions:

Police were angered that Romney denied shouting the expletive and were further miffed when Romney later offered a partial apology to a sheriff's captain but not to Knopp.

''There were a lot of people in public safety who were extremely angry,'' said Peter Dawson, a lawyer today who served as an intern in a communications center at the time. ''The general consensus was, 'I hope he doesn't need any help from us because we aren't going to respond very quickly.'.''

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More incidents of top-blowing by Romney, including a 1981 arrest, from Yahoo News.

Romney probably breached his contract:

First, there has to be an understanding of the historical context. Before Mitt Romney became involved, there was a huge scandal that involved members of the Salt Lake Olympic Committee (SLOC). When Romney was asked to come to Salt Lake, decisions had already been made to institute a new conflict-of-interest policy and an open records policy (an effort at transparency) for the SLOC board (link):

As the Salt Lake Organizing Committee undertook sweeping reforms, including new conflict of interest rules, three of its leading members resigned.

SLOC also adopted an open meetings and records policy and that SLOC members be required to attend 75 percent of meetings.

Another quote from the time here:

Tougher new conflict of interest rules also require any board member whose financial dealings with the committee could result in ''substantial personal benefit'' to leave the committee.

Incidentally, after those new transparency rules were put into place, Romney spoke of this transparency when taking over as CEO of the Olympics, but did not live up to his promises:

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http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/31/1114110/-Romney-did-NOT-save-2002-Olympics-Lost-his-cool-Likely-breached-his-contract-Profiteered