BOOM! Harry Reid Just Responded To Mittfalca

taxes, he would have immediately said he had. Hell, who wouldn't? He did not deny

http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-congress/2012/08/reid-extremely-credible-source-said-romney-didnt-pay-130987.html

"There is a controversy because the Republican presidential nominee, Governor Mitt Romney, refuses to release his tax returns. As I said before, I was told by an extremely credible source that Romney has not paid taxes for ten years. People who make as much money as Mitt Romney have many tricks at their disposal to avoid paying taxes. We already know that Romney has exploited many of these loopholes, stashing his money in secret, overseas accounts in places like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.

“Last weekend, Governor Romney promised that he would check his tax returns and let the American people know whether he ever paid a rate lower than 13.9 percent. One day later, his campaign raced to say he had no intention of putting out any further information.

“When it comes to answering the legitimate questions the American people have about whether he avoided paying his fair share in taxes or why he opened a Swiss bank account, Romney has shut up. But as a presidential candidate, it’s his obligation to put up, and release several years’ worth of tax returns just like nominees of both parties have done for decades.

“It’s clear Romney is hiding something, and the American people deserve to know what it is. Whatever Romney’s hiding probably speaks volumes about how he would approach issues that directly impact middle-class families, like tax reform and the economy. When you are running for president, you should be an open book.

“I understand Romney is concerned that many people, Democrats and Republicans, have been calling on him to release his tax returns. He has so far refused. There is only one thing he can do to clear this up, and that’s release his tax returns.”

You have the scumbag lying ReTHUG by the balls

He would be ok except I don't get to pay zero taxes and I make WAY less than Willard. His problem could be people would then start really asking questions about offshore accounts, his possible illegal swiss accounts.

What Willard is afraid of is a few million people finally realizing they do not ount to him because they are "you people" to him. and paying zeor taxes for ten years is an insult to this nation.

He paid zilch in taxes (especially in CY 2008 and 09) and/or got massive writeoffs or even refunds. When the returns come out, Mittwit goes down even faster than the Titanic.

the Democrats in Congress and Pres. Obama will have a MASSIVE bludgeon of an argument for reforming the (obviously pretty fucked-up) Tax Code in the second term. Bye-bye, Oil and Gas subsidies and negative tax rate returns for the Koch Bros. and their corporate ilk.

I know we can't let it go to our heads yet, but DAMN it feels nice to beat these fuckers at their own game once in a while.=)

"only little people pay taxes"

nt

OK, he may have owed nothing. With all of his money, he owed nothing. And rich people like Romney bribe congressmen contribute to congressional campaigns to make sure it stays that way.

Only idiots who listen to Rush Limbaugh don't see something wrong with that. Sure it's legal, but that's not OK.

Just like Herman Cain with sexual harassment. Anyone with a half-brain would have known this would come out.

I guess because he couldn't do anything about it except not run for President, and he wasn't about to limit his own power.

There's no way, no way this guy should become President. He is a vapid, lying, power-hungry freak.

We're the little people! We're stupid! Not his class!

Remember Bush and his drunken "Only in 'Merica, only in 'Merica"? You know what that means, don't you? It means that we, the American people, are too stupid to know anything. That they can get away with almost anything, and fool us, in 'Merica.

The fact that they don't have to do anything smart for their entire lives. It means this generation of the wealthy are actually quite stupid and have always been held to very low standards. Plus, they're arrogant. They will always underestimate the 99%.

I mean, look at the field of privileged Repub presidential candidates this year. At the rate they're getting stupider, they can't possibly hold on to power.

I think that they cannot see beyond their arrogance. But, you're right, it does give us a better chance. I think that the American people are finally waking up to what their "masters" have planned for them. I hope like hell they're not stupid enough to elect another Bush, and I think that the Repugs know this and that's why they're trying to disenfranchise millions with their Voter ID laws.

This is new territory for him.

had to have been a challenge. Providing health care for all in MA must have also been challenging

We all know what a tough hand MittWit has been dealt.

genuinely challenging. Here are some FACTS: He was registered as an Independent who in the 1992 Democratic Party presidential primaries voted for the Democratic former senator from Massachusetts, Paul Tsongas.

In 1993, Romney was thinking about entering politics, both at Ann's urging and to follow in his father's footsteps. Romney changed his affiliation to Republican in October 1993 and formally announced his candidacy for the Senate in February 1994. He lost to incumbent Ted Kennedy. When Romney claimed to be pro-choice (yes, he did) Ted said, "Mitt isn't pro-choice, he's multiple choice."

