Even Republicans are getting annoyed at Romney’s tax return nonsense — kinda. Governor Bentley, for instance, championed transparency at the National Governors Association meeting in Williamsburg, Virginia yesterday. He said that if you have things to hide, you’re probably doing things wrong. He also said that you should be willing to release everything to the American people.
But of course such common sense could not stand, man. This is the Romney campaign after all. As soon as such totally sensible words left Bentley’s mouth, the Romney damage control team presumably sprang in to action to yank Bentley back in line, because hours later, Bentley walked back those remarks like a drunk man at a Japanese tea ceremony.
Richard Shindledecker
You gotta know those returns are toxic!
WereBear
It’s basically a re-enactment of what huge institutions do when wrong-doing bubbles up, popping stenchy bubbles.
Deny.
Crush anyone who wants to “come clean.”
Enlist bribe-able allies in positions of influence to claim that there is nothing to see here and sensible people have already moved on.
Disparage the exposers as enemies who simply want to stir up trouble and destroy sacred verities.
Get those involved out of the public eye; sent on vacations or spending time with family.
The one step that hasn’t been done yet: recruit a pet organization to “investigate” and clear the culprits of any guilt or malfeasance. Which will then be cited as the reason all this is a “witch hunt.”
Amir Khalid
The more Mitt stonewalls on this, the worse it looks for him. The more he smacks down high-profile supporters like Robert Bentley, who’s only saying what is already on everyone’a mind, the more his campaign damages itself.
I’ve been following American presidential campaigns for much of my adult life, and never have I seen a major candidate less competent than Mitt.
anthrosciguy
So the Alabama Gov thinks “everybody” should release their returns, but that “everybody” does not include Romney. So he means what, that he doesn’t consider Romney to be quite human?
Violet
Oh, that’s really funny. Gov. Bentley is not going to be the last Republican to suggest Mitt release his tax returns. The longer this drags on the worse it’s going to be for Mitt.
mamayaga
Romney’s operatives are going to be very busy breaking fingers — see this list of the Republicans who are now calling for full disclosure,most recently including Bill Kristol and George Will:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/07/15/1110240/-B-Kristol-Romney-Should-Release-His-Tax-Records
MikeJ
@anthrosciguy:
http://www.brandsizzle.com/blog/WindowsLiveWriter/RobWalkerConsumedMarketingandAdvertising_82BA/untitled%5B7%5D.jpg
Ash Can
@WereBear: I think recruiting a friendly entity to “investigate” is exactly what happened with the whole fact checking charade. It’s just that Romney had so thoroughly shit the place up that it was impossible to make anything look or smell clean.
WereBear
@Ash Can: Hadn’t thought of that. So they really have run the table.
The Thin Black Duke
Somewhere down the road, I think there are going to be more than a few Republicans who are gonna figure out that Romney’s idiotic and futile quest for the presidency is a hill that ain’t worth dying on.
Kane
It would be funny if Romney’s refusal to show more tax returns comes down to his not wanting the LDS church to know that for years he has been stiffing them out of their full 10 percent.
Violet
@Kane: I think that’s a part of it. His standing in the LDS church is everything to him. If he loses the presidential election, he’ll always be able to back and be a VIP in the church. But if it turns out he’s only been tithing 1% or 2%….that’s not going to look good at all to the rank and file LDS folks. Not at all. He doesn’t want to risk his standing in the church. It’s his power position of last resort.
Roger Moore
@Kane:
It’s been suggested before. That or people will compare the amount he tithes to the amount he pays in taxes and realize just how badly people like him can bend the rules with Uncle Sam.
rikyrah
@Kane:
I just don’t believe this.
I honestly believe that he has paid more in TITHES TO THE MORMON CHURCH than TAXES to the country he wants to be elected President.
and maybe that’s not an ad for the Obama Campaign, but it’s an ad for a SUPERPAC
Haydnseek
American Gothic called. They want their dude holding the pitchfork back.
Haydnseek
@The Thin Black Duke: I think you’re right. I’ve slowly changed my take from “this is their last chance before demographics fucks them silly” to “they’re gonna pull back, hang Rmoney out to dry, and hope that voter suppression, Citizens United and a more palatable candidate gives them a better chance in 2016.” I have no hard data, but it’s starting to look that way. They know that this Muslim Brotherhood in Congress/birther bullshit won’t give them the numbers they need.
Patricia Kayden
On “Up With Chris” this morning, a Bain spokesperson who used to work for Romney said that all this Bain talk is a diversion and Romney is saving his fire power for September and October when it will really matter.
Dying to see what Romneybot 2.0 has up his sleeves. What can Repubs say about Obama that they’ve already not said? He cannot become anymore Kenyan, socialist, communist, Marxist, Leninist than he already is, can he?
Haydnseek
@Haydnseek: Who the hell is “undefined?” Comment #17 is mine. WTF?!?
PaulW
The Alabama Gov. had to claim it was “retroactive”, didn’t he?
NonyNony
@rikyrah:
That’s an ad that could easily backfire.
I know moderate (former Republican) voters in Ohio who would count it as to Romney’s credit if he was giving more to his church than he was paying in taxes.
And if you emphasize the Mormon part, that’s going to turn off Democratic voters. Democrats don’t mind fights, but they don’t like personal attacks. Attacking someone’s race, gender, religion – those kinds of things are off-limits. (Attacking someone because they’re a douchebag? Totally fine as it turns out.)
Peter
@Patricia Kayden: If he lets Obama shellack him like this until fall, it’ll be too late. People may not start paying attention until then, but the candidate’s image gels long before that.
chopper
@rikyrah:
both of those could be true. he could be tithing 4% and paying zero in taxes.
Yutsano
@Patricia Kayden: They found the original birf certificate. Juicy birfer goodness is about the only level Willard hasn’t indulged in yet.
Caz
Has Romney done anything actually illegal that you are all upset about?? I mean, basically you liberals just seem pissed that he’s rich and was a successful businessman who knew how to maximize profits and become a millionaire.
The only thing he’s accused of doing illegally, as far as I can tell, is that he claimed he wasn’t in charge of Bain after 1999, and documents show that he may still have been involved after that.
So that’s a factual dispute that you may or may not be right on. But really, in running Bain and becoming rich, he never did anything illegal. He just lived the American dream, which used to be applauded. Today, however, the liberals running our nation have so vehemently pushed the class warfare agenda that living the American dream is supposed to be frowned upon and deemed unfair that someone should be rich when others are suffering.
Obama does a good job of pitting the rich against the poor and making the poor hate the rich and blame them for all that ails them. It’s sad that the nation which was once the bastion of freedom which applauded success and the American dream now blames successful people for the problems of everyone else.
What is so wrong with Romney running a successful company, making huge profits, and becoming rich?? Isn’t that the whole point? Good for him if he was successful at it.
Why does his becoming rich make him such an evil dude?? That’s a serious question.
Nickws
I dunno. If he only stopped being the one modern POTUS candidate who’s never released more than a single complete set of tax returns we’d be able to certify him as being on the up and up. Maybe.