154 Reasons Mitt Romney Lost the 2012 Presidential Election

There are reasons candidates win elections and there are reasons candidates lose elections (see list below). Mitt Romney lost this one. 

There are some great lessons to be learned here, so don’t discount the messenger or the message. Yes, money has a great deal to do with running a successful presidential campaign and God know Romney’s got money but it’s not everything. We’ve all seen the commercials. In the end, the candidates looked pretty much as we originally thought.

Come on... Admit it! You already knew who you were going to vote for in the beginning. All that campaign money and boring commercials didn’t make a bit of difference.....

Obama is a nice enough guy, he has a nice family, and even with the opposition fighting him at every step he managed to kill Osama Bin Laden. God bless him for that! A lot of people refused to credit him with that one.  They probably wished Bush had done it. We all wish Bush had done it! Why didn’t he? Makes you wonder doesn’t it?  That said Obama hasn’t accomplished much else other than healthcare reform. Soon my girlfriend will have health coverage. That will be a relief.  

Don’t you wish Bill Clinton was still in office? Those were the days.

Romney seems like a nice guy. Not so much nice as in approachable or having a conversation with him or anything like that. He probably wouldn’t give us the time of day. We’re working stiffs. He’s a multimillionaire. Would anyone with a $250,000,000.00 net worth?  Back in the 1980's there was this boss who owned a Ferrari. Does that count?

Anyway, Romney’s a family guy, it seems like he has accomplished some great things and made a name for himself. He has a pretty wife and his kids look like they were raised well. The story of him helping the sick kid with his final wishes really impressed us. That showed real character.  Still, would you want to work for him? He’s probably ruthless in the business world. No one makes that kind of money without playing hard ball. Some of those stories about hostile takeovers and firing workforces are true.

Why doesn’t he buy an island in the South Pacific and retire? Perhaps now he will.....

Here’s the list in order of importance. Pay attention 2016 presidential candidates!

1.            Occupy Wall Street

2.            War on Women

3.            Hispanic Voters

4.            African American Voters

5.            AARP Fight

6.            ObamaCare Victory

7.            Death of Osama Bin Laden

8.            Bill Clinton’s DNC Speech

9.            Auto Industry Bailout

10.          The Tea Party Movement

11.          Clint Eastwood’s Monologue  

12.          Horatio Alger Myth  

13.          Frightened Senior Citizens

14.          Todd Akin’s Rape Comments  

15.          Cayman Islands Account

16.          Mitch McConnell’s 2012 Goal

17.          Tax Cuts for the Rich

18.          Medicare Cuts

19.          Rafalca the Olympic Horse

20.          The 47% Comment

21.          The Middle Class

22.          Evangelicals

23.          Term “Welfare Queen”

24.          Not Mentioning Afghanistan

25.          Michael Savage’s Vitriol

26.          Tax Returns

27.          Corporate Greed

28.          Do-Nothing Congress

29.          Ann Coulter

30.          Gay Marriage

31.          Foreign Policy

32.          Abortion

33.          Malia and Sasha

34.          Right Wing Extremism

35.          YouTube

36.          Etch-a-Sketch Debacle

37.          Calling a US President a “Socialist”

38.          Climate Change Denial

39.          Arab Spring

40.          Sec of State Hillary Clinton

41.          Immigration Issue

42.          Bain Capital

43.          John McCain

44.          Seamus the Dog

45.          Don’t Ask Don’t Tell

46.          Muammar Gaddafi Death

47.          The 99%

48.          Too Negative

49.          Koch Brothers

50.          Term “Crony Capitalist”

51.          Phony Voter ID Laws

52.          Oil Company Ties 

53.          Opposition to Green Energy

54.          Support of Nuclear Energy

55.          American Dream of Home Ownership

56.          Sheldon Adelson

57.          End of Iraq War

58.          Sarah Palin

59.          Fox News

60.          Iran Sanctions

61.          Offshoring Jobs

62.          Chris Matthews

63.          Herman Cain’s 999 Plan

64.          Outsourcing

65.          George W. Bush

66.          Union Members

67.          Obama Effect (Stockpiling Weapons)

68.          Fuel Efficiency Standards

69.          Birther Conspiracy  

70.          Basketball Ability

71.          Housing Market Stabilization

72.          Gov. Scott Walker

73.          Veiled Racism

74.          Gulf Oil Spill

75.          Motor City Madman Ted Nugent

76.          Oprah Winfrey

77.          Seal Team 6

78.          Citizens United Decision

79.          Sen Larry Craig’s Wide Stance

80.          NRA Tweet after Massacre

81.          Facebook Sharing

82.          The 1%

83.          Ron Paul Snub

84.          Business Banking Regulations

85.          Mars Curiosity Rover

86.          George Clooney

87.          Small Donors

88.          Stiff Persona

89.          Libyan Attack Comments

90.          Donald Trump Endorsement

91.          “He’s Not One of Us” Argument

92.          24 Hr News Cycle

93.          “Thurston Howell Romney” Moniker

94.          GOP Israel Skinny Dip

95.          Hong Kong Fundraiser

96.          Romney’s Olympic Security Critique

97.          Carl Rove

98.          Super PAC’s

99.          Michele Bachmann

100.        Term “Death Panel”

101.        Offshore Accounts

102.        Newt Gingrich

103.        Angry Looking

104.        Netanyahu

105.        Reverse Military Cuts

106.        House Speaker John Boehner

107.        Support of Coal Industry

108.        Union Members

109.        Rush Limbaugh

110.        Corporate Greed

111.        EPA Regulations

112.        Teachers

113.        Doctored Pledge of Allegiance Photo

114.        “I Love to Fire People”

