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The Spectacle Blog
Yesterday, Matthew Romney (the second eldest son of Mitt Romney) had to apologize yesterday after telling an audience in Concord, New Hampshire on Thursday that his father would release his tax returns “as soon as President Obama releases his grades and his birth certificate.”
So now the Romney campaign now has two issues to address - Romney’s tax return and the birther nonsense. Apology or not, you can bet the Obama campaign will use this as a cudgel against Romney from here on out. The younger Romney would have been better off only to mention Obama’s grades. Come to think of it, he probably shouldn’t have said anything at all because at least where it concerns his tax returns, Obama has been forthcoming about releasing them.
Now I think it’s entirely reasonable for Romney not to release his tax returns at this point. But if Romney does become the nominee I don’t see how he can avoid releasing them. If he doesn’t, Obama can argue that Romney has something to hide. Now everybody knows that Romney is rich and Obama is going to use that against him no matter what. So Romney’s best bet is to release his tax returns and say, “Hey, I earned this money through hard work and initiative. I created jobs for thousands of people. I have nothing for which to be ashamed.”
It will be interesting to see what Romney does with regard to his tax returns if he is nominated.
View all comments (55) | Leave a comment
More Blog Posts by Aaron Goldstein
http://spectator.org/blog/2011/12/31/thoughts-on-romneys-tax-return
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Clint| 12.31.11 @ 6:49PM
What Did You Do With The Money, Mittens ?
Hmmmmmmm Plastic RINO Cat ?
" Romney’s failure to disclose raises all sorts of red flags – not only about his personal financial history but more importantly his commitment to transparency.
That’s especially problematic for Romney – who is already dealing with a major transparency problem.
According to The Washington Post, Romney “spent nearly $100,000 in state funds to replace computers in his office at the end of his term as governor of Massachusetts in 2007 as part of an unprecedented effort to keep his records secret.”
Romney’s tax return fiasco is also another example of his hypocrisy. In a 1994 campaign for the U.S. Senate, Romney challenged the late U.S. Sen. Ted Kennedy to release his tax returns – even though he never released his own."
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here And In Iowa.
Oldefarte| 1.1.12 @ 11:00AM
Possibly Ronnie should release the background editorial documentation [as to the author of same] of those newsletters as well, huh???????
Clint| 1.2.12 @ 5:29AM
Asked And Answered, Smear Bund RINO-CINO.
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here And In Iowa.
Oldefarte| 1.2.12 @ 10:52AM
At least us RINO-CINO'S don't wear TOO SHORT SHORTS!!!!!!!!!!!
Oldefarte| 1.1.12 @ 12:39PM
Maybe what Mittens did with the money was to purchase some 'too-short shorts' to bicycle around town wearing, huh????:
'.....At 76, Paul is older than Lake Jackson itself. Dow Chemical Co. created the city for employees in the 1940s, mapping out parts with a business-minded pragmatism......The Lutheran, Baptist and Methodist churches are lined in a row on Willow Drive because, said retired Dow employee Adrian Zambala, "that's the street where they decided the churches would go."....Residents tell stories of Paul biking around town in too-short shorts and know it's their congressman in the saddle from his habit of keeping one arm slung low to his side when he's worn out from pedaling......'
Clint| 1.2.12 @ 5:45AM
" Ron Paul Challenges Status Quo to 20-Mile Bike Race in Houston Heat
Dr. Ron Paul,
" I’ve offered to ride a bicycle for 20 miles in Houston when the temperature is 100° and the humidity is 100% and I will go 20 miles with them and then we’ll decide who’s the youngest."
Dr. Ron Paul Would Have His Competitors Suckin' O's At 10 Miles.
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here And In Iowa.
Oldefarte| 1.2.12 @ 10:53AM
Maybe with those TOO SHORT SHORTS.....he'd be the one doing the 'sucking'????????
Anthony M| 12.31.11 @ 6:52PM
One of the best politicians of all time was Nixon, a man reviled by liberals and the media, "What would Nixon do?" should be the question every Republican asks himself. Push Obama off the edge, the birther issue drives him, his supporters, and the media crazy, make it a kind of joke line, but play it. So-called "racist" newsletters? Ignore the media, give it a week and move on. Don't try to be a gentleman on any issue, Willie Horton the dems and the media all the way to victory. As McCain famously stated, "Obama is a fine man and would make a good president." Do that and lose.
