Harry Reid: My Source On Romney’s Taxes Is A Republican (updated)

[ProSense]

Last edited Fri Aug 10, 2012, 05:36 PM - Edit history (1)

Harry Reid: My Source On Romney’s Taxes Is A Republican

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is keeping his story about Mitt Romney’s taxes alive another day. On Thursday, an aide teased more details about the Bain Capitol investor Reid says told him Romney didn’t pay taxes for 10 years. From the Huffington Post:

“This person is an investor in Bain Capital, a Republican also, and somebody who has been dealing with Romney’s company for a long, long time and he has direct knowledge of this,” said Reid aide Jose Parra, referring to Romney’s tax returns.

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entries/harry-reid-my-source-on-romneys-taxes-is

Updated to add:

UPDATE: 7:08 p.m. -- Parra now says he doesn't know whether Reid's source is Republican. In an email to HuffPost, he wrote:

"I do not know the party affiliation of the source, how long he invested with Bain, or his relationship to Romney beyond the fact that he was an investor with Bain Capital, as Senator Reid has previously stated."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/harry-reid-mitt-romney-tax-returns_n_1762255.html

The toast image stays though:

Jon Huntsman Sr., longtime Romney backer, calls on him to release tax returns
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021105291

[freshwest]

1. The Plot Thickens!

[emilyg]

113. He took his comment back.

[freshwest]

116. Link?

[ozsea1]

117. no link?

PUMAs for Romney? Sheesh.

[emilyg]

123. Read it on DU - you can search.

[ozsea1]

126. Nope!

You made the original assertion, and the burden of proof is on you.

Nice try at deflection, though.

[Tx4obama]

127. Here is the 'walk back' and a link - so the OP is no longer correct.

UPDATE: 7:08 p.m. -- Parra now says he doesn't know whether Reid's source is Republican. In an email to HuffPost, he wrote:

"I do not know the party affiliation of the source, how long he invested with Bain, or his relationship to Romney beyond the fact that he was an investor with Bain Capital, as Senator Reid has previously stated."


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/harry-reid-mitt-romney-tax-returns_n_1762255.html

[emilyg]

136. Thank you - I had no

time to search. Had to pick-up grandson.

[emilyg]

137. Look below - link added. Nice try

at something or other.

[emilyg]

138. 11 posts and u calling me a PUMA?

[ozsea1]

145. You use HuffPo as a credible source??

And evoking "seniority" ????

[emilyg]

146. It's been years since

I've been to Huffpo. Carry on.

[ozsea1]

148. the "walk-back", as you stated

was reported by HuffPo.

Nice try.

[mucifer]

2. wouldn't a republican have a motive to lie to Harry?

[rfranklin]

3. Is that you Karl Rove?

Was this communicated with a Selectric typewriter?

[mucifer]

5. Ya got me... I'm karl rove.

[rfranklin]

29. I was envisioning another setup by Rove...

Sends in a credible source who turns out to be not so credible. Better that there is no actual source.

[mucifer]

30. Darn I wanted to be karl rove

[chknltl]

43. There can only be one turd blossom...

But I am pretty sure nobody else has laid claim to the nickname fart-petals yet.

[canuckledragger]

56. DUzy! lol

[concreteblue]

63. heh...he...hheehh....hack...cough....

OMG! I laughed so hard my copd kicked in!.......worth it though........lol!

[calimary]

65. Fart-petals!????!?!??!?!!!!!!!! OMG!!!! chknltl!!!!

OMG!!!!!


OMG!!!!!

[Aerows]

72. fart-petals

LMFAO

[DeSwiss]

139. LULZ!!!

- First! - Fart-petals©™

[chknltl]

140. Say what....Fart Petals is already trademarked? Drats!

[DeSwiss]

142. Ecclesiastes 9:11

''I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. ''{NIV}

[freshwest]

114. Somewhere on the thread, he's going to show up.

[ProSense]

7. Doesn't matter

"wouldn't a republican have a motive to lie to Harry?"

Then a Republican's credibility is in jeopardy. Reid is just relaying what this person told him.

Romney has an opportunity to prove that the person is lying.

The ‘Missing Evidence’ In Romney’s Tax Records
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021084266

[1StrongBlackMan]

20. Yep ...

The absolute worst thing that can happen is Reid holding a press conference saying, "My bad! I used poor judgment in accepting a republican at his word. Won't happen again."

