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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsDana Bash (CNN) says her source can confirm Reid's tax allegation
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/02/1116216/-CNN-s-Dana-Bash-Her-source-can-confirm-Reid-tax-allegationTonight on CNN AC360, Anderson Copper opened his 'keeping them honest' segment with Sen. Harry Reid's recent tax allegation about Mitt Romney.
Cooper had CNN Capitol Hill reporter, Dana Bash on to discuss the story, according to Bash, her source can confirm Sen. Reid's allegation. Bash went even further, she said this source also personally knows the Bain source who would have access to Romney's tax record. If this Bain source story is true, then, Mitt Romney is in serious trouble. I'll have more later.
Update @Dana Bash tweets
"When Harry Reid doesn't like someone, he goes for the jugular." - @DanaBashCNN #Romney
JUST IN: @DanaBashCNN receives a new statement from @SenatorReid's office, saying Senator #Reid has a "credible source." #Romney
high density
(13,397 posts)I love this.
CabCurious
(954 posts)No matter how hard they try to bury this story or to deflect, it's just getting worse.
It gets at the heart of who this candidate is and why the USA shouldn't pick a vulture capitalist.
fascisthunter
(29,381 posts)then we will find out latter it was a forgery. Is that what our dickhead wannabe genius Rove is thinking? I'm sure the CORPORATE MEDIA will be more than happy to just, go along.
INdemo
(6,994 posts)so this is not like Dan Rather reporting the truth about Bush and later the network covered for Junior..But this will certainly be questioned by the IRS if forgery is suspected..Romney could be history if he tries this.
fascisthunter
(29,381 posts)since everything seems politicized. Are they filled with Bush hold-overs?
quakerboy
(13,893 posts)I mean, I can tell you that I made 170k last year and paid $2.72 in total federal taxes. Neither is true, but I somehow suspect the IRS is not allowed to say either way. Otherwise it would seem that the IRS could just post the filings and we wouldn't have to do a song and dance with each rich republican candidate to head down the pike.
lastlib
(22,895 posts)But they can investigate if they detect discrepancies between what someone files and what they say publicly they file. And what was actually filed had better be accurate, or it's perjury and tax fraud. But they can't make public disclosures about a taxpayer's returns; and if any employees sniff around without having bona fide reason to do so, they're canned.
quakerboy
(13,893 posts)So basically, there would be no real consequence to someone like Romney for lying about their tax returns, unless they put in something that someone can use to prove they are fake, or reveal something that they concealed from the IRS in their actual tax returns.
JustAnotherGen
(31,631 posts)It takes one liberal at the IRS to put their neck and job on the line to prove Reid right.
Dustlawyer
(10,489 posts)Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)Unfortunately, if someone did that, they'd end up like Manning, too: in serious, felony-level trouble. The leaker would have to be willing to sacrifice any kind of decent life...and that's asking a lot.
johnnyplankton
(348 posts)I'm pretty sure it's illegal in Utah to use "playboy" and "Mormon" in the same sentence...
myrna minx
(22,772 posts)Botany
(70,219 posts)notadmblnd
(23,720 posts)it's just slightly illegal, but even if anyone notices, no one will do anything about it.
Slit Skirt
(1,789 posts)myrna minx
(22,772 posts)time to release his tax returns? Botany.
Did you see Rachel tonight? She had a delicious teaser for tomorrow, but was just cryptic enough to leave you guessing.
sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)Kurovski
(34,655 posts)This is going to upset Mrs. Romney something fierce. She needs peace and quite to maintain a sense of wellness. Please, let us all retreat from this assault before she has a spell that interferes with her dressage schedule. The cruelty must end!
myrna minx
(22,772 posts)RedStateLiberal
(1,374 posts)I'll believe it when it's more than an anonymous source but I'm hopefull they've grown a backbone.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)RedStateLiberal
(1,374 posts)I'm surprised to see them report facts that could hurt Romney because so far they've been reluctant to do that.
pennylane100
(3,425 posts)but I do not think the Romney people are quite as enlightened.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)hay rick
(7,495 posts)Either somebody didn't get the memo or they got permission to go with the story because the coverup has proven more costly than the story. I think they want to get it out there before the Republican convention.