RJ| 12.31.11 @ 7:59PM
It is painful to be reminded how the Republican nominee said Obama would make a good president. There never was any evidence that Obama, a man with no record of accomplishment in government, would be a good president. I am sick and tired of GOP candidates who constantly undercut their position and say something that the media expects, but for which there is no basis in fact. Anyone who does that should be taken out of the game and replaced with a leader who will be diplomatic but stick to what he/she knows to be true.
Dan| 12.31.11 @ 7:04PM
Aaron,
I'm beginning to sense something of a trend, it's still early, but I'll run it past you.
Romney himself, as usual, stays above it all, flying in the clouds, not questioning or branding obama.
Meanwhile, his sons kind of occasionally blurt out something that's awfully RED when it comes to red meat for the base.
What are we to make of this? Are we supposed to believe that Romney himself possesses the tics and the quirks of the Bush clan, but his sons are immune from such inclinations, and are somewhat more akin to firebrands needing to be reined in.
As far as red meat goes,---------------------------- it don't get much more red than birth certificate and transcript references.
Quartermaster| 1.2.12 @ 8:56PM
The "birther" nonsense isn't nonsense. I doubt he was born outside of the US, but that doesn't mean he's natural born as defined by SCOTUS back in the 19th century. Most likely, he's not. Without release of the Birth Cert, we have no way of knowing for sure.
Scott | 1.1.12 @ 12:52AM
One of his sons making an off the cuff crack about the birth certificate is going to be a cudgel the Obama campaign is going to use on Romney? Romney couldn't be that lucky. If Obama tries, have Romney be at a campaign event with Chris Christie, have someone mention it, and then let Christie go on a tear about how Obama's record as president is so dismal that he has to try to make a joke by his opponent's son an issue. And then give him another five minutes to rip on the media being a bunch of Obama's lickspittles for paying any attention to it.
birmingham| 1.1.12 @ 5:47PM
If Obama were dumb enough (and he could be) to mention this, please ask for his grades and application to college where he got the foreign student loan. We would all like to see those, Barry Saretto (your previous name before running for office).
Luke23| 1.2.12 @ 12:16PM
birmingham: You are the victim of a cruel hoax. Obama never got a foreign student loan at Occidental and he was not registered there under the name Soetoro ( his step father's name.) That is a matter of record. A phony news report dated April fool's day 2009 got that idea going among the birthers. It's blatantly false just like all the other trash talk about our President. Independent voters like me just laugh at the insanity of all you conspiracy theorists.
http://www.snopes.com/politics.....dental.asp
Bill Hussein O'Stalin| 1.1.12 @ 7:15AM
In 24 hours this will be a non-story. Obama won't bring up the birth certificate because he can't explain his social security number being issued in Connecticut.
Luke23| 1.2.12 @ 12:22PM
another fabrication which was easily disproved.
http://www.snopes.com/politics.....rs/ssn.asp
Clint| 1.1.12 @ 8:06AM
The RINO-CINO Frontman Mittens Romney oughtta have more problems bringing in Chris Christie, who has problems with Conservatives over his, " Climate Change Is Real", Christie's insisting that being in the country illegally is not a crime but an "administrative matter", Gun Control, etc.
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here And In Iowa.
Oldefarte| 1.1.12 @ 11:03AM
Obviously Ronnie has no problem with illegal ragheadArab Muslim terrorists infiltrating this country to destroy it, huh????????
Oldefarte| 1.1.12 @ 12:36PM
At least Mittens and Christy aren't guity of bicycling in 'too-short shorts', right????:
'.....At 76, Paul is older than Lake Jackson itself. Dow Chemical Co. created the city for employees in the 1940s, mapping out parts with a business-minded pragmatism......The Lutheran, Baptist and Methodist churches are lined in a row on Willow Drive because, said retired Dow employee Adrian Zambala, "that's the street where they decided the churches would go."....Residents tell stories of Paul biking around town in too-short shorts and know it's their congressman in the saddle from his habit of keeping one arm slung low to his side when he's worn out from pedaling......'
