Althouse: "If you’re married to a very wealthy billionaire should you be revealing her tax returns?"

July 18, 2012

"If you’re married to a very wealthy billionaire should you be revealing her tax returns?"

"I don’t recall that happening with the Kerry campaign."

Said John McCain, defending Romney and irked that something he said yesterday was used against Romney.

Note: Kerry lost. Would he have done better if he'd disclosed his wife's tax returns?

60 comments:

Matt Sablan said...: I doubt it; Kerry's loss had everything to do with the fact people were actually OK with Bush. Kerry didn't lose; Bush won.; 7/18/12, 9:26 AM
cubanbob said...: I'm still waiting for Kerry to disclose his discharge records. And for Obama to disclose his college applications, grades, who funded his education and if he ever renounced his foreign citizenships and who in his campaign authorized the turning off of the credit card authorization.

As for Romney's 2011 return, he hasn't been able to complete it because he is waiting for certain documents from his investments that aren't available until the end of July. Those pending documents are from investments in funds that have a foreign component and those usually are on a June to June calendar year unlike the US investments that are on a calendar year. I have the same issue myself every year. That is why he/I file an estimated return and pay the provisional tax and when the documents are received in August file the amended final return.

The democrats know this and are being as per usual fake populists when it comes to these things. Hey Debbie, as one of your constituents when are you going to release your tax returns?; 7/18/12, 9:30 AM
RonF said...: Best comment I've heard on this recently:

"Why are the Democrats demanding to see Romney's tax returns? Because so many of them have never seen one before."; 7/18/12, 9:31 AM
garage mahal said...: Romney trotted out this excuse for not releasing his tax returns.

Which I guess means Romney thinks he is running for First Lady?; 7/18/12, 9:35 AM
Matt Sablan said...: Actually, Romney's initial reason for not releasing them makes sense. Obama has shown no respect for basic truth and fairness, and so there is no reason to give him thousands of pages to lie further about. Don't give liars ammunition to lie and mislead about; Romney has released plenty of data, which has been misrepresented and lied about. There is no reason to give people more to misrepresent and lie about.; 7/18/12, 9:37 AM
Tank said...: If Romney wants to spend the rest of this election campaign talking about his tax returns, then he should release more. If not, not.; 7/18/12, 9:39 AM
Matt Sablan said...: Tank: No matter whether he releases them or not, he'll have to spend more time talking about them than they realistically deserve. He is in a no-win situation.; 7/18/12, 9:41 AM
edutcher said...: Lurch was sunk (no pun; well, sort of...) the second people got a good look at him, but letting people see Teresa's (or, more properly, the late Senarot Heinz') tax returns would have been one more nail after his Swift Boat days became known.; 7/18/12, 9:46 AM
Tank said...: It's not a no-win situation. Anytime he's asked about it, he should immediately tag this as a diversion from the actual issues in the campaign and resume talking about the economy, etc.; 7/18/12, 9:46 AM
Anonymous said...: Kerry probably would've done worse if he released them - I doubt his tax returns were flattering.; 7/18/12, 9:50 AM
Matt Sablan said...: Well, yeah. Good point Dave. I wonder if he was keeping his boat in the next state over to lower his tax burden in 2004.; 7/18/12, 9:51 AM
Curious George said...: Wait, is the same John Kery that served in Viet Nam?; 7/18/12, 10:01 AM
prairie wind said...: Heh. If McCain had sounded like this--crisp, clearly impatient with bullshit--more often four years ago, I'd have been much happier to vote for him.; 7/18/12, 10:07 AM
MadisonMan said...: Kerry didn't lose; Bush won.

Agreed.

Kerry was a very flawed candidate however.; 7/18/12, 10:11 AM
Matt Sablan said...: I think Kerry was a lot like Romney though; the Democrats didn't really have any other good options at the time, did they?; 7/18/12, 10:16 AM
Anonymous said...: What on earth is McCain talking about? How is Kerry not releasing his wife's tax return equivalent to Romney not releasing his? As far as I know, nobody has requested that Ann Romney release her tax returns.

The precedent for releasing tax returns was set way back in 1968 when some guy named George Romney released 12 years of tax returns. Kerry, btw, had 20 years of his tax returns available during his run for the presidency; 7/18/12, 10:49 AM
Anonymous said...: if he ever renounced his foreign citizenships

Even if he is eligible for foreign citizenship, there is absolutely no evidence that he ever exercised his rights to do so. There is no requirement that he renounce other citizenship in the constitution. For people who are obsessed with originalism, you sure get your panties in a wad about this.; 7/18/12, 10:57 AM
machine said...: I guess this means we can expect to see more purple band aids at the convention?; 7/18/12, 11:04 AM
Christopher in MA said...: How is Kerry not releasing his wife's tax return equivalent to Romney not releasing his?

