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Stung Romney discloses taxes as he launches fierce attack on Gingrich

World Jan. 24, 2012 - 06:05PM JST ( 35 )

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Newt Gingrich shakes hands before delivering remarks to supporters in Tampa

Newt Gingrich has set his sights on Florida after a stunning win in South Carolina's presidential primary

Romney has vowed to release his 2010 tax return on Tuesday, seeking to dispel doubts over what he might be hiding

Gingrich's resounding victory Saturday ensures a dramatic 2012 battle

Mitt Romney holds a round table on housing issues in Tampa

Map of the US showing primaries and caucuses between January 10 and Super Tuesday on March 6

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35 Comments

0

yabitsJan. 24, 2012 - 12:37PM JST

The old joke has it that the definition of ambivalence is when a fist fight breaks out between a politician and a lawyer.

You can add "lobbyist" and "financial executive" to that group. Willard and Newton can keep punching each other until they both drop.
-2

smithinjapanJan. 24, 2012 - 01:31PM JST

Let me guess... it was 100% about what the opponent canNOT do and 0% about what they themselves could do to improve the nation. The circus goes on.
0

yabitsJan. 24, 2012 - 01:41PM JST

Both of them work for the richest 1% -- not for ordinary Americans.

In so doing, they've got their base of supporters completely conned.

In the lead-up to the debate, Romney called on Gingrich to release his contract with mortgage giant Freddie Mac—blamed for helping to cover up the depth of America’s housing bubble which collapsed plunging the nation into recession, hitting Florida particularly hard.

As we all know, Willard was out there alerting the country about the housing bubble. That is, when he wasn't overloading companies with debt and putting them under.
0

LagunaJan. 24, 2012 - 02:01PM JST

Freddie Mac had absolutely nothing to do with creating the housing bubble nor with its collapse. All public funds put into the company after its nationalization will be repaid with interest, much like those to the automotive industry were.

Gingrich hardly worked for the company as an "historian," but Romney is also entirely incorrect when he says Freddie Mac cost Floridians "millions."
-2

LagunaJan. 24, 2012 - 02:02PM JST

More about Freddie Mac here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/fannie-mae-freddie-mac-unlikely-to-need-more-taxpayer-money-feds-say/2011/10/27/gIQA7GKXMM_story.html
0

Green WowserJan. 24, 2012 - 02:32PM JST

I can just see this serial flipper flopper promising to do away with the tax cuts for all of the rich in America and then when he gets elected he changes his mind and keeps them in place. He really is not fooling people.
-3

SushiSake3Jan. 24, 2012 - 02:37PM JST

"The speaker has been working over the last 15 years on K Street in Washington. It’s a form of influence peddling or lobbying depending on whose definition you want to use, but basically he’s connecting corporations with government,” Romney told Fox News.

I don't quite see his point here - lots of politicians get into this field. Ethically, they probably shouldn't do it while they are actually politicians, but when they are not - is there a problem?
-2

just-a-bigguyJan. 24, 2012 - 04:00PM JST

Now we see the 'true face' of western politician and that so called'democracy', a hypocritic political system! How much difference between Mr Romney: a mormon,a tax evader ...etc. and Mr Gingrich: A notorious politician!
-1

smithinjapanJan. 24, 2012 - 04:19PM JST

" Newt Gingrich called rival Mitt Romney a "terrible historian" but flubbed his own history in Congress on Monday night when he claimed the nation ran four consecutive budget surpluses during his time as House speaker. Romney attacked Gingrich's financial links to Freddie Mac while ignoring his own."

Surprise, surprise! And some clowns in the US want these morons for president!
0

RomeoRJan. 24, 2012 - 04:25PM JST

Mitt is a RINO who can't be trusted. Huntsman was right, Mitt is a well oiled weather vane.

RR
-1

SushiSake3Jan. 24, 2012 - 04:50PM JST

The current state of the GOP is tragic.