Clint| 1.2.12 @ 5:42AM
" Ron Paul Challenges Status Quo to 20-Mile Bike Race in Houston Heat
Dr. Ron Paul,
" I’ve offered to ride a bicycle for 20 miles in Houston when the temperature is 100° and the humidity is 100% and I will go 20 miles with them and then we’ll decide who’s the youngest."
Dr. Ron Paul Would Have His Competitors Suckin' O's At 10 Miles.
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here And In Iowa.
Oldefarte| 1.2.12 @ 10:54AM
As stated above, ASKED & ANSWERED, shortie!!!!!!!!!!
Oldefarte| 1.1.12 @ 11:04AM
http://www.gocomics.com/glennmccoy/2012/01/01
John| 1.1.12 @ 11:17AM
The birth certificate issue is a valid concern. Just because a few nutcases have gone overboard with the issue doesn't mean it shouldn't be discussed. Obama pledged transparency. Every candidate, Republican or Democrat, should openly disclose their past. I would not include family matters in this transparency, but a candidate needs to take responsibility for his or her past. EVERY candidate. FULL disclosure. Very simple and honest.
Clint| 1.1.12 @ 1:17PM
" Gingrich: Romney Would Buy White House If He Could
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Newt Gingrich said Sunday his GOP rival Mitt Romney would buy the presidency if he could.
Speaking to reporters after attending Mass at the St. Ambrose Cathedral in Des Moines, Gingrich said the amount that the former Massachusetts governor will eventually spend on his various campaigns will rival the spending of billionaire New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“Romney would buy the election if he could,” Gingrich said."
The Tea Party Rebellion Is Here And In Iowa.
Oldefarte| 1.2.12 @ 10:56AM
The only one possibly having the financial wherewithall to buy an election is Paul.....FROM HIS NEWSLETTER SUBSCRIPTION REVENUES!!!!!!!!
PattyMor| 1.1.12 @ 2:02PM
Everyone should find the interview Larry Kudlow did with Mitt's financial guy. Kudlow really reamed him out and told him to quit blowing smoke because there was no plan, only generalities. Why do you suppose that a guy who has been running for the presidency for five years refuses to disclose his tax policy. Could a vat tax be lurking around the corner? Really for me, it just comes down to the fact that I don't trust Romney.
RJ| 1.1.12 @ 7:37PM
Thanks, I will look for that interview.
For a "front-runner" I don't see anyone supporting Romney in the American Spectator.
I think the question we should raise is what has Romney done to promote Republican values. He won one election, the Governorship of Massachusetts. And what major accomplishment did he achieve? RomneyCare. Clearly, not a victory for our values of limited government.
Of course, he stands by RomneyCare and tells us it is "conservative." This guy would be extremely disappointing as a nominee and president. We must do better. It is hardly a surprise that Bush 41 came out in favor of him and in the same statement said breaking his "no new taxes" pledge was insignificant. That seems to be the type of Republican who supports Romney.
somnolence| 1.2.12 @ 10:19AM
Actually, Romney should accelerate the birth certificate issue and the grades transcripts issue without fear of intimidation. Apologize for what? The writer of this article has to be joking.
Luke23| 1.2.12 @ 11:56AM
Somnolence- grades? Obama graduated magna c-m laude (top 10% of his class) from the toughest law school in the country. It is well known that Romney was always a mediocre student at best. Besides no other President in history has ever released or been asked to release his school transcripts. What's all that about? Perhaps a little racial overtone?
Wayne| 1.2.12 @ 3:28PM
Really prove it. Show us the grades. Show us the papers. All you can show is your race card.
somnolence| 1.2.12 @ 12:02PM
Luke, you say that, but the public has seen no proof of it. No, it is not well known that Romney was a mediocre student. I have never heard that in my life. So, ultimately, like you, I pick and choose----and I choose Romney over the KENYAN.
Luke23| 1.2.12 @ 12:38PM
Romney's father was born in Mexico- so Mitt is a Mexican?
as far as his being a mediocre student- it is well documented and he did drop out of Stanford after his first year, got a ministerial deferment to avoid the Vietnam War and went to France for two and a half years.
