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Alex Seitz-Wald

Friday, Jun 22, 2012 12:48 PM UTC

When Bain invested in outsourcing

Romney winning among billionaires; Democratic super PACs are not; and other top Friday stories

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When Bain invested in outsourcingRepublican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks to supporters at the Holland State Park beach Tuesday, June 19, 2012. (AP Photo/The Grand Rapids Press,Chris Clark ) (Credit: AP)

Romney’s record on outsourcing:  Democrats and the Obama campaign are pouncing on a big new report from the Washington Post revealing that Mitt Romney’s Bain Capital “invested in a series of firms that specialized in relocating jobs done by American workers to new facilities in low-wage countries like China and India.” “During the nearly 15 years that Romney was actively involved in running Bain, a private equity firm that he founded, it owned companies that were pioneers in the practice of shipping work from the United States to overseas call centers and factories making computer components, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.”

Romney’s political opponents have often accused him of being involved in outsourcing jobs, but these new findings are different and more damning, Democrats argue, than existing data.

Romney winning the big money race: “Romney surged past President Barack Obama in May fundraising on the shoulders of big donors — an advantage the Republican nominee seems likely to sustain through November,” Politico reports. While Obama’s campaign fundraising strategy is built on collecting small checks from a  huge number of donors, Romney’s is based on tapping fewer donors willing to give more. “It’s easier to raise money in big chunks if there are people who are willing to give it that way, than it is to mobilize thousands of people to give $20 each,” said Bob Biersack of the Center for Responsive Politics.

Democratic billionaires still cool on super PACs: Meanwhile, big Democratic donors are largely sitting out the race so far. While Priorities USA, the super PAC tied to Obama, had its best fundraising month yet in May, it is still being “dramatically outgunned by GOP-friendly outside groups.” Roll Call reports: “Still largely missing are the liberal philanthropists and executives who showered $396 million in unrestricted contributions on 527s in the 2004 elections, according to the CRP data. These include investor George Soros, insurance executive Peter Lewis, film producer Stephen Bing and former banking industry CEO Herb Sandler and his now-late wife, Marion. Together, those five donors gave $73.4 million to Democrat-friendly 527s in the 2004 elections.”

Hispanic population surges in swing states: Obama will deliver a speech before a group of Hispanic elected and appointed political officials today, following Romney’s address before the same group yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Hill notes that the Hispanic population has surged in swing stages, by an average of 77 percent in nine presidential battlegrounds since 2000. While it’s still a small fraction of the overall residents in states like Virginia and North Carolina, Hispanics could be enough to sway a very close election, as November is expected to be.

Commerce secretary resigns: John Bryson announced his resignation as President Obama’s commerce secretary yesterday so he could focus on his health and recovery from a seizure that led to a series of car accidents in California earlier this month.

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Alex Seitz-Wald is Salon's political reporter. Email him at aseitz-wald@salon.com and follow him on Twitter at @aseitzwald.

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