bain capital loaded ampad with crippling debt and in 2000 ampad went into bankruptcy.from its $5 million investment, but creditors got 2/10 of one cent for every dollar they were owed. these creditors included pension funds. i'm joined tonight by randy johnson who worked at an ampad plant there in indiana that was bought by bain capital. mr. johnson, good to have you with us tonight. i guess the word this evening is nauseated. how nauseated were you when you got the news you were losing your job and so were your friends and family and everybody else that worked at that plant? >> it was nauseating but it was devastating. what happened to the families -- people can't start to imagine unless they've been through it, and i know a lot of folks have. the bottom line is when you find out that your plant that was making money, was successful and going forward and making quality products suddenly had your world turned upside down. romney called it his real world. we don't understand that. why would you say such a thing, that this is the real world, that you have to destroy comp

bain capital walked away with $100 million return on investment from ampad. workers, whatever to them? they're laid off. they are kicked to the side of the road like road kill and moved around like furniture. pensions were deleted and health care was cut. none of the $100 million in profit went to helping out any of those workers who were laid off because that's just not bain's priority. the american people i think are starting to get it. a new poll by public policy polling asked what was mitt romney's primary concern at bain capital. 57% said making a profit. i think americans understand that. 12% said creating jobs. wait a minute. they're figuring this out. this is about profit. it's not about people. 25% said both equally. voters are taking mitt romney's business experience seriously. they should. this priority, his priority all along was profit and policies as president if he becomes president of the united states, this is what it's going to look like. mitt romney wants tax cuts for the wealthiest americans. the income separation that we show on this char

not every investor as in the case of ampad which we've talked about today files for bankruptcy, loads company with debt, files for bankruptcy, makes $100 million on a $5 million investment and then stiffs their creditors 99 cents who are left. >> so you're not taking money from any wall street or hedge fund guys who actually have been involved in bad deals? >> there's only one guy who's running for president of the united states and offering this as his credential to be president. we're having a fundamental debate about how we build the economy. mitt romney thinks the economy was fine in the last decade and wants 0 go back to those is policies. tax breaks for the wealthy, letting wall street write its own rules. his business theory, his economic theory was reflected in some of these deals. that may work well for him and he's been very good at making money for himself and for his partners. but the question is, is that good for the american economy? is it good for the middle class? we're going to continue to prosecute ta case. >> what about this suit by notre dame and these other dioces

they fired employees in the case of ampad, they hired them back at a lower salary.red them back at fewer benefits. they eventually fired them all together. and here is the issue, dennis. the american people understand why does it qualify you to be president that you walked away with $100 million while the employees walked away with nothing. they walked away with no job and no benefits. explain why that qualifies you to be president, and maybe you'll get there. what we're saying is we don't think it does. >> all right. let's get an answer. sean, why does this explain why he should be president? >> here is the funny thing, dennis. the one thing i have a similar question in terms of government. you look at an agency like gsa that wastes thousands of dollars, i mean millions of dollars of taxpayer money. where is the accountability? where is the leadership at the top? you look at noaa, who was trying to go out and hire magicians with taxpayer money where. is the accountability there? when you look at the leadership on this job in terms of running this government, runnin

this time focusing on ampad. a paper company bain acquired in the 1992 that had to go bankrupt eight years later. a look at the obama attack. >> i really feel in my heart people need to know what mitt romney did to me in 1994. >> it makes me sick. i sit there and watch mitt romney tell the american people about how he creates all these jobs. >> you can tell by the way he acts, the way he talks. he's doesn't care anything about the middle class or the lower class people. >> but, of course, some attacks aren't sitting well even with the president's supporters. cory booker did not favors for team obama with these comments on "meet the press" sunday. >> i'm not about to indict private equity. we're getting to a ridiculous point in america. look at the totality's bain capital's record. they've done a lot to support businesses, to grow businesses, and this, to me, i'm very uncomfortable. this kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides. it's nauseating to the american public. enough is enough. >> well, those commen

