Reid has given RMoney a gift on a silver platter; why is RMoney refusing?

[Chichiri]

RMoney paid no taxes? Not only is that easy to disprove simply by RMoney releasing his tax returns, but RMoney now has a perfect opportunity to do so. Any mildly damaging thing in there, such as a lower tax rate or a few more Cayman Island accounts than we had thought, will be swept under the rug; the real story is going to be that Reid was wrong. Reid was reckless. Look at that silly, reckless, irresponsible, desperate man who accused RMoney of paying no taxes for ten years! He, and by extension all Democrats, are going to take a huge hit, and RMoney will probably have a nice lead on Obama heading into the conventions.

Harry Reid has given RMoney a "get out of jail free" card with respect to his tax returns.

But RMoney is not accepting it.

So one of two things is going on: (1) Reid is right, and RMoney has paid no taxes for ten years, or (2) Reid is wrong, but there's something in the returns that's politically even MORE damaging than not paying taxes for ten years.

What, an intelligent person might ask, would be worse than legally paying no taxes for a decade?

I never really bought into the idea that RMoney has committed the F-word before. But now . . .

[cleduc]

1. "What, an intelligent person might ask, would be worse than legally paying no taxes for a decade?"

Getting amnesty for not legally paying taxes on foreign bank accounts (a scenario some have suggested is possible)

[NYC Liberal]

3. This.

[MADem]

22. ....AND a disgracefully low percentage rate of taxes paid, if any were paid at all!

This is a gift that will keep on giving until the Twittster releases those returns...and he ain't gonna do that!

[alcibiades_mystery]

6. I have little doubt now that Romney was part of the 2009 Voluntary Disclosure program

It's why he keeps hedging with this "I paid everything I was legally required to pay." Yes, dear, but when? If you paid on the Swiss bank interest only after it became clear that felony charges were imminent, and you applied for the amnesty after violating federal law, that's certainly "meeting" your legal obligation....albeit eventually and under significant duress.

[get the red out]

2. I think Senator Reid is correct

I think he most likely has a really good source and knows what he said is correct, and so does Romney.

Romney just isn't a tax-payer; which is not going to go over well with all of use who are tax-payers, we the little people.

[monmouth]

4. Rule #1..Don't ask a question unless you know the answer. Harry knows something..n/t

[Lugnut]

19. Bingo!

I'm very sure he has the info to make good on his statements.

[lunatica]

29. So am I.

Reid never, and I mean never, overplays his hand or bluffs.

I also believe that what he knows is because he's also a Mormon. There seems to be plenty of disharmony within the Mormon ranks.

[emulatorloo]

5. Betting against the US in his investments

Or Investments in Iran, etc.

All kinds of things that show Romney is against "Americia"

[Lint Head]

7. In my humble opinion I think Romney feels he is above the average person and the average person

just could not grasp the financial concepts of an economic genius such as he.

[oldhippydude]

26. that's my thought too...

sort of a Thurston Howell the 3rd, on steroids.. first of all he cant talk about finance of any kind, without falling into some sort of condescending lecture ie. (corporations are people my Friend).. along with the baggage of the multi million dollar IRA, (i really think the man thought that was proof of some sort of genius, rather than chicanery) grossly misjudging the American public.. while Republicans still assume Americans still believe in the supply side crap that we have been dealing with the last 30 years, may Americans are waking up..

i really think that Senator Reid's source, as well as the number of independents doing verification, that the quote has legs... my guess, and it fits really well with observations of late... i truly believe he probably used the 10 year line as a bragging point, to other 1%er's and wannabees.. sort of the bragging "look show smart i am".. the man is arrogant enough to think he can just not disclose, and skate through... after all it worked in Masachusetts..

the now familiar flip flop.. used to work when folks had a short memory, now with the internet we can document this stuff... i really think he thought he could simply buy the presidency.. there's still a chance (albeit small) he's right

[lunatica]

30. It strikes me Romney isn't much into the internet

Otherwise he'd be much more saavy about how easy it is to get the goods on what people like him say. I've had a suspicion that politicians who say one thing to one group of people and another thing to a different group of people really are luddites. That or they think the internet is to look for porn only. Romney has recently made a statement that shows he really doesn't get how to get porn off the internet. He thinks all he has to do is say it's banned and it's gone.

[Big Orange Jeff]

8. I was just about to make a similar post. Romney is playing poker...

and Reid didn't just bluff him, he showed his cards. Romney knows whether or not he has the winning hand. Right now. There's only one reason not to show his hand.

