Rachel Maddow: "Mitt Romney has a tell."

[ProSense]

Rachel Maddow: "Mitt Romney has a tell."

by hungrycoyote

At the end of Thursday night's show, Rachel Maddow had a teaser about a piece of video that hadn't been seen in 10 years. I posted the teaser as an update to the diary about Wednesday's night's show (Rachel Maddow Helps President Obama Expose Romney's Achilles’ Heel), where Rachel showed us how Mitt Romney was caught lying during his 2002 run for Governor of Massachusetts. Here's the video clip Rachel was talking about.

<...>

(Video of Sept 24, 2002, debate) Question: You have refused to release your income tax forms even though others, including Governor William Weld, U.S. Senator John Kerry, and your opponent, Shannon O'Brien, released theirs. Do you have something to hide?

Mitt Romney (laughing): I believe very deeply in my personal privacy, what little amount there's left. And in this case, you've made a couple exceptions from your list. Senator Kennedy, when I was running against him, "Boy," I told him, "you've got to release those income tax returns of yours." And he said, "No, I value my privacy." And I think he was right, and I was wrong. As a result, I do share his view on this. I'm not going to release my income tax returns. And Shannon O'Brien's husband, with whom I presume they share expenses, likewise hasn't reduced, excuse me, released his income taxes.

One thing I noticed, that Rachel never mentioned in Friday night's show, was that correction at the end: "And Shannon O'Brien's husband, with whom I presume they share expenses, likewise hasn't reduced, excuse me, released his income taxes." Am I being too cynical, or does that look like some sort of Freudian slip? Now that you've seen the promised clip, I will try to explain how it fits into the narrative of the hypocrisy Mitt Romney has been practicing ever since his first foray into an attempt to take public office in 1994, when he ran against Ted Kennedy trying to claim Kennedy's Senate seat.

Rachel dedicated nearly the entire first half hour of Friday night's The Rachel Maddow Show to examining Mitt Romney and how he has been dancing around releasing his income taxes since that 1994 race. There was so much information to share, that Rachel divided it into two segments with a commercial break in between. The first segment reviewed what has been happening this week with what Harry Reid said about Mitt Romney having paid no taxes for ten years, wanting to know what Romney is hiding, and the ensuing firestorm.

Rachel pointed out that all the focus has been on Harry Reid, and how reporters are buying into "the whining and complaining about this horrible tactic and how unfair it is" from Romney and his campaign spokesman, Eric Fehrnstrom. Here's the kicker: Romney and Fehrnstrom did the exact same thing to Shannon O'Brien when Romney ran against her in the 2002 Massachusetts governor's race. Romney refused to release his returns then. O'Brien released hers, but Romney and Fehrnstrom demanded to see the tax returns for O'Brien's husband, wanting to know "What are you hiding?" In other words, in Romney's world what's good for the goose, is not good for the gander.

Also during that 2002 campaign, Mitt Romney was caught red-handed, lying about what was in his taxes. Rachel had already dedicated the opening segment of Wednesday's show to this topic. If you missed it, you can find the video and complete transcript at the diary linked to above. Friday night, Rachel eloquently made the case, as only Rachel can, that Mitt Romney must release his tax returns to the press and the American people, because Mitt Romney has proven himself in public life to be the opposite of trustworthy on the issue of what is in his taxes. Ten years ago, "he lost the benefit of the doubt on this issue." We join Rachel about eleven minutes into the first segment.

<...>

Needless to say, Rachel Maddow has presented this country with one kick-ass, awesome execution of investigative journalism that lays out in no uncertain terms the complete hypocrisy Williard M. Romney has been guilty of since he entered public life in 1994.

Every American citizen who cares about our country, and every journalist who wants to honestly earn his or her paycheck, should stop talking about what Harry Reid said, and start asking Mitt Romney, "What are you hiding?" And then demand that he release his tax return! Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper, write a comments at online news site, respond to tweets, reply to those friends and family on Facebook, whatever you can think of to make your voice heard and demand that Willard M. Romney release his taxes! If you tweet, please be sure to use the hastag #Romneyshambles! It's still very popular, and is crushing the lame attempt of the right-wing to start something similar against President Obama (it isn't working).