When the history books are written, the TP will go down as the reason the GOP got roasted in 2012.
-1

JapanGalJan. 24, 2012 - 06:32PM JST

I would like to see that Chicken or Pizza dude get back in the race, to make it more interesting.
-7

SerranoJan. 24, 2012 - 07:11PM JST

Amazing how even with all their faults, either Romney or Gingrich would be a vastly better president than Barack Obama.
1

yabitsJan. 24, 2012 - 10:47PM JST

Investments are typically taxed at 15%—the rate Romney paid—while wages are taxed up to 35%, part of a lopsided revenue system that Democratic President Barack Obama has argued unfairly favors the wealthy

C'mon President Obama, call it for what it is: The biggest scam ever foisted on the American people -- brought to us by the Republican Party. Why should millions in personal income through "money making money" be taxed at a far lower rate than money earned through labor?

It wasn't always that way. Back in the 1950s, for every dollar that Americans paid in taxes, corporations chipped in $1.50. In 2011, for every taxpayer dollar, corporations now chip in about 25 cents. Back in the 1950s, the highest marginal rate on capital gains was just above 90%. It is mainly because of this horribly skewed system in favor of the rich that the U.S. faces such serious budget deficits.
2

The Truth MattersJan. 24, 2012 - 11:02PM JST

Gingrich is so slimy he's really doing a good job of writing the playbook for beating Romney. By the time Newt's done with him, Mitt will be all but unelectable. Go Newt GO!
4

FarmboyJan. 24, 2012 - 11:08PM JST

I don't know who will win, but these guys are an embarrassment. Corporate money used to buy better...
-2

SerranoJan. 24, 2012 - 11:16PM JST

In what way would Barack Obama be a better president than either Romney or Gingrich?
-8

SerranoJan. 24, 2012 - 11:22PM JST

"It is mainly because of this horribly skewed system in favor of the rich that the U.S. faces such serious budget deficits"

Bullocks! The U.S. faces such budget deficits because of Barack Obama and the Democrats' trillion dollar Porkulus Maximus, etc.
5

VirtuosoJan. 24, 2012 - 11:33PM JST

Bullocks! The U.S. faces such budget deficits because of Barack Obama and the Democrats' trillion dollar Porkulus Maximus, etc.

It's truly remarkable to see how people on the right are able to parrot verbatim what they watched on FOX News the night before, without giving any thought to relevance.
1

LagunaJan. 24, 2012 - 11:43PM JST

Thank you for your incisive comment, Serrano. That explains why neither the Reagan nor Bush presidencies produced deficits - or DOES it?

Wait! I seem to remember that the ONLY brief glimmer of surplus came - well, not during a Republican presidency. But then, that was probably Obama beaming his evilness back into the past.

The fact that the two front runners in this circus of a primary do nothing but attack each other is that they have nothing to say, and the reason they have nothing to say is that being a Republican today is like being Pope: the correct answers have been determined by his predecessors, and all a candidate can do is try to nod his head more vociferously than his opponent. Lower taxes, larger military, antagonism towards illegal immigrants and foreign countries in general, and business-friendly status quo towards all else: the more superlative, the better, for the Republican Party has absolutely nothing else. Their ideological shelf has been bare so long that they cannot even imagine creating realistic solutions to modern problems.

All that is left is to attack for attack's sake. It's a pity because the two-party system is essential for a healthy democracy, but that is just the way that it is. We'll see what arises from the ashes of the GOP's self-made pyre.
2

malfupeteJan. 24, 2012 - 11:48PM JST

I guess this is what keeps politics interesting but it is such a joke... At this point, none of the republican candidates are doing anything more than personal attacks on each other. No one is bringing ideas to the table how they will make the country better or solve its problems. I'd be ashamed if I were an american citizen because this is what the system has become to be elected president..
0

LagunaJan. 25, 2012 - 12:03AM JST

From a tactical standpoint, Romney's recent lines of attack have also been absolutely foolish. Freddie Mac is being utilized as a tool to refinance underwater mortgages, of which there are many in Florida. Say what you want about the value of Gingrich's "historical" advice, but attacking the institution itself will make many Floridians who are looking to the institution as a life line very nervous.

