Romney lobbied for and received $342 million in federal bailouts to make his Olympics successful [View all]

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http://mediamatters.org/blog/2012/01/25/broadcast-media-help-whitewash-romneys-olympics/186505

Broadcast Media Help Whitewash Romney's Olympics Record Lobbying For Taxpayer Money

Blog ››› January 25, 2012 8:33 AM EST ››› LESLIE ROSENBERG

<snip>In 1999, Romney left Bain Capital to accept the job as CEO of the Salt Lake Organizing Committee (SLOC). The Romney campaign has regularly cited his work with the Olympics as central to his success in the private sector -- success Romney has sought to contrast with what he has derided as influence peddling in Washington, D.C.

In fact, The Salt Lake Organizing Committee spent millions on federal lobbyists under Romney's tenure, and secured millions in taxpayer dollars to pay for the 2002 games. The Wall Street Journal's Jonathan Weisman explained that Romney "began ramping up the Salt Lake lobbying effort shortly after taking over the Salt Lake Organizing Committee in 1999."

And those efforts paid dividends in the form of taxpayer dollars. As The New York Times reported:

{T}he 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.

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Thats a lot of money in handouts for someone who hates "Big Gubmint", so much. Wouldn't you say?