PUBLIC OPINION > Liberals Want to See Romney's Tax Returns, Conservatives Think It's Just a Distraction
SodaHead News
2012/08/07 22:00:00
No presidential election is complete without its share of drama. Each candidate will be faced with the ghosts of their past -- some real, and some imagined. Right now, Mitt Romney's tax returns are holding the public's attention. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid claims he heard from a "reputable source" that Romney didn't pay taxes for a decade. Romney has already released some of his returns, but there's still a gap in the record. We asked the public if Romney should release more records.
We were hoping for some consensus, but no such luck. Responses were split down the middle, and can you guess what the determining factor was? But first, we wanted to call attention to an interesting argument mentioned in the Top Opinion: "We have it from a very reliable source that Harry Reid is a pedophile." This is a very popular response calling attention to the similarities between Reid's "reputable source" and tabloid rumors. Now, let's get to the stats.
All Politics
Naturally, the biggest difference between people who think Romney should release his tax returns and those who think it's a distraction is their political alignment. Most liberals want to see them, and most conservatives don't. That suggests the shoe would be on the other foot if the parties were reversed.
Big Money, Blind Eye
There was also a correlation between income and response, but there are a couple of issues with that. First of all, income typically correlates with political alignment, meaning the relation between income and response could be directly caused by politics. But it should also come as no surprise that well-off respondents are more likely to call it a distraction.
Young and Suspicious
Another factor that could have affected the income correlation is the age breakdown. Younger respondents were much more likely to want to see Romney's returns. Again, age and politics often line up, so all three of these demographics are probably somewhat linked. Young, left-leaning people with smaller incomes want to make sure Romney is playing fair.
If you'd like to vote on this question, dig deeper into the demographics, or engage in existing discussion about the topic, visit our poll on Mitt Romney's tax returns. We'd love to hear from you!
Top Opinion
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PAUL F 2012/08/07 22:37:51
+17I like the idea that Obama needs to show his High School and collage transcripts! As well as his bar exam test scores! This man is suppose to be a scholar! Producing his applications and documentation on the subjects Obama has hear say about is fair game! So, I say to all you communist out there! If you want to see 10 years of tax returns then we want to see proof of his education! Not just a diploma but TRANSCRIPTS!!!! If not, this is a dead issue!
Answer: He applied as a foreign exchange student!! The jerk isn't even eligible to live in the WH.
If Romney would demand it, Obama would shut up about the tax returns in a heart beat.
No one needs to produce anything that is not legally required.
Are you suggesting because your boss will not show you his tax returns that you should blackmail him with innuendo and suggest he is hiding something..like how much money he makes!
Let me know how that works for you!
Of course, then Obama would never have been elected.
Americans only have the right to know that Romney paid his taxes!
Your salary is a privacy issue as well as health issues that are on tax returns.
Please don't waste my time.
You are disingenuous and creating mischief to distract from OBAMA'S abysmal record and epic failure!
Buh, bye!
once again, i want as much information on who is trying to run our country. youre just another fool fighting for a party. a perfect example of how the american people contributed to the self destruction of our once great country.
Romney is pulling the wool over you eyes.
Basically what we have here is a man who claims to be financial Wizard, but who will not let us see how he handles his own finances.
That doesn't make Mitt Romney very credible does it?
His refusal to release his tax records puts his character in question, and it puts his claims of financial mastery or even his financial competency into question.
And STILL, he refuses to release his tax records, which can only mean that whatever he is hiding would absolutely sink him as a candidate if the nation found out about it.
An American citizen would have to be a fool to vote for Mitt Romney.
And people in hell want ice water.......
Everybody wants to see something.
So make a wish in one hand crap in the other. and see which one fills up the quickest.
Here's a real poll:
Poll: Most say Romney should release additional tax returns. A whopping 44% believe that Romney's hidden tax returns would 'include damaging information'
WASHINGTON
–
A majority of Americans, including almost a third of Republicans, say GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney should release more tax returns than the two years he has promised to disclose, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds.
