That doesn’t mean we’re going to stop asking for them, Ann.
Ann is being smarmy again:
Ann Romney told NBC’s “Rock Center” that the campaign still has no plans to release more tax returns. “We have been very transparent to what’s legally required of us,” Romney said. “But the more we release, the more we get attacked. So we have done what’s legally required and there’s going to be no more tax releases given.”
The Romney campaign is stalwartly trying to change the subject from Mitt’s tax returns to anything else, whether it be Paul Ryan and his Verrah Serious Budget or to the fact that the angry black man in the White House is running a campaign of hate, anger, class warfare and racism against white people. I can’t imagine that Romney’s efforts will be successful because President Obama is the exact opposite of angry and hateful, and because people really want to see those goddamn tax returns.
Imagine if President Obama had made the same claim about his birth certificate? “I’m not going to release it because I’ll get attacked.” He would have been laughed out of the White House by nutbag racists who think he’s Kenyan.
“I’m afraid of what people will say” is not a reason to withhold information. Mitt Romney’s tax returns are far more relevant than President Obama’s birth certificate ever was or ever could be. And, frankly, if Mitt Romney refuses to release them, then we are entitled to presume that whatever is in them is really bad. As in, think of the worst possible thing and then throw in some dead kittens.
[read full post at ABLC]
The Other Chuck
Awesome job Ann. Keep reminding people every single day about that issue. And keep making yourself a political attack dog, voters just *love* first ladies who do that.
shortstop
Does this including reneging on the campaign promise to release the 2011 return before the election? I’m betting it does.
This ain’t going away no matter how much they want it to.
gwangung
If they’re not releasing any more tax forms, then Mitt doesn’t need to be President.
Brian R.
Their official policy is that they won’t release them because they contain damning information?
That’s an, uh, interesting approach.
Brian R.
A commenter at TPM had the best reaction:
shortstop
@gwangung: As some wag said somewhere:
Thanks for coming in for the interview, Mr. Romney. We’ll be in touch.
Sincerely,
The American People
shortstop
@Brian R.: Ha! TPM! Like Scout Finch, I can’t hold nothing in my mind but a little while.
NonyNony
Oh Ann, you also get “attacked” the longer you spend not releasing them. Release them, don’t release them, you’ll get “attacked”. This is a fucking Presidential election and these kinds of “attacks” are bog standard normal. It’s not like Obama ran an ad suggesting Romney was going to blow up a little girl smelling flowers with a nuke or something (Now THAT was an attack!).
Jeebus. Just what the HELL could possibly be IN those FUCKING TAX RETURNS? Did Romney get a write-off for his puppy-strangling business? Is it possible that he once had a nasty hobby of shooting kittens that he claimed “hobbyist income” for? Maybe buried in those forms is the fact that he spent 2001-2004 legally deceased for tax purposes or something.
’cause they could end these “attacks” tomorrow by releasing the forms and saying “look – nothing there, just like we said”. But they won’t. So it must be pretty goddamn horrible.
Kane
We are supposed to believe that Ann Romney ran the Romney household, but she has no clue what about the family finances for the past ten years.
danah gaz (fka gaz)
@NonyNony: Heh. Thanks for the offhand RATEOTU reference. Douglas Adams smiles upon you. Made my morning, too. =)
KXB
Who knew that running for the highest office would require a man to show fewer tax returns than some schmo who wants to refinance his mortgage?
Chyron HR
An interesting hypothesis, but since you never actually released “more”, it’s quite unproven.
Steve
I love to criticize the political media, but let’s give them credit for continuing to ask these questions. They’re certainly being more persistent in probing Mitt’s obfuscations than they ever were with GWB, which is why the Romney people are constantly left with nothing to do but cry about the liberal media. Maybe they’re getting wise to this game.
Culture of Truth
Imagine if President Obama had made the same claim about his birth certificate? “I’ve done what’s legally required” HA HA LOL LOL
BGinCHI
OT. Sad news for sci fi and Soylent Green fans:
LOVED the Stainless Steel Rat series.
Davis X. Machina
@Steve:
They’re simple enough — the questions, not the media, that is — that even the media can keep them in their heads for more than a news cycle.
What policy issue is presently warranting this degree of focus?
Litlebritdifrnt
More proof that the Romney campaign is run by a bunch of incompetents. They couldn’t even snag this domain name
http://romneyryan.com/Home/Home.html
If you click on the link it directs you to a “home” page which purports to have a link to Romney’s tax returns.
Culture of Truth
How’s that 2011 return coming along?
just wondering
SatanicPanic
Has I don’t want to tell you because you’ll make fun of me ever successfully persuaded someone to stop asking?
shortstop
@SatanicPanic: Not to mention what it does for the public perception of the asker’s strength and self-confidence.
