As long as I have followed politics and the games surrounding our elections, I still stand amazed at some of the claims that are made by many of those who are running for office. That amazement 
applies well to the current contest for the GOP nomination. Much has been said, concerning Mitt Romney and his tax returns. The man isn’t my candidate of choice, but I stand by my assertion that there is no reason for him to release his tax returns, unless there is a question of illegal activity. Heretofore, there has been no such question. Instead, it is a witch hunt to show how wealthy the former Governor of Massachusetts is, and by extension, how out-of-touch he is with normal Americans.
On the other side of the equation, in relation to his main opponent, Newt Gingrich, there have been some questions concerning his employment at Freddie Mac. Gingrich calls it consulting, but Romney and the other men in the race, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum, have called it lobbying. As a result, Romney is calling for the records of his employment at Freddie Mac to be released, as well as the paperwork surrounding the investigation into Gingrich’s ethics while he was in the House of Representatives. Considering the nature of the job Gingrich is seeking, I believe both requests to be valid. Newt Gingrich calls them bizarre. Go figure that one out. The Hill has the story.
Newt Gingrich blasted rival Mitt Romney’s call for him to release more records surrounding his consulting work for Freddie Mac and his ethics investigation in the House as “almost bizarre” the morning after his upset win in the South Carolina primary.
“Here’s a governor whose staff erased all their computers related to Romneycare… who refused to release his taxes,” Gringrich said on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “You can see my taxes, they’re posted to Newt.org”
Gingrich went on to warn that the former Massachusetts governor was “starting a fight in an area where he isn’t necessarily going to prosper in.”
But Gingrich deflected questions about additional documents from his ethics investigation – alluded to by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who served on the panel that investigated him. Gingrich had previously criticized Pelosi, arguing the release of those documents would violate the rules of the House, and said Sunday he would not release those documents himself.
From where I stand, this appears to be tactics as usual for Newt Gingrich. Again, compare the two requests. Romney, who has done nothing wrong, other than to be successful, is asked to reveal how much money he has made and how much he has paid in taxes. Gingrich, who has so much personal and professional baggage, it makes one wonder how the man is able to keep his head above the political waves, is asked to reveal more about his consulting work at Freddie Mac, who was at the heart of the mortgage crisis. As well as the records about his ethics investigation. And Gingrich calls Romney’s request bizarre?
I am no fan of Mitt Romney and am supporting Ron Paul. However, Newt Gingrich is clearly working to deflect the charges against him by radicalizing the request for the release of his records. Most troubling to me is the fact that many voters are falling for his tactics. All because they believe he is better suited to take on Barack Obama in November. That is a mistake, in my opinion, and one that will likely cause us to lose the election.
You know I’m supporting Gary Joihnson, and I’m absolutely giddy about the prospect of Newt Gingrich getting the nomination. Republicans may think they’ve vetted him thoroughly, but I’ll guarantee you that a large percentage of the electorate has either forgotten about his personal scandals, or aren’t aware. His personal baggage will be driven home by both Obama and Johnson’s campaigns.
Of the four left in the GOP field, Gingrich would be the biggest mistake. In addition to representing the establishmentarian class Americans want to jettison (they thought they were doing so with Obama), Newt has an inability to keep his foot out of his mouth, not to mention he has made so many big government statements over the years that Johnson will have no problem (correctly) painting himself as the alternative to a pair of statists.
I think Newt should release his records from when he was in the House and consulting for Freddie Mac. Newt just released his tax returns and I think Newt’s demanding that Romney release his tax returns is some type of challenge ego thing going on with Newt. Overall I like Newt but am starting to like Romney better than Newt now. But, Santorum is still my first choice.
This story is aa perfect example of what a circus, more than anything else, politics in America has become.
Quite frankly, I could care less about how much money Romney’s made, provided of course he’s done it above board. Bain does represent a weakness in Romney’s story, but not one he’s likely to be attacked over – Bain benefited from government subsidies (something the Establishment would prefer to keep on the down low).
Gingrich is not only a disgraced former Speaker, but a lobbyist, er, uh, um, I mean, “consultant” for a GSE (created by Congress, sponsored and bailed out at taxpayer expense). In other words, every last detail of Gingrich’s congressional ethics violations and relationships with the GSE’s are indeed, the public’s business. That Gingrich thinks it “bizarre” to request this info, telss you all you need to know about his philosophy of government.
If Gingrich thinks is appropriate to attack Romney’s success I think it is equally appropriate for Romney to call for Gingrich’s records as well. The fact that Gingrich can’t see this is troubling for he seems to have Obama’s mindset of “how dare you question me?” He feels he is apve reproach.
It’s all political BS. Didn’t Gingrich call himself a history consultant or some such nonsense? This GOP field is horrible. Is this really what conservatism has come to? They stink.
I like Gary Johnson, except for his misguided drug policy. His libertarianism is refreshing, but it won’t work so long as he backstops it with social progressivism.
L.D. a well reasoned article. For your general information, the procedure in Canada is as follows:
1. Every candidate has to submit a Certificate from Revenue Canada certifying that he has filed all his tax returns
2. Every candidate files a Statutory Declaration that states their Returns are a full disclosure of their taxable income and that they are not currently bankrupt.
That being done, there is never a question of them disclosing their income during a campaign. That is private matter between the candidate and the Revenue Department. Personal wealth is considered irrelevant. I haven’t the foggiest notion as to the net worth of P.M. Harper or my local M.P. or any other Member of Parliament. Quite frankly, I am surprised that it would be raised in an American Campaign. Is there no sense of privacy??
On the Freddie Mac thing … it would seem the terms of engagement could be relevant to an elector … but his actual compensation would seem irrelevant ….
(All of the foregoing assumes that one is not a socialist foaming at the mouth with envy)