July 18, 2012
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Mitt Romney’s Tax Returns
Mitt Romney was on Fox & Friends, the favorite place for peopled up at 6am to go and hear three “fair and balanced” “journalists” report on what the Republican party wants them to report on, and how they wen them to. Don’t believe me? Why would I lie about something that’s obviously caught on tape, with Steve Doocy reading directly from Republican talking points memos. Romney was there defending his decision to not reveal his tax returns.
It’s interesting he brings up John McCain in this video, because as James Carville put it:
And in relation:
Romney is defending himself by claiming that he’s already doing more than is required of him by law by releasing not just his 2011 but ALSO his 2010 records! Why not release more of his tax records? I mean, at some point the controversy about him not doing so will have done more damage than just releasing them, right? Unless, as Romney’s admitted, he’s used plenty of tax loopholes. And has millions upon millions of dollars stashed overseas. And releasing these records would show how much involvement he had in his other scandal de jour, his time at Bain Capital. And that, it’s even conceivably possible that he legally but most assuredly shadily used loopholes to pay little to NO taxes on given years.
But it’s completely unfair of us to demand to see these tax forms… cries the party that demanded to see Obama’s birth certificate.
Comments (42)
Well, clearly it’s more dangerous to have a potential Kenyan in office than a potential felon (and practitioner of a patently bogus, insane religion).
Already campaigning for Obama I see.
@Ambrosius_Augustus_Rex - Did you see one pro-Obama statement up there, or merely anti-Mitt Romney ones? If I had my druthers, the Green Party would be put into office.
He creeps me out, I couldn’t vote for him even if he wasn’t a complete skeezball and completely wrong for our country. My personal favorite is his “retroactive retirement” from Bain capitol, that shit is just down right hilarious. And yet, people fall for it hook, line, and sinker. My dad thinks he’s the best thing to come along since sliced bread, and it scares me that people actually think he would be right for the U.S.
@Ambrosius_Augustus_Rex - I don’t even see Obama mentioned in this post, so how can you think @GodlessLiberal - is “campaigning” for him in this post?
If he releases his tax returns the folks in Salt Lake City will get all up his ass about not tithing enough and he might not get his own planet in the hereafter.
@DreamsEscapeMe - The only reason he’s doing it is because he’s getting near election time and he wants Obama to win.
@GodlessLiberal - Well it looks that way because it’s getting near election time, and the official Obama campaign is campaigning by attaching his opponent. I’m not sure the Green Party could be any worse than Obama. I don’t care for Romney, but he is not any more sleezy or suspect than Obama.
If I had my way then there would be no office.
@Ambrosius_Augustus_Rex - Actually, no he’s pointing out why Mitt Romney is a poor choice for president (which he is, btw, and please don’t give me any crap about the lesser of two evils because that is what got us in this mess in the first place). He said absolutely nothing about wanting Obama to win, and in his comment to you he even said that if he had his choice, a Green Party candidate would be president, NOT Obama. So I still fail to see how you could possibly think this post is pro-Obama.
Whatever he does is going to be acceptable to the sheeple in the GOP as long as he continues to promise that he will destroy Planned Parenthood, UHC and gay marriage. Sarah Palin is an ethics nightmare (proven abuse of office, dishonesty to her own family, budget issues, creating a policy while mayor of Wasilla that forced rape victims to pay for their own rape kits, etc.) and she still has lots of supporters, so what does Romney have to worry about?
Ethics mean nothing to these people; neither the personal nor the financial. As long as he sticks to the party line they couldn’t possibly give less of a shit about his taxes.
@Ambrosius_Augustus_Rex - I attack politicians and ideologies election season or no. Feel free to go back through my archives if you don’t believe me.
@GodlessLiberal - Must be the liberal in your username lol.
The way Romney cries “dirty politics!” is just sad. What a crybaby. Is that how he’ll act when things get tough as president?
@StupidSystemus - Whoops, I know I should have named myself something that didn’t straight up describe what I believe and what I’d be writing about on a consistent basis for five (shit, five?) years now.
Didn’t his father release 10 years of his tax returns when he ran for office? And if Romney won’t condemn the Birthers, then he can’t condemn the people that want to see his tax returns neither.
@UTRow1 - You’re one of the sharpest shooters I’ve ever seen online. Your comments define BAMF.
@DreamsEscapeMe - Augustus is a delusional, extreme far right douchebag. I stopped talking to him years ago. I’m better off talking to my cat. Fo’ shizzle.
Would love to see OBama’s college transcripts… more so then Romney’s tax returns…
@SheTigerCat - Because those are SO much more pertinent to how one conducts himself in office… the B Obama got in Criminal Law over Romney’s 30 million dollar profit outsourcing jobs to India (grades and numbers are made up, concepts VERY, SCARILY real).
He looks worse if he does not release them so he should just get it out of the way. . . unless he really has something to hide in which case he will look better if he conceals them.
@SheTigerCat - You don’t get accepted to Harvard Law and become editor and chief of Harvard Law Review if you don’t have astronomical grades. It just doesn’t happen, unless you are incredibly well-connected (Obama wasn’t, or at least there is no evidence he was).