Pab Sungenis
(9,612 posts)Maybe he's more concerned about truth than ratings?
AlinPA
(15,071 posts)airhead IMO following her producer's orders.
mwb970
(11,287 posts)Control-Z
(15,681 posts)that romney has his tax firm working on some new fake documents to show if and when he can no longer hold out. It seems that IRS records could be looked into - by someone. I just don't know by whom or how it would even be legal.
Anyone know?
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)For Romney to release FAKE info.
GoCubsGo
(32,053 posts)AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)Any good accounting firm can file a legal amended return. In these returns, he can drop deductions, credits, exemptions and whatever, that he "legally" took when his tab was zero. He'll wind up paying a shitload of taxes, but he'll be legally sanitizing his previous returns, as the "amended" returns become "official", and the previous returns never legally existed.
The super rich get to play by a completely different book of rules than those of us who pay withholding.
progressivebydesign
(19,458 posts)unblock
(51,920 posts)if you're right, then he's very carefully calculating how much $$$$ he needs to part with in order to have minimally politically acceptable tax return statistics.
and then deciding if it's worth spending that much money to make the issue go away.
but if his starting point is actually ZERO taxes, for at least a decade, then i'd guess he'd have to part with WAY more money than he's willing to part with.
unblock
(51,920 posts)there's no law saying he can't give the media a document and claim it to be his actual filed tax return when in fact it was a complete fabrication. his LEGAL obligation is to give a correct and accurate return to the irs, he has no such LEGAL obligation to the media or to the public.
that said, rmoney would have to be nuts to do this because his political career would be over in spectacular fashion if he were found out.
if there's some kind of formal filing of tax returns on disclosure forms with the federal election commission, then he might be signing something that swears they're accurate. THAT would probably be illegal. but just giving documents to the media isn't, legally, a problem.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)into whether or not his real filing was for real.
Fuddnik
(8,846 posts)He replied last night. He's the former head accountant for one of the largest corporations in the world, and he now has accounting firms in four cities.
First, my question.
"I'm having an argument with someone over Rmoney's tax returns. And
you're just the guy who can settle it.
Hypothetically, if Romney paid zero taxes (legally) for the last 10
years or so, I say to lessen his embarrassment, and scandal, that he can
have his accountants sanitize his previous returns by filing amended
returns, dropping a shitload of deductions, credits, and exemptions and
whatever else he claimed (legally), and pay a shitload of taxes to cover
it all up. Then, the amended returns become the official, legal returns,
and for all legal purposes, the previous returns never existed.
This is assuming that the previous returns were not fraudulent.
Who is right?
His reply:
Not so easy an answer....
First....he can only go back three years so the prior seven would not be
changed.
Second....yes ....he can file amended returns for the three years and he
does not have to take his justified deductions.....but.....it would have
to be done carefully so it would not be discovered by critics that he
filed a frivolous return......and have them attack his ploy of trying to
cover up to get elected. Also, the Firm that prepared them would have to
worry about filing false returns.....if they knew what he was
doing.......
Third.....The IRS would probably not attack the phony returns since he
would be paying more than he has to pay........
Fourth.....It is possible that the IRS would accept the prior seven
years returns adjusted but it would have to publish the facts....not
likely.
Several other problems come to mind........talk about
flipflopping.....wow...........