Hal
Come the fuck on. She has no idea what’s in these tax returns? Really? Oh, but it’s most definitely legal. Also, I don’t know what it’s there but do know it could be used against us. Unfairly of course. Did I tell you it’s legal, too, whatever it is? Right.
mechwarrior online
@Kane:
I’d buy that, when you’re rich enough you stop paying attention to finances. Your affairs are handled by your lawyers and accountants, maybe a butler if your Batman, but for the most part that’s all there is to it. The money just sits there making more money for you, you can’t possibly spend it.
Once you pass a certain amount of wealth “running the household” = picking the kids up, telling the help what to do, and telling the caterer what to bring for your fabulous parties.
Amir Khalid
I have a few questions for the lady.
“Mrs Romney, it was your husband’s own father, George Romney, who started the custom of presidential candidates releasing their tax returns. Your father-in-law released twelve years of returns in 1968. Why should his son, who’s now running for the same office, do any less?”
“Mrs Romney, your husband keeps saying that if he releases his tax returns he’ll only get attacked over what’s in them. Is he actually admitting that there’s something in there to attack him for? Because as long as he refuses to release his tax returns, that’s what it looks like.”
“So, Mrs Romney, your husband isn’t prepared to go the extra mile to convince people to vote for him to be president? Hmm. Is he really sure he wants the job?”
Culture of Truth
These are quantum tax returns – they have no information until someone observes them. That’s why even Ann hasn’t seen what’s in there.
Haydnseek
@Davis X. Machina: What policy issue warrants this degree of focus? At present there’s no way to know, since RomRy studiously avoids anything specific on policy as it’s generally understood.
hep kitty
Look, when are “you people” going to leave the Romneys alone?? Would you just stop persecuting these lovely, lovely people? That goes for you, too, Mr. President!
AND Mr. Vice President!
WORDS HURT :*(
kd bart
While I don’t think there is anything illegal in those tax returns, I do feel that those returns will reveal how much the tax code game is rigged in the favor of the Romneys and those who are at their level and above of wealth. Through various shelters and loopholes that are not available to the average taxpayer, they don’t come even close to the percentage of tax they should be paying. This is the thing that can’t be given up. How those with incredible means get away with paying barely any tax at all. It would be ruinous to their kind.
Culture of Truth
If she hasn’t seen, then she can’t deny that there’s evidence of criminal activity, correct?
shortstop
@Amir Khalid: Not even the extra mile–just as far as other candidates have traditionally gone.
@kd bart: Precisely. That’s exactly what they don’t want splashed across America.
Yutsano
@hep kitty: Ann already made the declaration it’s their turn after all. Shouldn’t we just be grateful and give them their rightful place on the throne?
Haydnseek
@Amir Khalid:
1. We’ve done everything the law requires.
2. We’ve done everything the law requires.
3. We’ve done everythi…huh?
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@BGinCHI: I read those right after reading Atlas Shrugged and the Fountainhead. The Stainless Steel Rat had a far bigger influence on me than Rand ever did.
Davis X. Machina
@Haydnseek: Why would Romney bother? No one Important is listening. And BTW did you see how badly tailored Ryan’s suit coat was?
You find what the beast feeds on, and feed it to the beast
hep kitty
Ok, she’s going to follow that up (if anyone in the media has the temerity to ask) with, “We would be attacked, not b/c there’s anything bad in there, of course, but b/c the returns would show just exactly how rich and successful we are. Because “you people” are just so damned jealous of us”
Phil Perspective
Mitt Romney’s tax returns are far more relevant than President Obama’s birth certificate ever was or ever could be.
And far more relevant than PBO’s grades from Harvard, Columbia or Occidental.
quannlace
More we release? A grand total of one and a half. And what exactly has been attacked in those? I can’t remember. People knew about his offshore accounts indepentently of those. Somebody tell Ann that you’re being attacked for NOT releasing them.
And looks like both Romney and Ryan are hinting they won’t reveal exact details about their budget plan till after the election. ???
Is their campaign slogan gonna be ‘We’re more secretive than Nixon!’
General Stuck
This election is gonna be like clubbing baby seals on the beach. The Tight Ass Rich guy ticket to ride. After picking granny starver and medicare Snidely Whiplash Paul Ryan who is no more ready than Palin to be president. Queen Ann doubles down on the tax return nolo release. You can say what you want about our fucked up press, and they are fucked up in multiple ways, but this is like the Romney’s tying a pork chop around their necks far as the Jackal press goes. They cannot control themselves when there is a POTUS tradition being thrown under THEIR bus. They will hound Mitt to hell and back to say ‘uncle’, but of course he cannot comply due to committing political suicide in the midst of a presidential campaign.
And for those who think seniors will give the wingnuts a break for promising to not change medicare for those over 55, I got a bridge to sell you. River included.
kc
Mitt hiding behind Ann again? That won’t work forever. She ain’t that likable.
The Moar You Know
I might point out to Her Majesty Ann Romney that there is no legal requirement for a presidential candidate to release ANY tax information whatsoever – and no one did, until Mitt’s dad ran for President.
I think she should go with that explanation.
Robin G.
Okay, seriously, I know everyone else is saying this, but what in God’s name are they hiding that’s worse than all the speculation? I mean, people are wondering at this point if they’ve written off a Thailand toddler sex trade ring and a panda sausage factory.
