TOON: Romney Can Run, But He Can't Hide!

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[treestar]

1. lol

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3. Poor Mitt ...

Romney still can’t shake income tax controversy

August 17, 2012
By Greg Gordon

WASHINGTON — In a year when a sputtering economy might be expected to give him the upper hand in the presidential race, Mitt Romney finds himself on the hot seat on income taxes, fighting perceptions over whether he’s paid enough and how much he’d tilt future rates to benefit the rich.

Democrats again hammered the former Massachusetts governor Friday over his steadfast refusal to release more than one completed and one draft tax return. They also hit him over his disclosures that he and his wife, Ann, paid an average 14.6 percent of their $42.5 million in income to the U.S. Treasury in 2010 and 2011.

More than half of Romney’s income during that time came from capital gains, which are taxed at a lower rate than income.

The soon-to-be Republican nominee had attempted to silence critics on Thursday by branding them as “small minded” for fixating on his tax returns at the expense of bigger economic issues. Romney declared that he hasn’t paid taxes of less than 13 percent of his income in any year over the last decade and that, “if you add in . . . the amount that goes to charity, why the number gets well above 20 percent.”

Those comments quickly boomeranged into front page headlines, emphasizing Romney’s inability to shake the issue and raising the specter that his affluence could work against him with middle-income voters in the aftermath of the worst U.S. recession in 80 years.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/08/17/162693/romney-still-cant-shake-income.html

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. Now, THAT'S funny!

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4. Nation still waiting for Romney's tax returns

[font size="4"]Nation still waiting for Romney's tax returns[/font]

Sunday, August 19, 2012
A Times Editorial

If Mitt Romney wants to put an end to speculation over his personal finances, he needs to release multiple years of tax returns. His assurance last week that he paid at least 13 percent of his income in federal income tax annually for the last decade won't do it, and he should not be so offended by the requests for more openness. Nothing more is being demanded of Romney than has been routinely asked of and received from most other recent candidates for president, and there is no reason to treat him differently just because of his wealth.

Romney's response to a reporter's question in South Carolina was an attempt to quell the unsubstantiated claim by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid earlier this month that Romney paid no taxes some years. But in fact, Romney's answer just reinforced that wealth sets him apart — he paid a lower percentage of his income in taxes than many other upper-income Americans — and he won't give voters a chance to verify his claim for themselves.

Republican presidential nominee John McCain was an outlier in releasing only two years of tax returns in 2008. Every major party presidential nominee in recent history has released multiple years of tax returns to enable voters to evaluate their financial interests and potential conflicts. That includes Romney's father, then-Michigan Gov. George Romney, who released 12 years of tax returns in his 1968 bid for the Republican presidential nomination

Much has been made of why Mitt Romney isn't willing to do the same.

Read more: http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/editorials/nation-still-waiting-for-romneys-tax-returns/1246436



To quote Tom Petty: "The Waiting Is The Hardest Part"

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5. The time has come ...

[magnifisense]

6. ROFL!

[Brooklyn Dame]

7. And yet he still has support?! Why?!?

I suspect it's all about nostalgia, all the way...the only problem is that the 'good old days' weren't good for everyone.

http://borderlessnewsandviews.com/2012/08/please-mitt-do-take-us-back-to-the-50s/

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9. It's tepid support

The Rethugs don't like Romney, but they HATE President Obama.

Hate drives Republicans.

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8. Ryan worsens Romney's tax problem(s)

Ryan worsens Romney's tax problem(s)

By Steve Benen
Aug 20, 2012

Paul Ryan waited until very late on Friday afternoon, when his aides assumed no one would be paying any attention, to release his tax returns for the last two years (fewer than he made available to Team Romney). Did we learn anything scandalous? It doesn't look like it -- Ryan and his family paid 20 percent of their adjusted gross income in federal income taxes in 2011 and 15.9 percent in 2010, on income of $323,416 last year and $215,417 the year prior.

There were no Swiss bank accounts, shell corporations in Bermuda, or stashed cash in the Caymans.

But the developments were nevertheless interesting. For one thing, we're reminded that Mitt Romney pays a much lower tax rate than his own running mate, despite Romney's vast wealth. Even Bill Kristol said this morning, "I think it just seems kinda weird that he pays a lower rate than an awful lot of middle-class people."

For another, Ryan's disclosure keeps the focus on the tax-return issue itself, and Romney's unyielding secrecy.

And then there's the larger issue President Obama raised over the weekend.

Read more: http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2012/08/20/13377414-ryan-worsens-romneys-tax-problems

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10. kick

nt