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Subscribe to RSS“What I am going to do — and this is unprecedented in the history of American politics — is give to this television and radio audience a complete financial history. Everything I’ve earned, everything I’ve spent, everything I owe.” — Richard Nixon, Sept. 23, 1952
Seeking to save his place on the Republican ticket, Richard Nixon — 60 years ago this weekend — took to the airwaves and delivered his “Checkers” speech, one of the most famous in American political history. It’s most remembered for Nixon’s innovative use of television, using the then relatively young medium to make an extraordinary pitch for his personal integrity, complete with maudlin references to his wife’s “respectable Republican cloth coat” and his childrens’ cocker spaniel.
In Deep Dive, The Daily Rundown's Chuck Todd explains how the speech ushered in the era of television as the vehicle for political messaging.
But Nixon also did something else in the speech that has eerie relevance to the 2012 election: He invented new rules for financial disclosure that are now playing themselves out in the controversy over Mitt Romney’s tax returns.
At its core, the Nixon “Checkers” speech was all about Nixon’s finances: whether he had personally benefited from an $18,000 “slush fund” set up for him by wealthy California backers to pay his political expenses. The disclosure of the fund, by the (then-liberal) New York Post, rocked the Republican ticket and an icy Dwight Eisenhower was close to dropping Nixon from the ticket.
Nixon “was totally, utterly terrified,” recalled Jeffrey Frank, a former New Yorker editor and author of a forthcoming book, “Ike and Dick: Portrait of a Strange Political Marriage,” that brilliantly reconstructs the Checkers speech. “He really had nowhere to go and had no one to turn to really.”
So Nixon did something that had never been done before: He went on national television (booking a half-hour on NBC, right after the popular Milton Berle Show) and decided to disclose every last detail of his finances. Nixon let it all hang out: the cost of his home, the size of his mortgage, the value of his life insurance policy. “I own a 1950 Oldsmobile car,” Nixon said. “We have our furniture. We have no stocks and bonds of any type. ... I owe $4,500 to the Riggs Bank in Washington, D.C., with interest four and one half percent.”
He also shrewdly turned the issue around on his Democratic opponents: Illinois governor Adlai Stevenson and his running mate, Alabama Sen. John Sparkman. Stevenson, he pointed out, was quite wealthy: “I believe it’s fine that a man like Governor Stevenson, who inherited a fortune from his father, can run for president,” he said.
And, he noted, Sparkman had put his wife on his Senate payroll.
“I would suggest that under the circumstances both Mr. Sparkman and Mr. Stevenson should come before the American people, as I have, and make a complete financial statement as to their financial history,” Nixon said, “and if they don’t it will be an admission that they have something to hide.”
In effect, Nixon turned his critics’ attacks on their head: Challenged about his finances, he disclosed everything. And he slyly stuck it to Stevenson and Sparkman with his challenge that they do the same thing: If you don’t disclose, you must be hiding something.
These new “Nixon” rules would over time take on a life of their own, creating new expectations for what was expected of candidates for national office. “Even though Nixon himself wasn’t trying to set an ethical standard — Nixon was simply trying to save his skin — it became a sort of standard for candidates from then on,” says Frank. (And the bar, of course, would be set even higher by George Romney in 1967 when he released 10 years of tax returns.)
But those rules are now being challenged — and relitigated — in the 2012 race. Romney is the Adlai Stevenson of this race, an extremely wealthy man (worth a quarter of a billion dollars) whose Swiss bank account and Cayman Island holdings have become fodder for his political critics.
In refusing to release more of his tax returns — claiming it would only give his foes the chance “to distort and twist” his finances — Romney is explicitly rejecting the Nixon rules as laid out in the Checkers speech.
And it is the Obama campaign that is aggressively and openly pushing the Nixon challenge: If you don’t release, you must be hiding something.
Leave a Comment:
So what does this have to do with the current election. Oh I know...NBC's way of linking Romney with Nixon. NBC sure does love Obama don't they.
Watergate aside, Nixon was actually a pretty decent President all things considered. Look what he did on environment, on trade (China), etc.
Nixon laid out his finances for all to see. Romney lies and hides everything for no one but the privileged to see. Romney and the tea party are soon to be nothing but a bad taste in your mouth.
Yeah right, spud, in your dreams, maybe.
Xabre & Spud - you're both right but the little righties hate to see it. Romney is no Nixon - who actually did a lot of good for the country before he went to the dark side. Romney only knows the dark side. It is doubtful he'll ever be an open book with his financials. He clearly has much too much to hide.
The fact that there are still people who support this slippery piece of garbage is beyond belief. But, most of them dont' really care about Romney, knowing the Koch Bros., and Norquist would have him dancing to their every whim.
Obama/Biden 2012
Wow, yet another indication of how low the new GOP has sunk. When Richard Nixon becomes the benchmark for ethics in politics you know you have sunk lower than whale poop on the bottom of the ocean.
It's just what I've been saying for months. The GOP is no longer the party of Lincoln, TR, Eisenhower or even Reagan. Oh, there are other historical figures I could compare the new GOP to but why bother, you know what they've become.