Foreign student loans at Occidental were only given by the Fulbright foundation. Indonesia does and did not participate in the Fulbright program for undergraduates. Read the Snopes article if you consider yourself open to reality.
somnolence| 1.2.12 @ 1:53PM
It is not well documented, because the MSM would have been all over it. Obama's own grandma said he was born in Kenya, and they sure took their time bringing out the forgery. I remain unconvinced. I would say it is a fair trade: Obama releases his grades, then Romney can release his tax returns. Otherwise, this is once again nothing but class warfare. Actually, I don't really care about Obama's grades or Romney's, or the tax returns of Romney. All in all this is the same type of mentality that causes Parade magazine to have their annual "What Do People Earn" issue. Just more class, CRASS warfare, with no solutions, just deliberate impediment to the REAL issues at hand, like Obama INCREASING the debt to 14 trillion dollars and imposing farcical health insurance upon the continent(unlike Mass. where the majority of STATE citizens WANTED the health reform). It is also very questionable whether Obama technically chaired the Harvard Law Review in MERITORIOUS proper form, or just merely as a convenient minority figurehead. So, yeah, I still feel very secure with Mitt as the nominee(if that is to be the case).
Luke23| 1.2.12 @ 2:41PM
Read it and weep.
http://www.snopes.com/politics.....ficate.asp
Quartermaster| 1.2.12 @ 9:07PM
Snopes. The font of knowledge and wisdom, barren of all agendas.
Not.
The Birth Certificate released early last year is well known as a very clumsy forgery. What Snopes shows at that link is not a Birth Certificate.
somnolence| 1.2.12 @ 2:03PM
Romney graduated in the top third of his class in 1975 at Harvard. Look it up and weep in your delusions, Luke.
Luke23| 1.2.12 @ 2:36PM
Obama graduated in the top 10% of his Harvard Law School class and was president of its law review. I was speaking of Romney's record in his elite high school and at Stanford University. At Harvard Romney was several years older than his classmates and did not have to work because his very wealthy father bought a house for him and paid all expenses. Furthermore he has never released any of his college transcripts or been asked to. He has also never released any form of birth certificate or been asked to even though his father was born in Mexico.
Wayne| 1.2.12 @ 3:29PM
You still can't prove anything about Obama. What is he hiding?
somnolence| 1.2.12 @ 3:57PM
I read the "birth certificate" and it doesn't PROVE a thing, particularly when you have the "proper politically correct connections" courtesy of the Holder Justice Department and the like. Read about Obama's father figure mentor Frank Davis and then tell me to weep. Read his FBI file. Obama's scholastic record is something to puke over compared to Romney' DUAL business and law degrees added to experience. Three and half years of heartbreak is his legacy to this country, and that will be brought forth in breathtaking reminders and soundbites this autumn, rest assured.
Luke23| 1.2.12 @ 4:23PM
the FBI "file" is a fabricated hoax. Why weren't you righties worried about George W's C average record at Yale while he was studying basket weaving or Dick Cheney flunking out of the same institution?
Why do you discount the birth anouncement that was published in the Honolulu Advertiser on Sunday, Aug. 13, 1961?
http://www.snopes.com/politics.....ficate.asp
Regardless, Obama's mother was an American citizen and in the Constitution there is no definition of natural born. According to most legal sources, that clause was placed in writing to exclude wealthy Europeans or royalty from coming to America and buying the Presidency.
President Obama was duly elected and the attempt to delegitimize him will just backfire with mot rational people.
Frank Marshall Davis was a 70 year old poet and writer that the young Obama listened to and never took seriously.
"Obama remembered, "It made me smile, thinking back on Frank and his old Black Power self. In some ways he was as incurable as my mother, as certain in his faith, living in the same sixties time warp that Hawaii had created."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Marshall_Davis
Luke23| 1.2.12 @ 4:04PM
he surely isn't hiding his tax returns as is Mittens. What Romney doesn't want the average American like me to see is that he is paying far less of a rate than we are. Willard the flip flopper is also probably hiding the fact that a large part of his income was made from management fees for customers who bank in off shore accounts to avoid paying taxes in the United States.
somnolence| 1.2.12 @ 4:19PM
Luke, surely you are speaking of Obama, who is worth at least 7.5 million dollars. Once again, as I noted earlier I'm not associated with OWS, and I'm not interested in class warfare. I'm far more interested in destroying the influence of Soros, Holder, Alinsky, Ahres, and Obama. I don't give a damn what someone's personal wealth is. Don't count me in along with your determined "we".