In an effort to help with this campaign, I would like to introduce you to an artist I discovered on Facebook. Actually, he calls himself The Photo Doctor, and his name is Tracy Knauss. If you use Facebook, please subscribe to his feed, and share his photos. Here is an example of the impressive work he's been doing for this cause:

Willard Mitt Romney

"We the People", the working class, the people whose jobs you outsourced and whose pensions you stole, the people whose lives you and your Wall St. banksters ruined. We will not take "no" for an answer. Show us your papers, Mr. Romney! Now!!

- more -

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/04/1116592/-Rachel-Maddow-Mitt-Romney-has-a-tell

Note:

Kos Media, LLC Site content may be used for any purpose without explicit permission unless otherwise specified

[rocktivity]

1. This form really exists -- here's where you can download it

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506.pdf

The IRS charges $57 for a copy of each return, but you can get a free transcript by filing a Form 4506-T. I wonder what would happen if the Romney campaign got flooded with these...


rocktivity

[mwooldri]

11. IMO Romney needs to hire a well-known law firm.

I got a law firm in mind: Miner, Barhill & Galland. Obama was a lawyer with that law firm - when he was there it was called Davis, Miner, Barhill & Garland. This law firm is known for working on civil rights litigation but they do commercial litigation, in the areas of Securities and Banking.

All Mr. Romney needs to do to clear this up whilst keeping his tax returns hidden is to hire one of these lawyers, provide them with a proper 4506-T, hand over $570 so that the lawyer can get 10 years of returns. Then Mr. Romney can authorize that lawyer to give a brief summary - a statement like "I have reviewed Mr. Romney's taxes, and I am permitted to say that he has paid taxes every year". That is, if he did pay taxes every year. Beyond that, attorney/client privilege would prevent the lawyer from saying anything more.

[warrior1]

2. She did a good job laying all of this out

I would add one thing to what she said. How is it that John McCain was able to get his tax returns for multiple years and the American public can't? And after JM did see them, he picked Sarah Palin?

[rocktivity]

4. But what if McCain NEVER SAW Mitt's returns?

Maybe Romney refused to show HIM the returns, and THAT'S why McCain gave him the boot. I mean, if the returns were harmless, wouldn't McCain have come forward and defended him by now? It would be the least that a fellow Republican could do -- especially for someone who had been a potential running mate!


rocktivity

[ProSense]

9. It's likely

"But what if McCain NEVER SAW Mitt's returns?"

...that Mitt never gave McCain the full returns. I mean, he released only a part of the 2010 return.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

13. wonder where and by whom the original statement was made that he released them to McCain?

I think that it's very possible that he got tons of paper (Schmidt said, his returns are nothing like the normal person's). You would need a master accountant to decipher. It's also very possible that they went "holy shit"...and got intimidated. You know the feeling, when someone presents something so official looking, so overwhelming, that you just think "Wow, this must be legit?" And, perhaps McCain didn't really like Mitt anyway....so they didn't delve into it at all. The would have probably thought, geez, we'll have to hire a big time accounting firm to look this over. And, remember, he was low on funds at that point.

I can truly see why McCain wouldn't want Romney. McCain's a crusty, hard-drinking, guy's guy. He may have pictured Romney telling him "You've had too many drinks already John." or "Take your feet off that coffee table, John."

[lunatica]

3. I watched her too

The reason he doesn't release his tax returns is because he got away with it twice before. I think Romney was hiding something in 1994 too. But it looks like this time his sleazy tactics aren't working.

I also think the Obama campaign has done some thorough opposition research on Romney and that's why they went on the offensive right out of the gate. Romney's tactics have been left in the dust and he can't catch a break now.

In hindsight it's easy to see what Romney's Achilles Heal is.

Rachel Maddow is a real asset. I love her.

[rocktivity]

5. So he's going into stonewall mode a la Nixon?

Well, while that may have worked with the local yokels, he's applying for a global public service job now. Does Romney HONESTLY believe that so many people hate Obama that they'd vote for someone with no financial transparency?


rocktivity

[lunatica]

7. I think Romney is supremely confident that his lies still work.

He isn't a politician. He's a CEO and though that may be a good thing for him in business it doesn't translate well into the political arena. He's used to being the unquestioned boss who can say and do anything without repercussions as long as he delivers on the bottom line. In politics money is used to run the country while in business it's used to get rich. He doesn't seem to get that concept.