Can we expect a "checkers" moment from Mr. Romney? Will he show up at the National Press Club in DC with a fist full of Tax Returns and more of Ann's famous Belgian Cake cookies?
I doubt it and what purpose would it serve now? Jesus may have brought Lazarus back from the dead, but not even he could revive this campaign.
Obama/Biden 2012
Actually Skip, Mitt Romney is more like Herbert Hoover who bears no resemblance to Richard Nixon. Comparing Romney to Nixon is like ...............You complete the sentence..
Skip: Back when Lincoln and Teddy were Republicans, the Republican Party actually was the party with the liberal platform. The parties switched about the time of FDR.
Good Lord. Normally I see all the bias complaints against MSNBC as overblown, simply an attempt to create an "everybody's doing it!" narrative for Fox News supporters. But this is just such blatantly biased tripe posing as news that I'm astounded. This is nothing more than an attempt to lay astroturf for the Obama campaign regarding Romney's tax returns.
I mean, seriously? A TV address by a vice presidential candidate in 1952 regarding campaign finance is called "one of the most famous speeches in US political history"? Yeah, sure. Let's just tack "I own a 1950 Oldsmobile" right up there with "Ask not what your country can do for you," or with "The only thing we have to fear..."
I support Obama, and I think Romney should release his returns. But parading this crud around your website and calling it news is just hypocrisy. Way to be partisan hacks, MSNBC.
Hey Spidey, I could choose instead to bury my head in the sand by ignoring ALL the polls (that are driven entirely by the LEFTY media like Fox, etc. lol!) showing Romney down 7 points in republican leaning states like Ohio, Florida, Virginia, etc. plus Lyin Ryan representing my home state of Wisconsin with an impressive 14 points down to President Obama. Coat tail election, guaranteed!
Dam Nixon is compared to Mittwitt. DAM!
@Xabre = good to see someone embraces history instead of rejecting it.
Mittwitt is a disgrace to himself and his own father who pioneered releasing presidential candidates tax returns. Mittwitt you are an embrassment to the slim race, because at this point in the race you are beyond human.
If President Obama HAD TO RELEASE his birth certificate which is an insult.
Mittwitt HAS TO RELEASE HIS TAX RETURNS.
Otherwise Mittwitt is disqualified.
How is that raising money thing going for you mittwitt?
If you don’t release, you must be hiding something.
That is the opinion of many people, myself included.
I don't think there is any wrongdoing, but he knows the release of all 10 years, back to his Bain years, would be the death blow to his campaign.
It is already reeling, and the 2011 return already promised will make quite a splash, and not in a good way.
Liberal used to stand for liberty. around the 20's the democrats hijacked the term to sugar coat their implementation of socialism.
They are good at sugar coating what they do with word play.
Affordable Care Act, BS
American Jobs Act, BS
Overseas Contingency Operation, You get the idea. The dems are incredible when it comes to gaining public support for their garbage, it's a damn shame the media just doesn't bother to look into what they do, but rather blindly endorses every dem move as the second coming.
Yeahbuhwuh, It IS one of the most famous speeches in American political history. Not one of the most profound to be sure. As an historian I thought the story was both relevant and unbiased.
Solutions, Being a natural born citizen is a requirement of being president.
Sharing your taxes with your opponent's campaign is not.
Try reading the article next time.
Yeahbuhwha?, this is how the media gets even with Romney's campaign for bringing up Carter and the foreign policy stuff. The Media does this daily and has since 2004. MSNBC is obama's biggest spending superpac. Just watch their lean forward commercials that they run for 0bama all day.
Xabre,
I think you are correct. The GOP became really obstructionist and isolationist in the two decades just prior to the second World War. It's a historical fact that they were largely responsible for the drastic cuts to the US military that left us unprepared for war. They blocked every attempt by FDR to expand the lend/lease program which would have benefited our allies AND American industry prior to Pearl Harbor.
They did everything they could to keep us out of the war and had they succeeded (and they would have if not for the Japanese) the world would be a very different place. China, Korea, Indo-China and many other Pacific nations would be Japanese puppets and our Pacific holdings would be in peril. Europe, including England, would be either Nazi or Communist or both. Who knows where that would leave Canada?
Like I said, when Richard Nixon is the bar by which your ethics are judged you are in serious trouble.
Obama/Biden 2012
I LOVE this GUY.
I thought MITT ROMNEY has already ALIENATED Everybody on the Plant.
the Police Unions, Firemen Unions, Teachers, Servicemen (active and retired), Women of the World, the Latinao and Gay Community, the Middle and Working Class, Florida retiress, Independent and Undecided Voters, etc. etc.
I was wrong!
Now MITT ROMNEY has ALIENATED the CONSERVATIVES.
I LOVE this GUY.
elliot-3020456
Solutions, Being a natural born citizen is a requirement of being president.
Sharing your taxes with your opponent's campaign is not.
