Marc Thiessen is concerned:
Even Republicans are starting to ask: What could possibly be in [Romney’s] old tax returns that is worse than creating the impression he has something to hide? When Romney finally released his 2010 return, it was revealed that he had millions in an offshore Cayman Islands fund and millions more in a Swiss bank account he had failed to disclose earlier. This was perfectly legal, if politically tone-deaf. The man had been running for president for nearly eight years. One would think that, by 2010, he would have scrubbed his finances to get rid of any controversial investments. Whatever is in his earlier tax returns, Romney is better off releasing them and enduring some more bad press than giving Team Obama more fodder for its “what is Mitt hiding” campaign.
I’m just guessing here, but no, Romney is probably not better off releasing his past tax returns or he would have already done so.
Thiessen is asking why Romney keeps shooting himself in the foot on the tax return issue. The simplest explanation is that he is pursuing the path that exacts the least political pain. Even if he looks evasive and dishonest, that’s better than whatever those tax returns would reveal.
The only alternative theory is that Romney and his team are truly stupid.
When even conservatives are beginning to ask: “What could possibly be in his old tax returns that is worse than creating the impression he has something to hide?” you can be sure that whatever it is is very bad.
This waffling by Romney must surely be generating a lot of smiles and high-fives in the meetings of the Obama re-election team. It is apparent that the Romney team feels like there is something in those returns which could be potentially fatal to the campaign. I look forward to seeing how this is framed by Obama’s media team.
From the article:
It’s interesting to me how many of the Republicans’ anti-Gore, anti-Kerry, and even anti-Obama attacks are making their way into the Obama campaign’s attacks on Romney.
A scion of the political elite, who grew up wealthy and doesn’t know what the lives of real people are like.
A flip-floppy sellout from Massachusetts, who’s Just Not Like Us.
Who is the Real Mitt Romney?
etc.
it’s just politics 101.
In a lot of ways, the Bush persona was a construction aimed at countering these attacks, which is why they weren’t used much (except for the lying part) by the Democrats. But they’re pretty standard fare in most elections.
How many servants does Ann have to run the car elevator? Do the servants have servants of their own? Does Mitt pay Social Security for the servants? Are any servants here illegally? Have any of the servants committed crimes?
Dataguy gets what Karl Rove got: It’s not as important to win arguments as to have the right ones.
I will be perfectly happy to spend a month discussing whether Ann has a servant to run the car elevator, even if the Democrats making the charge are ultimately proven to be completely wrong, and that the car elevator is operated with the push of a button.
How many horses do the Romneys have? They had 24 when they lived here in Belmont, MA. How many do they have in California?
How much do they pay in veterinarian bills? Do they have a full-time vet? What does that cost? Do their horses get better health care than most Americans?
Their horses are mentioned as being part of Ann’s treatment for MS. Does they deduct the cost of any of the horses as a medical expense? How much do they deduct? The cost of all 24?
What percentage of Americans with MS use dressage riding for their treatment? Has dressage been recognized as an approved therapy?
Seriously, you know “stuff” is in those returns. Personally, I’d start following the horses, but watch your step.
Another possibility: it’s the Long Form Birth Certificate in reverse.
Romney could be letting the unreleased tax returns become the magnet for the entire anti-plutocrat oeuvre of attacks, only to release completely innocuous documents closer to election day, giving everyone the opportunity to see that there’s no there there, and discrediting the entire line of attack.
I acknowledge the possibility that I am giving Team Romney too much credit here.
I think you’re giving them way too much credit here. For someone who has a) already run a presidential campaign; and b) had almost 3 years to plan a second try, they’ve been remarkably inept throughout the primaries, which does not bode well for the general campaign. The tax returns are just one of several “oops” that should have been seen coming a mile away by a competent campaign organization. My personal opinion was that they placed too much faith in Mitt being the “inevitable” candidate.
I don’t dispute that Mitt Romney is a terrible candidate in many ways, and has stepped on his own…er…message more times than I can count.
However, his campaign has demonstrated some impressive strategic thinking throughout this process, even if Mittens hasn’t always been able to pull it off.
However, his campaign has demonstrated some impressive strategic thinking throughout this process, even if Mittens hasn’t always been able to pull it off.
What impressive strategic thinking is that? Wasting possibly $100 million trying to beat two rodeo clowns in the GOP primary, and being getting painted as Thurston Howell III in the process?
Nothing you mention really has anything to do with the issue of campaign strategy.
It’s not Mitt Romney’s fault that the nomination he is running for is the Republicans’ in 2012, and he is therefore obliged to take part in a clown show.