MLRjr
Thanks. Keep hammering on the tax returns – we can only assume that what they would reveal must be REALLY REALLY awful!
Quincy
@BGinCHI: Only read 3 or 4 of the Stainless Steel Rat books, but I thoroughly enjoyed them.
With the conventions coming up, I expect Mitt’s taxes will fall out of the news cycle almost completely these next three weeks. Hopefully at least one debate moderator really hammers him on it to bring the issue front and center again.
Stuart_b
Let’s also consider the possibility that the returns contain nothing on the surface damaging–but could point to something that with time and research would be.
So releasing them now would stop the criticism but invite that research. While releasing them at the last minute leaves the critics with egg on their faces when it matters most, leaves less time to dig, and because the critics look foolish at that point if they get lucky and find the dirt people are less willing to accept it as damaging.
I haven’t seen anything to indicate Romney is that smart, but that desperate and that evil are another matter.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
It’s also perfectly legal to have an affair.
Kane
@mechwarrior online: Then she would be the first housewife in the history of housewives to not want to take a peek at what her husband is doing with the family finances.
You may be right. Still, no matter how much wealth she is surrounded by, it’s difficult to believe that in this day and age she wouldn’t even bother to examine the tax records that she is required to sign.
NonyNony
@Kane:
Shockingly I find that completely believable.
It makes her kind of a moron unless she has her own stream of income that she manages that would make her independently wealthy all on her own if Mitt were to screw up completely or were to drain all of their shared assets into a Cayman Islands account and skip town with a mistress.
But it’s believable. I know a few conservative women who so desperately want to believe the 1950s housewife mythology that they live their lives by it even if it isn’t really in their best interests. Their husbands keep track of all of the finances and even give them an allowance to buy groceries and other household needs the way Ward Cleaver did with June Cleaver.
I’m live and let live when it comes to kinks – whatever turns you on – but I have to say that the Leave It To Beaver cosplay kind of weirds me out.
Caz
Obama refused for years to release his birth certificate, and the one he finally released is suspect. He’s also spent millions of dollars to prevent release of other stuff, like college transcripts, which he has had sealed. What’s he hiding??
They all do it, so don’t single out Romney just because you are a liberal. Try and be fair.
SatanicPanic
@shortstop: If it’s nothing worse than paying zero income taxes, he could just release them and say “yeah, I pay no taxes, I’M LIVIN THE DREAM!” That would be the Big Baller/Shot Caller approach. But I suspect he doesn’t have the guts to go that route.
The Moar You Know
@BGinCHI: Been reading his early periodical work. Good stuff, forgot how much I liked him. He’ll be missed.
SatanicPanic
@Caz: hee hee
Brachiator
People don’t seem to understand what an overwhelming honor it is for them to have Romney come down from one of his many mansions to run for president.
And there is no reason, none, none at all, for him to have to lower himself and answer questions about his past business dealings or show the unwashed heathen reporters any of his tax returns. It would be, well, so unseeemly. Not the done thing at all.
And it is entirely understandable that Romney would withhold any information that might be used to attack him. Because, in the end, it is not a contest. He is not running against Obama and Biden.
Romney is giving the American people an opportunity to vote for him to be their president. It is, after all, his rightful office. Voters shouldn’t fritter away their time in seeking answers to questions about who Romney is or how he has made his money. It is none of their business.
Silly plebians.
Greg
Mitt’s taxes only destroys him personally (yes, with a side-order of showing how full of crap the “free the job creators!” line is, but still). Sure Obama wins easily, but that’s it.
I think the campaign will concentrate on the Ryan budget instead, because that will destroy the Republican House _and_ Obama wins easily.
jrosen
@Hal: If they file a joint return they both have to sign it, so presumably she will read at least the first two pages, where net income and tax due is right above the signature line. Who the hell does she think she is fooling?
Hill Dweller
@Caz: For the sake of the other people in your life, I hope you’re a parody poster.
The Moar You Know
@Caz: Why? Life ain’t fair. Why the fuck should I be fair to some rich coiffed dipshit who could care less if I die starving in a sewer?
Take that fairness bullshit and shove it back where it came from, Caz. You’re not on your game this morning.
shortstop
If I don’t normally like sci fi that much, would I like the Stainless Steel Rat series? Not a huge fan of the genre, but always willing to try again (and always looking for worthwhile new reads).
Robin G.
@Greg: Oh, I think they have the time and ability to hammer on both.
quannlace
I wonder how many of their own party are gonna bother tuning in. Maybe to see Christie’s keynote speech. The rest? Snooze-fest.
hedgehog the occasional commenter
@BGinCHI:
I loved them too. Damn.
dmsilev
I wonder whether she realizes just how weaseloid “we’ve done everything that the law requires” sounds. It makes her (and her husband, who has used similar language) sound like some white collar criminal who is on trial and is carefully parsing words to avoid implicating himself.