This is a good example of what differentiates conservative suspicions about Obama from liberal suspicion about Romney. One is a desperate, irrational prayer of a hope that there is something shady. The other is a completely reasonable concern.
We have the right to know who we’re voting for. It drives me nuts when candidates try to hide things from the public whom they’re asking to “trust” in them.
@UTRow1 - @firetyger - Excellent points.
James Carville is an eyesore, next time just post pictures of Romney.
You have to love the inability of many to STAY ON POINT.
Why is he so skittish about the taxes?
I read a fascinating piece last night that suggested it might be because in 2009 he paid NONE.
Romney is in the tax bracket that allows write offs for bad investments….and in 2008 EVERYONE got creamed on Wall Street. The difference is, when you have enough money, that turns into a tax REDUCTION. How many people didn’t have to pay taxes because of the hit they took on Wall Street in 2008?
I know we lost a THIRD of the value of our investments…and DARN, STILL HAD TO PAY TAXES.
What made him special? His ability to ship jobs overseas?
It’s the huge double-standard that’s galling for me.
I wonder if there’ll still be this much of a witch-hunt over Romney’s tax returns as there was (still is!) over Obama’s birth certificate if Romney is elected in November.
I still consider Obama far more trustworthy than Romney ever could be.
What is he trying to hide?
I think that last line makes more sense to me than anything in this campaign thus far.
@galadrial - And his ability to have most of his income in capital gains, which aren’t taxed in the first place.
it’s just been reported he did not release all of his 2011 tax returns. he failed to include his tax filing for his Swiss bank account. it’s also been reported this evening he failed to include required information on his Presidential Disclosure Form. is he going to laugh that off as a long list of clerical errors as someone suggested?
I’m actually still unsure why it’s necessary. What is he supposedly hiding?
@GodlessLiberal - Capital gains are taxed at 15%, which is why it’s kind of astonishing that he paid a total income tax rate of only 13.9% in 2010. It just goes to show how many tax loopholes he was legally able to exploit while under the scrutiny of running for presidency. I’m honestly wondering if he hasn’t released earlier tax returns because he’s avoided taxes in not-so-legal ways in years past.
he also continues to claim he left Bain in 1999 and had nothing to do with Bain since but in fact he remained CEO and Managing Director until 2002 and signed hundreds of Bain documents during the period he claims to have had nothing to do with the company. he could possible be in trouble with the SEC for filing false claims over this.
in an attempt to rationalize only releasing 1 or 2 years of tax returns Romney said Kerry only released 2 years of tax returns when he ran for the Presidency. the thing is though, Kerry had already made public many years of tax returns while in the Senate. Romney also said something completely inane to try and justify not releasing his taxes. he said Kerry’s wife didn’t release her tax returns. guess what Mitt. she wasn’t running for the Presidency.
i believe Clinton released 13 years of tax returns, Obama 11, Bush Jr. 10. this has been standard disclosure practice since Romney’s father released 20 years of his tax returns. because of all the bad press he’s getting even from his own side, republicans in Congress, even from FOX Romney is becoming increasingly suspect. more and more people on all sides are saying they suspect Romney’s refusal to release substantial tax returns is signaling he knows it will be worse for him if he releases his taxes.
This ploy seems akin the old adage – when people think you’re a fool, why not open your mouth and remove all doubt. Romney is incorrect to assume that only the Obama Administration wants to see those tax returns. Out of 535 national congressional leaders, only a handful disclose their tax returns. Romney is in ‘good’ company in that regard, but I think the more he procrastinates and obfuscates, the more damage he does to his credibility.
Since Obama didn’t produce his long form birth certificate until after he was in office, it is hypocritical of you to demand Romney release anything until after he is in office.
Any candidate that refuses to release anything has something to hide. Obama has hidden just as much as Romney. Neither are getting my vote.
…let’s face another hard reality…. The republican party arre a bunch of rich facists who believe the rich should get richer, and the rest of us should F’ off…. hard facts in a cold cruel world and election year…. All the pundits on the news programs distract us with B.S. and we listen and absorb without thinking beyond the presentation….. Peace
@grim_truth - [Since Obama didn't produce his long form
birth certificate until after he was in office, it is hypocritical of
you to demand Romney release anything until after he is in office. ]
Obama released an official birth certificate before the election. But apparently it had to be the “long form” one, I don’t know why. Fine, how about we get the “short form” tax records from Romney?
What is the strategy here? Are we thinking the public is going to find something th IRS missed?
@GodlessLiberal - lol I think the problem with the short form birth certificate was supposedly that it didn’t necessarily mean he was born in HI, just that he was born. At least that was the argument made by the birthers. I never really understood it.
Personally, I have more respect for someone who comes out and admits their mistakes, shortcomings etc, than someone who hides info, even if that info isn’t damaging.
@FringeChristian@revelife - Something can be perfectly legal and still morally reprehensible (look at the Westboro Baptist Church protests for an example). Romney probably followed the letter of the tax law exactly, but that letter can let someone with as much money and foreign bank accounts as Mr. Romney pay around zero taxes despite being a millionaire hundreds of times over.
Aren’t Romney and Palin the same person?