Santorum Campaign Press Release - Happy 10th Anniversary of Mitt's Federal Bailout!

Romney supporter Sen. John McCain on the earmarks: "an incredible pork-barrel project for Salt Lake City and its environs"

Verona, PA - Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has spent much of his time on the campaign trail either attacking Rick Santorum for his past support of earmarks or touting his "turnaround" ability in running the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games. However, there's a serious inconsistency in Romney's support for Federal appropriations and the true catalyst for the Olympic "turnaround."

Hogan Gidley, National Communications Director, said, "Mitt Romney's negative-only style politics is sad and desperate. And just like his previous attacks, this latest attack about earmarks is hypocritical too. We all know Romney was his own lobbyist for millions in earmarks - who does he honestly think he's fooling? Unfortunately it's just what we've come to expect from Mitt Romney.

In fact, we just learned today that Mitt Romney's PAC is up to $12 million in negative-only attacks - and now Romney's very own campaign is pushing millions in negative ads too. After 4 years as Governor and 6 years of running for president, it's clear that Mitt Romney would rather tear down someone else than talk about his own record. The only contender in this race that is giving voters a hopeful vision for America is Rick Santorum. Polls continue showing the desperate politics of destruction displayed by both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama will fall flat on voters looking to restore American hopefulness and American greatness."

Mitt's Federal Bailout

In his book Turnaround, Romney even devotes an entire chapter, entitled "Funds from the Feds," to talk about his lobbying for federal appropriations for the 2002 Olympic Games. Romney outlines in detail his lobbying of Senator Ted Stevens and Senator John McCain for federal funding for the Utah games.

• They "would need hundreds of millions of dollars worth of federal support from a long list of departments." (Mitt Romney, Turnaround, pg 227)

• "He (Romney) directed plans to hire experienced transportation lobbyists -- even highlighting how he poached one from another group that was trying to win earmarks for non-Olympic projects in Utah." (Jennifer Dobner & Kasie Hunt, "Romney Led Olympics To Success - With Some Help," Associated Press, February 18, 2012)

Though Romney claims this money was necessary as a result of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the fact is that he began his lobbying months before that terrible Fall morning.

• ... "Other participants said they remember Romney's involvement vividly. In February 2001, half a dozen congressional staff members flew to Utah to review proposals for federal money from the organizing committee." (Rosalind Helderman, "Romney's Work On Olympics, Mass. Projects Reveals Complex History With Earmarks," The Washington Post, February 16, 2012)

Romney even personally lobbied and "wooed" members of Congress for earmarks.

• "He (Romney) met Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, then the chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. And he wooed Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain, who along with Democratic Rep. John Dingell of Michigan had inquired about wasteful Olympic spending, resulting in a critical report from the Government Accountability Office." (Jennifer Dobner & Kasie Hunt, "Romney Led Olympics To Success - With Some Help," Associated Press, February 18, 2012)

• Current Romney supporter, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), was particularly critical of Romney's efforts to lobby for earmarks, calling the earmarks "an incredible pork-barrel project for Salt Lake City and its environs." (Jennifer Dobner & Kasie Hunt, "Romney Led Olympics To Success - With Some Help," Associated Press, February 18, 2012)

The magnitude of Romney's bailout by the Federal government reached the hundreds of millions of, if not over $1 billion, taxpayer dollars.

• "But the federal government's contributions, thanks to Mr. Romney, were also immense. By the time the Games were over, about $342 million in federal money to plan and stage the Winter Games had flowed into Utah, a record outlay for the Olympics and nearly $50 million more in constant dollars than was spent for the Atlanta Olympics, according to a report in 2001 by the Government Accountability Office. (Kirk Johnson, "In Olympics Success, Romney Found New Edge," New York Times, September 19, 2007)

• "The federal government pumped more than $340 million into Utah in advance of the 2002 Games, funding about 18 percent of the cost, including funds for buses, light-rail construction and a host of security-related projects, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. If costs for rebuilding Interstate 15 and all of the light-rail expenses are added, the federal sum zooms to $1.3 billion." (Thomas Burr, "Romney's Olympic Earmarks Under Fire," The Salt Lake Tribune, February 17, 2012)

• Among the expenditures paid for by taxpayer dollars included: $33,000 for an Olympic horse adoption program and $55,000 for the Department of Justice to assess and resolve racial tension in Salt Lake City. (Kirk Johnson, "In Olympics Success, Romney Found New Edge," New York Times, September 19, 2007)

So, in other words, Romney's much vaunted "private sector" turnaround skills required federal intervention. And, if he was such a proponent of earmarks for his own projects, why is he attacking Rick Santorum for earmarks now?