Mitt Romney Never Thought He'd Have To Release Tax Returns: Bain Sources

[maddezmom]

Source: HuffPost

WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney has been determined to resist releasing his tax returns at least since his bid for Massachusetts governor in 2002 and has been confident that he will never be forced to do so, several current and former Bain executives tell The Huffington Post. Had he thought otherwise, say the sources based on their longtime understanding of Romney, he never would have gone forward with his run for president.

Bain executives say they've been instructed to keep company and Romney-specific information completely confidential, tightening the lockdown on an already closed company.

But pressure has been building on the presumptive GOP nominee. On Tuesday, the conservative National Review added its voice to a chorus of Republicans pushing him to disclose his returns from the years before 2010.

The Obama campaign has been hammering Romney for the past few weeks over his time at Bain, which Romney claims ended in February 1999, but which documents and his own testimony show lasted much longer. The ultimate prize for the Obama campaign would be a trove of Romney's tax returns.


Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/18/mitt-romney-tax-returns_n_1682539.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

[BamBamBane]

1. Stoopid elitist Republican

Does America really want another stooped Republican pResident?

[Ruby the Liberal]

2. This doesn't surprise me.

He thinks that the only authority he has to listen to is the SEC, and if he doesn't have to show it to the SEC, he doesn't have to show it to We The Help. Figured he could just buy what ever government position he was bored enough to want, and that would be that.

Betcha he would have structured some things a little differently over the years had he thought it through...

[monmouth]

3. Never ask a question or push an issue unless you already know the answer. There's that chess again.

I have no doubt the Obama campaign knows exactly what Romney is hiding and this is going to be a death by a thousand cuts. To be honest, if Romney is that adamant about not releasing his tax returns, which I think he is, he might drop out. Just speculating.

[Stargazer09]

4. He's hoping this will blow over

After all, he's never really been held accountable for his actions before now. He expects the same treatment he's gotten all of his life: "Oh, you're rich, so you don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

[monmouth]

5. Most definitely. You can see his annoyance in his face and his tone of voice for even being

questioned on any of this. He is used to "respect" from all quarters and dammit, why is he not getting it now????

[Stargazer09]

7. Exactly

He's not used to being powerless, and he completely underestimated his opponent AND the American people. I'm looking forward to watching the implosion of Mittens. It's going to be messy.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

17. Mitt is from a world where big business IS America.

That's why their first attempt to spin it was to say it was patriotic to avoid paying taxes.

[nichomachus]

9. Well, when I call the IRS

The clerk who answers the phone can push a few buttons on her computer and see my tax returns.

Do you suppose her boss -- the Secretary of the Treasury -- might be able to do the same thing?

[LiberalFighter]

31. Would not be wise to do.

They would know who peeked at the filings. And would more than likely be a crime.

[nichomachus]

33. There are ways to get the info without leaving a trail.

[leftynyc]

34. What you're suggesting is illegal

More likely someone in the mccain/palin campaign has shared this info cuz I do think Pres Obama knows what romney is hiding.

[Sgent]

35. It would be a disaster

if the Obama administration did that.

Its a crime, it uses the IRS for political gain, and it would make Watergate look like small potatoes.

[Botany]

11. I think you are right and Mitt is gonna drop out

from the very little i can glean Mitt might very well have broken the law
or at least pushed "it" to its limit.

Did he steal from pension funds of the companies he took over?
Did he pay no tax for some years?
Did he file bogus paper work w/ the SEC and or the FEC?
Is he worth far more than he is saying?
Did he park his funds off shore in order to not pay taxes?
How can you get $100,000,000 into an IRA?

[bucolic_frolic]

6. Motives of Republicans Calling for Release of Mitt's Tax Returns

I originally thought they were just trying to appear reasonable to the general voting public

knowing that the whole mess would blow over

Now ....

I'm beginning to wonder if they're thinking that if the tax returns are that bad and are
released and they can't carry water ... that they might have a chance to ....


DITCH MITT!!!

[Stargazer09]

8. Wouldn't that be nice?

The whole thing blows up, Mittens gets dumped, and the GOP are forced to scramble to find someone ready and able to take his place, mere months before the election.

Then again, I shudder to think about who they'd choose to replace him. That could be a scarier prospect than what we have with Mittens.

[barbtries]

10. any republican is a guaranteed disaster.

Obama must win reelection.

[Stargazer09]

28. Oh, I definitely agree

But a last-minute candidate would make the GOP appear weak and desperate, and that's a good thing. Anything that helps Obama is definitely a good thing.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

18. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

No. Because he's easy to beat.