I’m talking about things like where he spent his money, how used his organization, the battles he picked early on.
the thing about past tax records is that you can’t change them. He doesn’t have an answer beyond not releasing them.
Whenever he is asked about it, he sure looks and acts like the cat who ate the canary. He is visibly ill at ease any time it is brought up. It just telegraphs that there is something there that he wishes was not.
he sure looks and acts like the cat who ate the canary
And Rick Santorum, at the end of that clip, looks like the other cat, the one who’s going to get to sleep on the bed tonight because someone’s ass is getting thrown outside.
If nothing else those returns are likely to show just how much money Mitt has been pulling in. And it’s likely to be an extremely large number. And it’s likely he paid very little taxes on any of it. So even if that’s all that is there, it’s unlikely Mitt’s team thinks a public discussion of it is beneficial at this point.
And that he’s been hiding a lot of it in tax havens like Switzerland or the Caymans.
Clever but too much by half.
We already know that he is a criminal who uses off-shore tax havens to avoid paying his fair share.
That’s what he has released, which is damaging.
Stuff from the years that he ran the vampire death machine Bain are only worse than this.
He’s not a criminal based on existing public evidence unless you think all property is theft…
Romney belongs to the class that doesn’t have to break the law to make out like a bandit. But if you take a close look at what they do, you’ll likely say “There oughta be a law…”
We actually do not know if he is a criminal or not. A huge number of those tax havens are simply scams or worse. Every couple years, a huge scandal breaks about fake tax shelters. Until he releases all of his records, we will not know. It’s clear that he is hiding something, and I am sure that it is criminal misbehavior.
What’s he hiding? Would it be irresponsible to speculate? It would be irresponsible NOT to speculate.
He has something to hide? Everybody’s got something to hide…
Speculation? Sure…
#1: Extra wives and/or children
#2: Investments in Enron off-the-books offshore groups.
#3: Cheating the LDS of their 10% take
#4: Special tax rate of “Zero, because robots don’t pay taxes, meatbag”
#5: shadow investment partner in white slavery organization
#6: investment in online porn distributors
.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."As a complete novice in offshore tax sheltering, I have no idea what Romney’s taxes are like (or what he could have done that would be unprecedented enough in modern political history that even our corrupted idiot press would take notice of for more than 24 hours).
So instead, I’m linking to something from Balloon Juice this morning. Funny stuff from the unrestrained evangelical conservative id. Apparently Minnesota Republicans are beset by pot-smoking, flag desecrating, anti-Jeebus libertarians. Some of whom work with Somalis. They’re freakin’ Nazis, man! George Washington would not approve.
http://torgersonforcongress.blogspot.com/2012/04/republican-5th-congressional-district.html
Why how sad for them <bwahahahaha>.
Speculating the 2011 may be in part amending something that the 2010 return declared.
Trouble with juggling so many accounts is remembering first and foremost where they all are. Course being a Conservative, money management is next to Godliness eh?
The “truly stupid” theorem is not a stretch either. Neither is the basic arrogance that comes with Romney’s crystal clear belief that he is entitled to become president because he is so “successful” (well, in his choice of parents, anyway) and so very very righteous. God’s most favored sons don’t stoop to letting the inferior people into the intricacies of their charmed lives. Giving into their whining just weakens the credibility of the Divine Right of Kings.
.
"But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."here’s the thing…
Willard has been running for President since 2007.
Which means to me that he should have had the returns from at least 2005 and beyond ready for publication.
the fact that he hasn’t,
that he’s arrogant enough to think that the rules that have applied to all other candidates don’t apply to them.
once again, I ask why it’s not obvious that he’s the poster child for rich, White, Entitlement Syndrome.
Maybe his tax documents reveal that he was born in Kenya.
Romney Claims Kerry Released Just Two Tax Returns (lamh34:it was actually 20 years)
http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/04/17/romney_claims_kerry_released_just_two_tax_returns.html
Ok, for one moment, I thought that Romney was trying to run the okey doke ala Obama’s long form birth certificate, but this is ridiculous. I’m now thinking there must be something in those tax forms cause if there was nothing, why the hell not just turn over the taxes and let this shit be a summer story and after August begin campaign in earnest…WTF.
R-Money’s camp is acting too suspicious. I do remember reading that the McCain campaign leaked that Romney was considered for VP, but something in the vetting process was like hell naw, and they provided like what 12 years of taxes reports to McCain camp…WTH is going on.
I just don’t understand why they would want to prolong the story???
It is probably something more mundane, but a political bullet, like having a Limited Liability Partnership in a Missouri Puppy Mill or maybe a Form 1099-G from Gambling Proceeds.