Politico–relax, it’s not plagiarism (that we know of):
Mitt Romney said at Thursday’s debate he’ll release his tax returns in April – but the booing that drew suggests Republican primary voters don’t appear willing to wait.
It’s not that they have problems with his record at Bain Capital – Romney has effectively neutralized many of those lines by calling them attacks on free enterprise out of step with the GOP.
But the combination of the tax return issue, reports that his former firm parked assets in Cayman tax shelters and his own rhetorical missteps is beginning to paint him as a plutocrat rather than “someone who’s lived in the real streets of America,” as he described himself at Thursday’s debate…
Over the last few days as the issue of GOP presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney’s tax returns (more to the point his apparent reluctance to release them) has bubbled up, we’ve had a sense of deja vu–as our friend Jason Salzman reported back in April of 2010:
Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis told hosts Keith Weinman and Gail Fallen, “So I’m not going to invite myself to my own beating. I’m going to give what I think the people want, not what The Denver Post wants.”
McInnis was on the conservative radio show after having apparently just read a Post editorial, published that morning, calling on him and fellow Republican Dan Maes to “follow Hickenlooper’s lead and agree to make their returns public.”
The Post argued that releasing income tax returns “shows that a leader who seeks the public trust is committed to transparency at all levels,” adding that “[t]ax returns show sources of income, chronicle any charitable giving, and reveal potential conflicts of interest, use of tax shelters and other valuable information.”
We would say maybe Scott McInnis has some good advice for Romney now that he’s freed from supporting Rick Perry, but we recall it didn’t actually end very well for McInnis, either.
So, you know, maybe not.
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It’s anti-American to imply that “plutocrat” is a bad thing. Romney would probably reply, as he did to the guy who was concerned about the growing, historic gap between people like Romney and 99% of Americans, by yelling at you about maybe preferring the North Korean system and informing you that America is right and you are wrong!
Unless we’re talking about a birth certificate, illegal alien issue. Everybody knows nobody could possibly come from Pluto. It’s way too cold to support life. So that’s just silly.
Very clever of you to try smearing Romney by playing up McInnis, even if you disclaimed the plagiarism at the beginning. It’s obvious that you want to smear Romney by associating him with McInnis any way you can.
Too bad nobody has heard of McInnis outside Colorado, nobody cares, and tax returns are not what sank McInnis (as you hit piece authors know perfectly well).
All this proves is how shallow and mean spirited you are.
McInnis’ weak excuses for withholding tax returns played poorly in Colorado. Do you think Mitt’s excuses will fare any better?
I wonder if the real reason Mitt is so reluctant has little to do with politics – maybe he’s been shortchanging the Mormon church its 10%.
Stiffing the Mormon Church on tithing and funneling money to the Caymans to evade taxes.
That sounds like all Mittens to me, which is why there is no way in hell he is going to release them.
He is going to get more and more pissy every time he’s asked, so keep asking !
Now that would be embarrassing, wouldn’t it? The Obamas released return shows something like 14% to charity and most of their income from sales of his two books which would be ordinary earned income.
ArapGs favorite phrase these days seems to be “nice try”. If the GOTP in running Romney for President try to package this race the way they usually do, with Obama and the Dems as the elitists and Romney as their just plain folks leader, that would be the epitome of a “nice try”. Kerry’s windsurfing was nothing compared to Romney’s selfish elitist baggage.
this is a Colorado political blog so comparisons with McInnis and how things played for him are relevant to perceptions here in this state. But, trust me, Mittens requires precious little smearing or even spinning from Dems or GOTP opponents either, though they probably can’t stop his nomination. His actual words and what they actually mean require no such massaging to show how completely out of touch he is, not just with the 99% but with most of the top 1%, who only make what he apparently considers insignificant spare change.
From here through the general all he has to do is open his clueless, elitist and, yes, plutocratic mouth, and he saves his opponents a lot of trouble. Not that they don’t need to keep capitalizing on the opportunities. But he really does give them, day after day, such a terrific base on which to build their case against ever letting this ultimate, privileged, silver spoon, corporate raiding, tax shelter manipulating, let them eat cake snob anywhere near the White House.
some elk meat lying around somewhere . . . ?
“Whole Foods, maybe? . . . where’s that chauffeur and valet?”
PS. Oh MittaGOP . . . why would it now be a “smear” to associate McInnis with Romney? Scott not rich enough?
get any responsibility for his lifelong mental condition?
A sinister conspiracy to besmirch the good name of my favorite blue blood who loves to do business outside of the US to avoid paying taxes that I’m more than happy to pick up.
LEAVE MITTENS ALONE OR I’LL SAY MEAN THINGS ABOUT YOU
Mitt probably got sucked in by the Island’s new marketing slogan: “The Caymans — It’s Not Just For Crooks Anymore!”
and what’s in their party platform are two different things. Obfuscation is a big industry for right-wingers because it’s hard to convince working-class people that the rich deserve more tax breaks and the poor deserve nothing. But clearly it can be done, as long as you never make people think too hard about it.
The problem with Romney is that he embodies all the nutjob ideas of Republican teabaggers for the last couple years. And when they actually see it, they don’t really like it. If you took an average Republican and didn’t let him listen or watch or read any professional right-wing opinions, then asked him whether he thought poor kids should die because their parents didn’t buy health insurance, he’d say no.
Most of them don’t have a good understanding of just how much money the 1% have, or how much they pay in taxes, and so it’s easy for them to say “Rich people’s taxes should be lower because I’m just one step away from being rich myself!” Romney makes them confront that.