Heavy-Handed AP: 'Steel Mill Polluted Town as Romney Firm Profited'

For months, the liberal media have viciously attacked Mitt Romney’s time at Bain Capital in every way imaginable.  From calling him a job killer (or parroting Obama super PAC claims that the Republican is an actual killer)  to a corporate raider, the left has gone to new lengths to smear Governor Romney’s past, something President Obama never endured during his 2008 campaign for president.

Take for example an August 13 piece by the Associated Press writer Jack Gillum, entitled, “Steel Mill Polluted Town As Romney Firm Profited,” which seeks to paint Governor Romney and Bain as heartless corporate raiders who left a small South Carolina town in economic and environmental ruin while they made off with millions.

The article viciously attacks Romney and Bain for causing massive amounts of pollution its company Georgetown Steel inflicted on the town of Georgetown, South Carolina following the company’s bankruptcy.  The article goes so far as to cite a Romney supporter claiming that her compensation from Bain, “wasn’t even enough to paint the house” from the damage caused by pollution from Georgetown Steel.

After trying to portray this tragic story of a town victimized by Bain, the article’s author makes a point of saying that, “as a presidential candidate, Romney has pledged to role back environmental regulations as a way to spur growth.”

Making his point clear, Gillum added, "Under President Barack Obama, he recently quipped, 'a regulator would have shut down the Wright Brothers for their 'dust pollution.'"

The entire article includes multiple anecdotes from members of the community complaining not only of the environmental impact Georgetown Steel had on their homes and lives but how Bain Capital saw more than $30 million in returns on its steel company investment while one person in the town got only $800 from the settlement with Bain.  In the eyes of A.P., Bain is company with little regard for anyone but its investors and shareholders as it made off with millions in profits and left Georgetown, South Carolina in turmoil.  

Such in-depth attacks on Romney have become commonplace during this election cycle but were virtually absent during President Obama’s campaign who was protected from criticism by the liberal media.