In the uproar over Harry Reid's claim that Mitt Romney hasn't paid taxes in a decade, there is one prominent name missing. RNC Chairman Reince Priebus has called Reid a "dirty liar." Lindsey Graham said Reid is lying. George Will called Reid's accusation "McCarthyism from the desert." John Sununu joined the 'Reid is lying' chorus. Richard Cohen of the Washington Post accuses Reid of "gutter politics." Frank Bruni at the New York Times calls what Reid said "unbecoming and corrosive." PolitiFact has given Reid its "Pants on Fire" award.
Now it's true that Romney could clear all this up by just releasing the returns and proving Senator Reid wrong. There's one more person who could do that, but up to this point has remained silent. Reince Priebus hasn't seen Romney's returns. Neither has Lindsey Graham. Same goes for George Will. Same goes for John Sununu. And Richard Cohen. And Frank Bruni. And the folks at PolitiFact. One prominent Republican HAS seen the tax returns in question and hasn't said a word. That person is John McCain. McCain saw 20+ years of Romney's returns when Romney was being considered as a potential VP candidate in 2008. If Reid was lying wouldn't McCain be the first one to say so, since he has first-hand knowledge of whether or not Reid's claims have any basis in fact? McCain's silence speaks volumes.
I would offer a few more words of warning to the Romney defenders. Before you play the liar card, you better make damn sure the guy you're sticking up for isn't the one doing the lying.
Now it's true that Romney could clear all this up by just releasing the returns and proving Senator Reid wrong. There's one more person who could do that, but up to this point has remained silent. Reince Priebus hasn't seen Romney's returns. Neither has Lindsey Graham. Same goes for George Will. Same goes for John Sununu. And Richard Cohen. And Frank Bruni. And the folks at PolitiFact. One prominent Republican HAS seen the tax returns in question and hasn't said a word. That person is John McCain. McCain saw 20+ years of Romney's returns when Romney was being considered as a potential VP candidate in 2008. If Reid was lying wouldn't McCain be the first one to say so, since he has first-hand knowledge of whether or not Reid's claims have any basis in fact? McCain's silence speaks volumes.
I would offer a few more words of warning to the Romney defenders. Before you play the liar card, you better make damn sure the guy you're sticking up for isn't the one doing the lying.
Not quite a smoking gun, but I do smell somethin' burning.
"It so happens that this summer the Internal Revenue Service released data from the 400 individual income tax returns reporting the highest adjusted gross income. This elite ultrarich group earned on average $202 million in 2009, the latest year available. And buried in the data is the startling disclosure that six of the 400 paid no federal income tax."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/business/in-the-superrich-clues-to-romneys-tax-returns-common-sense.html?_r=1&hp
Oh, and as long as we're talking Harry Reid. Here you go:
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/07/653371/senator-harry-reid-opens-clean-energy-summit-with-a-bold-speech-on-climate-change-we-must-act-today/
See what Harry says? He says we must act today.
Every other issue we talk about is currently being swallowed up by Climate Change/Global Warming. Why waste our time fretting about trivial things?
Good point Desperado. I hadn't thought about McCain staying mum on the subject until reading this. Of course all of these attacks on Harry Reid is a strategy to draw away attention from Romney's tax returns. If they can put the focus on Reid, then it draws us away from focusing on Romney (and the fact that he STILL hasn't released his returns).
Are we going to fall for it, and play defense defending Harry Reid, OR are we going to drive it home that Romney won't release his tax returns? I would hope the Democrats don't fall into a trap, and insist that it its true that Romney hasn't paid taxes for the past ten years, because we don't know that. It's entirely possible that he hasn't released his returns because there is plenty bad in them, ie. he's paid very little taxes over that period. If Romney is forced to release the returns, and it's bad, but not as bad as not paying any taxes for ten years, the media might portray it as a win for Romney. That would be pathetic if the American people fell for it, but....would you be surprised if they did? Therefore, the Democrats should be very careful and focused, and keep insisting that Romney release his returns without specifying exactly what they will show...
But, of course all of this is just a trivial sideshow compared to this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/michael-t-klare/the-hunger-wars-in-our-fu_b_1751968.html
It's not too productive to fiddle while Rome (and the American West) burns.