Scott Brown Reveals His True Priorities
Tax Day is almost here, which means another opportunity for Scott Brown to trot out stale Republican talking points and reveal where his true priorities are. In his recent radio report, Brown tries to tell us, "Americans pay more today in taxes than they spend on groceries, clothing, and shelter combined." The statement, taken from an RNC email sent around this time last year, may be technically true in the aggregate, but the fact that Brown cites the statistic indicates a deeply distorted set of principles guiding his legislative priorities. The numbers are distorted by the super wealthy, who though they might not pay their fair share in taxes, still can spend only so much on groceries or their designer clothes.
Mitt Romney's Hidden Agenda
WASHINGTON, DC -- Admittedly afraid of how voters will react to his ideas, Mitt Romney has a bad habit of teasing his policy proposals before refusing to show voters the details. First, Romney told told the Washington Examiner that he had an immigration plan that he hadn't unveiled -- that was over 100 days ago. Next, he gave a widely panned "major" policy address at Ford Field in Detroit to unveil his new tax plan, only he never actually released the details of the plan in question. And finally, while speaking with the Weekly Standard, Romney flat-out admitted he was keeping secrets from voters because he was afraid his ideas would be unpopular. The Standard wrote: "But Romney, ever cautious, is reluctant to get specific about the programs he would like to kill. He did this in his bid for the Senate 18 years ago and remembers the political ramifications."
Read more after the jump.
MEMO To Tea Party Express: Have You Actually Seen Sarah Steelman’s Record?
Today the national tea party group, Tea Party Express, announced their support for former Missouri state Treasurer Sarah Steelman. The one thing that this announcement makes clear is that the Tea Party Express has no idea about Steelman’s record. While we think she is certainly the wrong choice for Missouri, we would have thought a number of positions she has taken would immediately disqualify her from consideration by the Tea Party Express as well. Since the Tea Party Express is obviously too busy shopping for tricorn hats to do their due diligence, American Bridge 21st Century decided to do the research for them.
[UPDATED] Which Is It, Mitt? Romney Website Promotes Two Contradictory Tax Policies.
We all expected Mitt Romney would flip-flop on many issues during the course of a long campaign in which he's desperate to appease the GOP base. We just thought he'd be better at covering his tracks. On one page of his website, Mitt Romney promotes an economic plan that stresses how important it is to maintain marginal tax rates at the current level. [Screenshot available here.] Yet just a few clicks away, the website promote a different tax plan that seeks to reduce marginal tax rates across the board. [Screenshot available here.] Which is it, Mitt? We knew that Mitt Romney doesn't agree with the Mitt Romney of 10 years ago, but apparently he can't even agree with the Mitt Romney of today.
Romney Boldly Abandons His Own Economic Plan
Mitt Romney released a new economic plan a mere five months after he rolled out his 59-point, 87-page (available in e-book!) "Believe In America" economic plan. Why the policy reboot? Just another desperate attempt to win over the conservative base of the Republican Party. Point 1 of 59 in Romney's last plan was to maintain current tax rates on personal income. This proposal was heavily criticized by conservatives. As the Wall Street Journal editorial board noted, “But on other taxes, Mr. Romney shrinks from a fight. He says he favors tax reform with lower individual tax rates but only 'in the long run.'" So what does Romney do? What he has done for 17 years: he shifts positions to try and win over voters. The conservative base wanted bold? He went bold, proclaiming that his plan was “a bold, pro-growth proposal to cut taxes." But will this be enough to convince the base that Romney is authentically conservative? Doubtful. Will it show primary voters, and voters across the country, that Romney will say anything to get elected? Absolutely.
Miami Herald: Connie Mack Preaches Penny-Pinching, But Has A Court-Record Past Of Debt And Liens (And Fights)
On February 17, the Miami Herald reported:
Congressman Connie Mack has made penny-pinching debt-reduction central to his U.S. Senate campaign, but privately he has struggled at times with borrowing and paying his own obligations, court records show. Mack sometimes appeared to spend more than he earned, had property liens filed against him, overdrew his bank account and didn’t have enough money to pay his federal income taxes after his 2004 congressional election, according to court records from Fort Myers to Jacksonville to Fort Lauderdale. His finances aside, the records also show that Mack in his youth got into four confrontations — from an arrest at a nightclub to a bar brawl with a pro baseball player. Later, while in Congress, his estranged wife accused him of not living in his Fort Myers district and of using his influence to strong-arm her during their divorce.
POLITICO: Romney As Cartoon Millionaire
On February 8, 2012, POLITICO reported:
Meet Mitt Romney, the parody. He’s really rich, worth between $150 million and “$200-odd million,” as he memorably put it. He thinks “corporations are people,” but doesn’t much worry about real people if they’re “very poor.” Homes? Three. Tax returns? None of your business. He invests in the same exotic places a James Bond villain might, the Cayman Islands and a Swiss bank account.
Bloomberg: Private-Equity Lobbying Helped Protect Romney’s Tax Benefits
On February 7, 2012, Bloomberg reported:
The largest U.S. private-equity funds and venture capital firms have relied on a five-year, multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign to protect the carried interest tax break that helped drive presidential candidate Mitt Romney’s 2010 effective tax rate below 14 percent.
NY Times: Romney’s Returns Revive Scrutiny Of Lawful Offshore Tax Shelters
On February 7, 2012, the New York Times reported:
Mitt Romney’s tax returns have drawn political scrutiny on multiple fronts, like his relatively low tax rates and the money parked in a Swiss bank account. But on Capitol Hill, his returns have caught the eyes of members of both parties for what appears to be his use of a type of complex shelter that has been debated for years in battles over evasion and fairness in the tax code.
TPM: Romney Team Silent On Key Offshore Tax Avoidance Question
On February 1, 2012, Talking Points Memo reported:
Romney has disclosed a substantial individual retirement account (IRA) that, as the Wall Street Journal first noted, could have made offshore investments that circumvented an obscure U.S. tax called the Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT).