Romney tax returns: Harry Reid may be bluffing, but he's winning
| Washington
Harry Reid is being slammed by political watchdogs, Republicans, and some Democrats for making an unsubstantiated assertion about the content of Mitt Romney鈥檚 unreleased tax returns.
On Monday, top Republicans continued to heap scorn on the Senate Democratic leader, calling him a liar and accusing him of trying to divert attention from the struggling economy. Democrats pounded back, saying that President Obama鈥檚 Republican challenger could solve the problem by releasing more of his taxes.
Indeed, if throwing sand in our eyes and sowing dissension among Republicans were Senator Reid鈥檚 goals, he has succeeded: Reid has kept the political world 鈥� and most important, the media 鈥� focused on speculation around the wealthy Mr. Romney鈥檚 taxes, even amid an uptick in the unemployment rate. And Republicans are continuing to say that Romney should release more than the two returns he has already put out.
"I think at this point in time it's going to dog him all the way, and he needs to get it behind him," Republican strategist Ed Rollins said Sunday on Fox News. "I think he needs to release more taxes. Absolutely."
Mr. Rollins joins conservative columnist George Will, Weekly Standard editor William Kristol, and former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R) in saying that Romney should release more returns.
Nearly a week after Reid claimed in an interview with the Huffington Post that an unnamed investor in Romney鈥檚 former company, Bain Capital, told him Romney didn鈥檛 pay any taxes for 10 years, the topic continues to rage in the political media. 聽
At best, Reid is repeating an assertion for which he has provided no backup. He has not revealed the identity of the investor in Romney鈥檚 former company, nor has he explained the specifics of what this investor has allegedly seen or how this person would have access to Romney鈥檚 personal tax information. Reid鈥檚 defense is that the investor is 鈥渁n extremely credible source.鈥�
Romney鈥檚 response has been, 鈥淧ut up or shut up.鈥� Democrats are saying, in effect, 鈥淏ack at you, pal.鈥�
In short, it鈥檚 possible that Reid is bluffing. He may know that his source can鈥檛 prove his claim. If Romney does release more returns, and is shown to have paid something in taxes, Reid will look foolish. But maybe he doesn鈥檛 care. He was reelected in 2010, and will not face voters again until 2016 鈥� if he decides to run at all. And he will have gotten the prize the Democrats and the Obama campaign are looking for: more fodder on Romney鈥檚 finances, which include off-shore accounts that are easy to demagogue.
On Monday, The Wall Street Journal editorial page 鈥� at times critical of Romney 鈥� came out in defense of the former Massachusetts governor. The editorial noted that the paper had called on Romney long ago to release more tax returns and put the matter to rest. But it ended by taking Romney鈥檚 side.
鈥淸W]ithout any proof, Mr. Reid's accusations are a smear from the fever swamps that say more about Mr. Reid's ethics than they do about Mr. Romney's taxes,鈥� the piece concluded.
The editorial was entitled 鈥淪tay classy, Harry.鈥� It could have been called 鈥�Dirty Harry.鈥� But the one-time boxer from Nevada might have found that flattering.
