The summer that Mitt didn't want, part deux

[Black]

Tax reruns? Are you drunk?

[RgrF]

I never knew he was a drinker until one day he posted sober.

[Avenger]

Black wrote:
Tax reruns? Are you drunk?

What do you care?

[Ted King]

This scenario was bound to happen, especially after this:

Jan 22, 2012

Romney, the longtime frontrunner in the Republican race and one of the wealthiest presidential candidates in history, lost to a resurrected Newt Gingrich in the conservative southern state on Saturday after stumbling badly in debates with clumsy responses to demands that he disclose his tax history.

Trying to recapture his footing as the contest heads to more populous and more moderate Florida, Romney said he would release his 2010 returns and an estimate for 2011 on Tuesday.

"We made a mistake holding off as long as we did and it just was a distraction," Romney said on "Fox News Sunday."

Even a lot of Republicans didn't like Romney refusing to release his tax records. Evidently, based on what happened after the South Carolina primary, Republican voters seem to have largely decided that more than two years tax records weren't necessary in their vetting of Romney. But I have great doubts that the electorate in general, and swing voters in particular, are going to not be noticeably concerned that Romney won't release tax records for farther back.

Anyway, based on what happened in the South Carolina primary debate and direct aftermath, it should have been obvious to everyone - Romney in particular - that the lack of producing a fairly comprehensive set of tax records was going to be a problem. I'm firmly in the camp of people who think the reason he isn't releasing more years of records is because he thinks doing so will hurt him more than not doing so. And not doing so is going to hurt him quite a bit, so what's in those records is probably pretty "bad". Of course, I could be wrong; it's even possible that there is nothing all that "bad" in Romney's tax records and that he planned on releasing many years worth all along, but he is trying to coax Obama way out on a limb of making the tax records a key issue and then showing that they amount to nothing, weakening Obama vis a vis himself. That's possible, but I really doubt; I'll bet he's got something he really wants to hide.

[Lemon Drop]

Great points Ted, I agree that I don't think Romney's playing games with his tax returns, that would make him look pretty ridiculous. If the returns reveal more of the same as his 2010, that's more ammunition for Democrats. If they're worse, that's even more ammunition. If he doesn't disclose them, people will assume that he's hiding something serious.
Don't see how he wins this one.

[$tevie]

Karma's a b*tch.

[RgrF]

He has nothing to hide, he's refusing as a matter of principle.

[Ted King]

RgrF wrote:
He has nothing to hide, he's refusing as a matter of principle.

:jest:

[Avenger]

Paying all the taxes you legally owe is now "bad".

:jest:

[Dennis S]

Avenger wrote:
Paying all the taxes you legally owe is now "bad".

:jest:

Then why doesn't he release his tax returns?