Probably because the real money in Kerry's marriage is hers (inherited from her late husband). Jean-Francois is famous in Washington circles for being so poor he had to sleep in his car and in his congressional office before he snagged Teresa.; 7/18/12, 11:07 AM
Roger J. said...: Much like the Bain nonsense, the tax returns seem to me to be another trivial issue-But if you are the President with a record of abject failure, you do your best to divert attention from your own shortcomings. 53% of the voters put him in office via the electoral college; if voters make the same mistake again, they will deserve what they get: higher taxes across the board, more regulation, and continued economic disaster.; 7/18/12, 11:09 AM
traditionalguy said...: Painting Romney as a Vulture Capitalist, a Criminal, and a job terminator is not going to work.

Mormon Mitt is too well known already. Slander only has effects on strangers. Mitt may be strange, but he is not a stranger to the voters.

The more Romney appears in repartee and smiles at the audience the closer his victory comes.

He needs to laugh at Obama at every opportunity.; 7/18/12, 11:17 AM
SDN said...: Yeah, Freder, but you can't be a US citizen unless you do. Even citizens who hold "dual citizenship" only hold it because the other country allows it; you can't carry out the duties of a citizen (such as defending the country) and keep US citizenship.

I realize that the word duty isn't a word you Leftists associate with citizenship....; 7/18/12, 11:34 AM
Andy said...: Is there a single prominent Republican that has weighed in on this issue that hasn't called on Romney to release the tax records? It's the standard. The norm. What's expected. Even National Review wrote an editorial calling on Romney to release the records. At this point, something really odd must be going on if Romney still refuses to release them. What's he hiding?; 7/18/12, 11:43 AM
machine said...: What is he hiding?

Maybe: Romney might well have thought in 2007 and 2008 that there was nothing to fear about a non-disclosed offshore account he'd set up years earlier precisely because it wasn't disclosed. But then came the settlement and the rush of non-disclosers to apply for the amnesty. Failing to apply for the amnesty and then getting charged by the IRS would have been both financially and politically disastrous. So amnesty it was. But even though the amnesty would eliminate any legal or financial liability for past acts, it would hardly eliminate political liability.; 7/18/12, 11:52 AM
Dave said...: Romney should publicly offer to trade his last 10 years returns for the 80,000 pages Obama is holding back on Fast & Furious.; 7/18/12, 12:01 PM
Andy said...: I stand corrected.

RNC finds one Republican who doesn’t think Romney should release his tax returns.

This is going to be a daily issue for Romney until he does the right thing. Is it campaign so incompetent they really think they will be able to keep this basic information about the candidate a secret? Or is the information in his tax returns so toxic that Romney knows he will lose if it gets out?; 7/18/12, 12:06 PM
Don M said...: So have Obama and Romney meet at a bridge. Romney can send over his tax records, and Obama can send over his school records.

Of course if Romney had problems with his taxes, the IRS would have prosecuted him by now (but with the new politicized Obama Executive, they may in October.)I don't put much past Obama.; 7/18/12, 12:11 PM
Don M said...: While they are at it, have them send over Kerry's military records. I heard he served in Vietnam.; 7/18/12, 12:12 PM
damikesc said...: It's not a no-win situation. Anytime he's asked about it, he should immediately tag this as a diversion from the actual issues in the campaign and resume talking about the economy, etc.

...because, no doubt, the press will then realize it's a distraction and move on. Happens every time.; 7/18/12, 12:18 PM
Don M said...: "I know Obama only made it through school by copying other people's homework, but that doesn't work with tax returns."; 7/18/12, 12:22 PM
Bob_R said...: What if you're married to a not-so-wealthy billionaire? Even a poor billionaire?; 7/18/12, 12:25 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Anytime he's asked about it, he should immediately tag this as a diversion from the actual issues in the campaign and resume talking about the economy, etc.

Yes. And also...."I have released the same information required by ALL other candidates and MORE. It is a double standard that the media seems to only apply to Republicans and ignores completely the lack of disclosures from the Obama campaign. It is a distraction from the real issues of the economy and Obama's failed policies. I won't discuss it further." SO....STFU!! of course he can't say that last remark but you can say the other stuff in a way that certainly implies it.; 7/18/12, 12:42 PM
machine said...: "I Chose Palin Because She Was The Better Candidate, Not Because Of Romney’s Tax Returns"

Sick Burn...; 7/18/12, 12:55 PM
Christopher in MA said...: This is going to be a daily issue for Romney until he does the right thing.

