Romney calls on Reid to reveal source as fact-check sites challenge tax claim - Polidicks

Romney calls on Reid to reveal source as fact-check sites challenge tax claim August 07, 2012 FOX [quote]Mitt Romney called on Harry Reid Tuesday to reveal the source for his claim that the Republican presidential candidate has not paid taxes for 10 years, stepping up pressure as two major fact-check sites ruled Reid had no basis for the "incendiary" allegation. Romney, in an interview with Fox News, said he doesn't believe Reid has a credible source but urged the Senate Democratic leader to reveal who it is. "I don't really believe that he's got any kind of a credible source," Romney said. "I don't know who gave him this line of reasoning, whether it came from the White House or the DNC or a staffer, but he ought to say where it came from, and then we can find out whether that person has any credibility. I know they don't." He said Reid also has "lost a lot of credibility." Romney's latest comments came as two major fact-check sites knocked down Reid's comments, which the senator amplified by repeating them last week on the Senate floor. Reid has said his source is an investor with Romney's former venture capital company Bain. But [URL="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/aug/06/harry-reid/harry-reid-says-anonymous-source-told-him-mitt-rom/"]PolitiFact wrote [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v215/Glaber/forum%20stuff/Source.png[/IMG][/URL] that it is "far-fetched" to believe Romney paid no taxes for 10 years. Further, the article stated the obvious -- "Reid has produced no evidence to back up his claim other than attribution to a shadowy anonymous source." PolitiFact concluded: "Reid has made an extreme claim with nothing solid to back it up." They gave the accusation a "Pants on Fire!" rating. [URL="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/four-pinocchios-for-harry-reids-claim-about-mitt-romneys-taxes/2012/08/06/c31a1402-e007-11e1-8fc5-a7dcf1fc161d_blog.html"]The Washington Post's [IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v215/Glaber/forum%20stuff/Source.png[/IMG][/URL] fact-check column, too, gave Reid's remark the equivalent of a "Pants on Fire!" score. The Post gave it "four Pinocchios," which is the newspaper's score for a claim they knock down. "Without seeing Romney's taxes, we cannot definitively prove Reid incorrect. But tax experts say his claim is highly improbable. Reid also has made no effort to explain why his unnamed source would be credible. So, in the absence of more information, it appears he has no basis to make his incendiary claim," the Post wrote. The White House, meanwhile, has distanced itself from Reid's remark. Press Secretary Jay Carney said Monday the Senate Democratic leader "speaks for himself." House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, though, has defended Reid. She told The Huffington Post that Reid made a "true" statement. "Somebody told him. It is a fact," she said. Like other Democratic officials, Pelosi said Romney can either prove or disprove the claim by releasing more tax returns. [/quote] Sources: [url]http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/08/07/romney-calls-on-reid-to-reveal-source-as-fact-check-sites-challenge-tax-claim[/url] [url]http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2012/aug/06/harry-reid/harry-reid-says-anonymous-source-told-him-mitt-rom/[/url] [url]http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/four-pinocchios-for-harry-reids-claim-about-mitt-romneys-taxes/2012/08/06/c31a1402-e007-11e1-8fc5-a7dcf1fc161d_blog.html[/url]

Romney can't just be like, "uh yeah I did, here are my tax returns." I guess he has something to hide if he just doesn't prove him wrong.

Well, apparently Reid has something to hide too if he can't provide his source.

So why doesn't Romney release his tax records and clear his name once and for all?

The difference being, Reid's source may wish to remain anonymous, considering he worked for Bain Capital and all... Romney's tax records, on the other hand, have no opinion. He should have no problem releasing them.

Of course it's a stretch to claim that Romney didn't pay taxes for 10 years, but if he isn't disproving it directly he must have something to hide.

Well duh, I always assumed it was just a ploy to put Romney even more on the spot over his tax records.

[QUOTE=fishyfish777;37131906]Of course it's a stretch to claim that Romney didn't pay taxes for 10 years, but if he isn't disproving it directly he must have something to hide.[/QUOTE] Well clearly he's only not paid his taxes for 9 years, [I]duh[/I].

If he doesn't release them, people wonder what he has to hide. If he does release them with information supporting the claim, he's fucked and loses support. If he does release them and he is sqeaky-clean, people think he faked it. Kind of a lose-lose-lose situation.

[QUOTE=Glaber;37131841]Well, apparently Reid has something to hide too if he can't provide his source.[/QUOTE] The Source is Romney's Wife. Reid learned about his taxes while fucking her. :v:

[QUOTE=Glaber;37131841]Well, apparently Reid has something to hide too if he can't provide his source.[/QUOTE] I don't know why anyone is trying to prove Reid has a source or not. I think it's pretty clear that he made it all up, but you're missing the point if you think that matters. The point is that he's goading Romney into releasing his tax returns and the fact that he isn't releasing them shows that he's trying to hide something. It keeps Romney on defense, and puts him in a really bad light for millions of Americans.

[QUOTE=Glaber;37131841]Well, apparently Reid has something to hide too if he can't provide his source.[/QUOTE] Reid isn't running for president, Romney is. Romney needs to set his own record straight, why does someone else need to do it?

So, Reid's just trying a political suicide attack?

[QUOTE=Glaber;37132033]So, Reid's just trying a political suicide attack?[/QUOTE] It's not suicide for Reid. Romney can do one, simple thing, and Reid is proven wrong. He can release his real tax returns that show he paid a reasonable amount of taxes. That's all he has to do, this isn't out of the question or un-common, it isn't strange, but it is strange that he doesn't do it and stop the accusations. Just the simple fact he's still holding out on this after all this time is proof of something strange at the very least. It's a possible suicide for Romney if he handles this as badly as it's going.