[Stargazer09]

29. Yes and no

He seems easy to beat right now, but we haven't seen the worst of the attack ads yet. He and his ilk have a HUGE amount of money available to try and buy this election, and his rich buddies are willing to throw as much money into the fight as they can.

I'm nervous about November, despite the huge positives in Obama's favor. Elections have been rigged before, and with so much at stake this year, it could get ugly.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

30. It's red states the Republicans are focused.

They're still trying to get them to support a guy they think of as a rich city slicker.

[LiberalFighter]

32. I would rather stick with Mitt as their nominee

Otherwise, we risk a lower turnout on our side that would effect all Democratic candidates.

[spinbaby]

13. Shudder

Imagine a Santorum Bachmann ticket.

[progressivebydesign]

14. I think they want to get someone else in there as soon as possible... n/t

[Spitfire of ATJ]

21. "I think they want to get someone else in there as soon as possible.."

Uh huh,....and Rick Perry started started jumping up and down and waving his arms.....

Keep in mind that when people accused Bush of being stupid a lot of political insiders in the Republican Party said he was a LOT smarter then he seemed and part of that was an act to endear himself to voters.

When people say Rick Perry is stupid those same political insiders in the Republican Party refuse to do the same....

[cleduc]

12. I suspect this is all BS floated by the Romney campaign

I think Romney will release a few more years when he was Governor (or not heavily active with Bain) that won't show much and then try to get away with that.

It's all a build up that this is really painful for him. The media goes off the deep end speculating the worst. Then when he releases a couple of more 'clean years', the GOP pundits will say "see? there wasn't a big problem. Mitt is a man of principle who didn't want his personal info distorted". The media will retreat embarrassed by their wild speculation. And that will take the heat off the years he really doesn't want you to see: 1997-2001 (or whatever). And it will help diffuse Bain.

He's known for some time that he was running for office. So he's been cleaning up his act for years. He just doesn't want folks to see what he was up to during his Bain years when he was making massive amounts of money in less publicly acceptable ways.

So this all strikes me as media smoke to avoid confirming their suspicions in the tax years that really matter.

[jaysunb]

22. No problem...

there's lots more that has nothing to do w/ Bain or taxes. Coming soon to a tee vee near you.

[renate]

24. that's how they got Dan Rather

Big leadup to a big scandal... introduce a tiny speck of possible doubt to suggest that the story might not be true... and then it was all "nothing to see here folks" as the MSM left Dan Rather twisting in the wind. Nobody dared follow up and risk Rather's fate.

Edited to add: Whoops! I meant to add--Welcome to DU!

[PSPS]

25. I disagree

I understand what you're saying, but neither Romney nor his campaign team are up to that kind of stagecraft. If they were, they wouldn't have let this drag on for so long. The damage that's already been done to Romney is probably enough to scuttle his run.

No, I agree with the opinion that Romney knows that the returns he's hiding are politically toxic: paid no tax at all, some kind of criminal activity, or, my guess, profiting from criminal activity via investments shared by criminals and/or foreign despots like Gaddafi or Mubarak.

[AsahinaKimi]

15. I have a feeling if they are ever going to be released..

It will be something juicy... that will make him look worse than he looks now. If they keep the pressure up, he may have to drop out if its all that bad.

[cleduc]

16. Well if he does drop out,

I hope it's after the convention when they've spent a bunch of dough promoting him

[Kingofalldems]

20. Can any republican reading this explain why Mitt refuses

to release his tax records?

[Zyzafyx]

23. What a moron!

[Politicalboi]

26. So if he had said during the primary

That he wasn't going to release anymore taxes, I bet he never would be where he is now. We should turn this on him by calling him a cheater during the primaries. Bring Newt back from the dead. Maybe they can undo what has been done.

That would be a good ad. Get the baggers all worked up over the misrepresentation of Rmoney. Use the old primary ads with the GOP. Make them want to take over the convention and either run Ron Paul or Sarah. LOL!

[riderinthestorm]

27. He's not going to drop out or release his returns. He's raised more than $400 mil, has the delegates

he has a substantial portion of firebreathers (the 20 - 25% who will vote ABO - Anyone But Obama) and the approximately 2% Mormon US population already in his pocket. Plus the polls still show this race as very close. Clearly a substantial portion of the electorate is okay with rMoney just the way he is - sans tax returns.

He knows that whatever the shit-storm is NOW, will be 10x worse when we finally see what's in there. He has no reason to release. He'll wait this out until the media gets tired and starts saying that Obama is the unreasonable one for continually harping on it.