Elliot- when you run on the platform about fixing the economy and how bad the other guy has done, then tax returns are fair game to show just how much you're invested in it. Off-shore and Swiss bank accounts and tax loopholes don't count as investing in the US economy. does it?
This article is a sad statement on the lack of journalistic integrity has at times. The article is nothing more than a propaganda piece by an Obama supporter designed to link Romney with the most despised Republican in modern history.
Sometimes NBC produces good articles - but this was not one of them.
Romney! Release your tax returns!
Xabre, I agree with your views of President Nixon. I voted for him because of his courage to sit down and talk with the powers in China and get the doomsday clock backed off of midnight. (How many here remember living with that thing hanging over our heads?) I also remember when the environment was important to everyone, it was rarely considered a political issue. Today's Republican party doesn't care about people or the planet they inhabit, just the people who are corporations, and will never get my vote.
Nah, Binkie, we don't need them anymore let the man keep his dignity and his tax returns. When it's all over he can say 'I may have lost the White House, but by golly they never got to see my TAX RETURNS!'
At least he'll have that to hold on to.
Obama/Biden 2012
Oh I found the liberals hiding on some lame asz story about nothing! You certainly are not in the business section stories...hahahahah
Yeah this is a real winner of a story.....
Liberals whining about tax returns, look in the mirror and you will see you are about as dumb as the birthers! Why doesnt Obama release his college transcripts? I mean this guy went to Harvard, he should be proud to release all information about his college days. Just let it go LIBS.
:)
Ron,
If NBC wanted to link Romney to the most despised Repugnutone in modern history they would have used Bush Jr. All Nixon did is spy on the DNC and then lie about it. Dubya lied to get us in a bogus war that cost thousands of American and Iraqi lives. That's truly despicable.
Folks here's some food for thought. The war is over and we have won. For only the third time in history atomic weapons have been used only this time the other side dropped the bombs on themselves.
Ok, it's over, it's time to rebuild.
So maybe it's time to stop with the hate rhetoric and let the GOP lick their wounds for a bit. Please remember that every coin has two sides, we're one, they are the other but we are the two sides of the SAME coin. We have to work together because we don't have a choice.
Calm down and remember what the Godfather taught us, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.
It's time to snuggle up and work on fixing this country while we get ready for 2016. (Sound up on the Godfather theme)
Obama/Biden 2012
Bubby.....
Where is this evidence that Bush lied to all of congress before they voted to allow an invasion into Iraq? Did Bush lie to Bill Clinton in regards to Iraq, even though Bill Clinton was for it. (Yes, he didn't have a vote) What about all the European leaders who also believed this? Everyone was lied to huh?
Where is the proof to that accusation?
Nixon, as President, was a story in contrasts. And, the contrasts are stark enough that one shouldn't look upon his tenure through rose colored glasses.
On one hand he opened relations with China and effectively ended the use of DDT (saving many of the larger birds of prey, including Bald Eagles). On the other, he spied on US citizens (Interagency Committee on Intelligence), created the "Plumbers" and lied to cover it up.
While some may claim the good that was done by OSHA, the Draft Lottery, the Clean Air Bill (smog free cars) and the Paris Peace Accords (ending the VietNam war). Others will point out the privatization of the Post Office, the abandonment of Latin America (the beginning of the real drug war), wage & price freezes (Wage-Price Controls Bill), proposed legislation to stop integration through busing, the devalued dollar, the '73 Oil Embargo and, WATERGATE.
The US Congress, Democrats and Republicans alike, drew up three (3) articles of impeachment: 1. Obstruction of Justice, 2. Abuse of Power and 3. Unconstitutional Defiance of Congress.
As if that wasn't bad enough, the IRS found that Nixon had lied on his taxes and he paid nearly $500K in back taxes and fines.
Nixon was seriously flawed as President. That's why he left the Presidency, in shame, 9 August 1974. Let us not forget, we must judge based on the total record rather than the high points.
Mitt is rich, SO WHAT??? Get over yourselves!
James,
Lies of omission my friend. They had evidence the yellow cake and aluminum tubes were total red herrings and the sources of the intelligence that supported the claims that Saddam was hiding WMD’s were bogus. Dubya and company chose to bury those facts to strengthen their case for an invasion, and get the votes from congress.
James, ignore the facts leading up to the Iraq war if you wish. But all of this is well documented. The yellow cake, the aluminum tubes, Bush even duped Colin Powell into lying for him.
Once again we are left to explain the significance of history to those who do not appreciate it and are prone to simply make s**t up. Let me help jump start your atrophied brain cells: this isn't about linking Romney with Nixon. This is about the historical comparison of two very different approaches to financial disclosure in American politics. Historically wide disclosure for 60 years vs. "none of your business (non-ya)" today. Is that better or would you prefer the Simple Sarah version?
AnotherMiddleClass? Puh-lease! How about just AnotherDumbA---, uh, that's too easy!
Romney accused half of America of being takers for not paying their fair share of income taxes. Well it's time for him to put up or shut up. Show us he's not just another taker and release his tax returns for at least the last 10 years.