[kentuck]

27. +1

[Bandit]

17. Does it matter?

The ONLY thing Rmoney can do is release his tax returns... Nothing else matters.. It doesn't matter if Reid is making the whole thing up, although I am fairly certain he is not...

[freshwest]

115. Nothing Else Matters

[PatrynXX]

49. yeah but old school republicans

were more moderate. thus if the source has been friends with Harry for a long time.......

[Ruby the Liberal]

74. Okay, so play that out, "Karl".

Generic Republican hits the news and says, "It was me, but I said ABC. Harry just thought I said XYZ".

Harry follows that with "I wasn't talking about your gossip, you freak - I was talking about someone else with knowledge of the situation".

Still win/win.

[klook]

81. Interesting scenario.

Sorta like aspiring mobsters who have to take a fall to get in good with a kingpin.

[glinda]

112. Good point.

[DrewFlorida]

125. Many moderate republicans are unhappy with the extremists in the party.

Because of this many of them might be afraid of what could happen if a republican who panders to the extreme right were to win the presidency. Of course they would have to remain anonymous to avoid persecution from their own party.

While I understand this could potentialy be a trap, I tend to believe it's true.

[Cali_Democrat]

4. Jon Huntsman?

He was involved with Bain and still hasn't endorsed Romney.

Hmmmm.......

[BeyondGeography]

11. My thought as well

No love lost there.

Love the drip, drip, drip...

[ProSense]

15. Interesting. Remember

this claim by Abby Huntsman, Jon Huntsman's daughter:

In fact, according to people close to the situation, Romney would drop out of the presidential race before ever releasing further tax returns.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/abby-huntsman/mitt-romney-tax-returns_b_1675711.html

[hifiguy]

42. Given the latest clues, that's my guess.

Everything I have read indicates that Huntsman loathes Romney. Harry tightens the vise another half-turn.

[NoMoreWarNow]

78. Verrry interesting!

the plot thickens!

[DevonRex]

86. Yes.

The source is a Mormon. Definitely. The McCain camp may be involved but did not give the info to Reid. Someone may have discussed it with Huntsman in 2008 to try and confirm some of the information in the taxes. After all, it would have been almost unbelievable to McCain that Romney had paid nothing.

[hifiguy]

87. I think you are right - it is certainly

a Mormon. I also think it's a near-lock that it is someone in or associated with the Huntsman family.

[Brewinblue]

88. Huntsman has been my guess for some time.

He has never hid his distaste for Mitt, and the Bain, Mormon connection just all add up, especially now knowing it is a Republican.

This is like a great political soap opera. One can't wait until the next episode to see how Mitt's candidacy continues to crumble in ever more amazing manners.

[jillan]

102. You just may be on to something!!

That actually makes sense. Huntsman would know. Plus he is also a member of the Mormon church and is probably disgusted by the amount of lies coming out of Mitt's mouth.

PLUS - he probably wants to run again in 2016.

Good thinking Cali_Dem

[Frustratedlady]

104. That was my guess, as well.

No love lost there and Huntsman would have felt comfortable enough to call Reid.

[SemperEadem]

110. Daily Kos is saying it's Jon Huntsman, Sr.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/09/1118428/-It-s-John-Huntsman-Sr-right-Harry

Harry Reid has a Republican source who has told him that Mitt Romney didn't pay taxes in 10 years. Who could he possibly known that would have that information? Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's dad sounds like the likely source.

Jon Huntsman Sr, is business partners with Robert C. Gay, who also happened to be Bain's managing director between 1989 and 2004. And if anyone knows the machinations Bain used to evade taxes for itself and its partners, well, it would be the guy in charge of the firm's finances.

not to mention this:

Remember it was a Huntsman daughter who penned

an article at HuffPo with Ryan Grim that had sources saying Romney would have never ran if he knew he had to open up his tax filings.

Does the Huntsman family talk Romney's taxes around the dinner table?

by Jacoby Jonze

[ozsea1]

118. Markos discussed this on The Stephanie Miller Show this morning, Pacific time

Makes sense.

Nothing more politically entertaining on a Friday than a Mormon family feud !

[ohheckyeah]

134. Maybe they do talk about it around the table.......

The truth is, Jon Huntsman and Mitt Romney are cousins. Crazy, I know because the mainstream media has pretty much ignored that fact even though it is pretty well known, especially in Utah. Weirdly, it’s as if the media doesn’t want the rest of us to discover this fact. Now they have several times referred to the two men as “frenemies” but rarely, if ever, have they mentioned the fact that these two are blood related. The fact that they have been labeled “frenemies” also raises an eyebrow and makes this strange relationship even more confusing.

http://theswash.com/liberty/blood-feud-the-huntsman-romney-connection

It's a libertarian website but popped up in my Google search.

[alfredo]

111. Yeah, the elder Huntsman could be the one.

[progressivebydesign]

6. Give em hell, Harry! n/t

[uponit7771]

8. Jim Greer from Florida, former GOPer....MAD AS HELL

[PCIntern]

9. McCain nt

[LadyHawkAZ]

33. +1

[proud patriot]

66. ++2

[NightWatcher]

76. +3 Maybe Reid remembers McCain talking about it from 4 years ago when/why he chose Palin

[1StrongBlackMan]

10. Drip ... Drip ... Drip ...

Someone's booty-hole just tightened a bit!

[berni_mccoy]

12. Bwahahahah. Thinking it's Rick Davis or A.B. Culvahouse

[maxsolomon]

13. In all likelihood, Willard knows who his Nemesis is.

by process of elimination.

[Tarheel_Dem]

14. I am so stealing that image!

[sadbear]

16. Wouldn't it be a hoot if it were Ann Romney?

[ProSense]

19. .

[berni_mccoy]

21. Hmmm, Makes me think it could be Matt or Ben Romney

[aquart]

38. Nuh uh. Like Ann, the boys have never seen the returns.

[1StrongBlackMan]

23. LOL ...

Yeah ... Back when Reid wasn't "You people."

[aquart]

34. I doubt she's even glanced at the returns.

[coalition_unwilling]

106. LOL - Good one! - n/t

[dimbear]

18. What with the deathsquad investors, pornkings at Marriott, etc. Mitt seems more human every day.

A regular guy after all. Prolly gonna need a few beers before November.

[grantcart]

22. Huntsman. Huntsman's Dad was a very early investor with Bain.

[Bluerthanblue]

37. and a fellow mormon.

that would make sense.

[maddezmom]

40. that is my first guess as well

[Canuckistanian]

77. First thing I thought of

Great minds, etc.

[monmouth]

24. Harry should stop talking now...STOP, say. no. more...n/t

[1StrongBlackMan]

32. Why ...

would he stop punching when the body blows are clear bring down romney's hands and opening up his enormous chin?

[NewJeffCT]

57. The slow release of info

keeps the story in the news.

[1StrongBlackMan]

96. Oh ...

Okay!

This is like watching a M. Ali fight. Reid is working the body, while leaning on romney ... getting sweat in romney's eyes and stepping all over his feet.

[Jackpine Radical]

97. Funny you should come up with that metaphor--

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021103695

Great minds indeed.

[toddwv]

120. The RNC convention isn't until the end of the month...

It's important to establish a proper pace.

Do we really want to start the whole ballgame over with a different candidate if R$ flames out before he officially accepts the nomination?

[Grown2Hate]

92. Worst. Advice. Ever. KEEP attacking this coward, day after day after day after

day. KEEP ON THE OFFENSIVE. It's WORKING. For once, we're not playing defense daily. I'm STILL not seeing any returns, STILL not seeing anyone who has denying this. I'm LOVING this...

[Scuba]

25. Professor Plum...... In the Study.......... With the Tax Returns!!

Harry should be able to drag it out through Rmoney's VP and the Republican Nat'l Convention.

Dems are damned brilliant, and seem to have a spine for a change.

[sadbear]

26. Everyone knows Professor Plum is a Democrat

Col. Mustard, on the other hand....

[southernyankeebelle]

28. Oh Harry you little boxer you. Drip, drip, drip

[TDale313]

31. yeah, let's just hope Romney isn't...

Rope-a-doping us all. I don't think that's the case, though. Oh, and add me to the "I think it's Huntsman" camp.

[1StrongBlackMan]

35. Ropa-Doping or not ...

The absolute worst thing that can happen is Reid holding a press conference saying, "My bad! I used poor judgment in accepting a republican at his word. Won't happen again."


Besides ... It's only called a "Ropa-Dope" when you can take the punch; otherwise, it's called "taking an a$$ kicking."

[coalition_unwilling]

107. Is it asking too much for Reid to deliver the knock-out uppercut during

the Repig Convention?

OMG, that would just about make my entire life to see it go down like that.

[southernyankeebelle]

58. They say that Reid is very honest and I don't think he would say something like this if

he wasn't sure.

[Marr]

36. Remember when McCain said his campaign 'didn't see anything' in Romney's tax returns?

Maybe that was a funny way of saying he didn't pay anything.

