Mitt Romney and Seamus have a lot in common. They both have excrement all over themselves.  Since the beginning of the campaign we have heard about the “blind trust” of Mitt Romney. Romney has distanced himself from any responsibility for the management of his money because it is managed by a trustee of a “blind trust.”  His lack of knowledge about the investments of the “blind trust” was particularly helpful because of the off-shore investments that would have suggested he didn’t have what Obama is calling “economic patriotism.” 

With the release of Romney’s 2011 tax returns we have learned about many unsettling investments that demonstrate the opposite of “economic patriotism” and the opposite of the goals of the Republican Party. For a complete analysis of the absurdity of these returns, see this article from the Business Insider. However even those not versed in sophisticated accounting,  realize the hypocrisy of Romney being the Republican candidate for President, and having made investments in these companies: 

 

1. A Pharmaceutical company focused on Stem Cell Research 

2. Chinese owned oil companies

3. A Pharmaceutical company that produces the Morning After Pill, a contraceptive that prevents implantation of a fertilized egg

4. Credit Sussie Group, a company fined $536 Million for violating Iran Trade Sanctions

5. Various Chinese companies, including a company sued by a U.S. firm for copyright infringement

6. BNP Paribas, a French based bank with ties to Iran

7. Intesa Sanpaolo, an Italian bank being Investigated by U.S. authorities for handling Iranian funds

 

These companies and their investment strategies might be offensive but if Romney truly had no input or control over his investments, poor judgment in selecting the trustee of the “blind trust” might be the only thing we could pin on Romney. After all Romney’s web site includes a statement from the trustee of his “blind trust,” Brad Malt who declared that:

“The investments within the trusts are managed on a blind basis by me, the trustee. I have sole responsibility for making, holding and disposing of the investments.”

However the truth is quite the opposite. Practically, it is absurd to think that a trustee of this much money doesn’t take input and guidance from the beneficiary of this trust. Mitt Romney likely has the power to appoint a new trustee, if he feels Brad isn’t living up to his expectations. The real proof of Romney’s control over the “blind trust” is the fact of the timing of the sale of these Anti-American and Anti-Republican Party investments. The “blind trust” sold its interest in the companies listed above the DAY BEFORE THE REPUBLICAN DEBATE IN IOWA! 

Even if Brad could explain one or two sales, the day before the GOP debate in Iowa, for strictly strategic investing purposes, he can’t offer any explanation for the sale of all non-patriotic investments, except that Mitt told him to sell these. In addition a trustee of a “blind trust” is hired to maximize income for the trust and is not typically charged with making charitable contributions. If the goal of the trust was to make charitable contributions, it would be a “charitable trust” which would have its own tax advantages. In 2011 Romney’s “blind trust” made a donation of $4,020,772 to charities, but only claimed a deduction of $2.25 million. Romney would like to take credit for his charitable giving, even though he has said he has no control over the trust. Failing to take a current deduction of $2.25 million for roughly half of this charitable giving would be directly contrary to the best interest of the trust, so that decision must have been made by Romney himself, in order to assure his effective tax rate would be as high as possible, during the election cycle.

Seamus didn’t deserve to have excrement all over himself; Romney does.

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