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
And just for the record, even with his CFO and CEO background, he identifies more with blue collar people, and hates Romney's guts.
renate
(13,776 posts)Please tell your friend thank you, too!
unblock
(51,920 posts)in theory at least, they're not supposed to talk about such matters publicly.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)unblock
(51,920 posts)merely distributing fake returns to the public isn't a crime.
it's heinous and he'd be toast politically if he got found out, but it's not a crime.
i agree that actually amending his returns with the irs makes an actual tax/legal mess for him.
though if he never did anything illegal and all he's doing is deciding to waive his right to use certain loopholes, he'd emerge clean -- though probably not by november. he'd just have to claim that he's correctly entitled to those loopholes, he's just changing his mind about using them.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)and:
1. I doubt very much that he would like to trigger an IRS audit at the moment.
2. there are people who will know that they are fake. They can't reveal his real returns, but they certainly can stand up and identify the fake ones as such.
So the story will smolder on, and get worse...
unblock
(51,920 posts)completely legally paying zero taxes, for instance. it's possible all his loopholes are completely legal but politically it looks terrible.
so in theory he could decide to release tax forms that claim he didn't get fancy and take all these loopholes and paid more taxes than he actually did in an effort to look like an ordinary taxpayer.
yes, some people would know they were fake and they would surely tip reporters off, but rmoney could gamble that the accusations wouldn't be credible. after all there would be no proof.
the problem of course is that he already released the (presumably real) tax returns to the mclame campaign, and they might well spill the beans -- with at least some credibility.
magical thyme
(14,881 posts)which McCain's team wouldn't have seen, nor would they have seen the secret swiss account that led to the amnesty.
That would explain his careful word choice, that he paid all the taxes he was legally required to. He doesn't say exactly *when* he paid the taxes he was required to pay.
It also would explain his cutoff date for exactly how far back he is willing to show.
Blanks
(4,835 posts)To release his tax forms.
It is bound to be a confidential document where the person who's confidentiality is being protected has the right to release them.
In fact they should insist it. He should be able to draft a letter authorizing the release.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)After all, taxes are not private since the government sees the documents. Maybe between the dancing horse $77K deduction, the offshore accounts and the "I stopped working at Bain - oh, no, I didn't" contradiction, someone at IRS and Congress has taken note. One can only hope.
And I am wondering: if I am taking care of a close relative who has a terminal illness, and I need a three-week vacation in Hawaii this winter, is that a tax deduction, too? After all, dancing horses are.
jaysunb
(11,856 posts)This is where it will end. He knows and everybody knows he does.
lastlib
(22,895 posts)...from '08 campaign, now, do you??
jaysunb
(11,856 posts)McCain Why, he'd NEVER hold a grudge....would he ?
lastlib
(22,895 posts)Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)Comrade_McKenzie
(2,526 posts)malaise
(267,455 posts)xchrom
(108,903 posts)May it be so.
Laura PourMeADrink
(42,770 posts)backscatter712
(26,355 posts)Baitball Blogger
(46,532 posts)If this turns out to be true, Stewart has some crow to eat.
immoderate
(20,885 posts)He was harsh, but it got attention. Made it more dramatic that Harry doubled.
--imm
hifiguy
(33,688 posts)All of it. When the feces finally hit the blades this will make 1972's Eagleton fiasco look like a walk in the park. Mittwit is a dead man walking.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)Sounds like the hounds are closing in.
dkf
(37,305 posts)freshwest
(53,661 posts)And I think records have to be kept 7 or 10 years in case there is a question about them. Do you agree that's possible?
JaneyVee
(19,877 posts)Shankapotomus
(4,840 posts)if Mitt ends up dead in the water before even a vote is cast, i will lmfao for days. this will be the most brilliant chess move ever by a president.
flamingdem
(39,300 posts)jajaja give 'em up
BootinUp
(46,848 posts)this story will not go away!!!
efhmc
(14,706 posts)the unnamed source is wrong, why not do so.
wordpix
(18,652 posts)one of the worst admins in history.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)with no evidence to back it up. I found Reid's comments a bit distasteful in that regard. However, having said that, Romney's refusal to release his returns bucks historical precedent in such a major way that Reid's comments get a pass from me.
