Right NOW, thi sis the only clip of Romney’s TOWN HALL on his web site.
FULL AUDIO HERE:
If his remarks today in Colorado are any indication, Mitt Romney just doesn’t get it. There’s a stark difference between where he and President Obama want to take this country. Mitt Romney’s plans encourage outsourcing. Barack Obama wants to end incentives to send jobs overseas. President Obama has fought to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, fostered incentives for companies to bring jobs back to America and doubled the rate of trade cases we’ve brought against China to ensure an even playing field for American workers. Mitt Romney, who’s personally profited from investments in companies that were pioneers in shipping American jobs to India and China as a corporate buyout specialist, would slash funds to spur the clean energy sector in America, eliminating renewable energy jobs in states like Colorado and Iowa and ceding the industry to China. The American people deserve a President who will fight to create jobs here in America, not the Outsourcer-in-Chief Mitt Romney promises to be.”
hemming & hawing, and LYING
Watch the sideshow live here at 12:35 p.m.
Mitt Romney is the most secretive presidential candidate in modern history. He’s refused to release his tax returns, which would allow the American people to learn if he invested in offshore tax havens and accounts to avoid paying U.S. taxes, and been willfully vague about the details of his policies, including how he’d pay for his $5 trillion tax plan.
Key Questions for Mitt Romney to Answer at His Town Hall Today
As he holds his town hall in Colorado today, these are the questions he needs to answer:
1. He claims that he didn’t receive any tax advantage from any of his investments. If this is the case, what was the purpose of creating shell corporations and investing so much of his money in tax havens in the first place?
2. Does he still own the Bermuda shell corporation that came to light last week? Why did he transfer ownership of this mysterious corporation to a blind trust in his wife’s name the day before he was sworn in as governor? And why did he fail to report it on six straight financial disclosures?
3. If he has nothing to hide about his personal finances, why won’t he follow decades of precedent—set in motion by his father—and release additional years of tax returns?
4. He refuses to say how he’d pay for his plan to give $5 trillion in tax cuts—largely weighted to millionaires and billionaires and paid for by the middle class—but says he would eliminate tax deductions and other tax breaks. Which ones? Would he reduce or eliminate the deductions for mortgage interest, health insurance, charitable contributions, or state and local taxes? Would he reconsider his proposal to cut capital gains?
Answer these questions, Mitt Romney. What other questions should Mitt Romney be answering?
UPDATE: What is Mitt Romney hiding?
Rather than releasing Mitt Romney’s tax returns or coming clean on why he needed offshore accounts or explaining why he wants to give millionaires tax cuts at the expense of the middle class,Republicans are… launching an attack to try to distort the President’s consistent record of fighting for American jobs. Unfortunately for them, President Obama has always fought to encourage insourcing and secure a level playing field for American workers. Meanwhile, as CEO and owner of Bain Capital until August 2001, Mitt Romney undeniably ledinvestments in companies that shipped American jobs overseas.
The NY Times notes: “The [RNC] Web site gives very little backing for the charges, offering no citations to public documents or to news media reports about the allegations.” http://nyti.ms/NlIzjK
- Examples of the President’s record ofencouraging insourcing and fighting to bring jobs back to our shores, securing a level playing field for American workers, and fghting to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas is here [PDF]: http://bit.ly/MeVuno
- And our Truth Team compares President Obama’s record of insourcing with Romney’s record of outsourcing: http://bit.ly/L6f8Sk
The Obama campaign released a new video today: Romney refuses to reveal important details, including whether he uses tax loopholes availableonly to the super rich: http://bit.ly/Ld5PF3
- Maddow Blog: “There are severalunanswered questions about Romney’s offshore investments, and I’m afraid “I don’t manage them” isn’t much of a response.” http://on.msnbc.com/MfSn4K
- Think Progress: “former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) appeared to agree with Democrats who are calling on Mitt Romney to release more tax returns.” http://bit.ly/MfbOVX
- Daily Kos: “And of course there remains the big question: What is Mitt Romney hiding and why is he hiding it?” http://bit.ly/LM4IJf
- In case you’ve forgotten, Eclectablog reminds us that “Mitt Romney wants to give millionaires an average $390,000 tax break:” http://bit.ly/MXT2qF
And last but not least:
See the Obama campaign’s four-page Iowa report, “Mitt Romney’s Secret Tax Plan: How Many Middle Class Iowans Could Pay More”: “Mitt Romney’s tax plan is based on the idea that our economy grows from the top down. He would cut taxes deeply for the wealthiest, even as he guts investments that grow our economy and our middle class. … Mitt Romney has made clear that he will oppose President Obama’s plan to extend middle class tax cuts unless we also give millionaires a tax break.” http://bit.ly/NgrsDs
If it was Obama and we found out these things, do you think the rethugs would be giving cover and excuses for him? I don’t think so either! Remember all that birther nonsense?