Because anything's better than talking about your Little Black Jesus' record, right, Hat? And if we're talking "the right thing," why hasn't Obama released his medical records? Other candidates certainly have.

Is it campaign so incompetent they really think they will be able to keep this basic information about the candidate a secret?

I suspect they're competent enough to type a coherent sentence. But you go on pretending that this is some great political matter that affects the destiny of the country.; 7/18/12, 12:55 PM
Andy said...: I suspect they're competent enough to type a coherent sentence.

Competent enough to be President of Amercia.; 7/18/12, 12:59 PM
machine said...: “Throughout history, presidential candidates have disclosed income tax information prior to Election Day. We believe Americans value disclosure and transparency in campaigns." Romney adviser Ed Gillespie in 2004

Now: Meh, not so much...; 7/18/12, 1:05 PM
n.n said...: No. This is a matter between the individual couple (or couplet) and the federal and state revenue services.

Certainly, we can mock them when they are hypocritical, but Americans tend to not be tainted by envy and the greed which underlies it. There is a fine line between opportunity and entitlement.; 7/18/12, 1:21 PM
Hagar said...: Considering the business he was in, would releasing tax returns containing information about his income from Bain give Bain's competitors a look-see into Bain's current business(es)?

I think that would be a reasonable explanation for not releasing tax returns going back in time.; 7/18/12, 1:24 PM
machine said...: George Romney, while running for President:

"Release of the document (copy of his latest Form 1040), while it might serve a political purpose, would not prove very much...One year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show, and what mattered in personal finance was how a man conducted himself over the long haul."; 7/18/12, 1:27 PM
Andy said...: I think that would be a reasonable explanation for not releasing tax returns going back in time.

This is not the argument that Romney is making. Romney is welcome to make this argument and we can all laugh at him for being silly. Do you find it odd that you're having to make up silly argument on Romney's behalf about why he isn't releasing his tax returns?; 7/18/12, 1:27 PM
Christopher in MA said...: Competent enough to be President of America.

George W Bush was president, too, but I don't remember your kind admitting it reflected any kind of competence.

Funny, that.; 7/18/12, 1:27 PM
Christopher in MA said...: I think Romney should just make up some income tax forms and give them to Dan Rather.

Fake but accurate was good enough for Bush's TANG service. It ought to be good enough for Obama fanbois like Hat and machine.; 7/18/12, 1:30 PM
The Drill SGT said...: Clearly the stuff about tax returns isn't about whether you cheat on your taxes, if it was, we would not have the Treasury Secretary we have now, so it must be either voyeurism, or a desire to know how the President's decisions cpuld be influenced by his/fer stock holdings, so yeah, looking at Senator Heinz assets could be interesting WRT Kerry's votes. Apparently he likes to take new stock positions just before the Senate votes on issues :)

PS: Kerry married up the first time as well. Julia Thorne. I always thought it was sleazy for Kerry the Catholic after producing two kids to get an annullment...

PPS: As I recall, in 2008, McCain made public 6 feet of medical records, and Obama produced a note from his mother, I mean Doctor...; 7/18/12, 1:32 PM
roesch/voltaire said...: Romney represents degenerate capitalism - and the reason it is in danger of being discredited as a shell-game for the super rich and their accountants. --an interesting line of thought.; 7/18/12, 2:22 PM
machine said...: It's about his effective tax rate...he probably pays less than all of us on here and doesn't want this getting out...coupled with the GOP insistence that other wealthy people pay even less in the future is not a political winner either...

Romney is a smart man...he obviously thinks the beating he takes for not showing his tax returns is less than the one he would get if he did...; 7/18/12, 2:41 PM
Anonymous said...: Of course if Romney had problems with his taxes, the IRS would have prosecuted him by now (but with the new politicized Obama Executive, they may in October.)I don't put much past Obama.

I doubt that Romney has committed outright tax fraud or even fudged on his taxes. What I would bet is that his tax returns would reveal that he was hauling in a fat salary from Bain at the same time he was reorganizing the SLC Olympics. In other words had a "no show" job at Bain. Of course if he was a union carpenter who had a no-show job on a construction site, you would want his hide.; 7/18/12, 2:53 PM
damikesc said...: Romney trotted out this excuse for not releasing his tax returns.

He isn't required to do so...any more than Obama is required to release medical documentation or academic records. Sure, all other candidates have done that...but it isn't legally a requirement.

