Mitt Romney is brushing off the calls to disclose more of his tax returns as just a political gotcha game. But as conservative columnist George Will put it, "the costs of not releasing the returns are clear, therefore he must have calculated that there are higher costs in releasing them."
What is Mitt hiding that he thinks is worse than voters believing he didn’t pay taxes for a decade?
ATTACKS AND RESPONSES
ATTACK: "This is irrelevant. Democrats are just playing politics."
RESPONSE:
- What is Mitt hiding that he thinks is worse than voters believing he didn’t pay income taxes for a decade?
- This is about integrity. What could possibly be worse than having dodged income taxes for a decade?
- This is about character. Ever since Nixon and Watergate, candidates running for our country’s highest office have been expected to release many years of tax returns — but Romney thinks he should get to play by a different set of rules.
- This is about arrogance. The rest of us know you cannot get hired if you won’t give your work history or go through a background check. Once again, Mitt thinks his money means he doesn’t have to play by the same rules as the rest of us.
- This is about cowardice. If a politician is hiding something that’s just politically embarrassing, they should have the backbone to come clean and face the voters.
- This is about trust. Our democracy is built on accountability, and we cannot hold our leaders accountable when they refuse to come clean on even simple matters.
- This is about jobs. Romney is running on his corporate experience, so voters deserve to know about his business dealings and how exactly he made all that money, besides sending American jobs to China.
- This is about our pocketbooks and what’s fair. We already know Romney’s tax plan would make you pay more so he can pay less. What special tax loopholes would he protect at our expense because he’s benefiting from them?
EXCUSE: "This is an invasion of Romney’s privacy."
RESPONSE:
- What is Mitt hiding that he thinks is worse than voters believing he didn’t pay income taxes for a decade?
- He is running to be the leader of the free world. He’s asking us to just trust him to handle our nation’s finances.
- Secrecy from an elected official isn’t the same as privacy for a private individual. Our democracy is built on trust and accountability, and Romney’s refusal to come clean is costing him this trust.
EXCUSE:"He did release his tax return and said he’ll release one more."
RESPONSE:
- What is Mitt hiding that he thinks is worse than voters believing he didn’t pay income taxes for a decade?
- He released only one full return even though the costs of not releasing more are clear.
- Whatever he’s hiding, he’s calculated it’s worse than people thinking he didn’t pay income taxes for a decade.
EXCUSE: "Romney shouldn’t have to disclose more tax returns for public vetting because he’s not a business."
RESPONSE:
- What is Mitt hiding that he thinks is worse than voters believing he didn’t pay income taxes for a decade?
But didn’t Mitt say corporations are people? Yes, he did. If he thinks they should be treated the same, by his logic he should come clean on his tax returns.