Luke23| 1.2.12 @ 4:31PM
I'm not concerned with personal wealth either- just how the wealth was accumulated. If it was made by gutting good companies, borrowing money on their assets, laying off employees, and forcing them into bankruptcy then I question the business ethics of that person.
$7.5 million is peanuts compared to $250 million.
Alinsky was long dead by the time Obama was even in high school and should be considered an American hero as he helped peacefully integrate many major American companies. Read this.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul_Alinsky
Quartermaster| 1.2.12 @ 9:15PM
Obama made his through racial shakedowns as a "community organizer."
somnolence| 1.2.12 @ 4:41PM
Alinsky is on the same parallel as Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, and Ho Chi Minh as far as I'm concerned. I don't waste my time reading apologia for the likes of him. You better recheck the count of bodies that Obama and his associates have destroyed by political shenanigans at the cost of US, the taxpayers before you bad-mouth Romney. That, too, will be brought out in broad terms against the Kenyan impostor come this fall. I can hardly wait.
Luke23| 1.2.12 @ 5:27PM
too bad you are so obsinate in your ignorance. Saul Alinsky never belonged to any party or backed any candidate. He worked to get jobs and better living conditions for the poor. He favored private enterprise but wanted opportunities, education, and jobs for all. To align him with despots is to confess your ignorance.
You will be waiting a long time if you back the self confessed opportunist Romney for President. Remember that he has taken at least three sides on every issue depending upon whom he is talking to.
Quartermaster| 1.2.12 @ 9:17PM
LOL! Alinsky was a Marxist. Pure and simple. Anyone that really thinks Alinsky was a great man who was just concerned for the poor is an utter idiot who pays no attention to the record of the man. Obama is an Alinskyite.
somnolence| 1.2.12 @ 4:44PM
I'm talking about bailing out union powers such as GE and GM among other examples, and giving a rat's backside about the rest of us. So don't give me the doubletalk about Mitt being in the wrong while he was a stalwart figure in private enterprise.
Luke23| 1.2.12 @ 5:29PM
stalwart figure? What a laugh. The only thing he did in the private equity business was make money for himself and his partners while gutting perfectly good companies. His tax returns will prove that.
Quartermaster| 1.2.12 @ 9:18PM
Actually, it won't prove anything of the sort. That sort of info isn't available on a tax return.
Hal9000| 1.10.12 @ 9:53PM
It won't prove anything. A person pays a certain amount in taxes. Once again, not relevant. If he somehow failed to pay his taxes big time, he would have been thoroughly vetted a long time ago. But the problem is, you don't have anything significant to prove about Romney, just trying to go after strange tales. But tell me your next tale, because it might make me laugh even harder.
Hal9000| 1.10.12 @ 9:56PM
He was hired to provide counseling and restructuring information for a number of businesses, as well as direct the neccessary adjustments to get businesses back on the growth path. As for his returns, do you even know what is on a tax return? What any of it implies?
edmarys| 1.2.12 @ 9:08PM
Romney is getting a 1.5 million dollar tax return,that's why.
Haddit| 1.3.12 @ 1:24PM
The Romneys already appologizing? This is what you are going to get people............Newt would tell him, "Produce it Obama" and not worry himself about it anymore.
Silvia Marquis| 1.17.12 @ 12:45PM
Mitt Romney will NOT release his income tax returns now. Mitt Romney will NOT be the Republican party nominee if he he releases his income tax returns now. The Republican Party is being setup for a October surprise. Newt Gingrich needs to tie Mitt Romney's failure to release NOW Mitt Romney's tax returns to Mitt Romney's Electability. Speak up NOW Mr. Speaker before it is too late.
http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/35ob97/
http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/35md07/