[1StrongBlackMan]

39. Or ...

he saw nothing wrong with romney's not paying anything.

[kentuck]

51. Maybe he didn't see anything.....

Because he didn't see anything? Maye we should take it literally?

[truebluegreen]

84. If he didn't see anything

why isn't he defending Romney?

[Marr]

89. You mean he's blind?

McCain's comment on the issue was classic word parsing. At least, it seemed so to me. It was a carefully constructed statement that could not pin anyone to the wall.

[1StrongBlackMan]

131. I think his statement was saying ...

He didn't see anything "wrong" with romney's filings. If you agree that there is nothing wrong with someone making hundreds of millions of dollars and paying little to nothing in taxes, then you WOULDN'T see anything wrong.

I'm sure Cindy has a team of lawyers how's soul job is to make sure she pays as little tax as she can get away with.

[Botany]

41. Harry is just screwing w/ Mitt's mind now.

[hifiguy]

50. Yup.

Great, ain't it?

[bayareaboy]

53. Sure he is ...

But every time he speaks somebody here at DU is looking for third and forth stage plots from Karl Rove. Harry attends temple in Las Vegas where their are some folks who invested in Bain and are RePUGs and LDS. he also I guess attends temple in Washington DC where their are folks who invested in Bain and are Repugs and LDS. There is probably a few folks who might have gotten burned by their investment in Bain. Now is the picture developing.

Rove besides his secret fund really don't have much more going in this election.

Besides that do you all think that Harry Reid didn't run this through the a few folks in the Obama camp before making his first statement.

[notadmblnd]

95. So that recent meeting between Rove and Rmoney in colorado was just a nice friendly visit?

they drank coffee and ate struddle and talked about the yellow wax buildup on their kitchen floors?

[bayareaboy]

103. I don't think Mittens drinks coffee ...

Are you saying that there is some great third of fourth secret agent thing going on. I think Rove is happy counting money in his secret stash.

We will see, but I am not holding my breath waiting to see Mr Karl put on his masking cloak.

[notadmblnd]

122. I'm saying they were stratigizing with Karl Roves super PAC.

And that is a violation of election rules.

[bayareaboy]

141. Yes, I will really agree with you on that one!

So what do you think Roves little super PAC will do with Mitts little throwing in the towel today. Of course Rovian will be fair and above board. right?

[notadmblnd]

144. It will come up with something sleazier than the last. right now they are trying

to make an issue of Obama's formal education. I think it will go that way. But it will just be another epic fail.

[Pisces]

44. i love it. Keep up the good work Harry!!!

[ejbr]

45. Not only is the source a Republican, but

the source is also a dressage enthusiast. Not only THAT, my source hates Obamacare. And get this, my source wants me to provide you his or her name, but I'll do that once Romney releases his tax returns.

[Major Nikon]

46. Now that's just fucking old school

I'm thinkin' that Harry is just sticking it in and has yet to break it off.

[chknltl]

47. WOW, who'd a thunk that ....

....Larry Flynt was both a Mormon and a republican! Boy....that'll learn the mittster not to mess with the porn industry.

[graywarrior]

48. Mittens probably told Harry....lol

[liberal N proud]

52. All the republicans are running around...

It wasn't me - it wasn't me!

[coalition_unwilling]

108. OMG, that is probably so true. Paranoia . . . will

destroy-ya.

[elzenmahn]

54. YOUR MOVE, MITTWITT

But then, it always was...

[Liberalman777]

55. Let me Guess... It's Oren Hatch?

I'd lay moeny that is who tipped Reid off..

[marlakay]

59. Who ever it is must have given Harry permission

to say what he did as long as he kept his name out of it.

[DallasNE]

60. This Guy Fits

A business partner at Bain Capital before becoming a business partner for Jon Huntsman Sr.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_C._Gay

[tomm2thumbs]

61. Ten to one Romney let it slip years ago in a phone call, but Reid made it sound recent

First he went back and confirmed phone records of the call, then he checked his call log and notes made at the time, and now he has a little bit of insurance against the very man who claims to have nothing to hide.

Who doesn't think Romney is just the type of idiot who would share something like this boastfully only to not realize that it would be his undoing later on.

[1-Old-Man]

98. I don't think there is a single shred of evidence that happened

And it is very unlikely that the President of the Senate would make the statements that Harry has based on something as insubstantial as that. Harry is not a fool, he would not have made the statements he did unless he felt that he had rock solid evidence to support him. To do otherwise would be beyond reckless and you do not rise to the heights Harry has by being reckless.

