Mitt's Taxes: Its about National Security, not how much he paid

[ProSense]

Mitt's Taxes: Its about National Security, not how much he paid

by jgkojak

How much Mitt paid in taxes is great political theater and certainly illustrates how different Mitt's life is from the average American.

But that is NOT the most important thing about whether or not Mitt releases more tax returns.

The most important thing is NATIONAL SECURITY. And this NATIONAL SECURITY argument is how we should answer when Mitt evades the issue and tries to make it seem like its ONLY about how much he paid.

Its also about:
1) Who did Mitt do business with when making business/investment deals?
2) Are there world events that, blind trust or not, will cost Mitt money or make Mitt richer that will be influenced by his Presidency?
3) Are there places in the world where, due to Mitt's or Bain's dealings, Mitt Romney is unable to represent the interests of the United States?

We'll tackle these in extended...

Again, this is an issue of NATIONAL SECURITY. We need to know if the President is compromised or has a conflict of interest -- just like any federal employee, you shouldn't be in charge of something that you will either profit from or have substantial business or personal investments. Why? Because no matter how strongly patriotic Mitt is, he is only human, and he will be in a position to both broadly and in subtle ways influence foreign policy and capital investments.

1) Who did Mitt do business with when making business/investment deals?

We know that Mitt has a lot off offshore business interests.

Where are they, who knows what they are, and who is in a position to exploit this if Mitt becomes President not disclosing his more recent tax returns?

Likewise, the Romneys were reported to have invested at least $1 million in Elliott Associates, L.P., a hedge fund specializing in “distressed assets.” Elliott buys up cheap debt, often at cents on the dollar, from lenders to deeply troubled nations such as Congo-Brazzaville, then attacks the debtor states with lawsuits to squeeze maximum repayment. Elliott is run by the secretive hedge-fund billionaire and G.O.P. super-donor Paul Singer, whom Fortune recently dubbed Mitt Romney’s “Hedge Fund Kingmaker.” (Singer has given $1 million to Romney’s super-pac Restore Our Future.)

So Romney has invested, in offshore accounts and blind trusts, all sorts of money that has the ability to influence events in Africa, Iran, really all over the world.

Gee, it would sure be embarrassing for a sitting President to be called out over a potential foreign policy issue that enriched him and his friends, or for which he was influenced for fear of disclosure.

- more -

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/16/1120922/-Mitt-s-Taxes-Its-about-National-Security-not-how-much-he-paid

Oh, I'm loving this. Thanks for bringing the issue up again, Mitt.

T-Paw calls Mitt's overseas money 'global business arrangements'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021118442

No, the 'burden of proof' on Mitt's taxes does not rest on Democrats
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021144313

[font color="black" size="12" face="arial"]What is Mitt hiding?[/font]

[rocktivity]

1. Secretive global business arrangements? In the real world, that's known as

Espionage.


rocktivity

[sadbear]

2. New angles help

New angles at which to sink the knife into him.

[progressivebydesign]

3. What if Mitt was one of those people that made money trading on 9/10/01?

Remember that strange burst of trading activity right before the attack? Would his returns reflect that? Did he benefit from that? Until he releases them, we can just speculate.

OR he will release them right before the election, so that no one has enough time to pore over them.

I truly believe he is not going to budge on this. He is sticking to his (lie) that he's releasing two years, which he hasn't. 2010 is incomplete, and 2011 is a guesstimate that is "being worked on"

[russspeakeasy]

6. I'm saying it was even worse than that.

And I don't need to prove it.

[The Wielding Truth]

15. Could he have made a profit from dealings in the middle east, like with Iran?

[russspeakeasy]

18. It is certainly possible.....if so, his blind trust made him do it.

[denverbill]

4. I tend to disagree. It's about his character.

If he was using Swiss bank accounts to hide money and got caught, THAT's bad.

If he was dodging taxes by using tax maneuvers most Americans can't use, like carried interest, or some other dodgy scheme, THAT's an issue.

If he made his millions by illegal insider trading in his 401K, that's an issue AND a felony.

[Politicalboi]

5. Oh, Trust him

He's a Mormon, they aren't supposed to lie. Besides, his beautiful wife already told us they aren't lying, what more do "You People" need? Besides, there are a lot of papers with numbers on them that mean nothing. Why fill our small minds up with all that. It's "their" turn anyway.

[Raster]

10. Take it from a born and raised and now recovered mormon: plenty of them lie, lie, lie.

And in some mormon circles it is assumed it is OK to lie "to do the Lord's work."

[Zen Democrat]

12. The applies to the entire Republican Party - Lying in the Name of the Lord!

[Cha]

14. That doesn't compute for me.

What is so wrong with their religion that lying is the best option?

It's stupid..they admit they're liars...isn't that suppose to be the 9th Commandment in a religious environment? I happen to think it's just plain wrong..it's a failing in character.

[Voice for Peace]

16. "bear false witness against thy neighbor" applies precisely to Romney's campaign against Obama

[Maeve]

7. Interesting angle...thanks! eom

[flamingdem]

8. Why should we trust he wasn't funding Osama?

They would have leveled such accusations against Obama if he pulled the taxes withholding stunt

[johnd83]

9. Blackmail is a very real threat

It is obvious that Mitt cares more about his own fortune than the fate of the country.

[HopeHoops]

11. Agreed. He has no loyalty to this country, or his so-called "church" for that matter.

All he cares about is himself and his corporate sponsors.

[Ruby the Liberal]

13. Loving this frame!

Indeed. Why we need transparency. What if he did business with "mooslems" or something?

[freshwest]

17. Exactly! Who is he beholding to and where? Not any regular Americans. We're dirt to him.

[wiggs]

19. Great point! nt

[DevonRex]

20. Iran and North Korea. Pretty simple. Nt

[Lone_Star_Dem]

21. Excellent framing. He could be in bed with terrorist for all we know.

It's the patriotic thing to do to demand to see who he's beholden to.

[ProSense]

22. He's already in bed with Adelson. n/t

[Lone_Star_Dem]

23. I almost forgot that. Isn't he donating an obscene amount, like 100 million to Romney?

Buying a president. How American.