One thing political observers sometimes have to remind themselves of is that no matter how quickly an issue might become the topic of intense discussion among insiders, it always takes a while for the substance of it to sink in with voters who are going about their everyday lives. That seems to be the case with the question of Mitt Romney and Bain Capital.
On Thursday, I called a number of officials in Georgetown County, South Carolina to ask their thoughts on Bain’s connection to the steel mill there. They didn’t know about it. “This is the first I’ve ever heard about Bain having to do with the steel mill,” said one. They hadn’t been following the national political debate on the topic, and the local papers had not reported it.
Now, those papers have noticed, but the issue, which some Washington-based conservatives consider nearly closed, is just beginning to be discussed. Late Thursday night, the Georgetown Times published an article, “Georgetown Steel worker talks about Bain Capital, working conditions,” which took a pro-labor perspective but said virtually nothing about Bain. Indeed, what is clear from talks with the officials is that some people in Georgetown never knew there was a company called Bain Capital and that it was once involved with the mill. They’re starting from scratch.
Now, the Myrtle Beach paper, the Sun News, has published a more substantial story, “Romney’s Bain Capital made millions off Georgetown Steel as mill morale, finances suffered.” It discusses Bain’s role in the mill in a much more detailed way, from a generally anti-Romney perspective. The Sun News has published a few other stories on the issue, but it is still at the stage of explaining it to readers.
The Bain debate has been raging in Republican circles for a week. After intense criticism from many high-profile conservatives, and after the exposure of inaccuracies in a pro-Gingrich super PAC’s video attacking Bain, Newt Gingrich has stepped back from his criticism of Romney’s career in private equity. But politicos should remember: Many voters in South Carolina were paying no attention at all when the Bain debate began. Now, they’re just starting to hear about it.
