He really points out that the taxes are a big problem...and that Romney is elite.

good way. Chris Wallace could be ignoring it and talking about how good looking(Gag) lyin ryan is.

A couple of days ago I pointed out that Romney is the poster boy for all the shit the Republicans say is wrong with the tax code.

The GOP has always claimed that "closing loopholes" (removing deductions and credits...like the child tax credit, earned income credit and homeowner mortgage deduction) and lowering rates is all that's needed to fix the tax code.

Romney presents a huge problem for this theory in that somehow or another Romney figured out a way to use every single loophole Title 26 allows, which is one of the two reasons Romney's taxes are so low. (The other, as we all know, is Romney hasn't had a real job in his life. Everything he's done since he got back from converting the French to Mormonism--which worked about as well as the GSI deal when people found out Mormons can't drink wine--has paid him in money taxable as capital gains.)

There's a nice sledgehammer and set of prison denims waiting for Mitt if it turns out he was running Bain Capital after he told the SEC he'd quit.

but if Romney were arrested in Idaho, he would be first sent to a county jail to await trial and sentencing. Before he was sentenced he would wear a color-coded uniform. A cop was in the shop one day when I was working on our weekly Most Wanted list pictures so I asked him what the color code means: in this county orange is general inmates, red is maximum security inmates and green is special handling inmates--protective custody, infirmary patients, mental patients, whatever. After conviction the general inmates wear blue uniforms inside the jail and white coveralls on work details. If the prisoner is transferred to state custody he still wears the blue uniform.

So...if he went up in Idaho we would not want him to be in an orange uniform as it would indicate there being a (small) possibility of his getting off. Blue, there's no doubt history would not look kindly on him. "Romney: the first man to run for the Big House."

I remember Hillary knocking back a couple in during her '08 run

I bet he is such a light weight 1/4 beer will have him giggling like a school girl and singing show tunes on the bar

while I'm having a beer with somebody I can actually stand being around?"

No way that would work.

I thought Romney had family from France, the south of France, from Remulak. Have thought that this was source of certain mannerisms and speech patterns -- things like laughing after making unusual responses in social situations.

He's from Remulak!

You just figured mitt romney out!

I've been waiting for someone to notice.

You think he was visiting fame when he had that wreck nest Pau?

Meps. Meps.

will use it to attack them isn't cutting it.

They go around insulting Americans' intelligence because their base is so damn dumb and numb they'll buy any ol snake oil they're selling.

Suppose they are preparing us for a convention dump?

No one wants to get Titanic'd, not even Faux.

They know Rmoney is becoming more toxic by the day.

Charles Koch has already run for POTUS on the Libertarian Party ticket. He's put so much money into the GOP, Tea Party, etc. he may have decided to go for it all.

So they pul the plug on Mitt & run Ryan with...who? Newt the Grinch?

own Worst Enemy. Then the Kochs bring lyin' snivelin ryan on broad and ya got mini mitt.

these wealthy people trying to con us into believing they pay 50% or so. How many times have you heard that? Anyone with a clue knew it was way lower. You now have Robme along with Buffett, letting us no just how low. Of course many on the right will only fixate on the total. They do pay a lot of money in taxes. Most of us like to look at the percentage fortunately.

Oh, the % changes but you hear that argument "75% (or whatever) of income taxes are paid by the 1 %!" Well, since they make a huge % of all income, let's hope so!

they have income way out of proportion to the incomes of ordinary people.

This could be explained easily to a lot of people in those terms. 13% of x = 50? (or 75%) of the total revenues of the US. The x must be just huge -- enormous -- way out of bounds.

If this guy (Rmoney) was as smart as he thinks he is, why didn't he clear this up years ago? And when are we going to see the full disclosure for 2011? Rmoney is very, very shady. How come he didn't file a full return during the normal deadline? Very shady indeed!!!
Sorry, but I don't trust this weasel.

over these last months and one explanation is that willard actually believes he is above all this that the average citizen or even presidential candidate has to do while applying for a J-O-B. They don't need to show no stinkin' tax returns..they're the romneys.

And, you can see it in their behavior. The tax returns must be really Loser Worthy for them to stonewall like their lives depended on it.

Sorry Mittens, it stinks, just like everyone else. We all live by the same rules.

".... as he's been running for President for years now"

I think he did see it coming. What he didn't see coming was the IRS being granted the ability by the court to subpoena Swiss banks in 2008 and the resulting need for him to get amnesty for the taxes he had evaded.

I think that's why the Obama campaign limited their request to five years - even though 2002 probably shows him being paid a hefty salary by Bain (after he'd retroactively retired).

He's not going to produce those returns because it would effectively end his candidacy. He'd probably withdraw before doing that.

After the convention, when the GOP are more or less stuck with him, with too little time to react and many of the GOP ads produced with Romney, the Obama campaign will probably suggest a 3rd party auditor that won't reveal the tax returns themselves. That largely kills Romney's excuse that he would be attacked by new information. The auditor would answer the seven or so questions the Obama campaign/the media has. End of issue for Romney ... until he declines and the media and the electorate smells blood.

It will come up again for sure when he releases his 2011 return.

This is far from over.

At the very least, the entire nation may not know for sure if Romney evaded taxes but most will know he evaded answering that question.

you're right, if he had half a brain, he would have taken steps to make sure his irs forms were nice and clean.
aside from an absurdly low tax rate, that is. the difference between 13% and 26% on his staggering income is crazy money, money that he could easily spend on an ad buy to clean up his image.

but the swiss bank thing is very plausible because he could easily have figured that running all the dodgy stuff through swiss banks successfully keeps his irs forms clean.

until he had to accept the amnesty deal.

now at that point, a reasonable man might well have realized he couldn't get elected, but rmoney is a man used to winning and winning BIG when all around him are losing everything.

going after US accounts in Swiss banks. I realize an intelligent person would keep their mouth shut, but I don't put Romney (or Ryan) in that category.

