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* The Democratic Governors Association is trying to gin up the animosity toward Rauner…
As Chairman of GTCR, Bruce Rauner was a central figure in the formation of ConvergEx. As news breaks that ConvergEx’s CEO will be added to the list of Rauner’s indicted business associates - Rauner is again trying to distance himself from the CEO and the company he formed.
The truth is the that GTCR’s investment model includes picking company managers and management strategies. But Bruce Rauner is banking on the fact that you won’t understand how he made this money through private equity.
Rauner actually said, “Your average voter will never understand what private equity is and I’m not going to try to explain it too much. They’re not going to know.”
OK, first of all, the head of ConvergEx wasn’t indicted. The head of ConvergEx Global Markets Limited was indicted. It’s a subsidiary.
The video of the quote is here. Go to the 44:45 mark.
* Rauner also said this right after that above DGA-supplied quote (which I corrected after watching the video)…
“I help companies grow. I provide capital to help companies grow and that’s about the level of detail that I’m going to get into.”
posted by Rich Miller
Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 10:50 am
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–“Your average voter will never understand what private equity is and I’m not going to try to explain it too much. They’re not going to know.” –
Some condescending thoughts are probably best left unspoken.
Comment by wordslinger Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 10:56 am
How is picking a manager for a subsidiary different that picking the manager of a government agency, say IDOT?
Comment by Keyser Soze Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 10:57 am
“Your average voter will never understand what private equity is and I’m not going to try to explain it too much. They’re not going to know.”
—
Rauner needs to understand that he’s nowhere near as smart as he thinks he is. And he needs to understand that voters are nowhere near as dumb as he thinks they are.
Smugness like this — it doesn’t play well. Rauner’s stuff is not complex. The explanations are not complex. The reason why he won’t discuss it is because the so-called “hard decisions” he makes are usually morally questionable (and usually repugnant).
Rauner’s enormous wealth is built from this ruthless amorality. He knows it. He won’t admit it. This is what voters will continue to realize in the coming months.
Comment by Frenchie Mendoza Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:00 am
===“I help companies grow. I provide capital to help companies grow and that’s about the level of detail that I’m going to get into.”===
That sounds like a bank. Last time I saw business take out a loan from a bank the banker didn’t get a seat on the board of directors.
Comment by Been There Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:01 am
TRYING TO GIN UP ANIMOSITY? How could ANY red blooded American NOT have disgust for offshore rauner?
Comment by William j Kelly Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:01 am
Rich this is off topic, but I got polled by AFSCME last night. I think it was AFSCME, they said they were polling union members. It started out polling negatives against both candidates and then focused only on Rauner’s anti-union messages and how those would affect my vote. Pretty solid, but the pollster was clearly not a native English speaker and called Quinn “Pat Queen” and politics “pole-it-ics” so that kind of took away from it a bit. Union folks aren’t particularly fond of outsourcing, although I suppose it is possible it was just one pollster and not an overseas operation type thing. Anyway, just wanted to pass that info along.
Comment by Jimbo Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:02 am
===Rauner actually said, “Your average voter will never understand what private equity is and I’m not going to try to explain it too much. They’re not going to know.”===
Maybe Rauner should read the post that had the - VanillaMan - comment, than get back to us.
To that, it’s quotes like those that leave the impression that Rauner, personally, thinks very little of anyone but himself.
Examples?
“Baloney” - you are asking something unworthy of response.
“I’ve given millions” - you’re idea of ethics or morals or honest and integrity have no bearing, because I can spend whatever is necessary to defeat your idea of those four ideals.
“Extremes” - talking in his extremes seems to be done to shout down “any and all” questioning, a technique used in talk radio too to bully callers when the question the “gray”.
How Rauner sees himself, versus how it comes off, is a liability Quinn’s Crew can use …more .
Comment by Oswego Willy Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:11 am
If this keeps up not only won’t we be hearing about offshore rauner after November but I am afraid we won’t to be hearing about the Illinois Republican Party anymore either, would someone please have the decency to show offshore rauner the offshore door now!
Comment by William j Kelly Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:20 am
“That sounds like a bank.”
When a “bank” makes an equity investment, rather than making a loan, they get a seat on the board. You ‘buy’ 30% of a company, you get a seat on the board.
Honestly, the discussions about the business of GTCR that I read on the intertubez–which are generally representative of the understanding of an *above average* voter–tend to indicate that Bruce is right, and the “average voter” wouldn’t understand.
Doesn’t make it a smart thing to say. He needed/needs an elevator pitch of ‘what PE is’ that is understandable to the ‘average voter’ and that makes him sound like not such a DB.
Comment by Chris Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:22 am
Maybe this is simple enough for we rubes: “I take tons of public pension money, find companies that are good at siphoning government dollars, give them public pension dollars so they can siphon more government dollars, then I collect massive profits.”
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:30 am
===Rauner actually said, “Your average voter will never understand what private equity is and I’m not going to try to explain it too much. They’re not going to know.”===
Quinn campaign should create an online contest - list ten quotes, you gotta guess whether Romney or Rauner said it.
Comment by Robert the Bruce Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:35 am
Indicted associates is probably not a wise talking point for the DGA in Illinois.
Comment by Robert the Bruce Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:36 am
“That sounds like a bank. Last time I saw business take out a loan from a bank the banker didn’t get a seat on the board of directors.”
—————-
PE (Private Equity) isn’t banks. Banks are way too risk adverse, plus they want everything collateralized at levels that most entrepreneurs are unlikely to be able to provide.
So, if you believe you have an idea for ‘the next big thing’ and you are starting down the startup/spinoff road, you almost always end up going the PE route because the banks are incapable of serving the needs of the marketplace (too risk adverse).
But there’s a substantial element of risk in making PE investments. So, since you (the entrepreneur) really can’t provide much in terms of collateral, and you do get PE money, board seat(s) tend to go with the deal when you do get a PE investor. That’s literally SOP.
Comment by Judgment Day (on the road) Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:40 am
“How could ANY red blooded American NOT have disgust for offshore rauner?”
I guess that that is mission accomplished then. Animosity ginned up.
Will you have the same level of disgust when icons of the left do similar things with their money?
If you think there is something illegal about what a person does with their money, then report it. If you don’t like the laws work to change it.
Histrionic name calling simply does not move the discussion forward.
Comment by Plutocrat03 Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:42 am
Plutocrat03, you obviously haven’t done your research on the Rahmchurian candidate rauner or you wouldn’t be making the left/right argument.
Comment by William j Kelly Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 11:54 am
Wow - even the DGA gets it completely wrong.
Comment by VanillaMan Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 12:34 pm
What the voting public knows is that private equity are deals done by shady billionaires who don’t want the inconvenience of public scrutiny.
Comment by A Jack Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 3:10 pm
A Jack, I don’t think that’s what the public knows.
Comment by A guy... Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 3:27 pm
sound`s like a promo for “shark tank~
Comment by Anonymous Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 4:12 pm
Rauner actually said, “Your average voter will never understand what private equity is and I’m not going to try to explain it too much. They’re not going to know.”
OswegoWilly nailed it- condescension seems to slip out of Mr. Rauner’s mouth on a regular basis, and it seems he is oblivious to how this sounds to the undecided voters (you know, the ones he has to get to win in this “blue” state). Talking down to them rarely impresses people in a positive way.
Comment by Roadiepig Friday, Aug 8, 14 @ 4:28 pm