Similar is Romney's choice to go after Gingrich's support of Federal health services on the eve of the Florida primary; heck, he might as well start criticizing Israel. "Vote for me," he seems to be saying, "and I'll reduce your medicare benefits!"

It's not unlikely that Gingrich drew him into this trap, and whether the full extent of what he's done will be realized before the primary is unclear given the turbulence, but I suspect it will - and that what should have been an easy Romney victory will not.
1

pointofviewJan. 25, 2012 - 12:14AM JST

"Ladies and gentlemen please give a warm round of applause to your new President of the United States, heeeeeeeeeeere`s Ronny."
-1

PizzafaceJan. 25, 2012 - 01:45AM JST

It's a pity because the two-party system is essential for a healthy democracy,

Its a bare minimum for a healthy Republic. Its a sign of a farce of a representative democracy. As far as pure democracy goes, its non-existant. The two-party system was created by chance, and I never heard of a Founding Father giving it an ounce of praise.

If not for the two party system, we might see someone who could contend with Obama stepping up to bat with a shot at winning., someone who is curently with and kept at bay by the Democrats. We might see Ron Paul all the way up to November, maybe long enough for some people to understand that America needs the U turn he desires.

This way, we have the pick of a clown or Mr. More of the Same.
-1

The Truth MattersJan. 25, 2012 - 02:55AM JST

In what way would Barack Obama be a better president than either Romney or Gingrich?

The word that leaps immediately to mind is "every."
0

MeanRingoJan. 25, 2012 - 02:59AM JST

Ya get the politicians ya deserve!
-1

TatankaJan. 25, 2012 - 07:15AM JST

A vast majority of the 99% who work at companies offering 401k plans that are also taxed at 15% like Romney's investments, so what't the big deal? Most "rich" people become rich through hard work, sacrifice and risk-taking not watching "American Idol" following idiotic professional sports or listening to talking heads that spew our divisive rhetoric.
0

SerranoJan. 25, 2012 - 10:34AM JST

I'm still waiting to hear in what way Barack Obama would be a better president than either Romney or Gingrich.
-1

SushiSake3Jan. 25, 2012 - 11:23AM JST

Serrano - "I'm still waiting to hear in what way Barack Obama would be a better president than either Romney or Gingrich."

Clearly you don't live in America and don't know anyone living there.
0

TatankaJan. 25, 2012 - 12:10PM JST

Lets see, 6 million people unemployed and another 6-plus million under employed. 43 million people (the most ever) on food stamps and Obama killed the Keystone pipeline (and thousands of jobs) to help his buddy Warren Buffett -- anyone who be better president than what we have now...
-2

RushO'HannityJan. 25, 2012 - 12:43PM JST

1000 days without a budget . why are we talking about romney ? that's not his fault.
-1

RushO'HannityJan. 25, 2012 - 01:22PM JST

" Freddie Mac had absolutely nothing to do with creating the housing bubble nor with its collapse "

not until democrats can blame its creation on someone else.
0

SerranoJan. 25, 2012 - 09:15PM JST

Serrano: "I'm still waiting to hear in what way Barack Obama would be a better president than either Romney or Gingrich"

Sushi: "Clearly you don't live in America and don't know anyone living there"

I'm STILL waiting to hear in what way Barack Obama would be a better president than either Romney or Gingrich.
0

The Truth MattersJan. 26, 2012 - 04:46AM JST

I'm STILL waiting to hear in what way Barack Obama would be a better president than either Romney or Gingrich.

The word that leaps immediately to mind is "every."
0

SerranoJan. 26, 2012 - 07:24AM JST

"every"

For example?