Well, they are both crooks. I think Romney took advantage of the IRS tax amnesty program in 2009, and that's why he won't release that return. And if he did take advantage of the amnesty deal, in essence he committed tax fraud and got amnesty for fessing up and paying the taxes. I'll settle for just the 2009 return. Let's see it Mitt!!
This is a very biased article. How is this news?...it's the kind of thing that belongs on an independent left-wing political blog.
If there is nothing wrong with Mitt's taxes, how would the Democrats be able to twist them? If he's refusing to show them, then he has something to hide. It may not be illegal, but I suspect it would be considered immoral by those who actually struggle to survive.
Okay, first off, I'm a liberal. Nixon was a good president. He did many amazing things. Just the inroads with the then USSR unprecedented. What he did with Watergate looks like an afternoon tea these days. Cheney did worse than Watergate his first few weeks in office.
Stop bashing Nixon. History will paint him as one of the better presidents of the 20th Century which is something you'll never be able to say for either of the Bushes and likely Reagan when all is said and done.
wow. I guess I can't really understand how you don't think this article is relevant. It sort of makes me understand why there are no hard news articles any longer. The don't write them because unless they are puff pieces people can't read them. Which is a sad state of affairs since all news is written a level that a 6th grader can comprehend. That is a fact. Look it up.
You are indeed correct this one requires a bit of critical thinking.
In this particular situation when Nixon was a vice presidential candidate he was under pressure because of a slush fund set up for him, so he did the honorable thing and disclosed ALL of his finances on the then brand new medium of television.
The suggestion is that Romney is under pressure to disclose his, he might do something similar to show he has nothing to hide.
You see it worked for Nixon. Not many years later he was elected president.
And for the person you said how is this a famous speech, you need to go back to High School. Nixon's Checker's speech is one of the most famous political speeches of the 20th Century.
James: Bush/cheney lied and good people died. They lied a documented 935 times before the Iraq Abortion. This is according to CNN in 2008.
Bush/cheney also slandered the former Ambassador to Iraq when he called them out on their lies, and then outed a spy. Did I mention that it was one of OUR spies?
But that was still better than what happened to Dr. David Kelly, the UN weapons inspector who called the WMD claims "sexed up". He was murdered.
Ed Burke: I agree completely. Show us the taxes Mitt! You lie 71% of the time, so we can not take you at your word.
McCain saw all his taxes and he is still a sitting Senator. He should disclose to us, his employers, what the hell was in those returns that made him swing to a dufus nincompoop like Palin for his VP choice.
@jdbird
Obama doesn't need to provide you or anyone else with his birth certificate as IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE OBAMA WAS BORN, not at all.
Obama's mother was a United States citizen as she was born in Kansas in 1942, which means . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . President Obama is a naturalized citizen.
So, I guess you're gonna have to find some other non-issue to spew about.
Oh, and it gets even better. Regarding your hero Romney, who made the nasty @SS joke in Michigan about them not needing to see his, Romney's birth certificate, here's the scoop:
Mitt Romney's father, George Romney, was born in Mexico in 1907, AND as George's parents were ALSO United States citizens, this means . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . Daddy Romney was also a naturalized citizen.
Which means your hero, Mittens, truly made an @SS out of himself, as usual, with that nasty remark in Michigan.
And as I stated above:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE OBAMA WAS BORN
Romney/Ryan - A New Day, A New FlipFlop!
Obama/Biden - 2012
---www.biography.com/people/barack-obama-12782369
---www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/54799169-90/romney-born-george-craig.html.csp
---www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=d84d6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextoid=d84d6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD
You know their campaign is done when they start breaking out the "liberal media" card...
lol I love it.
And I have to disagree with you, Skip. There can be no rebuilding -- the GOP for the past 4 years has been nothing short of traitors to this country via obstructionism and seeking to make a branch of the government "fail". The only good Republican is a deported Republican.
Yeah, all the good stuff about Nixon, but would you buy a used car from him?
James. Where have you been? Go to school. Thank you Miklkit. It is hard to believe that there are people who either bank on our social amnesia to believe or stubbornly keep on believing what they want, rather than what has been found to be factually true in recent history. Anyone can look up the hearings on Intelligence regarding WMD and many other things leading up to Operation Freedom Iraq. Its on everything from Wikipedia to the CSpan archives and it is apparent that the People of the USA no longer want a repeat of the Custer routine for profit for a few.
However, M.J., the story is longer and begins with Tricky Dick. He did go to the dark side later. Eisenhower saw it coming, the ways of the power profit hungry industrial military complex, feared it and warned about it in one of his later speeches. Nixon's impact in history, not known by many today, has to do with oil and our standard of monetary worth. Nixon reminded us of a used car salesman with his slit eyes and among other things, his particular game of poker, (The Nixon shock with France, 1971 and the creation of petro-dollars with Saudi Arabia 1973), which was, as is so clear today, actually the start of many of today's problems. References and links below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixon_Shock
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973_oil_crisis
http://www.conservativenewsandviews.com/2011/05/12/money/petrodollars-war-peace-and-economics-part-1/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Senate_Report_on_Pre-war_Intelligence_on_Iraq
Who would even think to vote for Mr. Obama since he said he has FAILED as President since he has to go OUTSIDE Washington to get things done ? Leader ? NOT !!!
