Guardian’s MS Bellows Jr. New Angle on Mitt Romney Reluctance to Release Tax Returns: Possible Voter Fraud
The British newspapers are coming after Mitt Romney with a vengeance and one has to wonder if this is setting the tone for possible icy relations with 10 Downing Street if Mitt Romney becomes our next president. You know, the man who understands the whole Anglo-Saxon heritage thing and is an Atlanticist. Whatever that means. The Guardian columnist MS Bellows Jr. is analyzing an interesting reason why Romney is reluctant to release his tax returns — possible voter fraud. This comes on the heels of a Telegraph report saying Mitt Romney may have breached ethics laws as governor of Massachusetts by doing business with Bain & Co., for which Bain Capital was the investment arm. Paul Ryan’s brother, Tobin Ryan, was an executive at Bain & Co. at the time. Seems to indicate Mitt Romney’s association with the Ryan family is more than Paul Ryan being qualified for the job of vice president.
None of them is really satisfactory, because none of them posits Romney concealing any facts more harmful than the blowback he is getting for not producing more returns. The problem may be that all of the prominent theories (with a couple of under-noticed exceptions) assume Romney is trying to conceal facts about his finances. Like the purloined letter pinned prominently in plain sight, what Romney’s really hiding might be something more mundane: the home address written on the top of the tax form. That address that might reveal a connection between the “tax returns” brouhaha and the “voter fraud” fizzle – which may be the strongest explanation of all.
[...]
But the Romneys, arbitrarily, refuse to disclose a copy of the returns they filed in 2010 or 2009 (for tax years 2009 and 2008) – which, perhaps not coincidentally, bracket the time period when Romney allegedly committed fraud by voting in Massachusetts when he actually resided in California. So here’s the question: did Romney put his son’s basement’s address on the returns he filed in 2009 and 2010? Or did he truthfully use his real (non-Massachusetts) address, thus implicating himself in voter fraud?
[...]
A felony voter fraud charge could expose Romney to fines and/or imprisonment, jeopardize Romney’s standing with the Michigan State Bar, and – worst of all, in the political sense – would be a mortal embarrassment on the campaign trail, both to himself and to down-ticket Republicans (especially Republican Senator Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who won the special election in question but is locked in a tight, highly-publicized race against the popular Elizabeth Warren to retain his seat). Source: The Guardian
Of course, Mitt Romney will dismiss this as ridiculous chatter, but one has to ask, why doesn’t he just release his tax returns? What could be so bad that he doesn’t want the American people to see? This is going to follow him into the October debates. Um, will he pull out a white board to match Obama’s teleprompter?
This was cross-posted from The Hinterland Gazette.
Share This
Related Posts
-
Mitt Romney: Obamacare was Very Attractive to Minority, Low-Income Voters in Helping Obama Win Reelection
Posted on Mar 3, 2013
-
Republican Party Brand Is in Tatters as the Changing Demographics Help President Obama Deliver a Romney Shellacking
Posted on Nov 7, 2012
-
Down and Dirty- Winning Is Everything
Posted on Nov 6, 2012
-
NY Times Endorses President Obama, Slams Mitt Romney’s ‘Callous Assumption’ Uninsured Will Use Emergency Rooms
Posted on Oct 27, 2012
Mr. Romney is running for President of the United States.
This is a position of Trust.
Ronald Reagan said, “Trust but Verify.”
Mr. Romney has said, “Trust me,” re his tax returns.
It is not unreasonable for voters to want to “Verify.”
Release the tax returns, Mr. Romney.
Only then can we move on.
MGarr — Well said. I couldn’t agree with you more.
What MGarr and JS said..
So, Harry, we are not so wild about your theory (that Mitt paid no taxes for ten years), this more plausible one sounds about right. With all those homes in different states, Mitt may have filed incorrectly.
Wow – this is political dynamite if true – and it sure explains a lot.
LOL Mitten’s nay be guilty of voter fraud. Will BreitBart and O’Keefe investigate this assault and treason?
I just read the TMV piece by Hart Williams on Romney’s tax returns and the amendments to those tax returns. If I understand correctly, Massachusetts has a law stating one has to be a resident for seven years in order to run for governor. Apparently Romney went back and amended several years of returns to change his state of residency from “Utah” to Massachusetts in order to qualify as governor.
So I have a question. Where was Romney registered to vote for the seven years prior to him becoming governor of Massachusetts? Shouldn’t you be a resident of the state you vote in? If Romney did vote in Utah in any of the seven years prior to becoming governor of Massachusetts wouldn’t he have committed voter fraud at that time, since Romney claims he was a resident of Massachusetts for that seven year period?
Could be, tune in.
And, if Romney did commit voter fraud, will the Reps nominate Ryan for the top spot. I would laugh my ass off if that happened as the Dems would go balistic.
