Last updated on February 8th, 2013 at 03:05 pm
In audio of a conference call, Mitt Romney can heard instructing employers on how to tell their employees who to vote for, and the consequences to their job if Obama wins.
Here is the full audio:
UPDATE:
Here’s the audio cued to the statement’s time.
http://youtu.be/ucuMHuVlIW0?t=26m30s
According to the Working blog at In These Times, Romney said, “I hope you make it very clear to your employees what you believe is in the best interest of your enterprise and therefore their job and their future in the upcoming elections. And whether you agree with me or you agree with President Obama, or whatever your political view, I hope, I hope you pass those along to your employees.”
Thanks to Citizens United, these kind of scare tactics are legal, and they should sound familiar. Employers have been using these same kinds of threats to keep unions out of the workplace for decades.
It isn’t a coincidence that in recent weeks there have been a rash of Romney supporting billionaires warning of layoffs if Obama wins.
ASG President and CEO Arthur Allen warned his employees, “We have been able to keep ASG an independent company while still growing our revenues and customers. But I can tell you, if the US re-elects President Obama, our chances of staying independent are slim to none. If we fail as a nation to make the right choice on November 6th, and we lose our independence as a company, I don’t want to hear any complaints regarding the fallout that will most likely come. I am asking you to give us one more chance to stay independent by voting in a new President and administration on November 6th. Even then, we still might not be able to remain independent, but it will at least give us a chance. If we don’t, that chance goes away.”
Westgate Resorts CEO David Siegel told his employees, “The economy doesn’t currently pose a threat to your job. What does threaten your job however, is another 4 years of the same Presidential administration. Of course, as your employer, I can’t tell you whom to vote for, and I certainly wouldn’t interfere with your right to vote for whomever you choose. In fact, I encourage you to vote for whomever you think will serve your interests the best.”
The Koch Brothers also threatened 45,000 Georgia Pacific employees, “If we elect candidates who want to spend hundreds of billions in borrowed money on costly new subsidies for a few favored cronies, put unprecedented regulatory burdens on businesses, prevent or delay important new construction projects, and excessively hinder free trade, then many of our more than 50,000 U.S. employees and contractors may suffer the consequences, including higher gasoline prices, runaway inflation, and other ills.”
All three messages to employees have one thing in common. They warn that a vote for Obama could cost a person their job, and we now know that this coordinated scare campaign is being run through the Republican nominee for president.
With Romney continuing to trail President Obama, the right wing millionaires and billionaires are worried that their multimillion dollar investment in Mitt Romney, Candidate Inc. might be turning into a bust. Despite their best efforts, and literally hundreds of millions of dollars in dark money ads, Obama continues to lead. They needed to do something to turn up the heat, so the message is vote for Mitt Romney or lose your job.
Mitt Romney wants America to believe that he cares about the middle class, and if you don’t believe that, you could lose your job.
Because nothing says democracy like the threat of being fired if you exercise your right to vote for the candidate of your choosing.
Image: Ian McGibboney
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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