Over the past few months we’ve seen Romney slam Obamacare after promoting an individual mandate as governor of Massachusetts, claim to be a job creator even as reports revealed Bain Capital invested in companies sending jobs overseas, and criticize Obama for supposedly raising taxes even though his own tax plan would do so for 95 percent of Americans, a recent study found.
Now, Rachel Maddow is digging into his latest self-contradiction. On Friday’s TRMS, she recalled Romney’s 1994 Senate race against Ted Kennedy. It's been largely forgotten, but in that race, Romney demanded Kennedy release his tax returns, saying the veteran senator needed to “prove he [had] nothing to hide.”
“It’s time the biggest-taxing senator in Washington shows the people of Massachusetts how much he pays in taxes,” Romney said in April of 1994, as Maddow recounted.
“Now does this mean Mitt Romney released his tax returns at the same time, that same year? Maddow asked. “Surely, he wouldn’t demand the other guy release his tax returns without releasing his own.”
Surely he would. Despite his demand to Kennedy, Romney declined to release his own returns, saying he'd do so "the very same day" his opponent did.
Fast forward to 2002, when Romney was running for governor—and singing a different tune. During a gubernatorial debate, a reporter pointed out that all the Democratic candidates in the race—including his eventual opponent Shannon O'Brien—had released their tax returns. The reporter asked Romney if he had something to hide.
Romney replied:
Senator Kennedy, when I was running against him I said, ‘Boy, you gotta release those income tax returns,’ and he said, ‘No, I value my privacy.' And I think he was right and I was wrong. As a result I do share his view on this. I’m not going to release my income tax returns. And, Shannon O’Brien’s husband, with whom I assume they share expenses, likewise hasn’t released his income taxes.
“He’s not releasing his tax returns," Maddow summarized. "He was wrong to ever demand that his opponent Senator Kennedy should release his tax returns. But now that his new opponent Shannon O’Brien released her tax returns, well now how come we’re not seeing her husband’s too? It was a weird spot for Mr. Romney to be caught in.”
And in an even weirder response, Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom—still a top Romney aide—separately said that, like in 1994, they'd release the returns only when Ted Kennedy did. Even though Kennedy had no connection to the governor's race.
Maddow said her show asked the Romney campaign Friday if Romney's offer to release his returns if Kennedy—who died in 2009—does so still stands. They haven't received an answer.
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Do as I say. Not as I do. Hypocrisy thy name is Mitt Romney.
Reid is Right.
Release your Returns Romney
...or go back to playing dressage!
We all have a RIGHT to see a Presidential Candidates tax returns!
Unless you’re hiding something Mr. Mitt?
p.s.
AND how did you stuff all those millions into your tax-loophole IRA
while the rest of us poor smucks have limits?
You want MORE tax cuts for the rich, Mitt?
WHAT GALL!
Mitt- if you want to run for dog-catcher then
keep your returns, and clean off your car roof.
Otherwise put up or shut up and go away ....
BEFORE the convention.
The super-rich think that they have the God-given right
to do anything they want in this great country-
while the REST of us get screwed!
ENOUGH!
The floodgates seem to have opened on the dam of Mitt Romney's fibs, tales, and hypocrisies...they are all pouring out day after day! Do as I Say Now and Not as I Did Then seems to be his new campaign mantra. His fuzzy memory on certain past words, positions, and history can't keep holding up with the truth blowing up around every corner! So it was fine for him to demand for Ted Kennedy to release tax returns when he ran (unsuccessfully) against the late senator, but now he has some high and mighty attitude about the same requests being made of him?
test
The man doesn't care enough about becoming president to do this -- he won't sacrifice one more penny of his own money, or one ounce of his beloved 'privacy' -- and that says, to me, that he is not in it to win it.
Why's he running? To take money from multimillionaires? Who knows? To pay off his last failed campaign expenditures?
Jim; could it possibly be that he would receive taxpayer $$$'s and free healthcare for him and his family for the rest of their life. Just think how sweet a deal that would be to get paid for nothing, pay nothing in taxes that's paying him his lifetime checks/healthcare(and remember Ann has MS, a preexisting-condition,also VERY expensive). OBAMA 2012
Ah, Mr. Romney.
A true work of art.
Mitt Romney. He is such a hypocrite. As a newly appointed Senator, he promised that he wasn't going to run for President! A hundred days later, what does he do? Goes and announces his candidacy for President. What a liar. As a Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney promised in writing to take public funding, which would have limited him to around 50 million for his campaign, he then refused public funding and went on to raise nearly a billion dollars in public funds. What a deceitful man! As a Presidential Candidate, Mitt Romney said that the Individual Mandate was not right for America but then went on to push for it as Governor! WHAT A FLIP FLOPPER! Mitt Romney said that heathcare would be debated in the public eye and then we on to write the whole thing with his immediate staff and wouldn't give legislatures any time before he forced them to vote on it. Hooooow despicable this man is! Governor Mitt Romney said that with his Healthcare plan, we would all be able to keep our current Health insurance, knowing damn well it wasn't true. WHAT A SLIPPERY MOTHER@!$%#ER! Mitt Romney clearly lies on a consistent and ongoing basis, and we should all recognize him for the tool he is.
If you replace the name Mitt Romney, with Barack Obama and the word Governor with President, than the above comments are true.
Obama has no end of sealed documents: *actual* birth record, college records, tax records, papers, speeches. He's even used Executive Privilege to seal records on Fast and Furious ... something he claims no knowledge of (weird huh?).
How very convenient (and hypocritical) of you all to *not* make equal demands of The Messiah open his records.
Oh, I forgot, this is "the most transparent administration ever" so ... no conflict there eh?
Hmmm. While you might have a point on some transparency issues, Tax returns is not one of them. Use the google to find Obama's 2009 return. He made $5.5M, paid $1.8M in taxes and did not take part in the amnesty program. The same can not be said for Romney.
Well, I for one would like to know if we are about to have another lying, spoilt, rich-boy crook in the White House.
The problem isn't just Romney, it is the morons who support the likes of him. It amazes me that Romney's own supporters would probably want more pre-purchase assurances if they were buying a car than electing the leader of the free world.
As for folks like the birther idiot No-KoolAid... Ah, why waste any time engaging with them. It is like running headfirst into a very thick brick wall. Roll on November - let's get this out of the way and shut these people up for a bit.
Oh for Christ's sake, make your tax returns public, that is unless you're hiding something which we all know you are