Ryan “means it” when it comes to eviscerating government as a tool to help the middle class and improve society. He would end Medicare and replace it with inadequate vouchers, thereby causing recipients to pay $6,000 – $13,000 more per year. Ryan would raise taxes on the middle class by up to $2,000 per year. And he would destroy the government’s ability to invest in infrastructure, education, and other necessary things.
But when it comes to reducing the deficit, Ryan is as much if not more of a fraud as virtually every other conservative has been for the past thirty years. The “savings” from all of Ryan’s proposed cuts and tax increases wouldn’t go to reducing the deficit. Instead, they would go to increasing military spending, and to $4.3 trillion in tax giveaways to millionaires and billionaires. Under Ryan’s plan, Romney would have paid less than 1% in taxes in 2010.
As for the national debt, Ryan’s proposal would lead to an increase in the national debt from its 2010 level of 60% of GDP to a peak of nearly 175% by 2050 and remain at 100% or more of GDP through 2080.
In short, Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney aren’t offering a serious conversation about deficits. Instead, they are offering the GOP agenda of taking from the middle class to give to the wealthy on steroids.
I have travelled to many third-world countries where there is no middle-class. It’s a very dismal picture. Sadly, it appears many in the U.S. have been duped into voting for policies that are nothing but kissing of the boot that is actually kicking them.
Actually the Republicans would go ballistic if charges were brought against Romney. Any court case would not be heard until after the election. The Republicans would claim that the Dems are creating false charges. It would sure galvanize the law and order base who, ironically, believes that criminals should be prosecuted…. unless they’re rich white guys.
The best that could happen is that the press reports the findings and let people decide. Any charges would be brought after the election to avoid the appearance of politics. Though if Romney won the presidency I wonder if charges would be brought against him.
At any rate, I guess the Republicans really do know that people are committing voter fraud. They’re the ones doing it!
Mcgarr – - I agree with your comment about trust but verify. But why do you interpret that as tax returns? I suspect ..I wouldn’t understand them much anyway. So what can we verify about his finances. We know that he donates about 17% of his income to charity. We know that he ran the Olympics with out taking a salary, we know that he didn’t take a salary when he was Governor of Mass.
We know that Bain Capitol which built, invested in, and turned around at an 80% success rate companies that created jobs but made money for the investors which were Unions, retirement funds, they were considered one of the best in the business.
I don’t need to see Romneys tax returns which I would not understand anyway to see what things matter to me. And I certainly don’t need to hear political pundits try to make a big deal out of what his blind trust personally legally invests in so he can have no conflict of interest.
No voter fraud, Romney registered to vote in Massachusetts. He owns a home there. He didn’t vote in New Hampshire or California where he also owns homes because he is registered to vote in Massachusetts, by the way he owned a home in Utah at the time, didn’t vote there either.
“I don’t need to see Romneys tax returns which I would not understand anyway”
That is reall no excuse. There are people out there that can translate that for you. That.sounds a bit like Brittney Spears saying that she trusted W Bush
Another amen to what MGarr said. I expect Romney will do whatever weaseling is necessary to squeek out of verification, up to and including doctored verification. What’s even more sad is the fact his supporters won’t care whether he is being truthful or not.
DVK, just because you say your comments doesn’t make them true. You seem to know everything about Romney. And if the information you have is what is necessary for you to make a decision, then I have no qualm with that and happy voting!
However when every other candidate for president of the US has higher standards and follows them, then I can’t help but wonder what is in Romney’s returns. And yes, Romney gives a certain percentage to charity. Though I don’t know where you came up with 17%… the other day his wife said they give 10% and I think I saw a figure in the media around 13% a few months ago….. but I’m not here to quibble with figures. Some of the charities Romney gives to are anti-gay charities. I do not want a president or any elected official who supports organizations that support hatred of American citizens just because that person doesn’t like who someone sleeps with. Romney was free to choose and marry whom he wanted. If he enjoys that freedom, then he needs to support it for everyone. And Romney, as I recall, supported the despicable Mormon church practice of baptizing dead people including world heros such as Anne Frank, into the Mormon church. What’s to say that he won’t continue to force his religion on Americans who do not want to be a part of it? That’s simply TWO examples of him instilling his questionable values on others, which, by the way is par for the course for Republicans. I actually don’t care whether he is for or against gays, but part of respect in this country is allowing people to have the freedom to live their lives as they see fit. That is basic to American ideals and part of our heritage and Romney fails. I don’t care who Romney marries, and I expect the same respect from him towards other Americans.
And I could go on about how Romney’s values differ from mine and why he is not good for this country, but I’ve said enough for the moment.
Talking points must be out on Rev. Wright. I thought they’d wait till after the convention. Things must be getting hot in the R & R camp.
HI there “DVK”
Please read the commenters’ rules at the top of the home page. Discuss, debate, teach: Civility is the key at TMV. There’ll be no highjacking of the post topic, nor commenters imagining what other commenters or writer ‘really is thinking,’ no demanding any commenter or writer produce whatever. We keep a commenters section for comments on the content of the article. Please read the rules and abide and all is well and will be well.
Thanks
archangel/dr.e