General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Guys: heads UP. New trend now raising its ugly head. Thanks to trump: [View all]RockRaven
(14,899 posts)First, Democrats need to agree on the standard. Is it 2 years, 5 years, 10 year? What is X?
Because elections are run by the states, states need to pass laws requiring public disclosure of X years of tax returns for any person to appear on the ballot for any office.
At first, this will only happen in D controlled states like in the northeast and west coast. Candidates like Trump will just write-off CA, for example, and not care that they aren't on the ballot there -- they weren't going to win anyway.
But every time Dems regain control over a purple/swing state, they should pass the law. These kinds of laws are like a ratchet -- much easier to go one way than the other. Removing or altering this law looks as corrupt as sh*t. The GOP may succeed in removing the law a few times in a few places, but over the long term, the trend should go in the direction of more required disclosure. And there will be a tipping point.
Obviously some Dems don't want to release tax returns either, but if the voters make passing this kind of law a priority, they will start losing primaries because of their obstructionism on this issue.