[cleduc]

62. Huntsman’s family gave nearly $25,000 to Reid last cycle

http://www.lasvegassun.com/blogs/ralstons-flash/2011/jun/22/huntsmans-family-gave-nearly-25000-reid-last-cycle/

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who said this week he prefers Jon Huntsman to Mitt Romney in the GOP Mormon presidential primary, has taken a lot of money from the Huntsman family, and the former Utah governor appointed Reid’s son, Josh, to Utah’s Board of Regents.

So no wonder Reid said Tuesday, “If I had a choice in that race, I’d choose Huntsman over Romney.”

And if they had a choice – and they did – many members of the newly minted presidential candidate’s family, including his parents, chose Reid in the most important U.S. Senate race in the country last cycle. Indeed, the Huntsmans have long been Reid supporters, although the former governor, who is scheduled to be be in Nevada on Friday, has never given directly to Reid's Senate campaigns.

But his parents and a couple of his brothers (Peter, James) and some in-laws have. And his Dad even helped the Nevada Democratic Party ($5,000) in 2008. I’m told Reid has known the senior Huntsman since the 1990s and is friendly with the son, too.

Note: Jon Huntsman tried to distance himself from Reid in the update at the bottom of the article.

Huntsman's father's partner is Robert C Gay, a Mormon elder and past managing director for Bain Capital until 2004 - not long after Romney left. So he was there for close to 16 years with Mitt Romney in a senior management position.

EDIT: credit to someone on Daily Kos for that article.

[Floyd_Gondolli]

64. I think we have a bingo N/t

[cleduc]

73. Further to that

Huntsman's daughter wrote two articles recently (and probably previously posted):

Mitt Romney Never Thought He'd Have To Release Tax Returns: Bain Sources
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/07/18/mitt-romney-tax-returns_n_1682539.html

Mitt Romney has been determined to resist releasing his tax returns at least since his bid for Massachusetts governor in 2002 and has been confident that he will never be forced to do so, several current and former Bain executives tell The Huffington Post. Had he thought otherwise, say the sources based on their longtime understanding of Romney, he never would have gone forward with his run for president.

Romney's Tax Returns Could Cost Him the Election
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/abby-huntsman/mitt-romney-tax-returns_b_1675711.html

If one has nothing to hide, why not release a set of comprehensive records (Romney reportedly, after all, provided the McCain campaign with 20+ years of returns when being vetted for VP)? The answer is simple -- he must have something to hide.

Could he actually be worth more than is being estimated under federal disclosure filings (currently ~$190-250 million)? Has putting money in offshore accounts in some way lowered the amount of taxes he's had to pay (according to his campaign, the answer is no)? Or, is there significant income from Bain that was earned after his departure in 1999 (when Romney claims to have not been involved in Bain's investment decisions)? And lastly, was a deal stuck with fellow Bain partners that Romney could never disclose certain information about the firm and its income (since Bain remains a private company)?

It's difficult to know, but one thing is evident -- Romney and his campaign would only weather the current storm if the alternative of releasing additional information about his taxes were even worse than the present. In fact, according to people close to the situation, Romney would drop out of the presidential race before ever releasing further tax returns. It does seem a bit ironic, that a man whose father was one of the champions of transparency with regards to a candidate's finances is now the most blatant offender in modern presidential politics. Even more ironic, is that in general any member of Romney's potential Cabinet (or political appointee confirmed by the Senate) would be required to submit at least three years of tax returns. It seems very strange that the most senior member of the Executive branch wouldn't be held to the same standard.

So Huntsman's daughter also has multiple Bain sources and whacked Mitt pretty hard using them in those two articles.

(again, speculation on my part here but the number of Reid-Bain-Huntsman-Romney links is kind of remarkable)

[BumRushDaShow]

67. K&R

Drip. Drip. Drip.

[Kalidurga]

68. It's really starting to look like Reid isn't going to apologize.

LMAO. Romney is probably very confused by this. Ha ha ha ha ha.

I think Huntsman is a great guess. Or the partner of Huntsman's dad, that is pretty good too. But, for comedy I like Ann being the source. I think she is likely being abused, so that would be her motive. I dunno if she has seen the returns or not, but you can bet Mitt would be bragging to her about his returns.

[Ruby the Liberal]

79. To her credit - I can see her wanting this over YESTERDAY

Lord, he is making an ass out of himself on an international state on a daily basis.

