First Obama attack ad airs in Pa

We knew they were coming: as promised, the Obama camp is out really early with its first attack ad on Mitt Romney's business history and it's a doozy.

The economy is the biggest issue of the presidential race of course, and the Obama camp rolled out an ad today in Pa, Ohio, Iowa, Colorado and Virginia reviewing how Romney's former company Bain Capital bankrupted a Kansas City steel mill and laid off 700 workers. "It was like a vampire. They came in and sucked the life out of us," one steelworker says.

Just one problem with that attack, as the WashPost has repeatedly noted: Romney left Bain in 1999 and the bankruptcy was in 2001. (Bain's investment in the steelmaker started in 1993 and the Obama camp contends its financial troubles started in 1995, when Romney was still in charge.)

The Obama campaign also released a positive spot in Pa today targeting the same blue collar voters, this time championing the auto bailout. It's below.

The Democrat's campaign has also unveiled a new website on Romney's business past called RomneyEconomics.

The backup info for the attack ad -- which is called "Steel" -- is after the jump.

From the Obama campaign:

BAIN ACQUIRED GS TECHNOLOGIES PUTTING UP $8 MILLION FOR MAJORITY CONTROL –
LATER MERGED WITH ANOTHER STEEL MILL TO FORM GS INDUSTRIES
November 1993: Armco Announced The Completed Sale Of Worldwide Grinding Systems To Bain
Capital And The Renaming Of The Company To GS Technologies. "Armco Inc. said Monday it has
completed the previously announced $ 80 million sale of its Worldwide Grinding Systems division to
Boston-based Bain Capital, a management-led investors group. Worldwide Grinding Systems, to be
called GS Technologies, produces grinding balls, rods, castings and control systems for the mining
industry. It is headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., and employs 1,700 people." [Associated Press,
11/15/93]
• Bain Capital Put Up $8 Million To Gain Majority Control, Renaming The Company GS
Technologies Inc. "Bain put up about $8 million to gain majority control of the company,
renamed GS Technologies Inc. GE Capital, former Armco executives and Leggett & Platt, a major
customer for the mill's wire rods, chipped in the rest of the equity." [Reuters, 1/6/12]
• 1995: Bain Merged GS Technologies With Georgetown Mill In South Carolina, Creating GS
Industries, And Issued Another $125 Million In Bonds, With Debt Totaling At $378 Million.
"In 1995 Bain merged GS with another wire rod maker in Georgetown, South Carolina, to form
one of the largest mini-mill steel producers in the U.S. The new company issued another $125
million in bonds to pay for the merger. Bain doubled down, reinvesting $16.5 million of its earlier
dividend. The new company, dubbed GS Industries Inc., would have annual revenues of $1 billion
and employ 3,800 people. Already, though, there were warning signs that the company was not
on a sustainable course. Concerned about the level of debt, which totaled $378 million in 1995 on
operating income less than a tenth of that amount, the merged company's new CEO, Roger
Regelbrugge, negotiated a clause in his contract that would allow him to retire at the end of
1997." [Reuters, 1/6/12]
BAIN CAPITAL MADE AT LEAST $12 MILLION ON GS INDUSTRIES BEFORE IT DECLARED
BANKRUPTCY AND SOUGHT ELIMINATION OF THE PENSION PLAN, HEALTH AND LIFE
INSURANCE
Reuters: Bain Capital Made At Least $12 Million On GS Industries Before It Declared Bankruptcy In
In 2001. "Overall, Bain made at least $12 million on the steel company it created by merging the Kansas
City mill with another in South Carolina before the new entity declared bankruptcy in 2001. Bain also
collected an additional $900,000 a year through 1999 for management consulting services, public filings
show." [Reuters, 1/6/12]
• After Bankruptcy, GS Industries Decided Not To Provide Severance And Supplemental
Unemployment For 570 Hourly Workers And Ended All Company Paid Life Insurance
Policies For Employees And Retirees. "In the contract reached in 1997, GST Steel agreed to