Also, a campaign centered around “Waaah, that mean man is saying mean things about us!” doesn’t really seem to be all that consistent with years worth of GOP “we’re the tough guys” positioning.
ding dong
Fuck this entitled bitch with a pitchfork. She has never had to worry about money ,food,shelter or healthcare and she will never have to.
Hal
Please: Do not feed the trolls…
Brachiator
@Caz:
None of this is true.
Are you are professional idiot or just an amateur with high standing?
JGabriel
__
__
What I cannot fathom is that Mitt has been running for president for 7 years, must have known that he’d be asked to follow his Dad’s example and release his tax returns, and still couldn’t hold off on his tax avoidance game playing long enough to have clean returns for that period of time.
How do know Romney’s returns aren’t clean? Because Mitt and Ann Romney keeps telling us they aren’t clean:
Ann:
If the taxes were honest, Ann, they couldn’t be attacked. Every time you tell Americans (aka to the Romneys as “you people”) that you won’t release your taxes because Democrats will attack them, you tell America that there are things in your returns that are worthy of attack.
.
Amir Khalid
@shortstop:
Releasing one’s previous tax returns is of course only required by custom — a custom begun in 1968 by George Romney. Observing the custom is technically going the extra mile beyond what the law requires.
dmsilev
@Caz: Headwear By Alcoa is the latest fashion rage this fall, check it out.
jl
Good news. Let the Romney tax issue fester.
And gimmick of Ryan only releasing two years to match Mitt, especially since from what I read Mitt demanded more years for vetting, should not go unnoticed.
Chris
@Stuart_b:
It’s also possible that there’s nothing incriminating in it and he’s just trying to duplicate Obama’s rope a dope. Maybe not likely, but possible.
NancyDarling
Ann is a really shitty spokeswoman. They should keep her under wraps or in the barn with Rafalca.
She can’t even ooze a soupçon of noblesse oblige from the lofty heights her money affords her.
She also said Mitt is doing this to “save” America. There’s too much White Horse Prophesy in that statement.
Ann, honey, I’m sure Marie thought Louis XVI was going to save France for the 1% too.
And Caz, perhaps you would be more comfortable at a less liberal blog. You argue like my brother and I used to when I was 7 years old. “He/she did it first! Bwaaa!”
JustAnotherBob
Didn’t Ann look at those many tax forms she signed over the years? She just blindly signed?
“Now” she’s interested?
Or did Mitt do a ‘married, filing separately’?
Brian R.
@Caz:
I totally get the comparison.
People criticize Romney for not releasing multiple years of his tax returns because that’s something every single presidential candidate in the modern era has done, and furthermore, because Romney is campaigning actively for a tax cut for very wealthy people like him.
And in the exact same spirit, people criticize Obama for not releasing his college transcripts because that’s something no other presidential candidate has ever had to do, and furthermore, because Obama is campaigning actively to give government money to former editors of the Harvard Law Review like him.
See? They’re exactly the same!
different-church-lady
@Robin G.:
No accountant worth his fee wouldn’t do that.
gwangung
@Brachiator: Amateur. A pro would be a lot better.
quannlace
Obama refused for years to release his birth certificate, and the one he finally released is suspect.
Walter Homple
Drat! Romney doesn’t have any divorce records to unseal either.
Well, there’s still that dog on the roof thing which is a sure winner.
dmsilev
@JGabriel:
I can fathom it. Mitt Romney’s behavior over the last couple of decades makes it very clear that he believes he shouldn’t have to answer to anyone’s demands for information, especially about money. Never mind Mormonism, that’s Mitt’s real religion.
Roy G.
Look at what a public servant Mitt is: he’s picked Ryan to be his VP, even though Rmoney’s tax rate will go up under the Ryan plan – from zero to 1%.
Mike in NC
When did she ever stop?
Gravenstone
OT – WGN news(in Chicago)just had a piece on young Hispanics lining up on the first eligible day to apply for a work permit as undocumented immigrants who arrived in the US as minors. The line extended from Navy Pier all the way back to Millennium Park, an estimated 10k+, with another 10k reported to have pre-registered. While the program will run for the next two years, this looks like it’s going to be extremely popular.
Brian R.
Disclosure is for little people.
NonyNony
@SatanicPanic:
Honestly if Mitt Romney were a different sort of person he could release tax forms that showed he paid $0 in taxes and he could turn it into an asset. “He’s a rich guy, and he knows all the tricks about how rich people game the system. He’s the best person to put in charge because he knows how it all works and can fix all the problems.”
You may laugh, but I heard enough talk about how “George W Bush was an oilman and so he would know how to keep oil prices low” in 2000 to where I’m not convinced that it wouldn’t work.
Of course you’d need someone more like George W Bush in there – a guy that at least 51% of the voting population was inclined to like because they reminded him of that one goofy guy they went to college with who knew all the best strip clubs to go to. It probably wouldn’t work for Mitt Romney, who is more like that one boss you had who didn’t give you a raise for 10 years running and then offshored your job to India to save a few bucks.