Bluenorthwest
(45,319 posts)something in records he's hiding. This is not the same as making an allegation based on nothing which can not be disproved. Not the same thing at all. Not even close.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)a list of 205a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCarthy
***********
"A month or so ago, he [Reid] said, a person who had invested with Bain Capital called his office.
'Harry, he didn't pay any taxes for 10 years,' Reid recounted the person as saying.
Harry Reid said, 'He didn't pay taxes for 10 years! Now, do I know that that's true? Well, I'm not certain.' "
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/31/harry-reid-romney-taxes_n_1724027.html?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular
************
In both cases, allegations quoting unattributed sources are brandished to the press. To quote our friends from Wikipedia once again, "McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism
eridani
(51,907 posts)--you were a "premature anti-fascist" who signed a petition against Franco in 1936. How do you fight people who define that as "communist," even if you were never actually a party member?
How do you prove you did so pay taxes? Easy peasy. Release the tax returns. I'd say that makes quite a bit of difference.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)do not incriminate him or show creative accounting or some such).
What I found mildly objectionable in Reid's initial comments was his reference to some unnamed "source." If the info was so ironclad or the source so credible, why could Reid not name the source?
eridani
(51,907 posts)I suspect he has only circumstantial evidence and hearsay, but it is smart politically to invoke "Where there's smoke, there's fire." No downside, especially as it is so easy for Rmoney to prove Reid full of shit if that is the case.
Response to eridani (Reply #117)
coalition_unwilling This message was self-deleted by its author.
Response to eridani (Reply #117)
coalition_unwilling This message was self-deleted by its author.
elfin
(6,262 posts)McCain or a staffer possible, but I think the snitch is a Mormon, feeling safe in talking to Reid, also a Mormon.
Whisp
(24,096 posts)makes perfect sense.
BSUbluNorange
(78 posts)Harry is a great member of the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints and all his kids are too. I could see a fellow member wanting to get this off their chest. Love having a fellow lds dem going mano y mano with Romney!
XemaSab
(60,212 posts)Mormons are pretty rare here, but there are a few around.
BSUbluNorange
(78 posts)Look forward to meeting them. There's 500 of us in a Mormons for Obama Facebook group and we talk often, always nice to know there are others!
gateley
(62,683 posts)oldhippydude
(2,514 posts)bragging to other 1% folks at Bains... it just seems that too many people attribute it to him to be otherwise.. sort of a "look what i did" as a mischievous child would brag..
the man seems able to shamelessly change colors, much like a chameleon.. all his professionall
career he has simply bought his way, or not answered and moved on.. he's simply arrogant enough to think he can get away with it all the way through the election
nc4bo
(17,651 posts)Gee - what a compliment.
They were supposed to have made up and Huntsman backed Romney but I don't think there's much love between the two.
You never know.
GreatCaesarsGhost
(8,584 posts)Don't mess with taxes!
jpbollma
(552 posts)Kahuna
(27,310 posts)Kahuna
(27,310 posts)grasswire
(50,130 posts)That's HARRY!!
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)and no one likes him...cause he is a liar, animal abuser, tax evader, draft dodger, wannabee barber, cruel to people with disabilities, cop impersonator, and pension thief. I probably left a lot of stuff out. But, all it took for me to hate him is the story about Seamus.
nadinbrzezinski
(154,021 posts)and when you close access to media types, media types go frack it.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)Daughter in law tripper.
coalition_unwilling
(14,180 posts)when the bullying revelations surfaced, probly b/c I was a victim of bullying long ago and have never really gotten completely over it.
Kalidurga
(14,177 posts)But that didn't set me to boiling it only put me on a slow simmer. I didn't realize how much of a simmer until Romney went to London and I have been laughing my ass off ever since. I can't get enough of his gaffes because I know every single one of them is another nail in his coffin. He might even have felony charges pending, guess we will find out tomorrow on that one.
