UPDATE: Just three weeks ago Congressman Polis was singing a different tune on private equity:
“FreeWave Technologies is yet another example of a Boulder area company successfully attracting capital,” said Rep. Jared Polis. “As FreeWave Technologies demonstrates, private equity investments in Colorado companies have strengthened local businesses and brought good jobs to the region by providing needed investments for growth and to help companies succeed in the global economy,” Rep. Polis concluded. [Peak emphasis]
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Democrat Congressmen Ed Perlmutter and Jared Polis loyally fulfilled their duty as political lackeys at Obama's big dollar fundraiser in Denver yesterday, trashing Bain Capital for how they made their money. The problem with their attacks is Perlmutter's third largest donor is a foreclosure company and three of the top five donors to Polis are venture capital companies.
First, what Perlmutter and Polis had to say about Bain Capital, the Post's Sara Burnett:
U.S. Rep. Ed Perlmutter described Bain as "a different kind of (private equity) company" — one that would "buy a company, pick it clean and wipe it out."
"I don't call that entrepreneurship," Perlmutter, D-Colo., said. "That's taking advantage."
U.S. Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo. — a millionaire who made his fortune through Internet businesses — agreed.
"In private equity, there are companies that invest in companies and grow them," Polis said. "That was not the business model of Bain Capital. It was to look at turnaround … and frequently involved outsourcing."
Those are an interesting choice of words, Congressman Perlmutter, considering your third largest donor specializes in throwing people out of their family homes.
According to OpenSecrets.org, the law firm of Castle, Meinhold & Stawiarski has been Perlmutter's third largest donor over his Congressional career. You might remember that law firm, it's the same one as the Denver Democrat Chairwoman. It's also a firm that "dominates the foreclosure business in Colorado," surely not a popular place to be in this economy.
Per The Denver Post:
Castle Stawiarski files the most foreclosure cases each year in many large counties, according to figures provided by the trustees. In Arapahoe County, which had 5,500 foreclosures filed in 2010 – the most statewide – Castle accounted for 52 percent. In Denver it was 49 percent. In smaller Park County, Castle accounted for 90 percent of the caseload.
Jared Polis is an even bigger hypocrite. Of the top five companies that have donated to him over his Congressional career, the top two are companies he owns or co-founded and the next three are venture capital firms.
The top donor to Polis is Jovian P4, which runs JaredPolis.com. The number two donor, SPS Studios, is a company Polis helped co-found. The next three are venture capital firms, firms that we're sure have been involved in more than a few layoffs over their careers.
Before Ed Perlmutter and Jared Polis go dutifully after Mitt Romney's financial background, they might want to check their own donor lists first.