(Edited for a better description of who Mitt Romney best resembles)
different-church-lady
@Brachiator: He’s not really here for the hunting.
ericblair
@SatanicPanic:
He could have gone all Tom Vu Infomercial Guy, sure: “I paid almost no taxes, ‘cuz I’m smart and I’m loaded! And I know that all you right-thinking people out there who have been kept down by the gummint always bailing out the losers. You’re no loser! So elect me and I’ll make sure you keep ALL your hard-earned money and don’t have to pay any taxes either!”
However, that kind of con requires some pretty good understanding of the marks, and a willingness to imply that the plebes are just as good as the conman, but just need the little kick to get them over the edge. Romney couldn’t pull this off, since his only interaction with lower forms of life is to make them damn sure that they are indeed lower forms of life, and he has no intention of sullying his hands trying to get to know any of them.
Haydnseek
@Quincy: Have you seen who the debate moderators are? Don’t hold your breath.
Brian R.
Also, I love the irony that the same conservatives who insist Obama wasn’t properly “vetted” — despite producing twelve years of tax returns, two autobiographies admitting to dirt from his younger days, and even his long form birth certificate — have now rallied around the candidacy of a man who bought the hard drives from his term as governor to keep them secret, wrote off his last three years at Bain, and now hasn’t even released a single full tax return.
I guess “vetting” only applies to the dark-skinned candidates.
mechwarrior online
@Kane:
Who’s to say Ann would even understand what’s in the family finances?
I know these types, the damn Marriot’s lived on the next street from me growing up. Rich peoples taxes and finances aren’t like your average families. It’s extremely complicated. Odds are the Romenys’ have people paid to manage their finances and investments and do their taxes as well, and several of them at that. It’s all buried in legalize and accountant speak that there is no way in hell anybody who isn’t a lawyer or accountant would even know what the hell it all meant.
This isn’t to say she’s completely ignorant, just that she wouldn’t understand or know, the help would do all that, and she doesn’t have the professional background either. Her account and lawyer know the details, they say it’s legit so it’s obviously legit.
Frankly I doubt she has much insight into her situation other than signing on the bills and returns, she pays people to do the rest for her.
JGabriel
@Caz:
You’re absolutely right! Now I not only want to see Mitt Romney’s tax returns, I want his birth certificate and college transcripts too.
If you’re gonna demand documentation, be prepared to submit it first. We’ve already got Obama’s taxes and birth certificate, which is suspect only to people who will not accept any evidence that President Obama is a bona fide American — where are Mitt’s?
And if you want President Obama’s college transcripts, Caz, I say you go first. Where are Mitt’s?
No? Mitt won’t present any of them? Thought not.
.
different-church-lady
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Probably not true of all states.
shortstop
@Amir Khalid: Sure, from a legal standpoint, but if it’s a custom established over almost half a century, I don’t think doing what everyone else has done is extending oneself particularly. Anyway, we pretty much agree on the messaging. He doesn’t want to be president enough to do even this to prove his good faith?
@JGabriel:
I read her and her crybaby husband’s comments as: “What we’ve done is perfectly legal, but we’ll be rudely and cruelly attacked for taking advantage of every loophole and shelter available only to uberwealthy Americans.” That’s true. They will. And they, and the current tax system, should be.
They are protecting the system that benefits them and their friends. That means not opening it up to pesky scrutiny in a year in which most Americans are struggling mightily–and mighty pissed about the double standards shown to the wealthy.
different-church-lady
@JGabriel:
What I really want to see is his serial number and date of manufacture.
scav
Interesting. The Lord Romney hides behind Tagg when telling the also-rans for his VP slot and hides behind Ann when telling the voters and media to piss off about the tax returns. What a little man.
Haydnseek
@NonyNony: Of course it’s believable. When she wants to know about the family finances, all she has to do is ask one of the servants to open the hatch on the Scrooge McDuck money bin, peer inside, and then heave a sigh of relief when she confirms that it is filled to capacity.
shortstop
@dmsilev: It’s very difficult to understand why he thought he could get away with it. I get that he comes from an authoritarian, top-down world in which CEOs never have to take lip from the help, but we’ve had other presidential candidates with similar (though less thoroughly moneyed) backgrounds, and they were able to suss out that the rules are different when you’re standing for election. It’s just an unbelievable level of non-self-awareness and denial.
Belafon (formerly anonevent)
@dmsilev: And won’t that make a great ad: “Mitt Romney, the man who doesn’t have to answer to anyone, not Congress, nor you, the American people.”
catclub
@Brachiator: “None of this is true.”
About that millions of dollars: The entire Harvard endowment is dedicated to keeping his law school transcript sealed.
Copy machines that do special things when people try to copy US currency also do those same things if someone tries to copy his birth certificate. Hawaii was put on a volcano that will be triggered if the BC vault is breached.