In his 2002 Massachusetts Gubernatorial campaign, he played down his party affiliation, claiming he was "not a partisan Republican" but rather a "moderate" with "progressive" views. He won the election with dirty, false ads, lies and, of course, money. Providing health care for all in Massachusetts was extremely popular and, again, politically expedient. He was a one-term governor. Instead of another term, he ran for president.

Facts are just a pesky thing aren't they?

He is able to bend with the times. A conservative from MA is more liberal than you think, but probably not as progressive as one would like. Mitt is in the middle and I would like to think I am too. I don't chose a side based on their title, but more based on their policey

What is policey?

four aces and daring someone to call his hand.

"Go ahead, make my day"

I've had a gut feeling that Dems have the goods on Willard. Now I know they do.

or else they wouldn't be pushing Romney so hard on this issue.

If so, how would he say anything without all four aces?

There are really only three main possibilities: Mitt is totally innocent; Mitt paid little to none in taxes (or the disclosure would reveal something else politically damaging); or Mitt is guilty of something criminal.

By obfuscating and stonewalling, Mitt has already clearly revealed that he is not totally innocent--that he could have and would have easily proved five years ago, so that it couldn't damage him today.

Either of the other two options pays off for the bluffer, if the bluffer's objective is to further damage Mitt. One does not actually have to know the details, or even whether is is a political or criminal indiscretion.

One could, I think, safely raise the general accusation of paying little to no taxes without much risk of reprisal, because that accusation effectively covers both of the remaining options.

Having said all that pseudo-logical crap above, there is a strong indicator that Senator Reid is not bluffing, which is that he carefully named and repeated specific things which could potentially be proven false if he was merely guessing. Senator Reid has no reason to risk his own hide in this--though I think he or virtually anyone else might have gotten away with it had they tried.

there's a Republican with a book of matches.

. . . with Reid holding the crop.

face transposed onto Rafalcas!

the horse were named "The 99%"

Sid

chomping at his heels.

Also really slammed him.

I even liked Huntsman a little bit, still wondering his next move.

He knows how to count votes. He knows when he's got the goods and when he doesn't.

Mitt's already dropped hints he'll quit the race before giving up the tax returns. Now his closed-door bragging has gotten his privates into a vice controlled by Harry Reid.

Maybe Reid knows that Mitt is shorting his tithe.

Hiding money in offshore tax havens does NOT allow a US resident or citizen who is the owner of such money from paying tax in the US on all income earned offshore. If Mitt paid zero taxes, he almost certainly failed to report some or all of his offshore income to the IRS. Such action amounts to tax fraud, a federal felony.

That is why he will never release the returns.

You nailed it, Brewinblue.

Welcome to DU!

people with unreported income in offshore accounts to start reporting that income without penalties. It is entirely possible that RMoney used that amnesty. His returns would then show massive underpayments for 2000-2008, then a huge jump in payments as his offshore accounts started to factor in.

The guy is a sleazeball. Always been, always will be. He is a Neidermeyer.

This is a weak response to Romney's "put up or shut up" charge. Reid needs to get a little more specific, such as years where Romney paid no taxes. They may pre-date 1999 although they are certain to cover the period Romney was at Bain. The burden of proof is on the accuser -- Reid, but he doesn't have to spell it all out at once.

All the cards are out and it is Mittens not Harry who needs to respond. that is the way you play a game of your mama!

Harry has called him a lair. The next step is doing like I figure Mitt and his gang will do, and saying that Harry must that all. that is not how it is done.

Unless of course you happen to think that Willard by virtue of the silly ass rules he has already put out, that he gets to opt out this time.

not Harry.

But as I read it Reid is in the role of prosecutor and Romney is refusing to take the stand in his defense as he is entitled to. It is Reid that must eventually produce the goods. At the moment it is a he said/he said case.

Obama showed his birf certificate, this is the least Willard can do.

does he support the troops fighting and sacrificing in Iraq and Afghanistan again??

Multimillionaires who pay little to no taxes during a time of war? Why, I would question their patriotism, wouldn't you?

At the very least, he exploited the tax code in ways that we cannot. What I want to know is how he managed to have an IRA with $100M? Given that you currently can only save $6K annually in an individual IRA, well you do the math. Hey Luuuucccyyy, you got some 'splainin' to do?