And, if that doesn't work to sway the Congressional votes, he uses Executive Orders or his surrogate Progressive Cabinet members to change regulations to fit his agenda. THAT.....is not a way to govern our country. Blame, divide, and bypass Congressional procedures is going to be the hallmark of Mr. Obama's presidency.....not the Mandated "TAX EVERYONE" Universal Health Care Reform legislation.
The President of the United States was elected to office to look out for the best interests of ALL the American people. He has FAILED miseably in his domestic and International policies.
Heck, he is even tasked the SofS to appear with him in Pakistan T.V. ads to say the "movie" is creating the ME chaos. Wow, going on T.V. in another country to point the blame finger.....and at taxpayers expense.
As for the reference to Mr. Nixon, heck of a way to spin any resemblance to Gov. Romney. One thing will probably happen.....Mr. Obama will probably give a Mr. Nixon "goodbye wave" as he boards Marine One for his final lift off the White House lawn for his LAST trip back to Cheeeecago lalala land.
Ido...? Almost everything you have stated is bubble-headed nonsense that can be easily disproved. You offer no facts or references. Many American families are already benefiting from the already legislated health care which is just one of many improvements to quality of life accomplished by this president. You accuse the Secretary of State and the President of what? Doing their job to bring justice to criminal extremists and communicate understanding diplomatically on the topic of inflammatory communications in the aim of keeping the peace with fellow nations? Would you rather have more misery and war? That the President is not looking out for the best interest of all the American People is nonsense and he has not failed in either domestic or international policies at all. He is not the one that has made a series of stupid remarks that insult our allies or half of the American population.
As for your fanciful visions of any departure a la Nixon, I see from the polls that the President is leading and that his accomplishments are the already obvious proof listed before the American People. They will be voting out the failed congressional obstructionists and also the purple dogs so that the President can finally get things done more efficiently in Washington DC in his second term to avoid wasted time and bleeding of resources and to move us into a new self sufficient modernized functioning country that produces a new combination of energy and wealth to back our dollars, a country not as dependent on OPEC, a country not as polluting, that is a partner for peace on Planet Earth. Is that a problem or would you prefer to continue the failed policies that have already led to this complete standstill of progress or leading to WW3? If there are better ideas We the People would like to hear them, but just what and how is not being clearly demonstrated and bad or ignorant management based on faith or in fantasy is not something we can have right now. By the way, where are Mitt's college transcripts?
Does anyone actually believe that Romney will release his 2011 tax returns? Hell early voting starts soon in several states, and the debates are right around the corner. He certainly is taking his time. If he does indeed release them, keep in mind they'll be heavily scrubbed, and then an amendment will filed after the elections. I want to see the previous 4-5 years...
Hello AnotherMiddleClass: perhaps you'll catch this at the tale end or roundabouts at ol' 47. You asked what this story has to do with this election, and pointed out that MSN seems to delight in showing the link (basically for democrats) between Nixon and Romney.
Let me point out that I don't think Sonny was a bad Don, Nixon and company did some things and many people voted for the Republicans who survived through the years - I was one. The quote given in the article made by Jeffrey Frank noted that Nixon "had nowhere to go and had nowhere to turn to really". It really does pretty much describe Mitt's position. The teeter totter of news presentation between Fox and MSN (the slant they give us by taking an angle -'internal opinion'- differently rated by 'importance') is as obvious to me as it is to you.
Hey Ray whdya say...nope..nobody thinks it...but there's a clever Simpson's vid showing one possible idea. They (Ann) told us why already (it'll only make them look bad, feed the flame of recognition), do we need another episode of that? I don't. Please, not that.
elliot-3020456
"Solutions, Being a natural born citizen is a requirement of being president.
Sharing your taxes with your opponent's campaign is not. "
That is just not fair to all those people born C-Section !
Nixon prolongued the Vietnam war. A deal to end it was struck in early 1968. Nixon sent Kissinger to tell the south Vietnamese leader not to sign because when Nixon was elected President he could get a better deal. No deal was made after the election, the south Vietnamese leader was ousted and the war accellerated. Most US casualties occurred after the '68 failure, not to mention millions of Vietnamese and Cambodians.
We have a right to know about a potential president's finances. There could be conflicts of interest. It's a reasonable request.
Uh, exactly where is that "right" established, Steve, other than the DNC playbook, that is? Romney has disclosed what is required by law, and no one but Obama-ites gives a damn about his taxes. I'd much rather see Obama disclose the results of the investigation of his Attorney General.....conducted by one of the AG's own underlings....that exonerates him in the Fast & Furious disaster.
spider - Romney has not met the standard set by all candidates. Releasing a partial year of tax returns shows nothing. As his father, who released 12 years of returns said, "1 or 2 years of tax returns could be a fluke." But then, Romney isn't half the man his father was.