The Seamus story is another story of bullying though, it is just that he bullied and abused an animal. It was an abusive thing to drive with him on the roof. It was over the top bully behavior to hose him off and keep driving. I learned just yesterday that being on the roof like that could have made Seamus go blind. So sad all around. He cut that kids hair, made a blind teacher walk into a door, shoves his kids faces in butter, apparently he tripped his Daughter-in-law. It just doesn't end with him. Personally I think he abuses Ann as well.
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)moondust
(19,895 posts)As in the Rmoney campaign using an operative to covertly feed phony info to Reid and others and then later releasing the returns showing huge tax payments to embarrass him/them and score political points?
Reid is usually pretty restrained/careful.
Hoyt
(54,770 posts)He didn't release it, got right wingers wound up, then crammed it right up Trump's rear.
Of course, even if it is a "trap," there's plenty of other crud on Romney.
Chan790
(20,176 posts)There is no good for Mittens in releasing his returns. Either he paid no taxes and is fucked, he cheated on his taxes and he's fucked, he disclosed the existence/balances of his foreign accounts and is fucked, or he was completely honest in which case they reinforce exactly how rich he is and how little he pays in taxes...and he's fucked.
He hasn't disclosed because even the best case scenario for Mitt Romney is "fucked". Minimally, we know the majority of his income came from capital gains in which case he paid taxes at a lower rate than most Americans; already know that but it will look bad for Mitt when people see the actual dollar amounts.
moondust
(19,895 posts)If they have concluded that they will eventually have to release more returns and they know it will look bad anyway, they might try to lay a trap or play a trick in an effort to salvage at least a talking point about that awful Harry Reid and how wrong he was to make those wild claims.
nevergiveup
(4,740 posts)gholtron
(376 posts)Why couldn't you wait until after the convention to say that?
:
Jessy169
(602 posts)Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
The Doors
snot
(10,475 posts)upi402
(16,854 posts)nevermind
abelenkpe
(9,933 posts)Well see I guess.
eridani
(51,907 posts)And Romney dares not release fake ones or the IRS will take notice. No one other than Rmoney has legitimate access to the returns except for the IRS, unless and until he agrees to release them. Reid would automatically regard anything from a source other than Rmoney as potentially fake for that reason.
No loss for Reid here. Rmoney loses many ways.
1. He releases the returns. Even if they are perfectly legal, people are going to be pissed that he paid far less on a percentage basis than average people pay, which is the best possible outcome here. If they are shady and reflect offshore accounts or any kind of sleaze, even worse.
2. He doesn't release the returns. Then anyone is allowed any wild guess as to what might be in them. After all, proving any wild allegation wrong is as simple as could be.
SunSeeker
(51,295 posts)Come on, spill the beans!
fascisthunter
(29,381 posts)all I have to say is "Dan Rathers"... I don't trust this corporate media. Their profits and interests is all that matters.
nikto
(3,284 posts)I remember how Karl Rove engineered the Dan Rather affair.
An earlier post mentioned Rove meeting with Mitt right now.
Is Rove working behind Mitt?
That is The Question.
I hope there's not another "reverse-sting" operation going on here with Dana Bash.
If so, Bash is toast, and CNN will be humiliated back to maybe leaning more rightward.
But Romney's taxes would have to look mighty nice to The Public to make that possible.
That might be a hard trick to pull off.
We'll see.
no_hypocrisy
(45,625 posts)pacalo
(24,721 posts)This story won't be going away -- I'm loving Harry Reid (& his source)!
krawhitham
(4,634 posts)The Bain source was hired by Rove to start these rumors. So when rMoney does release his taxes no matter how bad they are as long has he did pay some tax he looks golden
sandyshoes17
(657 posts)But this stinks of a rove trick. I'll believe it when I see it. Been down this road before. Again I would love to be wrong.
doohnibor
(97 posts)The Repubs would be all a tither about Obama's tax returns, caterwauling about something so petty that the public wouldn't even want to hear anything more about tax returns. Remember, with Rove it's scoop the shit out of your own outhouse and fling it in all directions.
arely staircase
(12,482 posts)Indeed it will not be ten years without paying and Reid knows this. It is probably only loke three years and Reid is baiting him into committing political suicide by coming out and saying uh uh, see there were only three years where I didn't pay any taxes. Rmoney is screwn.