Romney has built his career on risk assessment, as most business owners (or destroyers) do. Does the reward of taking an action justify the associated risks? We've seen how much damage the campaign has sustained, and continues to take, by not releasing his returns. He must have assessed that the damage that would result from releasing them would be far greater.

Romney said that it's time for Reid to put up or shut up. Reid, as the OP stated, has exposed himself and the entire Obama campaign by showing his cards. Romney sees the cards on the table. He can take the pot or fold. The choice is his.

[cheezmaka]

13. Seems like he has a BAD HAND

if not he wouldn't be holding it so long...

[lunatica]

31. Romney is fucking bluffing and he's sweating bullets

His tell is showing. That fucking little giggly grin of his is giving him away. Notice Reid has nothing but a poker face.

[democrat_patriot]

9. If Romney got a refund of $233,412.00 in 2007.

I have no idea. But that would be worse.

[Stuart G]

10. If he got a refund, it is in the millions...that might be worse...nt

[LiberalFighter]

12. Why wouldn't his itemized deductions of

$4,519,140 in 2010 or $5,688,179 in 2011 be just as damaging? That income is not taxed. And it's done how?

[MrModerate]

11. Third alternative . . .

Something less than 10 tax-free years but damning enough in its own right. Reid hasn't poisoned the well at all if what's eventually revealed nevertheless strikes people as offensive or unfair.

Harry just gets to say "See, I smoked that guy out. No one else was doing it, so I had to."

This is a win-win-win for the Dems.

[demwing]

14. Two BIG things come to mind:

It could be that

1. Romney isn't as wealthy as he pretends, thus calling into question his business experience, and damaging his ability to make money in the future, or

2. Romney actually has MORE money than we've been led to believe, and he lied to the church regarding his income. Maybe Romney isn't a tax cheat, but a tithe cheater. Not a big deal politically, but a devastating blow to his standing with the LDS community. This would make the Romney name a slur in some circles - circles that are more important to Romney than the Presidency.

[grasswire]

18. how many voting Mormons are there?

Enough to swing the election if they turn against him?

[shanen]

21. I don't think the Mormon vote can switch the election

They are mostly concentrated in red states. The current system is so broken that most people have no meaningful votes.

However, don't forget that Reid is a Mormon, too. I am seriously wondering about two possibilities whereby the Rmoney people are behind Reid's information and somehow planning to use this to negate the issue without revealing the tax returns. At this point, I think Romney is definitely destroyed if he releases the information.

First, it might be some kind of ploy like they used against Dan Rather. I'm not sure how they could play it in that case, but the truth about Dubya was probably quite close to the line they fed Rather, and they managed to use what was probably a slight distortion of the truth in a way that both destroyed Rather's career and negated the issue in Dubya's favor.

Second, it might be that Reid is acting to help his fellow Mormon, possibly under direct orders from that church. I think there are very authoritarian elements within the LDS, and I'm pretty sure they can be as assertive as the Pope when they want to be. Maybe the real money deal underlying the entire Romney campaign is a deal that he's made with the Mormon church?

Reid sent me a pitch for money based on this issue. I posted a copy of my reply to Harry Reid in another thread.

[laureloak]

15. Amnesty for tax evasion.

Could it be that Romney took the amnesty deal in 2009 by paying 25% or so on money hidden in Swiss accounts? If so, it would mean that he committed felony tax evasion in the prior years.

[mucifer]

16. It's worked for rmoney in other elections. he is sure it will work for him now. Makes sense. nt

[Marsala]

17. My guess is that Reid is exaggerating, and that Romney paid VERY LITTLE tax for ten years

But saying "zero" gets more attention, and if Romney does release then it can be explained as an exaggeration and the damage will be done to Romney anyway.

[davidpdx]

20. The media is smearing Reid right now

I hope it comes back to haunt them.

[MADem]

23. What media are you watching?

Everyone I see is trying to restrain themselves from rubbing their hands together with glee.

This is NEWS and it has goose and juice!

[davidpdx]

24. Well I am overseas so what I see is limited

I have CNN for TV and then websites to read. Yahoo seems to be the culprit that I've seen. I honestly don't turn on my TV much because the programming sucks so bad.

Edit:

The problem is that both of these appear to be passed off as news. Here are links to both:

http://news.yahoo.com/harry-reid-regret-claim-mitt-romneys-taxes-131800847.html?_esi=1

http://news.yahoo.com/attack-dog-harry-reid-continues-assault-mitt-romney-171604111.html?_esi=1

[MADem]

25. Yahoo is pure shite. nt

[davidpdx]

28. Yeah I'm starting to feel the same way

I just come here and look for news links more often than not. I like reading the international and US news, it's the political stories on Yahoo that have gotten really nasty.

[kestrel91316]

27. K&R