Wouldn't that be fun to dig up?

Romney has done something either illegal or extremely embarrassing.

We are photographed; our luggage is x-rayed and sorted; our internet communications are scrutinized and inspected and all that by the President of the US who directs the Homeland Security Department. If Romney wants to be president and to have all that power to investigate our personal lives and communications, our personal travel, then he should be completely willing for us to see his income tax returns.

We want to see the returns and not some audited, edited, expurgated, Baudelarized, softened down, nicey-nice, incomplete responses to questions.

Why should I trust Romney's appointees to investigate my personal life if he can't show me that he paid all of his taxes as he should have? And that there is nothing in his financial history that he should be ashamed of or concerned about?

for tax disclosure (if he's allowed to provide 2 yrs of tax returns missing forms)

So they can't "make" him do more than that legally.

And if Romney's got things in those tax returns that would kill his candidacy, he'd withdraw before he'd reveal those returns. Why should he reveal them if it's going to end his candidacy? He'd take a more graceful exit.

I think Obama et al know what's in those returns to some significant degree. So it's a chess game, moving piece by piece, to squeeze Romney to the extent that even if he doesn't disclose them, he's hurt his ability to get elected significantly.

I do think it would be a mistake to close him out too soon on this if there's a serious end game that would force Romney to withdraw because it gives the GOP a chance to regroup with another candidate.

So I like how they're handling it.

Heavy odds are, we'll never see those returns. As long as the damage helps Obama win the election, I don't really care deeply if we do.

I don't think that Obama should let Romney off the hook on this.

We need to see the tax returns. Meeting the legal requirement is the minimum. It is unacceptable as long as Obama's tax returns are out there, and Romney is running on the claim that he has such business acumen.

there's not much Obama can do beyond what they're doing: keep the media heat on him.

As George Will suggested, if Romney feels the political damage from showing them is worse than the political damage from not showing them, we'll never see them. The longer this goes on, the less likely it is that we'll ever see them. And there's little Obama can do beyond the sorts of things his campaign is already doing - ramping up the delivery of political damage by keeping the story alive in the media. Obama has no legal recourse. Sadly, there's a risk of the media tiring of the story because eventually, there's little new going to come out.

When Romney realizes that we are assuming worse than the reality, he will release the returns (or if the reality is really that horrible continue to refuse to release them) and then the truth will be out.

I'm for exposing the truth. It's the secret of good relationships. Being able to tell the truth tactfully. Along with having a good sense of humor and humility. All you need.

that Romney ran in the first place. With that kind of skeleton in the closet, Romney had no right to run. He is damaging the entire party.

Is Chris doing at Fox? His dad must be turning over in his bed; or something like that.

Kochs.

Awwww!!! Ya know, the problems each of us have, is usually brought on by ourselves. Mittens is no exception.

I don't trust him nor that gawd damn station.

when there is no time to verify them.

Wonder why he doesn't release fake returns? Is there a fact checking
committee that compares them to what's on file for the IRS?

It would be the greatest HOAX since Clifford Irving's "autobiography" of
Howard Hughes

Oh, wait, there was Election 2000 Florida

Election 2004 Ohio

Weapons of Mass Destruction

McCain's VP pick

Romney's VP pick

astonishing.. what are they thinking?

the pursuit of more than 2 year tax returns from Mitt is a non issue. Yes he is rich and paid taxes in accordance with IRS rules and regs. Did you know GM paid no taxes last year? Well I would also like to to see Obama's college transcripts which he refuses to release.

And just what the fk, do you think are in the transcripts.... How he lied about being Kenyan, or maybe his birth certificate is from Canada..... He was head of the Harvard Law Review. Let time I checked, that's hard to fake. go to conservative up skirts or something, but don't waste our time with phony Trumped up charges.....think about it, if anything about this guy was not American, do you really think he would have gotten this far in politics.....even elected senator?

On the other hand, Obama's college transcripts are not an issue at all.

See how you've got this stuff all backwards?

you doubt his education? You doubt Obama is intelligent? How is this relevant?

Do you really think Fox news wants Romney to win. They get their highest ratings of President Obama's back. If Romney would win, think about it, what would Hannity, O'Reilly, Malkin, and those ass wipes on that morning show talk about, how well Romney is doing......think about it

I don't remember because I don't watch that channel.

They know they fucked up badly by letting Romney get this far without properly vetting him first, and now it is too late to save the election. Forget about it.

So next, we are going to see a shift toward saving congressional seats and GOP on the state and local level.

...and neither Chris Wallace nor the Los Angeles FOX affiliate anchor is caring FauxNews' water (the standard Lies and bullshit) in this liveshot. Kind of refreshing to hear Wallace talking candidly, "off the grid".

Tax Returns, Please.
It was Ronald Reagan who said, "Trust, but Verify."
Re his tax returns, Mr. Romney has said, "Trust me."
OK.
Now for the "Verify" part.
Release the tax returns, Mr. Romney.
63% of American voters want to see them.
And so do I.
Sincerely,
One of Ann Romney's "little people."

So he points out that Romneys tax returns are politically toxic. But he is now a fox zombie so he says there is "nothing illegal" in romneys taxes. How would he know? Has he seen them? If not then he is talking out of his ass. If Romney HAS given his returns to fox, all the more reason to let the rest of us see them.