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Yesterday Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) made news by claiming an unnamed third party connected to Bain Capital told him it is likely Mitt Romney payed almost no taxes for years. From Huffington Post:
Saying he had “no problem with somebody being really, really wealthy,” Reid sat up in his chair a bit before stirring the pot further. A month or so ago, he 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.
“He didn’t pay taxes for 10 years! Now, do I know that that’s true? Well, I’m not certain,” said Reid. “But obviously he can’t release those tax returns. How would it look?
This is baseless hearsay. Normally such wild claims wouldn’t even be entertained, but Romney’s bizarre refusal to release more returns is creating a situation where speculation and hearsay are the only thing that can fill the information vacuum.
What we do know is that Romney adamantly refuses to release more returns despite top conservatives calling on him to do so. We have also seen that Romney is unwilling or unable to answer even basic questions about them, while insisting he paid what the law requires, but not one penny more. This creates the overwhelming impression Romney is hiding something, which allows anyone who might have an idea what he is hiding to put forward their speculations unchallenged.
Of course the Romney campaign could at any time put a stop to these rumors by simply releasing his returns, but the fact that he still hasn’t only reinforces the impression that these claims may indeed be true or what he is hiding is even worse. The question becomes: if the rumors aren’t true, why isn’t Romney quickly disproving them by releasing his returns?
This latest rumor could be wrong, but if Romney keeps hiding the truth and refuses to disprove the rumors, he allows them to grow until they become the “reality” for many.
27 Comments
In the greater scheme of things impacting the daily lives of the 99%, the story of Romney’s tax returns is insignificant and a distraction from the current government policies that are destroying the quality of life in this country. Please consider concentrating your energies on more important matters, instead of continuing to flog this one.
Disagree. It’s important for people to know the kind of person that’s running.
Besides, what is it that you think Rmoney will do that Obama won’t?
Boxturtle (Perhaps he’ll jail some bank CEO’s?)
I agree. You either believe the game is rigged or you don’t, (I do). I don’t think there are many people with “no opinion” on this subject, that need convincing one way or the other. While the messenger in this case is very important, the message itself is even more so.
Romney is scum, and is certainly not running a clean campaign. Consider the distortion that is being used in his “you didn’t build it” push.
Sometimes, you have to fight on your opponents terms. Romney is as dirty as it gets. Obama should use anything that is legal, fact based, and will work against Romney. Romney is creating this problem by refusing to release his returns.
Romney is such a poor candidate that I don’t think he would have a chance of winning, were it not for all the voter suppression laws now in place. These could turn the election.
Welcome to fascism.
Disagree. Willard’s life should be an open book if he wants to be prez.
How does one vote if we don’t know the character of a person. Tax returns reveal plenty about an individual and their character.
Willard is really acting out of shame by not releasing his returns and what they would reveal about him.
Has anyone bothered to posit the reason Romney hasn't released his full returns is because it may show the Latter Day Saints that he has not been, in fact, tithing his full 10%? No? Ok, I'll do this now. If the man is an elitist and a bully, I imagine that he believes even his church doesn't deserve the full amount of what he is obliged to pay as a member. It might be something as non- controversial or illegal as that. Yet, he probably is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, which puts him far beyond the economic pale of even the most well-paid conservative pundit.
Face it, Mitt and Ann took the 2009 Swiss bank account amnesty, hoping to clean up their tax situation for 2012. This would also account for Ace Gluehorse’s 2008 campaign saying “Thanks, but no” to Willard’s Veep ambitions: the illegal Swiss accounts were in place then and could not be disguised.
I have posited the same thing. I think Bishop Willard is more afraid that the LDS will learn that he didn’t tithe the full 10%. I doubt Willard gives rat’s ass what the rest of the 99% – or even the rest of the 1% – think.
It’s more than likely that Willard has paid very little taxes over the years. That should make him a huge hero to the Ayn Rand panty-sniffing set. The LDS, OTOH, may not be amused to learn that Willard didn’t tithe enough. Just saying…
As I’ve stated before on numerous occasions, I don’t think there is an appreciable difference between the policies that either puppet of the Corporatocracy would implement. They are both willing tools of the 1%, but only someone masquerading as a Democrat can implement the destruction of the social safety net through austerity, engage the nation in kinetic military actions, authorize drone murder, coddle Big Oil, Big Pharma, and the Insurance Industry without even token resistance. Prove me wrong!
Has it ever occurred to you that Romney’s tax returns might reveal support for causes or institutions that would destroy his viability as a candidate of the far Right? We can all agree that he’s a wealthy ruthless businessman who has availed himself of every legal means possible to enrich himself, but the possibility remains that he’s not the villain that the Democrats accuse him of being. Even if he is, I’d rather face an honestly bad person that doesn’t give a shit about me than someone like Obama or Clinton who pretends to have my interests at heart in order to betray me.