Obama/Biden 2012
I think we have to assume there ARE conflicts of interest or other damaging information in the details.
Since Romney won't even just release the top page summaries of gross income, deductions, net income, and taxes paid or owed, we also have to assume he paid little or no taxes in at least some or possibly many of those years.
It is not our right to see Romney's finances. Nor does he have a right to our vote.
What is at issue here is that his finances have been called into question and rather doing the obvious thing of clearing the air he has refused to give any information on his finances. Which in the court of public opinion makes him look guilty.
"and everyone except Spider gives a damn about his taxes". There, fixed it for ya.
I wonder if Romney released his taxes to his $50.000/dinner-plate contributers with whom he explained his abandonment of the 47%?
@ 1.25 James-2110694
His transcripts are none of your business, nor anyone else's, other than his and Harvard Laws.
Find some other non-issue to spout about.
Obama/Biden 2012
I love how Romney's supporters say "he's released what's required by law". Even though all other Presidential candidates in the recent past have released several years of returns to offer a more complete picture.
Romney so far has released ONE year, a snap shot if you will, and already he is in trouble with voters regarding Cayman shell accounts and Swiss bank accounts. People open those type of accounts for one purpose, to avoid taxes.
Obama has invested up to 10 million dollars of his money in US Treasury notes and bonds. Romney has invested millions in the Caymans and Switzerland, and refuses to disclose his finances.
Move along, nothing to see here.... He would ask us to "trust" him. We don't need details or specifics... speaking of, when is he going to release some?
Romney wishes he was Nixon, lol
Sadly, Nixon would be a step up. At least he had convictions. (almost one more in 1974, too! :))
How pathetic. Why are people so forgetful and still try to whitewash that dangerous situation. Luckily we still have some historic recordings of the real events. Few born after those times realize that it was quite intense with Watergate and the senate going after the president. There were worries of a possible military coup (watch second link, Nixon drunk over Watergate, Haldeman; read comments)?
Those old enough will never forget the totally embarrassing departure of President Nixon from the White House, with that fake smile looking so disturbed and waving those two fingers. No one should wish to have that kind of presidency, a presidency so messed up that even his base was no longer in support of him, and no one should wish for that kind of failed exit, ever.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3U4MhKDxcw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rm5FIs9V0VA&feature=related
Tricky Mitt
From the article above:
Comparing Governor Romney to Richard M. Nixon.
Gotta love it.
Salud
Comparing Governor Romney to Richard M. Nixon.
Gotta love it.
Actually -- that's an insult to Nixon. This Romney clown is the phoniest presidential candidate in my lifetime and I remember the Checkers speech.
Great reminder about the value voters place on openness.
I just want to know if Mitt Romney is part of the 47% who pay no taxes.
You saying he's a closet democrat?
More of the "47%" live in red states than blue ones. Just thought you'd like to know.
http://www.theamericanconservative.com/where-do-the-47-percent-live/
Zod,
No, Romney's not a Democrat. He's just one of those 47% (46.4% actually) who can't be persuaded to vote the Romney/Ryan ticket. ;-)
It is possible that Romney will release his tax returns as his October surprise, which would work well for him providing there's nothing fishy in them and he paid at least an average of 14% or so over the years.
Mike, the problem with your argument is that even if that is what he is doing the only reason to withhold them is to create a distraction from other issues. Romney's biggest problem is that there are already to many distractions for his campaign to deal with.
"You saying he's a closet democrat?"
Other than a liar, who knows what Romney is. He's been for and against just about everything depending on who he's taking to, what day it is, what time it is, the season of the year and who knows what else. Less that 2 weeks ago he had 3 positions on Obama-Care in less than 24 hours.
The longer Romney put's off releasing his tax returns, the guiltier he looks, we don't even have 2 complete years, the people doing his tax's must be really bad at their jobs. Where is the completed 2nd year.
Romney's father released what 12 years, and said all running for President should do the same.
What are you hiding Romney? More swiss or cayman accounts.
Obama waited 18 months to produce an odd copy of a long form birth certificate, having only provided a certificate of live birth short form, & he was already in our employment.
Romney knows every cent he has ever made will be attacked. Accounts are sent overseas because of the high tax rates our government believes it is entitled to, not anything Anti American. To bad our president holds back on business to gain votes by over taxing & regulating things to a point there is little profit left unless you hire groups of accountants & lawyers to help you keep some of what you make.
jdbird - and yet the Governor of Hawaii - a Republican - stated President Obama's birth certificate is genuine. When do we see Romney's birth certificate? Of course you wouldn't request something of one presidential candidate that you wouldnt' demand from another, right? Yeah, right!
Obama/Biden 2012
JDBird..And what is wrong about having an honest dialogue about tax policy in this country? Wassa matter? Chicken? Or should Mr. Romney be promising "a chicken in every pot?" Much like his republican forebears?
Romney and his brilliant advisers decided to postpone filing and release of his 2011 return until RIGHT BEFORE THE ELECTION.
