Dumb idea for Obama campaign to seek deal with Romney over taxes

[ClusterFreak]

Last edited Fri Aug 17, 2012, 01:04 PM - Edit history (1)

Why even ask for this? Release 5 years and we'll shut up. Looks like he's not taking the bait anyway, but why risk ceding your advantage Dems? Keep hammering the guy over his non-release for the next 81 days or whatever it is...keep poking him in the ribs, don't let up. What if he'd actually agreed to this deal, because maybe his worst tax loophole/shelter stuff wouldn't be included, and then what...Obama's people would then just drop it to be true to their word?

You got the guy pinned to the mat, don't let him up. Make him say uncle, don't say it for him.

Jeez....

EDITED @1PM: Hey I hope I'm wrong.... just expressing my view that it seemed like a dumb move. Not saying I'm right...or that any of you who have flipped your lids about my post are right either. Some of you do make some compelling arguments that my concerns are unfounded.... although others seem so utterly convinced of their own rightness as to become obnoxious. However, such is the back and forth of DU at times....

[sharp_stick]

1. They did it because

they knew that Romney would reject it. The puke is hiding something in his taxes and everybody knows it.

[Blue Meany]

13. Yup, and now we know that what he's hiding would show up in his returns

between 2007 and 2009. Now they offer to let him of the hook for just 2009. When he refuses that, we will know he was part of the amnesty program for rich folks with swiss bank accounts.

[joeybee12]

16. +1

[BeyondGeography]

2. Because they knew he would decline (he already has) and it keeps the story alive

Not dumb.

[FSogol]

3. Why? It is a reasonable request and only serves to make Romney look more unreasonable.

Romney can't afford to left a single years taxes out.
The next news cycle will continue to be about Romney's missing tax forms.

[emulatorloo]

4. It is great political strategy. Makes Romney look like a horse's ass and a Tax Cheat.

[Yavin4]

5. Actually, It Was Genius

Romney's pick of Ryan pushed the tax story out of the media cycle, but now, it's back in. The Ryan announcement buzz is rapidly dying out.

[ThomThom]

49. Ryan pick just gave us more targets to shoot at

other people have not agreed to 5 years.... I still want at least ten
this issue will go on and on

[byeya]

6. I think it's a bad tactic. There already was plenty of pressure on Romney and now Obama, to an

extent, it offering a bit of a safety valve.
It's the administration negotiating with itself and losing, as per usual.

[WI_DEM]

10. Romney already rejected it which was what Obama expected

and now it makes us look reasonable and continues to make them look bad.

[mac56]

11. "As usual"?

Please, tell me more.

[BumRushDaShow]

32. This is why you are not a political strategist

and his folks are.

I.e., they are pros, which is why he not only lost to Hillary Clinton's Mark Penn but also lost to John Mclame's Steve Schmidt.

[pnwmom]

42. It's no safety valve if he got a criminal amnesty in 2009 in connection with a Swiss account.

It's looking more and more likely that that's his problem.

[uponit7771]

46. **BINGO** It'll still show the amnesty of the Swiss accounts, he wont go to jail but

...he'll no doubt lose the tax argument

[WI_DEM]

7. Then you don't understand the strategy behind it.

[mac56]

8. It's a brilliant move.

Besides looking even more like he has something to hide, Mittens is now the guy who wouldn't meet the President half-way.

If he had said yes, this would have put this whole thing to bed right now.

Mittens got pwned.

[Jackpine Radical]

9. I suspect they have inside information on the contents of the returns

& the skeletons were buried within the last 5 years--like a UBS amnesty filing, for example.

[nadinbrzezinski]

14. Ding, ding, ding

[nenagh]

24. Obama's team promised not to ask for more years of tax returns..

But didn't promise not to pick apart what is in the 5 yrs of returns Romney makes public...

Thought that was the Trojan Horse in the deal..

[loyalsister]

33. Exactly

Suppose Mitt is dumb enough to come back with an offer of 1990 to 2000 or anything else that excludes the request. The unavoidable assumption would be that there is something very dirty in the last 5 yrs.

[ClusterFreak]

36. That would be the ONLY reason to do it.

And this inside info would be illegally obtained wouldn't it? Cuz a person's tax returns are for the eyes of the IRS and the person themself, correct?

So if Obama's people have inside info....wouldn't they in turn be in hot water? Help me out here.

[Jackpine Radical]

40. It might be illegal to give out the information

(depending on the nature of your relationship with the subject of the information), but it's not illegal to receive it.

Edited to add--There are other possible sources for the information besides the tax returns, such as the UBS records, or Swiss informants, which might not fall under any privacy curtains.

[uponit7771]

47. +1, UBS and Swiss don't live under US laws

[Voice for Peace]

12. There's probably enough of what they know

in those five years.

[Bluenorthwest]

15. 3 years would sink Mitt not just as a candidate, as a person...

Five is more than enough to nail him. 2 full years would be fine. 3 a bonanza, 5 a virtual field day.
Mitt and his wife took a tax Amnesty, which like all pardons requires an admission of guilt.....

[warrior1]

17. Obama wins the week

romney now seems unreasonable and he's hiding something.

[gollygee]

18. He's just keeping the issue in the press

And that is wise. We need to keep people wondering why Romney won't release those returns. The more people hear Romney say "no", the better.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

19. You are right,

but some of the mind readers who "knew" that Rmoney was going to reject the offer are going to pounce on you.

[flamingdem]

20. The goodies are in 2008 and 2009

and that should be enough.

[flamingdem]

21. This is another brilliant move, 5 years is VERY reasonable he he n/t

[madokie]

22. Obama's people didn't call uncle

Geeze

They are simply showing that mittens has no intentions of releasing anything and keeping it in the news cycle, Good on them.

[get the red out]

23. I think the President knows how to campaign

We are more than a little jaded by past democratic campaigns that were meek and on the defensive, but that's not how President Obama does things. I seriously doubt his campaign says anything like this unless they are sure it's going to help.

I'm convinced the Democrats know EXACTLY what those returns would show. Harry Reed was the "trial balloon", now the tension just continues to build................................................

[Chiyo-chichi]

25. Nobody said they would "drop it."

Messina's message didn't say that if Romney released 5 years, the Obama campaign would stop talking about his taxes. It said they wouldn't criticize him for not releasing additional years.

I'm sure there would have been plenty of fodder in those 5 years.

And, yes, they knew he would refuse.

[cali]

26. It was nothing short of brilliant.

They knew he'd refuse and not only does it keep the pot boiling, but it makes him look even worse. Classic.

[hifiguy]

27. Nope. They offered him half a loaf

and he threw it back in their faces. So he once again looks like the spoiled, petulant shitheel that he is.

The McCain people said they saw nothing. Which tells me that the high explosives are in the returns for 2008 and 2009, which they never would have seen. I doubt Mittwit paid a dime of income taxes in those years due to creative accounting and the great financial implosion. The numbers were manipulated so that he paid nothing, got massive refunds, or both. That he took advantage of the "Swiss amnesty' to repatriate tens of millions without paying a dime is pretty much beyond question at this point.

[scheming daemons]

28. because they know that the critical one is 2009

That was the year that Romney likely paid no taxes.

Secondly, it was a year where he wasn't yet running for president, so he wasn't careful to make sure there wasn't anything bad there.


It was a brilliant move, because the Obama campaign knows what is in the returns already and gets to look reasonable by cutting the request to five years. It also keeps it in the news for another couple news cycles.


I swear, a lot of DUers would make horrible campaign strategists. This was a perfect move.

[Jim__]

29. Romney can't release his returns - he's hiding something.

This challenge hammers home the point.

[russspeakeasy]

30. Great move...!!

[nenagh]

31. Team Obama didn't promise to shut up about what's in Romney's tax returns...

They promised not to ask for more than 5 years of returns to be made public..

Would give Team Obama 5 years of tax returns to evaluate & hang on Romney..

[global1]

34. Why Won't Somebody Ask Rmoney If He Took Amnesty On The Swiss Bank Account?.....

seems to me that this might put him on the spot. He says yes and he's damned. He says no and he did - he's lied. He say no and he didn't - well prove it - show us your returns.

[BeHereNow]

35. REALLY? Did YOU really just say that?

[ClusterFreak]

39. Yeah I did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And I am as unconcerned about sarcastic responses like yours, as I ever was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BeHereNow]

41. Great! Now please continue to elaborate on how this works.

The President and others knew what those tax returns would reveal-
Thus they knew Mittiot would refuse the offer, which only highlights
he is hiding the fact that he did not return his due to the American tax base.

His whiny assed wife complained that "They will just keep asking for more!"

Well, the President shut that down real quick-
"Give us five years and we'll drop the whole thing."

Why? Because he KNEW they would not submit to even five years of
examination.

Tell us again how that is not a brilliant political move in revealing
the fact that the Romney is not a transparent individual, thus not
a viable candidate for the Presidency?

Memo: No sarcasm intended here. I really want you to explain it to us
again, as to why this was a "bad" move on the part of the Democratic party.

BHN

[randome]

37. Romney just said 'Uncle'.

He rejected the offer as they knew he would.

It is another self-inflicted knife wound that the Obama campaign expected.

Not everything the campaign does is golden but this was beautiful!

[sinkingfeeling]

38. It was a great idea. Shows Mittwit is a total coward and keeps the issue in the news.

[Zoeisright]

43. Wrong.

It's keeping the meme alive. Which is exactly what the President wants.

[BeHereNow]

48. Not only keeping it alive, but eliminating all excuses from the Mittiot.

His wife whined on the networks about how they would be
further annoyed by requests for transparency.

The President killed that defense with the offer of only seeking
five years, no more questions.

BRILLIANT move- in that even five years is apparently that
would shut down the Romney campaign.

GO TEAM OBAMA.

Reveal the truth by revealing those who wont tell it.

Those with nothing to hide, hide nothing.

BHN

[Ruby the Liberal]

44. Obama just successfully hung the millstone of Congressional R's 10% approval on Mittens' neck.

Tie him to the Ryan budget? Check.

Tie him to obstructionism? Check.

Tie him to the unwillingness to compromise? Check.

In addition, as someone else noted - asking for 5 years puts a definitive number on it and wipes out the "they will just keep asking for more" defense that Anntoinette keeps blathering about.

Win/Win.

[NCTraveler]

45. Campaigning is where Obama and his staff are most brilliant.

Probably one of the best in history. Brilliant is not a word I use often. This is just a small detail that will run the press for a couple of days. That is what it is supposed to do. They will then come at his taxes from a different angle and that will keep it in the press for another couple of days. People will be beaten over the head with the words Romney and taxes that it will simply be assumed that he has been involved in shenanigans.