Roger Moore
@Davis X. Machina:
I think the term of art is “political catnip”. It’s a simple question anyone in the media can ask of anyone close to Romney. When they respond badly and refuse to cough up the returns, you can write an easy article about their failure to produce the returns (and whatever rude behavior goes with it) along with questions about why they refuse to do it.
weaselone
The focus has generally been on what Mitt is hiding that would fuel the dislike liberals and moderates have for him. What if he’s hiding something that would completely turn off the rabid right? Perhaps he made significant donations to Planned Parenthood, the NAACP and the ACLU and doesn’t want them to find out?
Ed Drone
@Brachiator:
Closer to “resident troll.” Ignore, belittle, denigrate at will.
Ed
Haydnseek
@Caz: Really Caz? His birth certificate is suspect? In what way? Please be specific. Not Donald Trump specific. Not Joe Arpaio specific. Based on empirical evidence, also known as “proof” specific. Ya got nuthin’ and ya know it, except for a few morsels of troll food.
Ed Drone
@dmsilev:
So he doesn’t practice Mormonism, but Mammonism?
Nice meme, that.
Ed
catclub
@shortstop: “I get that he comes from an authoritarian, top-down world in which CEOs never have to take lip from the help,”
I think the Mormon hierarchy is even less open to the rubes than the CEO world. At least stockholders get annual financial reports.
catclub
@weaselone: Nope.
No donations are itemized in the forms, only total amounts given to charity.
Cassidy
@Caz: Wow. The stupidity of you and your’s will always make me laugh. It never gets old. Keep saying it loud. The public has to hear it!
Fucking moron wasting good oxygen.
different-church-lady
@Haydnseek:
Oh FFS… never, never, NEVER invite a conspiracy theorist to be specific!
Ed Drone
@different-church-lady:
I’ll settle for his MAC address.
Ed
The Other Chuck
The hundred million dollar IRA alone is a dodge that almost certainly required buying someone off to not get audited over. The same guy who cooked up “Son of Boss” isn’t employing similar schemes for his own personal wealth? Bullshit. There are felonies in those returns, I guar-an-fucking-tee it.
different-church-lady
@Ed Drone: Planning on doing some hacking?
GregB
According to my wingnut friends it is very important to find out what President Obama’s father did in the 50’s and 60’s.
However, releasing Mitt’s tax returns from last year is an outrageous assault on the Romney’s personal lives.
Judas Escargot, Acerbic Prophet of the Mighty Potato God
I look forward to the Romney Presidency setting new Standards of Transparency, Openness and Accountability.
NonyNony
@Haydnseek:
People suspect that his birth certificate isn’t real. Therefore his birth certificate is suspect.
Similarly, people suspect that Mitt Romney’s wealth actually came from a company he owns that kidnaps homeless people to sell to the Reptoids for foodstock. Therefore Mitt Romney’s wealth is suspect.
As Bill O’Reilly would say, “Tides go in, tides go out – you can’t explain that”. And George Soros runs THE TIDES FOUNDATION! Even the fucking TIDES are SUSPECT!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an appointment with my haberdasher. My tinfoil hat is wearing thin from all of the mind control beams that NASA keeps bouncing off of it and I need to go in for a fitting.
Cassidy
@different-church-lady: Sshhhhh. He’s keeping him busy for a while, kinda like giving a baby car keys. Caz will spend all day doing up his presentation with charts and graphs and twenty seven eight-by-ten colour glossy photographs with circles and arrows and a paragraph on the back of each one explaining what each
one was to be used as evidence.
Ed Drone
@different-church-lady:
Hacking? Me? Why would I do that? I work to prevent those kinds of things. Of course, if I were to accidentally drop that MAC address into some of the black-hat sites that abound… accidentally, of course….
Ed
Haydnseek
@weaselone: Funny you should mention that. Romney and Queen Ann both wrote checks to Planned Parenthood, back during the time we’re not supposed to remember.
different-church-lady
@Cassidy:
…and then PRESENT it to us! You’re just not thinking this through enough!
JGabriel
@different-church-lady:
Heh. Nicely turned.
.
Amir Khalid
@Caz:
The State of Hawai’i says, and has said again and again, that Barack Hussein Obama II was born there. To whom, other than crackpot Birthers, a few political cynics and you, is his birth certificate suspect?
Poopyman
@different-church-lady: You ask, Wikipedia answers (with some interesting info):
Walter Homple
@Gravenstone:
The already-unemployed will be happy to see that, I’m sure.
Chris L. Robinson
@Culture of Truth: LOL! Okay, good one!
Rafer Janders
@NonyNony:
It’s what someone like Trump would do. If you’re shameless enough, you can turn any sort of behavior into an asset: “Yeah, I didn’t pay taxes — because I’m just that good! I’m the king, baby!”
Villago Delenda Est
@Caz:
You’re going to have to get a new chicken to fuck pretty soon, Caz. The one you’ve been fucking is about fucked out.
Ruckus
@Haydnseek:
heave a sigh of relief when she confirms that it is filled to capacity.
You don’t seem to understand. The money box is built of greed. It expands whenever it gets over 75% full. So it never appears full and it can never be filled to capacity. Ever.
muddy
“We don’t want to talk about it because people will attack us.” I assume this means you have done things that people will find attackable. Bummer.