[coalition_unwilling]

15. It's the 'modified limited hangout' v 2.0:

“PRESIDENT: You think, you think we want to, want to go this route now? And the--let it hang out, so to speak?

DEAN: Well, it's, it isn't really that--

HALDEMAN: It's a limited hang out.

DEAN: It's a limited hang out.

EHRLICHMAN: It's a modified limited hang out.

PRESIDENT: Well, it's only the questions of the thing hanging out publicly or privately.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_hangout

*******************

[ProSense]

12. Yes:

"Rachel Maddow is a real asset. I love her. "

Unlike the handwringers.

Kevin Drum: "But if he can't back this up, it's about as sleazy a ratfuck as we've seen since the days of CREEP."
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/08/harry-reid-doubles-down

Seriously, WTF?

[bayareaboy]

6. I watched this story last night ...

I wish she had an earthshaking story, but this was OK.

She always describes her stories to the full extant. In fact if she does a lead in to some one Else's story she always asks if she has represented the story well. Well of course no one from the Mittens camp was there, and of course all they would do is throw some offal somewhere else. But she did tell us about another big problem that little Mitt has.

Where is our current day Shakespeare writing Mac Willard?

[warrior1]

8. He's tell is he did this before and got caught

but he still hasn't stopped lying.

He got caught with his non-residence status running for gov in MA.

[aquart]

26. That's his tell? I always thought it was that little sickly laugh.

Don't believe a word after that laugh.

[whathehell]

30. Yes, I watched her and her point was that it was the laugh..n/t

[bonniebgood]

10. Form 4506 should be a billboard on I-95

in Virginia and I-85 and I -95 in North Carolina instead of the billboard
that makes the NEWS saying "i built this" BS and Obama can kiss my *ss Billboards.
I would definitely contribute to Billboards of this sort.

Mitt is so arrogant he Got Elected in MA without showing his taxes
why not the President?

Caught in all those lies and MA still elected him?

by The most educated people in the Country Elected Mitt how and Why?

Maybe Rachel can tell us she one of the educated from MA.

[JHB]

16. Someting like this?

[bayareaboy]

17. Are you talking about Rachel or maybe Rachel Ray?

Rachel the News Lady is from the East Bay area and started college at Stanford. She lived for a while in Western Mass, while doing a radio show there. She now lives in NYC.

[90-percent]

29. Rachel lives in NYC?

Doesn't she still have a place in Northampton, MA., that she still weekends at?

It makes sense that she lives in NYC during her work week.

-90% Jimmy

[Laura PourMeADrink]

14. I missed what the "tell" was. Thought it meant something he did that showed he was lying.

I thought she had amassed footage where he laughed before a lie.

So his hypocrisy is that he flip-flopped on multiple times on turning over tax returns and covered under the "Kennedy privacy" idea, but then kept asking others to show there's.

I think Salon's Joshua Holland's article described this character trait of Romney's very well and explains all this we are discussing.
Great list of 10 possible explanations for RobMe's actions:
http://www.salon.com/2012/08/03/10_theories_on_romneys_taxes_salpart/

Esquire’s James Wolcott doesn’t think there’s any there there. Sure, Romney’s tax returns would provide an object lesson in how the ultra-rich avoid paying their fair share of taxes, but everyone already knows that those at the top of the pile game the system. For Wolcott, the issue comes down to Romney refusing to bow to the little people on principle.

It is helpful always to remind yourself that, in the mind of Willard Romney, there are only two kinds of people — himself and his family, and the Help. Throughout his career, and especially throughout his brief political career, Romney has treated the Help with a kind of lordly disdain…

The Help has no right to go pawing through the family books, giggling at the obvious loopholes and tax dodges, running amok through all the tax shelters, and probably getting their chocolate-y fingerprints all over the pages of the Romney family ledger. And, certainly, those members of the Help in the employ of the president of the United States, who is also part of the Help, have no right to use the nearly comically ostentatious wealth of the Romney as some sort of scrimey political weapon. He does not have to answer to the Help. I mean, jeepers, he’s running for office.