115.        Stimulus Plan

116.        Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner

117.        Cash for Clunkers

118.        War on Women

119.        “We Built It” Slogan

120.        Campaign Infighting

121.        No Specifics

122.        Term “Marxist”

123.        Media Bias Claim

124.        Bill O’Reilly

125.        Saturday Night Live

126.        Fair and Balanced

127.        Stock Market Recovery

128.        Al Franken

129.        Robert Reich

130.        Voter Suppression Act

131.        Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.

131.        Term “Appeasement”

132.        Day One Promises

133.        The Norquist Pledge

134.        Nathan Sproul

135.        WI Collective Bargaining Law

136.        Cato Institute

137.        Anti-Mormon Bias

138.        Free Enterprise System

139.        Hugh Hewitt’s Book

140.        Bush’s Record

141.        Atheist Ayn Rand

142.        School Vouchers

143.        Romney’s Car Elevator

144.        Offshore Drilling

145.        Ann’s Couple of Cadillac’s

146.        Insult Government Workers  

147.        "Anyone Can Beat Obama" Mantra

148.        Comparing Obama to Jimmy Carter

149.        Likeability Factor

150.        Unpatriotic Language (Size of US Govt)

151.        Conservative Doctrine

152.        Michele vs. Ann

153.        Cheerleading Fall of US Economy

154.        Buyer’s Remorse

Copyright 2012 Bob Oedy All Rights Reserved

Digital Domain Bankruptcy a Case for Organizing the VFX Industry

You’ve been hearing the rumors for weeks or maybe you haven’t and were caught completely off-guard like the Alperts family. They sold everything and moved to Florida with the promise of a dream job at Digital Domain only to find there was no job. Either way, it’s hard to believe what’s transpired.  Digital Domain Media Group,Incorporated (NYSE: DDMG) has filed Chapter 11 Bankruptcy.  Last week the company announced the closing of its Port St. Lucie, Florida facility. Police were on hand in case there were any “incidents” with the 300 employees who were given pink slips.

Industry insiders have been saying they knew for some time that the company had been struggling. There were rumors as far back as six months ago about company executives rushing to the bank with a 4 million dollar check from Warner Bros. to cover payroll. Apparently, last week they found themselves in a similar situation. 

What lessons can be learned?

It’s time to pull back the curtain and expose what’s really going on. Finally, the slick veneer that was Digital Domain has rubbed off. The truth is; visual effects companies, especially publicly traded corporations like Digital Domain, are concerned about one thing and one thing only; making money for their shareholders and owners.  They are not concerned about you as an employee or your family, or artistic expression, or the environment, or the country for that matter.  It’s about profit!

Reread CEO John C. Textor’s resignation letter of September 6^th here. After all the self-serving nonsense he admits the decision to close the Port St. Lucie facility was, “without compassion”. That’s a good way to put it.

The truth is; as unrepresented at-will employees, artists have no voice in the workplace.  The company sets the conditions for employment. What they say goes and when they say, “go!” you go.  Usually with a cardboard box in your arms and a few mementos collected over the years if you are lucky. In Digital Domain’s case, under the watchful eye of police officers there to insure employees didn’t steal company assets on the way-out. 

You’ll find when VFX houses experience financial troubles, artists get hurt the most. If you are owed wages; you probably won’t see the money without a huge fight especially if you are working in Canada. In Montreal the government will cover 3k in lost wages but that is it. In Quebec you're considered an “unsecured creditor”. That’s legal jargon for “screwed”. Once they go bankrupt you're last-in-line to get paid. All you can do is hope they don’t go under. Things aren’t quite that bad here in California, but it’s still no picnic.

The time has come to ask tough questions. How many more Digital Domain like companies is it going to take before artists decide enough-is-enough? Wouldn’t you be better off working under the protection of a union contract?  After all, the CEO and the boards of directors all have written contracts. Why not you? Wouldn’t it be nice to have a grievance procedure and to know someone is looking out for your interests along the way? Don’t rely on a company to look out for your interests. They don’t care. Remember, they only care about profit. The drama that has become Digital Domain is the perfect case for finally organizing the VFX industry.

What about Digital Domain’s competitors?

Well, insiders say Sony is sending HR people to Florida to see what talent can be found. One result will likely be lower wages for artists and increased pressure for the bottom line as companies review their own balance sheets. Perhaps Sony will acquire some of Digital Domain’s projects. Either way it’s a mess.

That’s why Digital Domain is the perfect case for organizing the VFX industry. Until the industry does; you can expect the drama to continue. There are plenty more Digital Domains out there; companies treating artists "without compassion". The names change but the stories remain the same.