Mitt Romney invests in China, Iran through company that will produce Canadian tar sands

Mitt Romney seems to continue jeopardizing his chances of winning the election in November. In yet one more revelation that was brought to light after he released his tax returns last week, his tax returns show that he invested in a Chinese company that works with Iran in developing oil and gas. This makes his slams against President Obama seem extremely hypocritical and fake. It appears that the ads attacking Obama are simply to enrage voters so that they support Romney, all the while hoping those same voters will never know what he has done.

Romney’s investment in a “blind trust” is the issue of this newest disaster for the Romney campaign. The trust Romney invested in a Chinese oil company, CNOOC Ltd., a company that works with Iran and helps them develop their oil and gas industry. Romney says that he had no way of knowing where his dollars are invested and also stated that the trust has dumped its’ shares in CNOOC Ltd. CNOOC has invested $16 billion in one project and $3.5 billion in a different project. Iran uses revenues from the oil and gas industry to fund its nuclear program as well as their military, which poses a threat to Israel.

When running for the U.S. Senate against Ted Kennedy in 1994, Romney accused Kennedy of using what he called an “age old ruse” by sidestepping investment issues pertaining to “blind trust” accounts in 1994. In his attacks on Kennedy, Romney said, “you can tell the trustee what it can and cannot do, you give a blind trust rules." It seems that although it was wrong for Ted Kennedy in 1994, it is now alright for Mitt Romney. As Mitt Romney’s campaign continues attacking President Obama for not being tough enough on China and Iran, it is apparent that the rules do not apply to him in this situation either. This is yet one more example of double standards from the Republican nominee.

Obama has criticized Romney for his investment in CNOOC. After being attacked for not being tough enough on China and Iran, it is justifiable to attack Romney for investing in the nations he is being accused of being soft on.

Since Obama rejected the Keystone XL Pipeline, Canada turned to China for options to produce its tar sands. CNOOC is planning to purchase Nexen, a Canadian company, which will produce the Canadian tar sands. It appears the Mitt Romney has found a way to bypass U.S. industry and invest in production of the dirtiest oil deposits in existence.

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RESOURCES:

Romney talks tough on Iran and China but he invested money in both

Obama slams Romney's Chinese investment

Maddow takes Romney to task over state-owned China oil firm investment

CNOOC'S Nexen Deal Shows How Obama Pushed Canada Toward China

Nexen deal sheds light on China’s oilsands strategy