This isn’t stubbornness. That’s often an acquired trait. What this is, fundamentally, is contempt. Contempt for the process, and contempt for the people who make their living in that process, and contempt for the people whose lives depend on that process. There are rules for the Help with which Willard Romney never has had to abide, and he has no intention of starting now. My dear young fellow, this simply is not done.

[No DUplicitous DUpe]

23. Re: I thought she had amassed footage where he laughed before a lie.

That's what I thought too. It does seem that Romney does that nervous laugh, before he either gives a non answer, or lies. I didn't see the show, but was listening to it via podcast as I was driving home, and that fake laugh just jumped out at me, and was hoping Rachel had more examples.

here's one example (at the 1:40 mark):

[DallasNE]

18. One Thing That Is Unclear To Me

Concerns his 1999 and 2000 Massachuttes tax returns and his successful run for Governor. Romney has claimed that he filed both Utah and Mass. returns as a resident and one report I heard said that he re-filed those two years in Mass. to change his status from non-resident to resident in order to be eligible to run for Governor in Mass. Can anyone confirm, with a link, whether this is the case or not? There is a lot of confusing stuff flying around regarding Romney's income taxes.

[ProSense]

19. Here:

(The first is a 2002 article)

Romney says he didn’t file as Mass. resident in ’99-’00

Candidate amended returns after launching candidacy for governor

By Frank Phillips

Republican gubernatorial hopeful Mitt Romney contradicted his previous public statements yesterday, and said for the first time that he did not file Massachusetts income tax returns for 1999 and 2000 as a resident of this state.

At a news conference, Romney said that he filed as a part-year resident for 1999 and a nonresident for 2000. He amended those returns, claiming Massachusetts resident status, on April 2, a week after he announced he was running for governor of Massachusetts and four days before the state Republican convention that endorsed his candidacy.

The Massachusetts Constitution requires a governor to be a resident for each of the seven years prior to the election. Romney has been embroiled in a controversy over his residency since Wednesday, when the Globe reported his home in Park City, Utah, was classified as his “primary residence” for 1999 through 2001, giving him a $54,000 break on his property taxes.

<...>

Romney’s revelations about his amended returns came one day after he told reporters he had “filed both as a resident of Utah and a resident of Massachusetts” when asked whether he filed taxes as a resident of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2001.

- more -

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2002/06/07/romney-says-didn-file-mass-resident/cxg3maVKXTA0iIuekT4QPO/story.html

Romney: ‘I Don’t Recall’ Coming Back For Mass. Meetings

Mitt Romney said that he had no recollection of returning to Massachusetts for business meetings in 2002 following his departure from Bain Capital to head the Olympics in Salt Lake City.

“I left Bain in February of 1999,” Romney said in an interview with CBS’s Jan Crawford on Friday evening. ”People can point out how - I was in Salt Lake City for three straight years. I don’t recall even coming back once to go to a Bain or management meeting. We were, I was out there running the Olympics and it was a full time job, I can tell you that.”

Romney testified to Massachusetts officials in 2002 that he maintained business ties during his Olympics work, undermining his argument that he had no connection to Bain Capital or related companies after 1999.

“So not once,” Crawford pressed, “you don’t remember a board meeting, you don’t remember talking about whether or not there should be outsourcing jobs overseas? Do you remember any involvement with Bain Capital from 1999 on?”

- more -

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/romney-i-dont-recall-coming-back-for-mass

Mitt Romney told CBS News‘s Jan Crawford Friday evening that he did not attend Bain Capital meetings after he left the company in February of 1999 to run the Winter Olympics. But this answer appears to contradict sworn testimony he delivered in 2002 “as part of a hearing to determine whether he had sufficient residency status in Massachusetts to run for governor”:

– 2002: “(T)here were a number of social trips and business trips that brought me back to Massachusetts, board meetings, Thanksgiving and so forth.”

– 2012: “I was in Salt Lake City for three straight years. I don’t recall even coming back once to go to a Bain or management meeting. We were, I was out there running the Olympics and it was a full time job, I can tell you that.”

