What if Reid is bluffing?

[DetlefK]

What if it's not as simple as "Romney evaded taxes and Reid knows it"?

What if Reid doesn't have a source or a splinter of evidence?
What if Reid had come to the conclusion that there is "something" in Romney's tax returns that could destroy him?
What if Reid's "tax evasion"-attack is bogus, a gambit to lure Romney in the open?
What if Reid gambled his reputation on a gut-feeling that Romney is hiding something?

Romney refuses to release his tax returns: Democrats dominate the political conversation from here until election-day.
Romney releases his tax returns: Reid's career is over, but there's a chance to find some dirt and damage Romney.




Is there a small Rove in Reid?

[liberal N proud]

1. Doesn't matter, Reid has this subject in the news

They keep this thing in the news until November and it will pull a large number of votes from Romney.

[Curtland1015]

2. Sometimes bluffs win you big pots. (nt)

[NightWatcher]

3. Reid's prob not running again anywhoo, and it put Romney on the defensive

what is there to lose?

[leveymg]

4. If someone lied to Harry, I hardly think that's the end of Reid's career.

Last edited Thu Aug 9, 2012, 01:10 PM - Edit history (1)

Only in GOP LaLa Land is that the alternative ending.

[Motown_Johnny]

5. Reid doesn't run again for 4 years.. this will be long forgotten either way.

His career is fine.

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. I don't think he is - but "some people say" it doesn't matter!

just took a page from the right wing propaganda playbook...and it's been a thing of beauty to watch unfold....no lose situation, in my mind.

[KharmaTrain]

7. Simple...Willard Shows Us Cancelled Checks...

Surely, if he paid all those taxes he claims he has to have some kind of cancelled check made out to the Department of Revenue. Just show us the cancelled checks and Reid's charges are refuted. Fact that Willard hasn't done that or disclosed anything means he's hiding something and he's done nothing to prove Reid wrong.

The truth is this issue is killing Mittens and the only way to get people from talking or thinking about it is to create their own diversion. This morning I saw Joey the Intern Killer trying the latest attack on Bill Burton and President Obama's pack...they're desperate to create a "scandal" in the Obama campaign to divert attention from their richie rich tax dodging loser...

[Shankapotomus]

10. I saw that

It's not like Obama hasn't had that false charge leveled at him either. How quickly we forget the right wing chants of "death panels". "Obama's gonna kill Grandma".

And the moves Romney made at Bain capital DID ultimately effect that man's ability to care for his sick wife. Had he still been working at Bain her fate might have been entirely different.

[uponit7771]

14. He can show checks, of course he can ...it's the SIZE of the checks...they will be small

...cause he didn't pay his fair share due to his offshore accounts

[KharmaTrain]

21. That's Not What Matters Here...

Reid's charge is he heard that Willard hadn't paid taxes...just show the checks (blank out the dollar amount) and show the endorsement stamp from the U.S. Treasury. It's really simple to do this that would prove the allegation false...but since he hasn't produced any documentation to show any type of payment then Senator Reid's accusation remains viable.

As far was what's inside, I've long believed not only did Willard not pay taxes for years...probably decades as well as using loopholes to move large amounts of money from offshore onto his personal accounts. We can speculate all day and will never know as Willard covets his money more than winning the election and will do all he can do keep those tax records private. His hope is to play out the clock and hope people just don't like the colored fella...

[ananda]

8. LOL

If it's a bluff, and I don't think it is, it's a great one!

[CJCRANE]

9. "Romney releases his tax returns:

Reid's career is over, but there's a chance to find some dirt and damage Romney."

It depends what's in the returns. Romney has alreadly implicitly admitted that it doesn't look good. I think Reid will be fine.

[morningfog]

11. Reid's career won't be over. Even with the release of all mitt's returns.

[melm00se]

12. so what I am seeing

here from the majority of responders is that the ends justifies the means?

[coalition_unwilling]

15. Hunh? Say what? Care to explain? - n/t

[Bluerthanblue]

17. not sure that is what is being said at all. Romney isn't denying that he is hiding his returns

and I'm pretty sure that Harry Reid has been told by more than one person that they know Romney has good reason to keep his returns out of the public eye.

I don't believe he is lying. I don't believe it is a ruse- He said he has been told by a person (a Bain investor) that they believe Romney didn't pay taxes for 10 yrs. Reid didn't say that was a fact, but put the information out there for the public to feed on.

Romney himself is going around saying the Pres. Obama intends to encourage people on welfare to stay on it.- No where has the president done, or advocated that, and Romney knows this full well- yet he is making the statement as if it were truth.

I don't have a problem with Reid's comments about what he was told. The sad part is that were there no chance that this were even remotely true, even in a lesser way, Romney should have no hesitation to prove it and show that is is nothing more than idle speculation. But he isn't doing that. And people are attacking the person who has the audacity to question lord Romney. Whose honesty and integrety is more than 'questionable'.

[Chan790]

18. Have you ever heard me say the ends don't justify their means?

Because I never have...in fact, I'm an activist and like all long-term LW activists, I've read Rules For Radicals in which Saul Alinsky argued that the loss of progressive activism was going to be caused by those for whom no ends were ideologically-pure enough to justify any effective means. I took that shit to heart...I care about winning and not how we win. Winning has consequences and losing has consequences. Rarely do means have those kinds of consequences.

[mfcorey1]

13. Plausible but impossible since Rmoney is a shady character!

[liberalmuse]

16. Reid is known to be cautious.

I'm sure he felt his source was very credible. The ball's in Romney's court. If he wants to clear this all up, all he need do is release his tax returns for the past 10 years - or even a few years, like every Presidential candidate since his own father has done. If you're running for President, you better f*cking well be ready to have everything about you, including your finances, scrutinized.

Even if Romney releases his returns and it is found he actually paid taxes, Reid's career isn't over. He was simply repeating what he'd heard from whom he considered a very credible source, and as a result, got Romney to disclose his finances. Fat chance of that ever happening, though. Romney has much to hide as far as his financial dealings are concerned.

[H2O Man]

19. What if it

starts raining television sets?

Cluck, cluck, cluck .....

[Wounded Bear]

20. If he's bluffing...or even if he's "lying".....

[Canadian 2]

22. Who Cares?

The charge is out there, it dovetails magnificently with suspicions people already have about Romney, and he has TAKEN Reid's rope and tied himself a political noose!

Harry, my hat is off!

[Z_California]

23. What if

What if Romney really does go shopping regularly? What if Obama turns out to be a space alien? What if it turned out that pondering hypotheticals turns out to be a huge waste of time?

[WI_DEM]

24. So what? the thing is Rmoney should be giving more tax returns than he is.