MADem
(135,425 posts)And we know he didn't.
It's not a trap. Still your fearful heart.
Auntie Bush
(17,528 posts)After everyone gets their nose out of joint...He'll release them and say fooled ya! Paid around 10-14% ...not 0 %
I can just hear the Rethugs and FOX cheering!
jillan
(39,451 posts)Robb
(39,665 posts)kentuck
(110,916 posts)If there is a "source", then Harry Reid has nothing to lose. The argument is between Romney and the "source".
The danger is that if the name of the source is given and the source says I don't know what you are talking about, then it is a "he said, she said" type of story.
The bottom line is that Romney can only prove Reid or the source or CNN wrong by putting forth his tax returns and stop hiding important information from the American people. Mitt Romney is the only person that can clear up this controversy.
Enrique
(27,461 posts)caught Eric Cantor pulling a fast one with the STOCK act, and the report resulted in the law being fixed.
However that poster at kos is misrepresenting what Bash said about this Harry Reid story. Very unfortunate imo.
SHRED
(28,136 posts)I saw this on CNN tonight.
Fuck you Anderson.
---
tomm2thumbs
(13,297 posts)Dana Bash:
"...but I did speak, I have to tell you that, uh, I did speak to one source who's very close to Senator Reid who claims to also know who this Bain investor is that Reid spoke with, and insists that this is a credible person, and this person, if we knew the name we would understand that they would have the authority and the ability to know about Romney's tax returns.
AlinPA
(15,071 posts)I don't trust CNN any more than Fox "news".
tomm2thumbs
(13,297 posts)her quote states, not that she can confirm the allegation, but that she can confirm another source who knows the person who Reid spoke with, and that source could confirm that Reid's source would be in the know about Romney's taxes .... I went to find the video to see if what the OP title states was true, because I thought it would be a bigger story if so... but the quote wasn't quite what I expected... maybe there is more floating out there than what I saw on AC360
it does sound like someone out there has the goods, but whether or not that will come to the forefront is what time will tell
I'm interested to see what Maddow has dug up for tomorrow
cherokeeprogressive
(24,853 posts)that will clear up what your wife heard me say."
My guess? This goes away because no one will step up and say "Yes, I said that" or "I'm the source and here's the proof" or "Here's the source I was quoting."
At some point the goods have to be shown, or it's no sale. And if the goods aren't shown, I wouldn't buy Harry Reid's credibility for a dollar.
tomm2thumbs
(13,297 posts)But if as many people saw Romney's tax returns at McCain's campaign as I am guessing, there is probably at least a dozen who could confirm things out there.
cherokeeprogressive
(24,853 posts)would have ALREADY passed along a thumb-drive with PDF files on it containing every tax return Romney has filed in his life (it's what I would do...). It's sitting there on the table with Axelrod and everyone else staring at it. They're all wondering how they can get it out to the public without getting busted.
My worst fear is that the Romney team is holding clean tax returns that show no wrongdoing and planning on keeping them secret until about two weeks before the election, when they'll release them all in one fell swoop.
tomm2thumbs
(13,297 posts)I'd like to hear that answer.
eridani
(51,907 posts)--that the rich have perfectly legal ways of fucking everyone else over.
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)Wishful thinking on your part.
2pooped2pop
(5,420 posts)ummm, not.
ecstatic
(32,532 posts)if the guy who you're giving the benefit of doubt would just release his tax records.
MADem
(135,425 posts)Chiefs of staff, long-term employees, Senators, Reps, lobbyists....