"These people have no legit source, who do they think they are saying I haven't paid taxes in 10 years. Get your facts right, it's only been 9 years!"

[QUOTE=Glaber;37132033]So, Reid's just trying a political suicide attack?[/QUOTE] Eyes on Romney, not Reid. It isn't political suicide because Reid is making a claim that Romney won't refute no matter what, and even his wife chimed in on that as well. So as it stands Reid is a brash accuser and Romney is a stubborn deflector.

[QUOTE=Derposaurus;37131946]If he doesn't release them, people wonder what he has to hide. If he does release them with information supporting the claim, he's fucked and loses support. If he does release them and he is sqeaky-clean, people think he faked it. Kind of a lose-lose-lose situation.[/QUOTE] Never thought about it this way. If he was clean, and he threw them out the first time someone asked, I doubt people would think they were faked. It's a bit late now. I'd be contented if he released them anyways.

[QUOTE=Derposaurus;37131946]If he doesn't release them, people wonder what he has to hide. If he does release them with information supporting the claim, he's fucked and loses support. If he does release them and he is sqeaky-clean, people think he faked it. Kind of a lose-lose-lose situation.[/QUOTE] the people who think he will have faked it will be like the people who think obama faked his birth certificate, though. small in number and idiotic in nature.

if Romeny's records were squeaky clean he would have just released them like 5 months ago

I really have to wonder why you guys think Romney has to release his private tax returns to appease some baseless claim

[QUOTE=Clementine;37132200]I really have to wonder why you guys think Romney has to release his private tax returns to appease some baseless claim[/QUOTE] gee i dunno maybe because it's a 30 year old tradition that his fucking father started so it's incredibly sketchy when he decided not to do it?

[QUOTE=Derposaurus;37131946]If he doesn't release them, people wonder what he has to hide. If he does release them with information supporting the claim, he's fucked and loses support. If he does release them and he is sqeaky-clean, people think he faked it. Kind of a lose-lose-lose situation.[/QUOTE]Oh yeah, that's why he's not releasing his tax records, because people won't believe him! I usually don't say this, but you've really earned this box rating.

[QUOTE=BrickInHead;37132170]the people who think he will have faked it will be like the people who think obama faked his birth certificate, though. small in number and idiotic in nature.[/QUOTE] But the issue still comes up [editline]8th August 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=Ybbats;37132236]Oh yeah, that's why he's not releasing his tax records, because people won't believe him! I usually don't say this, but you've really earned this box rating.[/QUOTE] I didn't say that I think he was squeakey clean, either Also I would like to return the favor!

Add on top the fact that when Romney's father ran, he release 12 years worth of tax returns, which started this whole tradition of presidential nominees doing so. It's pretty pathetic if your kid doesn't follow the parental example, especially if it's based on good morals.

the double standard is pretty hilarious too. It's no big deal when republicans constantly harass obama for his birth certificate/college transcripts, but the moment a democrat makes a similar but less retarded request of a republican it's suddenly a big fucking deal. payback is a bitch. [editline]7th August 2012[/editline] [QUOTE=ewitwins;37132257]Add on top the fact that when Romney's father ran, he release 12 years worth of tax returns, which started this whole tradition of presidential nominees doing so. It's pretty pathetic if your kid doesn't follow the parental example, especially if it's based on good morals.[/QUOTE] He told Ted Kennedy to release his tax returns in 1994 Fuckin' lol [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2x4oUniASJU[/media]

[QUOTE] "Without seeing Romney's taxes, we cannot definitively prove Reid incorrect. But tax experts say his claim is highly improbable. Reid also has made no effort to explain why his unnamed source would be credible. So, in the absence of more information, it appears he has no basis to make his incendiary claim," the Post wrote. [/QUOTE] "We don't know if he is lying, so he is DEFINITELY lying" How can you say someone is lying when you don't know the truth either way? Why is a fact checking organization getting involved in baseless accusations?

[QUOTE=Raidyr;37132437]"We don't know if he is lying, so he is DEFINITELY lying" How can you say someone is lying when you don't know the truth either way? Why is a fact checking organization getting involved in baseless accusations?[/QUOTE] Uh what [quote]we cannot definitively prove Reid incorrect[/quote] [editline]8th August 2012[/editline] I've always thought this was pretty dumb of Reid though. The tax return thing was going fine without him coming out and saying "haha yea some dude told me this, not saying who though lmao" and giving Romney ammo [editline]8th August 2012[/editline] It would be awesome if Reid actually revealed a viable source though, Romney campaign would be butt-devastated

[QUOTE=smurfy;37132478]Uh what[/QUOTE] Yeah thats the "We don't know if he is lying part", and then the part where they rate him as Pants on Fire is the "definitely lying" part. Is there not an Unknown category? Is making calls based on insubstantial evidence a common problem from Politifact? If so why is the media taking it seriously? When I see a fact checking group saying Reid is lying I want proof, not "well we don't know for sure so he is lying pants on fire four out of four Pinocchios.

[quote]The Source is Romney's Wife. Reid learned about his taxes while fucking her. :v:[/quote] [editline]lol[/editline] Apparently people are super serious on Facepunch and can't take a joke.

[QUOTE=Madman_Andre;37147496][editline]lol[/editline] Apparently people are super serious on Facepunch and can't take a joke.[/QUOTE] No, they just prefer good jokes instead of middle-school fuck jokes. I'm 99% sure Romney did pay taxes, but it was probably some insanely low rate due to loopholes and tax havens.