When I was very young, I was in an abusive marriage. My husband would get very put out if I or anyone talked about the things he did. How dare they discuss his private marriage business!
I used to say, “What’s worse, you doing the thing, or someone talking about it later? All you have to do to shut people up is not to do terrible things. That’d fix all our clocks.”
Of course this would be met by more smackings, as there was no good answer for him to give. I was finally able to sneak away to an undisclosed location when he went out of town once, I’m sure he thought that was terribly unfair of me as well.
Roger Moore
@different-church-lady:
I think you’ll discover a “Hecho in Mexico” stamp and discover that his real name is Bender Bending Rodriguez.
Villago Delenda Est
So why are you talking about it, Ann? Huh? You’re going to be attacked anyways. That goes with the territory. As an obscure mid-20th century American politican once said, if you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.
Obviously, you and that Dalek you’re “married” to have something to hide.
TruthOfAngels
@Poopyman: Interesting. I wonder if The Supreme Court has ever ruled on adultery.
Nemo_N
Nice screenshots at The Atlantic:
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/politics/2012/08/ann-romney-deployed-put-sympathetic-face-tax-returns/55804/
Johannes
@Culture of Truth: Don’t blink!
/10th Doctor
different-church-lady
@Nemo_N: Odd thing about that… I can’t remember the wife of a candidate being so involved as a surrogate on such a specific issue. They’re supposed to be the warm fuzzy face, the human side, the “up close and personal” crap. Why they’ve got Ann doing front work on this item is a mystery.
And just as I typed that I realized: oh, wait, this is just SOP for Mitt — everyone else has to do his dirty work for him.
Stuart_b
She seems to be working hard to undo the positive impression from the pictures of her recoiling in horror at the sight of Mitt shaking hands with Ann Coulter.
Brachiator
@Villago Delenda Est:
Silly. The Romney’s never stand around in the kitchen. They have staff for that.
It’s amazing. The British Royals come across less stiff and arrogant than Mittens and Anne (well, most of them, and especially after the Queen did that little video bit with Daniel Craig’s Bond for the Olympics).
And this “how dare our opponents attack us” crap drips with divine right of kings.
jacy
@Robin G.:
It’s got to be the amnesty. Only thing that makes sense.
Of course, nothing Romney and his merry band of idiots does makes much sense, so I could be wrong.
Ruckus
@Brachiator:
And this “how dare our opponents attack us” crap drips with divine right of kings
I seem to recall that historically the divine right of kings included the ability of them to balance their heads on pikes. I wonder what the modern equivalent is, what with the ideal we no longer find bloodshed to be an appropriate answer?
Nemesis
And we will not talk specifics about Medicare. And we will not talk about personhood. And we will not talk about fuzzy math budgets. And we will not talk about trans vaginal ultrasounds. And we will not talk about…
Calouste
@Belafon (formerly anonevent):
Yes, and it doesn’t have any impact on a Presidential election. Just ask former President Gary Hart.
Calouste
@BGinCHI:
It’s a thread about Romney. Anything related to Soylent Green is ON topic since he made the zombie-eyed grannie starver his VP pick.
wrb
It isn’t his bare-naked goat fucking, it is that he deducted his fucking goats.
wrb
@Calouste:
Yea, and Gary didn’t marry them all and deduct the cost of their upkeep.
wrb
Bet is is several things, sharing the same root in his character.
LanceThruster
It’s like that mofo is saying, “No, I’m not going to give you access to my crawlspace; you can see what you can see from the curb! I’d still like to be your child’s party clown though.”
Yutsano
@Stuart_b: @Amir Khalid: I suppose this also inbalidates my passport as well, since I also used the short form the State of Hawai’i provided me in order to get it. It’s great they’re calling a state government a bunch of liars.
LanceThruster
I’d like to see this f#cking question. JFK went out of his way to establish he was not the pope’s puppet. But the pope is only infallible in regards to RCC doctrine. His Mitwittedness has as the head of his church, God’s prophet on earth. [see quote below]
I’d like him to asked that if the LDS president/prophet made a ruling or request of him that impacted his role as president of all the American people, would he feel obligated to follow it, and would he feel obligated to disclose to the American people what was asked of him.
It’s not that I think of him as a slimely little bastard, but as that perception is not without merit, I’d like to know his answer.
from: Ward Teachers Message, Deseret News, Church Section p. 5, May 26, 1945
Tom
Ann Romney has a greater sense of entitlement than Mitt!
kay
@Caz:
Fuck you with “suspect”, you dope.
A birth certificate is a state record. Period. Any court in this country will accept what Obama offered. They do, hundreds of times, every day, in the ordinary course. Every. Single. Day.
You were had, and you’re a gullible fool. You’re a dummy, a chump, a mark. If you fell for that, you’ll fall for anything.
Why does Romney send his wife out every time he’s in trouble? Bush did the same thing. It’s so cowardly.
danah gaz (fka gaz)
@Caz: It’s not suspect. The only people who say so are drooling morons who wouldn’t believe it if Jesus Christ himself hand-delivered it to their doorstep.