There goes Mitt's elevator...straight to the US Treasury.

My concern isn't so much that Mitt will make it to the convention, but that he will be dropped and, since he's had such a bad showing of late, ANYONE will look better to the Pugs and they'll circle the wagons around the new candidate for POTUS.

This has got to be so embarrassing for the party. Payback is a bitch.

Here's hoping!!

Am I the only one who has noticed that John McCain - who has seen Mitts tax returns during the VP search - is quiet on this issue. One would think he would he would call Harry Reid on the carpet if Reid was wrong....

just think of that--- after mittens it was sarah!

they never informed the fbi that he was going to pick her.she was so far off the radar the fbi did`t have a chance to background her.

Bet he takes his million dollar tithe as a deduction and gets that all back. He makes money on his taxes. It's good to be king. And Bishop. And unaccountable.

over the last 4 years, it is that he is not a gambler. There simply is no need evident in the polls to spike the ball like this. The polling indicates that Barack holds the WH and Reid, at least minimally, holds the majority leader seat. While generally raising the issue of Mitt's taxes will remain viable as long as he does not release them, going specific about it entails some level of risk, unless the returns actually have even more unfavorable info. (perhaps some have absurd refunds, or perhaps it is closer to 20 years...)

My guess from my take on Harry Reid, is that he is still underplaying his hand, as he always has. Underplaying his hand makes this a safe move, because if the information is even worse, Mitt won't reveal it to prove him wrong.

Again, just my uninformed opinion here, but I would bet Reid is playing a safe move to run up the margin.

Mitt is worse than a bad candidate, he's a walking liability, and his own tax dodging (legal or otherwise) can now be used to draw further attention to the tax cut fiasco going down in Congress.

That vote last week is going to be the gift that keeps on giving, because some of those Republican Senators will be assailed for that vote when they are up for reelection four years from now. (Every Republican House Member is on the chopping block for it right now.)

This is an unusually lopsided year for Senate elections, with Democrats having to defend 23 seats against only 10 Republican. So the victory has to be very, very solid just to ensure that the Democrats are in position to capture a supermajority in the Senate by 2015. It also has to defy a good bit of history and statistics.

That's what this move is about. Not merely victory, but total success, not just now, but also years from now. It would appear that the Democrats have learned a fundamental lesson about the GOP: they can't win at all if they can't get close enough to steal it.

I would put large money on the notion that what is hidden is actually less attractive than anything they will say about it. They do not want to over sell this story because Rmoney might then be tempted to release and say "they were lying about me, it really isn't what they have been telling you". The issue then becomes the misrepresentation, rather than the facts. My guess is that if they are saying 10 years, it is at least 12 if not closer to 20. I would also bet that due to tricks and dodges, some of these years it is less than zero US taxes paid in that he got a net refund on financial manipulations and paper losses.

Reid is not the sort of guy who goes off without cause and facts to back him up. He is calling the hand because he knows he has the cards and Mitt doesn't. It has to be fun for them, after all the BC bs.

Collectively, the people of Democratic Underground are some of the best I've ever seen at shaking a Christmas present and guessing what's inside.

Senator Reid has given us the box, and now we're well on our way to guessing which felonies are inside.

Come back in a year, and I will bet that most of the salient facts of a future lawsuit or damning journalistic post-mortem (if Romney was already granted amnesty) are already spelled out here in this very thread.

We just don't know for sure which salient facts they are... yet. But I am sure most of them are already written above us.

is hoping a vp announcement will overcome the tax return dodge. Really?


And what is the very first question that vp choice is going to be asked?

To obtain a Top Secret clearance would require releasing tax returns in the vetting process.

What if Bain Capital has investments in foreign firms that do business with Iran, who is under sanctions?

What if his investments include holdings in foreign companies that supply restricted micro chips to China, Pakistan, or even Cuba. What if his investments break, or in the past have broken, embargoes? What if his investments have in effect, traded with the enemy, in one of our various wars.

How can he possibly run for president, without releasing a detailed account of his financial holdings and his possible influence on foreign holdings. Or, his possible conflict of interest with decisions within the scope of the Presidency?

I would think the Democratic Party could even challenge this in the courts, if anyone had the spine.

But, what do I know, I'm only one of the lowly ignorant, 99%.