The Politics Of Tax Returns And Swiss Bank Accounts

Here are some facts:

• Unemployment at 8% or higher for 41 straight months.
• If the US workforce were at the same level it was when President Obama took office, the unemployment rate would be near 11%. He has “benefitted” from a shrinking workforce.
• Manufacturing is at it’s worst level since July of 2009.
• We have an exploding national debt of over $15 trillion.
• We have a national deficit of over $1 trillion.
• Median income is down $4300 since Obama took office, down $2900 since the “recovery” began in late 2009.
• We just had the third straight jobs report showing job “growth” that isn’t even keeping up with the population.

Yet what do Democrats want to talk about?

Mitt Romney’s tax returns and some offshore investment accounts he has (or has had).

The Democrats had their talking points ready on the Sunday news shows. Rather than attempting to defend the President’s horrible record, they were yammering on about “Swiss bank accounts” and “hidden money.” That talk has continued on in to today with DNC chairwoman leading the way via a press conference:

“I question why an American businessman and particularly a candidate for president needs to invest vast sums of money in offshore accounts in typical notorious tax havens, that usually mean you’re trying to avoid taxation,” Wasserman-Schultz told reporters Monday in Boston. “If that’s not why he made those investments, he needs to come clean and show us he didn’t do that.”

Now pay close attention to the language because it is indicative of what Democrats are going to continue to do. Wasserman-Schultz is basically accusing Mitt Romney of tax evasion. But if you notice, she doesn’t actually come out and say it. It gives her cover because she can respond that all she is doing is “Asking questions” and that such “questions” could be put to rest if Romney releases 10 years of tax returns.

There is not a single shred of evidence that Romney has done anything illegal, immoral or unethical. But that is not going to stop Democrats from suggesting it by claiming these accounts Romney had “raise questions” about….something.

The best thing for the Romney campaign to do is to continue to respond like they have:

“The Obama campaign’s latest unfounded character assault on Mitt Romney is unseemly and disgusting,” Romney spokesman Ryan Williams said in a statement. “Mitt Romney had a successful career in the private sector, pays every dime of taxes he owes, has given generously to charitable organizations and served numerous causes greater than himself. Barack Obama has become what he once ran against – a typical politician willing to use false and dishonest attacks to save his job after failing to do his job.”

Here is why they should continue with this response:

A. People in the real world don’t give a crap about Romney’s taxes or any offshore accounts he has or had over the years. Too often, as political junkies, we are under the impression the average person cares just as much about politics as we do. We’re shocked to learn most people don’t. They care about big picture issues such as the economy and they care enough to know the President is doing a crappy with the economy.

B. It will eventually go away. I have been very impressed with the Romney team discipline on these issues. Sure, they’ve slipped up from time to time, but they’re all going to do that. Remember Obama’s “the private sector is doing fine” flub? But Romney has been on message about the economy and you know what? It’s driving the press corps nuts. When the media is complaining that Romney is “only” talking about the economy, he’s doing it right. The economy is the biggest issue in this election, by far. Everything else is gravy.

If Romney had done anything illegal, it certainly wouldn’t show on these tax returns. Democrats know this. Their goal is not to get to some “truth.” Their goal is to keep the focus off the crappy job Obama is doing. So even if Romney released all of the tax returns he ever filed ever tomorrow, they’d show nothing and Democrats would merely say, it “raises more questions than it answers.”

Hopefully, the Romney campaign does not fall for the bait. When confronted with the liberal concern trolls about this “issue” throw that jobs number back at them.