The reason he fought it for so long is to keep you clowns looking like morons in the news. As long as it was in the news-cycle, you birthers came out looking like the racist, backward tools that you are. It was a win for him. When he finally did release the long-form, he timed it to make you clowns look particularly stupid.
Now shut the fuck up, you insane, pathetic little man, before I bitch slap you back to the 1950’s where you belong (rhetorically of course)
bemused
@Caz:
Hey, you forgot Obama’s 27 or more different social security numbers or social security numbers from 27 different states…oh hell, who can keep these delusions straight.
danah gaz (fka gaz)
@bemused: here’s to hoping those black helicopters take him away.
JR
@Brachiator:
CAZ is an Amateur lying in a ditch, dude. Off his meds.
“You tell that judge that Caz don’t like that Haldol, OK!”
danah gaz (fka gaz)
@Litlebritdifrnt: genius.
I hope the owner charges Romney $250million for it ;)
danah gaz (fka gaz)
@JR: “CAZ is an Amateur lying in a ditch”
why a ditch? couldn’t he just lie from his living room?
JR
@different-church-lady:
And Model Number. You can’t do a firmware upgrade without the model number and serial number.
That is all.
bemused
I watched both whiney Ann and Mitt videos. Holy crap, these people are insufferable. As my long gone mom used to say, “hoity, toity”.
pseudonymous in nc
Not so much Marie Antoinette as Annie Marionette.
Yutsano
@kay: Have I told you lately I totes less than three you? :)
Patricia Kayden
Apart from the fact that Ann and Mittens are egotistical and feel entitled to a spin in the White House (to add to their spins in their other umpteen houses), they haven’t given us any reason to vote for them. Romney hasn’t given any details about his policies so that we can assess them. He seems to want to waltz into the White House and then surprise everyone with his extreme Koch brother agenda.
Ann can console herself with the fact that if they lose in November, they’ll never have to respond to the unwashed mobs about anything ever again.
Jay in Oregon
I’m late to this particular party, but I just wanted to say that I’m totally OK with Mitt and Ann not releasing more tax returns. Because as long as they don’t, I’m free to speculate as to what kind of landmines lay within. In fact, it would be irresponsible not to!
Has Romney been shaving points off of the percentage of his income that goes to the Mormon church?
Did Romney pay nothing (or almost nothing) in income or capital gains taxes during the past decades’ worth of crippling, job-destroying tax rates on the 1%?
Did Romney take advantage of the 2009 amnesty for people illegally hiding their money overseas? How many other way has he illegally hid his money from taxation?
Did Romney make piles of money off of destroying American companies and shipping their jobs overseas (before hiding money overseas in order to avoid paying taxes)?
Did he invest in South African diamond smuggling? Human trafficking? Pogs?
Uncle Cosmo
@Caz: The village fucking idiot is back. Who’s holding 47 in the pool?
shortstop
@Yutsano: I know! And her F-bombs are more meaningful because, unlike most of us, she uses them with restraint.
Tony the Wonderhorse
will some reporter please ask Romney for his FBARs?
It’s a joke to say he has released his taxes, not for one year do we have the FBARs but no one presses him on it
kamalokitty
These are people who have never had to answer to anyone. Why should they have to answer to you people. They’re not disclosing shit, so fuck ya’ll suck it up. Seriously. Who the hell do you think you are?
Her panty is in a wad up her ass because us people have the audacity to fucking ask questions asked of every other candidate ever. Do they not realize what public office means? I have to file public disclosure statements of my investments (such as they are) and anything that might even cause a faint whiff of impropriety or conflict every goddamn year as a lowly public servant in the bowels of government employment. And these motherfuckers think they can sit in the Oval Office, just skate in on the power of their entitlement because … what?….. because they are who they are?
What kind of mother fucking bullshit is this?
Who the fuck are these people? Serious. What planet?
It is public service. You serve “us people.” You disclose. Every fucking year. Everything. Starting with your fucking tax returns.
Goodness, gracious, Providence, Almighty. I’m not sure I’m going to last til November.
sneezy
@Nemo_N:
I think Ann’s getting testy because she’s figured out that Mitt’s going down. She’s sick of this shit and doubly so now that it’s all just for show. She’s had it up to here and there’s still three more months of this crap she has to get through, and all for nothing.
She might as well have said, “We’re not releasing any more tax returns because, in case you haven’t noticed, we are LOSING THIS ELECTION. I wouldn’t show you people our taxes even if that meant Mitt would be president, and I’m sure as hell not going to show them to you WHEN HE WON’T.”
Ann’s no idiot. She can read the writing on the wall.
Montana
Didn’t you think it was rich hearing Mrs. Romney crying about that her husband is being attacked personally when her husband and his Bain money had just finished carpet bombing all other potential GOP presidential candidates with personal attacks….too funny!
xian
@Uncle Cosmo: he spent millions sealing his college records ARGLEBARGLE!