Doug Mataconis and the right wingers are really upset that Harry Reid and the Democrats are using Karl Rove’s play book. 

As if doubling down on his unsupported allegations against Mitt Romneyweren’t bad enough, Harry Reid has taken to repeating those allegations on the floor of the United States Senate:

I don’t like this kind of politics but the reality is this has been the MO for the Republican Party since Karl Rove came on the scene.  The only thing that is different  is Harry Reid and the Democrats have discovered  that you can’t bring  a knife to a gun fight.

Romney could end this of course by releasing his tax returns but he really can’t do that because they are toxic.  I think it’s all about the 2009 returns – the year that UBS gave the US 4,000 names and the US offered an amnesty on foreign tax shelters.  Romney knew that not releasing his 2009 taxes would hurt his campaign  but a perk walk would have been worse.