- more -

http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/07/13/516951/romney-interview-directly-contradicts-his-previous-statements-about-bain-tenure

Yes, Romney Perjured Himself

The claim that he committed a felony by falsely reporting his role at Bain Capital under oath is what has really gotten under Romney's skin. But it seems pretty clear to me that he signed a federal financial disclosure form, under the penalty of perjury, saying he had not been involved "in any way" with Bain after he left for Utah in February 1999. That's a strong statement. And it is directly undercut by Romney's own statement in his 2002 attempt to prove residency to run for governor:

Romney testified that “there were a number of social trips and business trips that brought (him) back to Massachusetts, board meetings” while he was running the Olympics. He added that he remained on the boards of several companies, including the Lifelike Co., in which Bain Capital held a stake until 2001...

“He succeeded in that three-year period in restoring confidence in the Olympic Games, closing that disastrous deficit and staging one of the most successful Olympic Games ever to occur on US soil,” said Peter L. Ebb from Ropes & Gray, (his lawyer at the 2002 hearing).

“Now while all that was going on, very much in the public eye, what happened to his private and public ties to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts? And the answer is they continued unabated just as they had.”

So the question of whether Romney committed a felony in his financial disclosure form is a very real one - because Romney and Romney's lawyer provide the strongest evidence that it was perjury. Now we have more contemporaneous evidence that Romney perjured himself:

During the 2002 hearing — in a remark that has not been previously reported — Romney said that after he departed Bain in February 1999 he went through a transition period regarding his work in Boston.

When a lawyer challenging his eligibility asked Romney, "Did you remain more or less continuously in Salt Lake City from February '99 to the end of the year," Romney answered: "Actually, there was some transition away from my work in Boston for the first few months and then I pretty much stayed there after." Trying to clarify this, the lawyer, after referring to this "transition," asked, "So from February through the end of the year you were pretty much full-time out in Utah, right?" Romney replied: "Well again, the beginning of the year was a good deal of time back and forth, but towards the last half of the year it was pretty much exclusively in Utah."

If there was a good deal of time back and forth in the first few months and some business conducted all the way through to December ("pretty much exclusively&quot , and if Romney's own lawyer tells an inquiry that Romney's work for Bain "continued unabated just as they had," then it is incontrovertibly true that Romney's statement under oath that he was not involved "in any way" in Bain business after February 1999 was a lie under oath.

- more -

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/07/yes-romney-perjured-himself.html

Hope that helps!

[BumRushDaShow]

20. ^^^ THIS is the key issue ^^^

IMHO. The flip-flopping and hypocrisy is par for his course but the residency issue needs to be pounded more and more.

I.e., he LIED about being a resident of MA when he ran for governor and then had to retroactively file income tax returns for MA in order to retroactively "establish residency", in order to have been retroactively deemed eligible to be governor.

It all fits into his having it both ways - purportedly never having gone back to MA at all while in UT (until he retroactively says he did to fit some narrative), yet having had to have been a resident of MA in order to be eligible to run for governor of MA when he was purportedly done with UT.

This is the same playbook that Sanatorium played when he took PA state money for his kids' education while neither he nor his family lived in PA (they lived in VA) while he was PA Senator.

Poor people who try to send their kids to schools in wealthier districts by illegally claiming residency in that district, often end up prosecuted and fined. See an example of this sad state of affairs -

http://thegrio.com/2011/05/10/school-residency-arrests-raise-fairness-questions/

[DallasNE]

25. Thanks, This Puts It Together Nicely

When I had only heard once about refiling of the tax returns over residency I was beginning to doubt the truthfulness and this now removes all doubt. It also helps show just what a scoundrel Romney really is that he will say anything to anyone and get away with it -- at least to date. It is like I have been saying, Romney comes across more and more like Nixon every day -- using the "bring it on" and "put up or shut up" bluster to shut things down. Well, the bully boy may have met his match this time around.

[David Zephyr]

21. I missed that Rachel episode. Thanks for boiling it all down here.

And, like you, I don't believe, but I know that is the issue that will destroy Mitt Romney with the American people and voters. This has got to be at the top of our playlist. Thanks for an excellent post.

[tsuki]

22. Here's the problem:

"every journalist who wants to honestly earn his or her paycheck,"

[dmr]

24. I tweeted. Will continue to tweet.

[marble falls]

27. Mitt's "tell" when he's about to lie?

His lips are moving.

[railsback]

28. Maybe McCain

is Harry Reid's source.