provide a severance package, supplemental unemployment benefits and extended health and life
insurance for workers and retirees in the event of a plant closing. Since entering bankruptcy
court, however, GS Industries Inc., the parent company, has decided not to provide severance
and supplemental unemployment funds for about 570 hourly workers. ...As for life insurance, all
company-paid policies for employees and retirees will cease on June 30, according to the
settlement." [Kansas City Star, 6/14/01]
• The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp, A Federal Corporation, Took Over GS Industries'
Pensions On August 5, 2002, When GS Industries Terminated The Plans. "The Pension
Benefit Guaranty Corp. is a federal corporation that guarantees payment of basic pension
benefits to workers in defined benefit plans. The agency is financed largely by insurance
premiums paid by companies that sponsor pension plans. PBGC announced Aug. 5 that it would
take over the two pension plans, covering all pension payments dating to June 30, when GSI
terminated the plans. The agency will mail out letters around Oct. I notifying former GST workers
of the change." [The Business Journal, 8/16/02]
• GS Industries Eliminated Health Insurance Coverage. "Wiseman said the Steelworkers union
negotiated a $1 million fund with the creditors committee of GS Industries to reimburse 50
percent of GST retirees health insurance premiums under COBRA. But GS Industries terminated
the COBRA coverage on Sept. 30. GS Industries now is in the midst of going out of business and
has sold all its plants that continued operating in the United States, allowing the company to
eliminate its health insurance. 'Unfortunately, the company was within its rights to terminate the
COBRA coverage,' Wiseman said." [Kansas City Star, 12/31/02]
750 JOBS WERE LOST AS GS INDUSTRIES CLOSED THE GST STEEL PLANT IN KANSAS CITY
DURING BANKRUPTCY
Headline: Shutdown Is End Of An Era; 750 Workers To Lose Jobs In Plant Closing [Kansas City
Star, 2/8/01]
• GS Industries Closed Its GST Steel Mill During Bankruptcy. "GST Steel Co., whose local ties
date to the 19th century, will close as part of a bankruptcy reorganization, throwing 750 area
employees out of work. The shutdown of the former Armco plant in the Northeast area of Kansas
City marks the area's largest single job loss since the economy began to lose steam late last
year. By contrast, the closing of Montgomery Ward cost the area about 560 jobs." [Kansas City
Star, 2/8/01]
2001: 750 Jobs Were Lost In The Shutdown Of The Kansas City Plant. "GST Steel Co., whose local
ties date to the 19th century, will close as part of a bankruptcy reorganization, throwing 750 area
employees out of work." [Kansas City Star, 2/8/01]
ROMNEY RETAINED FULL SOLE OWNERSHIP OF BAIN CAPITAL UNTIL 2001, WAS CEO WHEN
GST STEEL PLANT WAS SHUT DOWN
Romney Remained CEO Of Bain Capital When The GST Steel Plant Was Closed In Kansas City.
"Although he gave up running day-to-day operations at the venture capital firm in order to head the Salt
Lake Winter Olympics, he remained CEO and held his financial interest in the company through August
2001. That includes the period when the Ampad factory in Buffalo was closed, and when the Kansas Citybased
GST Steel plant was shut down and workers laid off." [Boston Globe, 10/31/02]
Washington Post: Although Romney Claimed To Have Severed Ties With Bain Capital In 1999, He
Retained Full, Sole Ownership Until 2001. "In his autobiography, Romney wrote that he severed ties
with Bain in 1999 when he took the Olympic job and told his partners he wasn't coming back. But R.
Bradford Malt, one of Bain's lawyers, who now manages Romney's personal finances, said Romney took
a leave of absence, 'partly because of the speed it all happened and partly because it was a limited gig.'
That meant Romney retained full, sole ownership of the firm for two more years as he worked on the
Olympics." [Washington Post, 10/21/07]
