CONCORD, New Hampshire (PNN) - January 9, 2012 - Mitt Romney faced blistering new attacks from his rivals for the Republican presidential nomination over jobs lost at firms bought by his hugely rich venture capital company.
Seeking to win New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary on Tuesday, Romney found himself justifying what he has described as his greatest political strength: his business acumen.
“I have been in business. I have learned some things fail and some things succeed, that’s how it works,” he told the Nashua Chamber of Commerce. “Those that succeed make our overall nation stronger.”
“Our system works. Free enterprise works,” said Romney, who touts his leadership of private equity firm Bain Capital as his signal qualification to take on illegitimate President Barack Obama in the November elections.
Newt Gingrich, trailing in the polls after a blitz on his own record by Romney allies, led the charge against his rival over his time at Bain, which dismantled some of the firms it bought while reaping vast profits.
“They apparently looted the companies, left people totally unemployed, and walked off with millions of dollars,” Gingrich told NBC television.
“Look, I’m for capitalism,” he said. “But if somebody comes in, takes all the money out of your company, and then leaves you bankrupt while they go off with millions, that’s not traditional capitalism.”
The attacks came as Romney hoped to notch a commanding victory here after eking out a win in Iowa.