So obviously we wouldn’t want to have a beer with Mitt. Is this what our elections have come down to? How but we focus on policy and the fact that neither of these candidates offer anything that will help improve the life if the average American.
Romney made a fortune utilizing programs that were the result of legislation that was signed and championed by Bill “I Caused Your Pain” Clinton, including FTAs like NAFTA, and continue to be promoted by Obama such as the TPP. Get a grip and wake up to the reality of our uniparty duopoly that gives us the illusion of democracy when we’ve become a security state ruled by and for the benefit of the corporations.
People fail to realize that partisanship is a neurological condition that is designed to distract from the issues that must be addressed to improve the lives of the 99%.
So Romney is a piece of shit that doesn’t pay his taxes. And Obama is a piece of shit that pisses on the Constitution and the rule of law. Now what?
Indeed, Willard’s returns would show his true character.
Your comment also confirms the title of this article re: “…allow hearsay and speculation to run wild…”
As I have said before, I suspect that Obama got access to Romney’s IRS records through Holder’s office. Reid’s “friend at Bain” may be a cover he’s using for this damaging info he got from Obama, I’m guessing. I doubt Reid would make that statement if he didn’t have a reliable source. Romney doesn’t dare release those records, so he will continue harping on Obama’s failures in they eyes of conservatives. I think the presidential election is pretty much BS anyway, except for one thing that concerns me going forward: Supremes appointments that will have a dramatic effect for a generation to come.
I don’t think you are going to get any disagreement here on any of that. The situation is a cess pool, so why the hell not throw some shit. Not throwing won’t make any difference, and as noted above, Romney does appear to be unadulterated scum. Pushing this doesn’t just go after him, it goes after all the 0.1 percent. He’s just collateral damage.
Because no one with the ability to put the message out on policy has any interest in doing so. The system is completely fucked. Live with it.
So my speculation is invalid, but yours is correct. Thanks for the juvenile response. Be sure to reelect O because his policies are designed to improve the lives of the 99% rather than those of his masters./s
That’s how I see it. They just sent a very big cannon ball over Romney’s bow, just to let him know whatwill happen if he gets out of line. Obama is a terrible President, but when it comes to elections he is deadly.
Obviously there are still quite a few people still so slavishly devoted to Obama that they’re willing to be fooled again. Otherwise, rather than attacking someone who doesn’t currently have the ability to destroy our lives, they might have to address O’s policy successes that have failed the 99%.
I’m not speculating, if Willard was proud of his returns he would of released them yesterday to show all how much he is really worth.
It’s Willard’s shameful write-offs/shelters/deductions he’s shielding.
P.S. I’s also not an O fan either.
It’s kind of similar to President Obama not releasing his birth certificate, it took months and months for that to happen, but in the end he released it, and the issue went away, NOT. . . some loons are still claiming it’s a fake, or if it’s real he needs both parents to be citizens to be eligible to be President.
It’s just a distraction, Romney paid his taxes.
If Romney releases 10 years of tax returns the press will trumpet every deduction he took, so his best course is to just release the amount of years required by law, 2 years, then near the election, he’ll dump 10 or 20 years of tax returns on the public, and say see I paid taxes every year, no major issue here.
I agree with you and also agree with holeybuybull.
OTOH, I really don’t give a crap (truly) about RMoney’s tax returns. Why? Because I *know* that RMoney didn’t pay his fair share. That goes without saying even IF Rmoney followed the “letter of the law” whatever the eff that means anymore.
OTOH, I also agree that this serves as a distraction to discussing the real policy issues facing us as a nation. I can’t stand Obama. I’ll probably vote third party cuz I don’t think it really matters anymore who wins, no matter what, including the bought-off crooks in the SCOTUS.
That said, I DO feel that seeing RMoney’s tax returns will *highlight* just how corrupt things have become with the 1% – in general – ripping off the 99%. IF Bishop Willard can ever be forced to reveal them, I think they might tell a story that goes way beyond the RMoney’s.
That’s my take. I’d like to see those tax returns. Just saying…
False equivalency, imo.
Firstly, Obama’s birth certificate was “released” right away, but the barking loons on the right didn’t want to accept that it was real.
Secondly, the barking loons on the right were barking about a trumped up lie that Obama was born in KenyaIndonesiaWhatever.
RMoney has yet to release more than one year of his tax returns. Why not? Those tax returns exist somewhere. Where are they?
You’re comparing something trumped up to something real. If RMoney has “nothing to hide,” then fine. Let’s see them. If that turns out to be the case, then we’ll know. Until then… well??? who knows?
B.S. big time.
Willard hasn’t released two years of returns and it isn’t required by law.
Politicians release their tax returns to show their character, which Willard has none.
Taxes shmaxes. Is it not the American way to try and limit you’re taxes as much as possible? Is that not why there are so many loopholes? Legal illegal who cares? Almost all of our elected officials break the law day after day. Our president breaks the law. Or business leaders break the law. Breaking the law and getting away with it is the new American dream.