She didn't get the job by being a moron. She knows her way around.
fascisthunter
(29,381 posts)pretty simple... they are traitors
lonestarnot
(77,097 posts)now wouldn't that just take the cake walk. He's trying to outshine the poor horse for annie oakley.
abolugi
(417 posts)is playing three dimensional Chess while Romney is playing three dimensional Candy Land!!
kickysnana
(3,908 posts)Romney was the person they were going to run for election. He got a lot of face time and not a lot of flak from other Republicans. The Olympics were in Utah and we had Sister Wives to charm and educate us all.
Romney had too many flaws to be elected and the Fundies/Catholics see him same as Pagan and might not be able to vote for him. There was/is someone waiting in the wings who cannot stand to go through the election process either such as Jeb Bush who will swoop in and save the day at the last minute, no debates, no media hounding, no total history drug up for months. Or someone else such as Ron Paul. But I am not sure they trust him either
Romney is peaking much too soon so I am not sure what plan B will be but there will be a no Romney plan B.
R. Daneel Olivaw
(12,606 posts)Chemisse
(30,783 posts)The drum beat is insistent now, and getting faster.
RagAss
(13,832 posts)This is Buddy Rich, my friends !
Chemisse
(30,783 posts)Brewinblue
(392 posts)He is a rather prudent and cautious politician and wouldn't dare risk being wrong.
Mittens is gone ASAP, so that the Olympics can temper some of the brouhaha.
At least IMHO
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)I remember it well. People didn't pay attention to it then, but he brought it up again and says he has a source. Now people are paying attention.
Reid seems pretty confident.
cindyperry2010
(846 posts)how many do you think are actually looking at this as a story now instead of harry reid slapping mittens around
Voice for Peace
(13,141 posts)Marr
(20,317 posts)I realize he's not a Democratic Party operative, but I think he sometimes goes overboard in criticizing Democratic politicians in an effort to appear fair. His suggestion that Reid was just pulling this out of his ass, in the same way right-wingers *regularly* pull wild accusations out of their asses, was ridiculous. He cited the Obama birth certificate issue as a sort of "equal but opposite" thing.
boxman15
(1,033 posts)That did cross the line, I think. Had Reid not said that, I don't think he would've mocked Reid. Even if his claims end up being false (which seems less likely now), worse things have been said in politics. His line about his father being embarrassed was uncalled for, though.
B Calm
(28,762 posts)about paying taxes, hell they don't pay any!
kentuck
(110,916 posts)but since Romney is having a hard time just getting his 2nd year of tax returns done for this election, why should we think he was able to have 10 or 12 years of returns done for McCain when he was being vetted for VP? Perhaps he told the McCain campaign that he did not pay any taxes for 10 years? Who was McCain's campaign manager? He would be one of the people privy to that information. Also, Senator McCain and his wife are very wealthy people and could have money invested in Bain Capital even today. If I were guessing where the story originated, this would be my guess. But it would only be a guess.
tomm2thumbs
(13,297 posts)Something you keep in your pocket until you need it
marew
(1,588 posts)Romney Taxes For 2010 Not Fully Disclosed
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/18/mitt-romney-taxes-2010_n_1683084.htmlMitt
I guess he thought no one would notice...
Cali_Democrat
(30,439 posts)Jessy169
(602 posts)I for one do not believe that this is some kind of trap or trick being set by Romney. I started out thinking that, but watching Romney squirm and maneuver has pretty much convinced me that this issue is really causing him extreme discomfort. My guess is Romney KNOWS that what Reid is saying is true, and he knows there are other people who also know. I'm betting that Romney and his team are going crazy trying to figure out who the sources are -- which of the former trusted comrades in plundering have turned on him -- what are their motivations. The paranoia that Romney is feeling must be intense right now -- that's just a guess.
eridani
(51,907 posts)HereSince1628
(36,063 posts)He has clearly worked the tax-code to his advantage, and that already makes him look like the greedy privateer that he is.