Yeah, this guy is a friggin' genius at planning and strategy.
@jdbird
President Obama did release his birth certificate. And guess what you rwnj's was not happy it must of been a fake so he wanted to get the BS behind him and released the long form. Guess what you RWNJ's are still not satisfied.
Saying I can't believe a black man is my President I just can't believe it.
He must be a Muslim he don't look like me.
Why is he changing the constitution - Although President Obama has not changed a thing.
Nothing Anti American about that? How about we let the electorate decide. I think most people do feel that is Anti American.
Dec. 29, 2008 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. corporate earnings fell for a sixth-straight quarter, the longest streak in at least 20 years, as consumer spending on automobiles, homes and retailers collapsed.
Jul 31, 2012 (Bloomberg) -- Profits for companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index have grown for 10 straight quarters, helping to power the index to a more than twofold increase since March 2009.
EEngineer: Are we better off now than we were 4 years ago? Yes! And there is just some of the proof.
@jdbird
Obama doesn't need to provide you or anyone else with his birth certificate as IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE OBAMA WAS BORN, not at all.
Obama's mother was a United States citizen as she was born in Kansas in 1942, which means . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . President Obama is a naturalized citizen.
So, I guess you're gonna have to find some other non-issue to spew about.
Oh, and it gets even better. Regarding your hero Romney, who made the nasty @SS joke in Michigan about them not needing to see his, Romney's birth certificate, here's the scoop:
Mitt Romney's father, George Romney, was born in Mexico in 1907, AND as George's parents were ALSO United States citizens, this means . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . Daddy Romney was also a naturalized citizen.
Which means your hero, Mittens, truly made an @SS out of himself, as usual, with that nasty remark in Michigan.
And as I stated above:
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . IT DOES NOT MATTER WHERE OBAMA WAS BORN
Romney/Ryan - A New Day, A New FlipFlop!
Obama/Biden - 2012
---www.biography.com/people/barack-obama-12782369
---www.sltrib.com/sltrib/politics/54799169-90/romney-born-george-craig.html.csp
---www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=d84d6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextoid=d84d6811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD
Naturalized does not meet the definition of Natural Born. That is a requirement. Not to worry after the election we shall find out then treason is the name of that game.
http://www.obamanotqualified.com/obama_is_not_a_natural_born_citizen_defined.htm
We have the lowest tax rates in history. You know his tax rate last year was 10.3% and defend him if he sheltered money overseas to avoid taxes. Wow. You really believe Romney's actual tax rate for last year that was 10.3% was so cripling he had to shelter money overseas to put food on the table? If his tax changes are passed he'll pay nothing. Yes, I think for someone whose made so much money off of this country to go to such extremes to not pay his share, that's un American.
Tricky Mitty can only dream of only having Nixon's problems...at least Nixon was something more than a weathervane trying to be everything to everyone and ends up being nothing to anyone...
Romneygate?
I wonder if Rove, Cheney, the Bushes along with the Koch brothers will get their indictments?
Nothings changed in 60 years politically speaking, except the monies involved are now obscene.
MSNBC heads have bought exactly what MSNBC wanted them to think.
Romney is now some how eaual to Nixon.
Try again, jdbird:
Romney is not equal to Nixon - that's the point of the article!
It's obvious Romney is hiding somethings from us. The question is just how obscene is it? It must be triple x or worse.
The damage will come from things like AGI, or taxes owed. People will look at a tax owed total that is larger than what they make in five years and think, "Is this the guy that says he understands the pressure felt by the middle class?"
I said that if he was smart, he'd have gotten it over with back in April. I guess that tells you if he is smart or not.
The biggest damage would be all the ethically questionable deductions that are bigger than most people's take-home pay. You know, like $77,000 annually for a dancing "therapy horse".
"It seems to me that the American leftists on the MSN chat boards have the right to know if their fellow commenter Chesty Puller is a crook....
....well I am not a crook, ladies and gentlemen. I'veeeee...earned everything I've got."
The real Chesty Puller was a Democrat and worked for Democratic Presidents. Go figure! Sir you ar no Chesty Puller!
By golly, now it's Nixon's fault.
Will the real Mitt Romney PLEASE stand up! Shakin' not stirred...
"What's good for the goose..."
Compare their pictures and you will see that there are some similarities to Nixon for Romney. They could be brothers or cousins.
That is too much of a coincidence for me.
4 more for 44!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the first GOP candidate that has rebooted his campaign every other week!!
Release your Freaking Tax Returns MittWitt or you are disqualified from being President of the United States.
Imagine if President Obama refused to release his returns. Just imagine.
Massachusetts Poll shows Obama 28 points ahead of Romney. This is not a typo - TWENTY EIGHT POINTS.
Twenty eight points in the the state where MIttens was Governor!
Must suck to be a ditto head right now!
We are looking down the barrel of a landslide of unprecedented proportions.
Just remember, VOTE VOTE VOTE!
vote for more free @!$%# and socialism. You libs are pathetic.