I'd leak it too.

[Historic NY]

143. Huntsman Sr. came out today & said he was "feeling badly"...

over Mitt not releasing his taxes...Huntsman is also a Mormon.

What do the Mormons know and when did they all know it? Something isn't all Hunky-dory with Mitt and Salt Lake.

[SDjack]

69. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Minority Leader? He and Harry are friends,

and spend a lot of time together scripting the Senate sessions. Mittens will now be suspicious of Republicans who invested in Bain.

[spanone]

70. k&r...

[SidDithers]

71. Drip, drip, drip...

Sid

[ecstatic]

75. :-)

Love it!

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

80. Jon Huntsman...just sayin'

[unblock]

82. such monumental stupidity on this issue from the rmoney campaign.

as long as rmoney refuses to release his taxes, democrats are free to take incremental pot shots.
every day brings more speculation, more rumor, more tidbits of information.

TERRIBLE scandal management.

if the tax returns are embarassing but survivable, he should have dumped them many a friday afternoon ago, then brought out esteemed tax lawyers to insist everything he did was perfectly legal and also important to show his clients how good he was at lowering his tax bill.

alternatively, if the tax returns really are so bad he just can't release them, then the mclame campaign did the republican party a huge disservice by not leaking this story earlier in the primary season.


i'm loving it, of course, but astounded by the incompetence!

[upi402]

83. Romeny's reply is to challenge Reid on his source.... NOT the fact of it.

Busted.

[malaise]

85. Go Harry!

[Justice wanted]

90. .......

(pppsssttt: I hope it's McCain.)

[grasswire]

91. drip drip drip

every day, top of the news!

[spinbaby]

100. Unfortunately, not top of the news

Not in the news at all from what I've seen this morning.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

93. Well, I'll be damned. He's gonna play this until he releases the source.

I thought Harry was just taking blows for the team before. Now I'm rethinking that concept. I am beginning to get a feel that this is a long game strategy and he's playing the "give him enough rope to hang himself" game with Romney.

Hell, even if he's not they're sweating bullets thinking the same thing. Delicious!

[Proles]

94. Stop this! Democrats aren't supposed to be on the offensive!

He shouldn't do this anymore! We're better than this!

[Berlum]

99. Cool.

I really hope someone somehow can squeeze a drop of truth out of Willard (R)

[B2G]

101. And...he recants

[coalition_unwilling]

105. Man, I'm getting this "Night of the Long Knives" vibe off this. Really

fascinating to watch them devour one another. Predictable, I suppose, in hindsight.

[flamingdem]

109. Keep it alive Harry!

[Happyhippychick]

119. Break out the buttah

Asshole

Edited to say: Romney is the asshole, not the op!

[ailsagirl]

121. "Ay, now the Plot thickens very much upon us."

George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham

[DrewFlorida]

124. No surprise that it is a republican!

I am not surprised in the least that it is a republican who has been talking with Harry Reid. My best guess would be John McCain, of course we will probably never know for sure who it is, I'm glad this issue is being kept in forefront, I believe it is the most important issue of this election cycle.

[Tx4obama]

128. UPDATE: Here is the 'walk back' and a link - so the OP up above is no longer correct.

UPDATE: 7:08 p.m. -- Parra now says he doesn't know whether Reid's source is Republican. In an email to HuffPost, he wrote:

"I do not know the party affiliation of the source, how long he invested with Bain, or his relationship to Romney beyond the fact that he was an investor with Bain Capital, as Senator Reid has previously stated."


http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/harry-reid-mitt-romney-tax-returns_n_1762255.html

[ProSense]

129. Thanks. I'll add it to the OP. n/t

[ozsea1]

130. Not necessarily so

From Huffpoo's lips to God's ears?

Be skeptical. Get more popcorn!

[DallasNE]

133. Robert C. Gay

"This guy fits" and I am sticking by my guns. He worked/invested a number of years for/with Bain Capital before joining forces with Huntsman Sr. in a similar capacity. Someone where the assumption would be that he is a Republican but that question may never have been asked of him making that backtrack necessary.

[Walk away]

132. This is a lot of fun! I love watching Democrats take Rove's playbook into the stratosphere!

Can we please now do something about Congress?!

[DonCoquixote]

135. Odd theory

Seeing how bitter he is, could it be someone from McCain's camp? John M. is damned bitter about the fact that the conservatives seem to love Palin more than they ever loved him, and that they all but called him a communist in 2000.

[spanone]

147. kick