Sharing all those tax returns with the McCain campaign was an acknowledgement by Romney that the tax records are relevant to the office he seeks. Hiding them from American voters is a statement, mostly a "F-you Ameria, you aren't as important as the folks doing VP vetting for John McCain in 2008"
His defense is that he's not legally required to do what presidential candidates have done for decades. For over a decade the R's have been very supportive of obstructionist politicians willing to tell the dems F-you, and that may explain the capacity of the rightwing base to absorb the absurdity of this. Romney is building into a rampart his defense of non-disclosure of tax records which for previous candidates hasn't usually been a speed-bump. If he thinks it's important enough to make a deal out of it, we also should be thinking it's big enough to make a deal out of it.
JHB
(37,122 posts)...No one's legally required to vote for you, either."
It's not about legality, it's a tradition to show the public how they conduct their affairs. A tradition, never forget, that Mitt's own father started, with 12 years of returns, and an explanation of why that many. And as you note, if it weren't an important tradition he wouldn't have given them to John McCain.
And his returns are especially relevant since he's running on his supposed acumen as a businessman.
(I say "supposed" because his line was vulture finance, not actual business-building. His expertise is in gaming the system, using tax breaks in ways not intended when they were written, using bankruptcy as a tool to break contracts, shorting employee pensions, etc.)
tblue37
(64,857 posts)Quote that one to my conservative mom...
pepperbear
(5,648 posts)cr8tvlde
(1,185 posts)and that's my guess for at least one reason why Reid brought it out. He had to have some kind of official go-ahead. Mormons have a difficult time as it is fitting into the mainstream...in many ways...and dragging this out in such a public/global way, not good.
Response to kentuck (Original post)
Jack Sprat This message was self-deleted by its author.
lobodons
(1,290 posts)Even with amended retroactive returns, the Elders might not be so forgiving when it comes to Mitts celestial Planet. Mitts planet is gone magic underwear be damned.
Vinca
(50,150 posts)Chan790
(20,176 posts)Mitt Romney seems like the sort of guy who would not only cheat on his taxes, defrauding his government...he seems like the sort of guy who'd cheat on his tithing, defrauding his god. (All exceptions being made to Matthew 6:24 and Luke 16:13 as it's obvious between God and Mammon, Mitt's chosen to worship his money.)
Berlum
(7,044 posts)tsk tsk
napkinz
(17,199 posts)randome
(34,845 posts)Douglas Carpenter
(20,226 posts)sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)mainstreetonce
(4,178 posts)Until he sees hown the Olympic horse does?
Doesn't that sound like a potential VP doesn't want to be announced until the top of the ticket settles this problem?
southernyankeebelle
(11,304 posts)a corner.
WillyT
(72,631 posts)David Zephyr
(22,785 posts)gateley
(62,683 posts)If he worked the tax loopholes (like Exxon, GM, etc) and he did it legally, what can we do? Sure, many Americans would be disgusted, but I think the Anybody But Obama pukes would be just fine with it.
patrice
(47,992 posts)that. I'm preparing to be disappointed, but still kind of hoping for voter fraud in the state of Massachusetts.
gateley
(62,683 posts)so I'm pretty sure his ass is covered. Hope I'm wrong, though!
patrice
(47,992 posts)in which anything is possible, especially in a highly de-regulated environment that was a sieve of tax loopholes and exceptions and custom-written-&-legislated tax code to begin with even before it became more de-regulated in "our" financial sector.
gateley
(62,683 posts)canEHdian
(62 posts)And keep bashing Romney until he rides that dressage horse into the political sunset.
INdemo
(6,994 posts)money buy a network since millions will be spent on ads..If the PACs for Rmoney threaten to pulls their ads then CNN will react..Is that a fair appraisal?
grahamhgreen
(15,741 posts)It will look reasonable compared to 0. IMHO.