He should offer it as a quid pro quo. Release them in exchange for the Fast & Furios emails and the names of the donors in Obama's 2008 campaign (McCain named all of his, mind you --- Obama never has).

Competent enough to be President of Amercia.

Obama's campaign's competence is a bit of a myth. Historically, it's been competent only at getting divorce records leaked to the media.

I doubt that Romney has committed outright tax fraud or even fudged on his taxes. What I would bet is that his tax returns would reveal that he was hauling in a fat salary from Bain at the same time he was reorganizing the SLC Olympics.

Given that he founded the company and was the only shareholder --- yes, he likely got money from them until his severance was negotiated.

That's what happens when you leave a company.

You know, this has been mentioned a lot. I'm starting to think you're not so much curious but mentally deficient.

Of course if he was a union carpenter who had a no-show job on a construction site, you would want his hide.

Was the carpenter the owner of the business and his/her severance negotiation unfinished? If not, then it's not comparable.; 7/18/12, 3:43 PM
Brian Brown said...: Andy R. said...
Do you find it odd that you're having to make up silly argument on Romney's behalf about why he isn't releasing his tax returns?

Do you find it odd that you can not, under any circumstances, bring yourself to ask why Obama won't be forthcoming with information himself?; 7/18/12, 4:01 PM
Brian Brown said...: Freder Frederson said...
What I would bet is that his tax returns would reveal that he was hauling in a fat salary from Bain at the same time he was reorganizing the SLC Olympics.

Um, dum-dum, you already missed it. Romney was being paid $100,000 per year by Bain.

This was only reported in about 20 news outlets.

Do try and not be so ignorant in the future.; 7/18/12, 4:03 PM
Rusty said...: He posted his 2010, 2011, and projected 2012 returns.
What's the problem?; 7/18/12, 4:39 PM
Rusty said...: You know, this has been mentioned a lot. I'm starting to think you're not so much curious but mentally deficient.

What was your first clue?; 7/18/12, 4:41 PM
Unknown said...: Whatever Romney's trying to hide must be fairly damaging or embarrassing. Otherwise he'd simply release the returns and put an end to the questions and speculation. And we all know that Romney isn't refusing to release tax returns as a matter of principle, so it's pretty clear he's hiding something.; 7/18/12, 4:59 PM
Big Mike said...: I hope Romney is playing "rope a dope" with his tax returns. As many dopes as there are in the Obama reelection committee, it would be a good strategy.; 7/18/12, 5:17 PM
Rick said...: Whatever Obama's trying to hide must be fairly damaging or embarrassing. Otherwise he'd simply release the Fast and Furious documents and put an end to the questions and speculation. And we all know that Obama isn't refusing to release the Fast and Furious documents as a matter of principle, so it's pretty clear he's hiding something.; 7/18/12, 5:50 PM
Rick said...: Whatever Obama's trying to hide must be fairly damaging or embarrassing. Otherwise he'd simply release the Fast and Furious documents and put an end to the questions and speculation. And we all know that Obama isn't refusing to release the Fast and Furious documents as a matter of principle, so it's pretty clear he's hiding something.; 7/18/12, 5:51 PM
Rick said...: Whatever Obama's trying to hide must be fairly damaging or embarrassing. Otherwise he'd simply release the Fast and Furious documents and put an end to the questions and speculation. And we all know that Obama isn't refusing to release the Fast and Furious documents as a matter of principle, so it's pretty clear he's hiding something.; 7/18/12, 5:52 PM
harrogate said...: "In other words had a "no show" job at Bain. Of course if he was a union carpenter who had a no-show job on a construction site, you would want his hide."

Bazinga.; 7/18/12, 7:49 PM
Ralph L said...: Of course if he was a union carpenter who had a no-show job on a construction site, you would want his hide
No, we'd want the union's hide.; 7/18/12, 8:22 PM
SukieTawdry said...: Teresa Heinz finally did release Form 1040 of her most recent (at the time) tax return. As I recall, it showed she paid less than $350,000 in taxes on an income of over $5 million because she was heavily invested in tax-exempt bonds.

It raised eyebrows at the time, but it's a tax management strategy that's perfectly legal and quite sensible. I wish I were wealthy enough to derive that kind of income from low-yield bonds.; 7/18/12, 9:58 PM
Rusty said...: Jake Diamond said...
Whatever Romney's trying to hide must be fairly damaging or embarrassing. Otherwise he'd simply release the returns and put an end to the questions and speculation. And we all know that Romney isn't refusing to release tax returns as a matter of principle, so it's pretty clear he's hiding something.

Amazing.

And steel doesn't melt.; 7/19/12, 7:25 AM