• Bain Lawyer, And Romney's Financial Trustee, Bradford Malt Said Romney Reduced His Role
At Bain Capital To A "Passive Investor" In 2001. "Malt, who was designated by the campaign to
address Romney's time at Bain, said Romney finally resigned and reduced his role at the company to
that of a passive investor in 2001 when it became clear that he was going to run for Massachusetts
governor after the Olympics. The campaign declined to comment further." [Washington Post,
10/21/07]
UNDER ROMNEY, BAIN CAPITAL WAS FOCUSED ON GENERATING WEALTH, NOT EXPANDING
EMPLOYMENT
Bloomberg: Under Romney "Some Firms Had Indications Their Jobs Might Be In Jeopardy Soon
After Bain Moved Into Management. In Other Cases, Pink Slips Arrived After Bain And Its
Investors Had Collected Their Profits And Left Debts Behind." "A Bloomberg review of several Bain
deals during Romney's tenure showed that workers in some firms had indications their jobs might be in
jeopardy soon after Bain moved into management. In other cases, pink slips arrived after Bain and its
investors had collected their profits and left debts behind." [Bloomberg, 7/20/11]
• "A Review Of Bain's Activities... Paint A Picture Of An Operation That Wasn't Focused On
Expanding Employment," But "Was To Generate Gains For Its Investors." "Interviews with
former employees and executives at Bain and companies it controlled, along with a review of
Bain's activities described in public documents and news accounts, paint a picture of an operation
that wasn't focused on expanding employment. Instead, Bain's mission, like most private equity
firms, was to generate gains for its investors." [Bloomberg, 7/20/11]
Former Bain Employee: In Assessing Deals Romney Didn't Consider Whether They Saved Or
Created Jobs—"It Was Very Clinical." "In assessing deals, Romney and partners didn't consider
whether they saved or created jobs, according to a former Bain employee who requested anonymity,
citing confidentiality guidelines. When Bain partners discussed shutting down failing businesses in which
they invested, Romney never suggested they had to do something to save workers' jobs. 'It was very
clinical,' the former employee said. 'Like a doctor. When the patient is dead, you just move on to the next
patient.'" [Boston Globe, 1/27/08]
Romney's Colleagues "Recall Him As Vain", "Focused Only On The Bottom Line", And "Impatient
And Unconcerned About Those Affected By His Decisions." "Some of Romney's colleagues recall
him as vain, however, and focused only on the bottom line. They saw him as impatient and unconcerned
about those affected by his decisions. 'They're whitewashing his career now,' said Marc B. Wolpow, a
former managing director at Bain Capital who opposes Romney's White House bid. 'We had a scheme
where the rich got richer. I did it, and I feel good about it. But I'm not planning to run for office.'" [LA
Times, 12/16/07]
• Former Bain Partners: Romney Had Chances To Fight To Save Jobs But Didn't.
"Throughout his 15-year career at Bain Capital, which bought, sold, and merged dozens of
companies, Romney had other chances to fight to save jobs, but didn't. His ultimate responsibility
was to make money for Bain's investors, former partners said." [Boston Globe, 1/27/08]
Romney's Fortune "Was Made On The Backs Of Companies That Ultimately Collapsed, Putting
Thousands Of Ordinary Americans Out On The Street." "However, the former private equity firm
chief's fortune -- which has funded his political ambitions from the Massachusetts statehouse to his
unsuccessful run for the White House in 2008 -- was made on the backs of companies that ultimately
collapsed, putting thousands of ordinary Americans out on the street." [New York Post, 2/19/11]
Romney Has Admitted That He Has Destroyed Thousands Of Jobs. "[Romney:] And then all of those
businesses that had been well-documented by various people over the years, when I ran in '94, when I
ran last time, when I ran for governor, those that have lost jobs, they end up being a little less than
10,000, those that were losers." [Boston Globe, 1/17/12]