Right before the Florida Republican primary in late January, Florida Democrats trotted out a couple of people personally hurt when Bain Capital took over the companies where they were working.
Bain, of course, is the private equity firm that Mitt Romney ran from 1984-1999, and where he earned his reputation, for better or worse, as being a skilled businessman.
It wasn't the first time the issue had been used by Democrats against Romney. In fact, one of the people CL interviewed in late January, Randy Johnson, has been quoted as a critic of Bain as far back as 1994, the first time Romney ran for public office (losing a Massachusetts Senate battle against Ted Kennedy).
Johnson worked at American Pad and Paper. But after Bain took over, the company laid off workers, cut wages, slashed health care benefits and eliminated the retirement plan. After workers went on strike, Bain closed the factory and laid off 250 workers.
It's always been used as a talking point to bash Romney. In fact, Republicans Rick Perry and Newt Gingrich took up the same argument against Romney during the campaign season.
And as Bloomberg Businessweek reported on Monday with the release of a video on Monday, Johnson makes a compelling case, because of Romney's boasts that he's a proven job creator.