Hi Beth. Who can forget the birther nonsense? It’s still in full force. Mittens is addressing the NAACP today.
Love this comment: Make sure Willard brings his ID. And his tax returns for more than one year. What a laugh.
Tonight, ABC World News ran a story on Mitt Romney’s refusal to release additional years of his tax returns, which would help inform the American people about his motivations behind critical policy proposals and whether he invested in foreign tax havens and offshore accounts to avoid paying U.S. taxes.
Key Point:
KARL: We’ve looked back and found every presidential nominee in both parties over the last three decades has released more tax returns. Romney says he’ll release his 2011 return when he finishes it, but that’s it. It’s not that he doesn’t have more returns handy. When he was under consideration to be John McCain’s running mate four years ago, he gave McCain 23 years of tax returns, noting at the time quote, “I’m a bit of a packrat so I had them all.” The Romney campaign calls all this attention to his personal finances a distraction—an effort they say by the Obama campaign to divert attention from the President’s failed economic record. Diane.
TRANSCRIPT
DIANE SAWYER – Now a return to something else gaining speed. “Your voice, Your vote.” 119 days until the presidential race ends, and our new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows the two candidates are in a dead heat, tied at 47% each. And today, the Obama campaign turned up the heat on something every American family recognizes—tax returns. How much do American voters really want to know about a candidate’s tax returns? Here’s ABC’s Jon Karl.
JON KARL – Mitt Romney’s been under fire from Democrats over his personal finances, but today he said he doesn’t really know much about his own investments.
MITT ROMNEY – My investments have been held by a blind trust. Have been managed by a trustee. I don’t manage them. I don’t even know where they are.
KARL – The information Romney has released about his $250 million personal fortune has raised more questions than answers, showing he had a Swiss bank account, investments in the Cayman Islands, and a corporation in Bermuda. Speaking to a Latino audience today, Vice President Biden hammered Romney for not releasing more information.
JOE BIDEN – He wants you to show your papers, but he won’t show us his. It’s kind of fascinating.
KARL – When his father George Romney ran for president in 1968, he released 12 years of tax returns, saying a single return could quote, “be a fluke, done for show.” Earlier this year, Mitt Romney was challenged to do the same thing.
DEBATE MODERATOR – Will you follow your father’s example?
ROMNEY – Maybe.
KARL – He didn’t. Instead releasing just his 2010 return and an estimate of his taxes for 2011, telling Diane Sawyer that’s plenty.
ROMNEY – We’ve released all the information required by law and then some.
KARL – We’ve looked back and found every presidential nominee in both parties over the last three decades has released more tax returns. Romney says he’ll release his 2011 return when he finishes it, but that’s it. It’s not that he doesn’t have more returns handy. When he was under consideration to be John McCain’s running mate four years ago, he gave McCain 23 years of tax returns, noting at the time quote, “I’m a bit of a packrat so I had them all.” The Romney campaign calls all this attention to his personal finances a distraction—an effort they say by the Obama campaign to divert attention from the President’s failed economic record. Diane.
SAWYER – Much in “Your voice, Your vote.” Jon Karl weighing in tonight. Thank you, Jon.
VIDEO: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/joe-biden-calls-mitt-romney-release-tax-returns-
Staged question?
It’s not about how PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE Romney spends his money, fellow. It’s how he made his money and how he hides it in offshore accounts. And why hasn’t he released his TAX returns? Meanwhile, you’ve been fed a load of bullshit about President Obama spending your money, while Mitt and his cronies dodge paying their fair share of taxes while you and the rest of us pay ours.
AND, if he manages to buy his way into the whitehouse, we will be so screwed! You ain’t seen nothin’ yet!
NBITC= NO BLACKS IN THE CROWD
Utah Congressman and Romney campaign surrogate Jason Chaffetz tells the public to “get over it” in regards to Mitt Romney’s decision to withhold his tax returns from voters.
Really? We don’t care about Romney’s secrecy and his taxes, but he shouild have the right to remain secret about his money and preside ove the USA? I.DON’T.THINK.SO Jason!