@plsthink90
Tell your mama to give back that socialist social security check.
my momma isn't old enough, besides you pay in to that your whole life if you work. Do you think the government has their own money or do u not work?? It is our money.
plsthink, what is your definition of a socialist? This should be good.
LOL! We have paid our hard earned money into SS and it is OUR money. Not Wall Streets money. Not Romneyhoods money. It belongs to us 47%ers and we will not allow it to be privatized.
From one con man to another. The GOP seems to have a yen for these guys.
Romney, He just can't help it. He's like a guy running a 3 card Monte game or a hawker saying 'Tell you what I'm gonna do" Yes, he think's there is a sucker born every minute. Wake up voters you are being conned!
Lessee, Ted "Chappaquiddick" Kennedy; Bill "I did not have sex with that woman" Clinton; Barack "College records? What college records?" Obama. That's not a yen: it's a craving.
Obama: "He just can't help it. He's like a guy running a 3 card Monte game or a hawker saying 'Tell you what I'm gonna do" [e.g., 12 million more jobs by the end of my first term]. Yes, he think's there is a sucker born every minute. Wake up voters you are being conned!" Fooled by Obama once, shame on him; fooled twice, shame on you.
I'm no fan of Nixon that's for sure. He came to office with "a secret plan to end the war in Viet Nam" and by the time he announced that he'd achieved "Peace with Honor" it turned out to be the exact same deal he could have had if he'd just cut our losses and left the day he was sworn in. Thousands of lives lost for nothing at all in return. No, I'm no fan of Nixon at all.
That said, no one person is all good or all evil, there is no black and white the whole world is made of zillion shades of gray. This is one place where the man I consider to be the greatest villain in all of American politics got it right in a big way.
Sticking strictly to the letter of the law on the matter of past income tax returns is not serving Mr Romney well, coming up a bit short of Richard Nixon on candor and ethics, doesn't serve Mr Romney at all.
Now Mittwitt can't even be compared to Nixon of all people. WOW how low is Mittwitt and his bush buddies plan? = ZEROs
Mitt also won't let us see the hard drives from the Mass. governors office. He has too many secrets, got to be hiding some skeletons in the closet.
I ask everyone to please call your Senators and demand to know why the bi-partisan bill The Veterans Jobs Corp Act was blocked from passing, and now won't be dealt with till next year. The partisan politics have to stop. Shame on the 40 Republican Senators that voted NO, especially Sen John McCain!
No matter what your party affiliation we need to stand up for our brave veterans, men and women who put their lives on the line for us everyday, and deserve our support coming back home!
I agree with you 100%.
Sending these brave patriotic men and women into harms just to have thousands come home in body bags is like spitting in their face and the faces of their families and friends.
Let us not forget the tens of thousands coming home missing parts that needed this bill.
Let's also not forget Iraq was a war for profit for the 1% based on lies of ties to 911 .. stories of mushroom clouds ....
hummbird-3359530 is right. Forget party ... time to look after the heroes that put their lives on the line. NO excuses.
I lived through the Nixon years and watched television during the watergate hearings. I did not care for him personally but believed he was a pretty good president as opposed to G. W. who I do like personally and think was the worst president in my lifetime (if not second to Carter). When Ford pardoned Nixon I was furious because it was obvious to me that he was guilty and should be in prison or at least on parole. I was wrong and Ford was right. Ford was a man of courage who gave up being president for the good of the country. I don't see any politicians now willing to give up anything for the good of the country. It would have torn the country apart (much like now)to have Nixon sent to prison. We would have all suffered more than he would've. Being the only President ever forced to resign and accept a pardon is humiliating enough. His supporters said everyone did it and didn't get caught. However, we can only know about and deal with the ones that are caught.
Actually, Ron, Ford didn't 'give up the presidency'. He ran against Carter in '76 and lost. . .
Eric - You ought to know by now that Republicans only cite facts they have dreamed up & hope will come true !
Two things we know for sure:
Barack Obama IS hiding his college records, which implies that they contain information which would, at the very least, hurt his campaign; and
Barack Obams IS covering up the Fast & Furious documentation, again suggesting that his administration is at least partly to blame for the botched operation.
Since those two items bear directly on Obama's fitness to be President, Romney's limiting the disclosure of his tax returns (which are protected by law), pales in comparison.
jose, Every single person that went to college has sealed records by law for free, you are in the fox bubble and nothing will get in. Romney chooses to keep his financial information secret and there in lies the rub--if you want to see obama's college records, we want mitt's income tax returns. turn about is fair play. It must be so hard for you when you leave the house and have to deal with reality without the Fox drug of delusion.
Jose, Jose, Jose.... last year you were probably saying the same thing about Obama's birth certificate. And eight years ago you were probably also saying John Kerry was never in VietNam during the action that won him his military honors and decorations. You're nothing but an operative for Karl Rove willing to sell your mother to distort reality and re-write history.
Sure, Jose, a blemish on one's college transcript should render a candidate unfit for the presidency. And Harry Truman's failed haberdashery, Washington's cherry tree, and Taft's corpulence should have disqualified them too. . . No way, Jose!