The issue is one Democrats have been hammering, including an open letter to
Romney signed by almost two dozen mayors released Thursday that noted
controversial disclosures in the 2010 return he already has released and
demanded: "What else are you trying to hide?"
Those
surveyed are divided on whether the likely Republican nominee is trying
to hide anything. While 42% predict the release of additional returns
would not reveal anything politically harmful, 44% believe it would
include damaging information — including 15% who say they believe the
revelations would be so serious that they would "show he is unfit to be
president."
The national survey of 539 adults, taken Wednesday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
Romney has resisted calls to release more years of returns, noting that four years ago Republican nominee Sen. John McCain also r...
Here's a real poll:
Poll: Most say Romney should release additional tax returns. A whopping 44% believe that Romney's hidden tax returns would 'include damaging information'
WASHINGTON
–
A majority of Americans, including almost a third of Republicans, say GOP presidential contender Mitt Romney should release more tax returns than the two years he has promised to disclose, a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll finds.
The issue is one Democrats have been hammering, including an open letter to
Romney signed by almost two dozen mayors released Thursday that noted
controversial disclosures in the 2010 return he already has released and
demanded: "What else are you trying to hide?"
Those
surveyed are divided on whether the likely Republican nominee is trying
to hide anything. While 42% predict the release of additional returns
would not reveal anything politically harmful, 44% believe it would
include damaging information — including 15% who say they believe the
revelations would be so serious that they would "show he is unfit to be
president."
The national survey of 539 adults, taken Wednesday, has a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points.
Romney has resisted calls to release more years of returns, noting that four years ago Republican nominee Sen. John McCain also released just two years of returns.
"We've given all people need to know and understand about our financial situation and about how we live our life," Ann Romney said in an interview Thursday on ABC's Good Morning America. Mitt Romney told National Review Online that Democrats are simply trying to get more details about his finances that opposition researchers can "pick through, distort and lie about."
Still, even some leading Republicans, including former Mississippi governor Haley Barbour,
have advised Romney to defuse the issue by releasing more years of
returns. Romney has released his 2010 returns and promised to release
his 2011 returns.
"Public release of your tax
returns is the only way the American people can know if they can trust
your judgment, perspective and motivations," said the mayors' letter,
signed by mayors from Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, San Antonio, Charlotte, Minneapolis and elsewhere. clearer?!
In the poll, those surveyed:
•
Are divided on whether presidential candidates in general should
release their tax returns. Forty-seven percent call it "largely
irrelevant" to helping voters decide who should be president while 44%
say it provides "legitimate information that helps voters make better
decisions."
• Agree by a substantial margin of
17 percentage points that Romney in particular should release more than
two years of returns. By 54%-37%, they say Romney should release tax
returns from additional years. Those calling for more disclosure
include 75% of Democrats, 53% of independents and 30% of Republicans.
•
Split along partisan lines about what sort of information might be
revealed if he released more returns. Two-thirds of Republicans say the
returns wouldn't reveal anything politically harmful, but a third of
Democrats predict relevations that would show him to be unfit for the Oval Office.
"When
it comes to candidates for the highest office in the land, Americans
expect the opportunity to look under the hood and kick the tires," Obama
campaign spokesman Ben LaBolt says of the survey results. "It's no
surprise that they believe Gov. Romney should hold himself to the same
standard as nominees of both parties have for decades."
http://www.usatoday.com/news/...
http://www.foxnews.com/politi...
The president would take 49 percent of the vote compared to Romney's 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup if the election were held today, the poll found. Last month, Obama had a four percentage-point edge of 45 percent to 41 percent. This marks the second time this year the president has had a lead outside the poll’s margin of sampling error.
Obama’s advantage comes largely from increased support among independents, who now pick him over Romney by 11 percentage points. Some 30 percent of independents are undecided. Last month, Obama had a four-point edge among independents, while Romney had the advantage from April through early June.