the same thing to the entire country that he did to the workers here at gst in kansas city and the ampadks in ohio -- i think people need to think long and hard about it. >> john weissman, thank you for sharing your story. powerful testimony, thank you for your time, we'll be having you back. >> thank you for having me on, appreciate it. >> thank you, still ahead, collin powell speaks out on the ugliness in gop attacks against president obama. are there any other reasonable republicans left to listen to him? d discrimination, and we don't want to go there. so let's try to see people for who they really are. you can help create a more united states. the more you know. ♪ spread a little love my way ♪ ♪ spread a little something to remember ♪ ♪ ♪ spread a little joy... [ female announcer ] fresh milk and real cream. that's what makes philadelphia. ♪ so spread a little... [ female announcer ] and that's what makes the moment we enjoy it, a little richer. ♪ real belgian chocolate whipped with philadelphia cream cheese. new indulgence. the moment just got a little sweeter. can help make you a

bain capital, and also, at bain capital during the years during the steel company and, i believe, the ampad company, the times they had to shut down jobs. we will get back do this in a minute. so the governor romney's time with private equity is fair game so the president's should be fair, too and it is not pretty. a former bush speech writer, mark, so, let's talk about president obama's, private equity, and public equity. how is his success going? we are having some ought eye problems, all our remotes are having audio problems so we will have to wrap this up and come back and fix the audios and bring the guests back. back with you as soon as possible. ♪ ♪ why do you whisper, green grass? ♪ [ all ] shh! ♪ why tell the trees what ain't so? ♪ [ male announcer ] dow solutions use vibration reduction technology to help reduce track noise so trains move quieter througurban areas all over the world. together, the elements of science and the human element can solve anything. [ all ] shh! [ male announcer ] solutionism. the new optimism. with the touch of a button ? droid does. does it post it inst

eight short years, mitt romney and his buddies took $100 million out of company, the company called ampadlet it go bankrupt. >> that's a testify,ster cor ste kornacki. >> you know, i remember that being used against romney. why does it seem to work against romney in 94 and not 2002? i think there is something particular about the climate of 2012 that might be conclusive for this line of attack. we are living in you why know in the wake of the financial dealt melt don't of 2008 and stories are widespread persuasive struggling in this country and there is that super affluent elite that got richer during all of this. >> but steve, we all know startry. they make movies about this. well turned out ivy league sharpies showed up that never had their fingernails dirty. go in and take jobs away from factory workers who worked the skr job 20 or 30, bust their hump, then they take the company and flip it. some family member has been through it. it used to be called efficiency experts now they are called private equity. >> they were worried when the consultants came to town. >> they aren't helping yo

. >> priorities usa also release add spot featuring a woman who lost her job at ampad, the paper company taken over by bain capital. >> i worked at the plant going on 34 years. i thought that i was going to retire from there. when mitt romney did that, he made me sick. >> mitt romney's own republican rivals in that hotly contested primary called bain, quote, vulture capitalists. we continue to hear the president hammer away at bain. do you think that candidate romney has effectively defended his years at bain capital? >> well, right now, of course the democrats have done a pretty good job for him. mayor cory booker and even today steve rattner writing in "the new york times" called "the bane attacks" narrowly accurate. that's a nice way of saying you're barely lying. they're cherry-picking a lot of facts about this company and what it's done. and the -- >> steven, you can't -- >> a lot of democrats are saying the same thing. >> you can't dismiss the fact that those ads have had an impact on mitt romney. in south carolina, for instance, when newt gingrich rolled that out, a lot of folks s

bain bankrupted and made $550 million profit on that are now being profiled in the obama ads like ampady were put in debt and then cut costs and over the long run, that activity has an impact because you're starving a company of capital. >> gentlemen, thanks for your time this morning. >>> prosecutors in south jersey are looking for a couple that are caught on this disturbing surveillance tape. it shows a dad putting his son into a machine. but the door locks and when the machine starts spinning, both mom and dad go into a panic. a full minute later, a laundromat employee finally gets the machine turned off. the boy appears to be okay and the incident believed to be a miscalculated joke. but the state still wants to speak with the parents about that. >>> broadway star tv icon michael mckean was hit by a car while walking in new york city yesterday. his rep says he's in stable condition with a broken leg and will miss curtain call this week for the first time in 40 years. he was best known for playing lenny on "luverne & shirley". >>> and sales for "fifty shades of grey" hit $10 million

they always, because here is how, like they did at ampad.harged fees to launch the ipo. they held stock, sold their stock when the price went up. by the year 2000, the company went bankrupt because they loaded it with 400 million in debt but they had paid themselves over $100 million. >> yeah. >> they didn't care about the workers. there was nothing to do are the workers. >> all right. well, you know, president obama was criticized this week for -- by some leading democrats for talking about bain capital as part of his campaign and responding to mitt romney's claim that he is qualified to be president because he is a businessman and he can fix the economy and he know knows how to create jobs. do you think it's fair for president obama to talk about this? >> 0, absolutely. and not just because of campaigning. these are real lives and real people and not just the lives and folks that i worked with, but all of these companies, and how many communities and how many mom and pop shops and how many institutions loaned money? i mean what does that t

the bain capital investment boards, he was -- and there was an ad ripping what bain capital did with ampadn the board and i assume a supporter and senator mark warner, democrat from virginia thinks bain capital was a successful base and got a good return for investors. that's what they're supposed to do. that's a lot of people who think the whole premise of the argument is wrong. >> and the former venture capitalist himself, senator warner might know a thing or two about how private equity works. this is an attack basically on what we have deemed success in this country. and mitch mcconnell yesterday really pointed that out. he said the whole notion of earned success and capitalism "seems to be under attack" by this administration. so isn't it the effort of any business to try to do the best job it can and make the most money it can? forget private equity. isn't that how business works in general? >> i'll tell you what, we know for sure the number one reason that somebody is going to vote for somebody for president in november will be the economy. which of the two men, will it be obama or

situation in a business that was performing well overall, growing revenues and adding jobs, our control of ampad ended in 1996. fully four years before it encountered financial difficulties, due to overwhelming pressure from big box retailers, declines in paper demand and intense foreign price pressures. despite political attacks that emphasize a few companies that have struggled, the facts are that during bain capital's ownership, revenues grew in 80% of the more than 300 companies in which we have invested. >>> a deadly tornado ripped through joplin, missouri, a year ago, killing 161 people and destroying 8,000 homes and businesses. president obama traveled to joplin, yesterday, to speak to the graduating class at joplin high school. he called students and their town, an inspiration, and reminded them that they are tough enough to overcome any obstacle. >> yes, you will encounter obstacles along the way. i guarantee you you will face setbacks and you will face disappointments. but you're from joplin, and you're from america and no matter how tough times get, you'll always be tougher. >> volunt

. >> when bain capital bought us and ampad come in, that was a whole different story. >> bill: theseare real people. they lost -- these were real companies that were shut down. cory booker says it is not fair to talk about that. darren is calling from new york city. what do you say? >> caller: first off, love your show. >> bill: thank you, my friend. >> caller: welcome sane relief from the morning office i used to watch. >> bill: i know what you mean. welcome to morning bill. >> caller: thank you. i did want to -- ironically offer a contextual correction to you. i did watch the entire rachel interview and the sound byte you cited was actually cory complaining about the context of g.o.p. when they threw him up on the banner page of their site saying i side with cory. the context he was correcting. >> bill: right. but it was -- >> caller: i do agree. he stepped in it. >> bill: it was the entire -- the way the g.o.p. used his comments -- actually in several forms. mitt romney put out an ad right with cory booker's actual words from "meet the press" and then the republicans put up that -