Romney’s favorable rating dropped six percentage points since last month and now sits at 46 percent, down from 52 percent in mid-July. At the same time his unfavorable rating went up five points. Romney’s favorable rating has held steady among his party faithful, but it’s down eight percentage points among independents and seven points among Democrats.
Overall 54 percent of voters have a positive view of Obama, matching his highest favorable rating in more than a year....
http://www.foxnews.com/politi...
The president would take 49 percent of the vote compared to Romney's 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup if the election were held today, the poll found. Last month, Obama had a four percentage-point edge of 45 percent to 41 percent. This marks the second time this year the president has had a lead outside the poll’s margin of sampling error.
Obama’s advantage comes largely from increased support among independents, who now pick him over Romney by 11 percentage points. Some 30 percent of independents are undecided. Last month, Obama had a four-point edge among independents, while Romney had the advantage from April through early June.
Romney’s favorable rating dropped six percentage points since last month and now sits at 46 percent, down from 52 percent in mid-July. At the same time his unfavorable rating went up five points. Romney’s favorable rating has held steady among his party faithful, but it’s down eight percentage points among independents and seven points among Democrats.
Overall 54 percent of voters have a positive view of Obama, matching his highest favorable rating in more than a year. Last month, it was 52 percent. Obama’s current rating is nearly as high as four years ago, when 59 percent viewed him positively.
Democrats typically hold an edge over Republicans nationally in party identification
The Obama campaign staff know that if they focus on the issues Obama can't win. Their plan is to discourage undecided voters from coming out for Romney.
Do you believe what politicians promise their base?
How Obama Kept his 2008 Election Promises
He cut the deficit in half in his first 4 years.....OH WAIT, NO HE DIDN'T
He has strengthened our borders and reduced the illegal population in the U.S...OH WAIT, NO HE DIDN'T
He cleaned up D.C. and got rid of lobbyist in the WH Administration.....OH WAIT, NO HE DIDN'T
He reduced our dependence on foreign oil by opening up our resources...OH WAIT, NO HE DIDN'T
He put legislation discussions on C-Span and encouraged open debate....OH WAIT, NO HE DIDN'T
He used Congress to get things done because Governing by Executive Orders is wrong.......OH WAIT, NO HE DIDN'T
He saw that those who created the mess weren't rewarded with huge bonuses....OH WAIT, NO HE DIDN'T
He cleaned up the cronyism in Washington.............OH WAIT, NO HE DIDN'T
He cleaned up Gov. Programs that were wasteful and unnecessary ....OH WAIT, NO HE DIDN'T
He got corporate interest out of government and didn't allow them in his administration...OH WAIT, NO HE DIDN'T
I guess there is nothing I can see to make me trust this man.
He still has a chance however to earn my admiration by packing up and getting the hell out of the White House.
I do love gotcha sarcasm!
Aren't both sides just as bad as each other on this?
However somebody not releasing his tax returns hints he's hiding something. If you run for president your past life becomes an open book. Everyone running knows that. Every past president and those wishing to become president for decades has as a matter of course released multiple years of their tax returns.
Romney's own father when he ran for president several decades back released 12 years of his past tax records, so why should Romney get a pass? Its a stupid decission that will and should haunt him because even if Romney is pure as the driven snow, by not releasing his tax returns some people will wonder and no doubt some will not consider voting for him based on that dodge alone. Its a lose, lose for him and shows this bozo isn't qualified to be president. Just another filthy rich fat cat Repug with a foced smile trying to buy the election so he can do whatever he can to help his rich pals.
You are a nosy busybody wanting to muck around in someone's tax return to see what you can see! You are ballistic because you want ammunition and you a$$ume it s in there. Guess you'll have to take your suspicions and stuff them, because he 'ain't' gong to play your silly game! Legally, he is not REQUIRED to tell you...or me... squat!
At least a dozen or more posters have explained it is not required!.
Therefore, I have to conclude that you have serious issues with reading comprehension and any further dialogue is a waste my time.
have a nice day.