"Where's the beef?" With that sound bite, Walter Mondale deflated the insurgent bid of the "candidate of new ideas" Gary Hart for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.* Twenty-eight years later, rising Republican White House hopeful Newt Gingrich may be about to have his own "where's the beef" moment. But the growing criticism from left and […]

Over the past few days, conservative forces have mobilized to protect Mitt Romney from incoming fire over his rapidly multiplying tax scandals. Former Bush press flack Ari Fleischer and the Wall Street Journal editorial page predictably - and comically - argued the rich already pay too much in taxes. On consecutive days, New York Times […]

As the outcry grows over Mitt Romney's shockingly low 15 percent tax rate, his bitter rival Newt Gingrich rushed to his defense. "My goal is not to raise Mitt Romney's taxes," Gingrich declared," It's to let everybody pay Mitt Romney's rate." Of course, as with his marriage vows, Newt isn't telling the truth. As it […]

As the imbroglio grows over his mystery IRS returns, GOP frontrunner Mitt Romney is confronting not one but three tax scandals. It's bad enough that Romney pays only about 15 percent of his income to Uncle Sam each year, a rate well below most middle class families. Worse still, the notorious "carried interest" exemption for […]

Mitt Romney made twin revelations on taxes during last night's GOP debate in South Carolina. First, after previously claiming "I don't put out which tooth paste I use either," Romney suggested he might release his tax returns in April after clinching the Republican nomination. (On Tuesday, Mitt pointed to the source of his cowardice, admitting […]

For any American concerned about the federal budget deficit, job one must be to collect all of the tax revenue owed to the United States Treasury. That's why supposed Republican deficit hawks simply aren't serious about the national debt. After all, a new report confirmed that steep GOP budget cuts at the Internal Revenue Service […]

The past week has been a very good one for Mitt Romney's 17 grandchildren. On Wednesday, Romney told a New Hampshire audience he wanted to leave all of his estimated $250 million estate to his grandkids. Then on Monday, a new CBS poll showed their grandfather beating President Obama in a head-to-head matchup. And that's […]

That Mitt Romney's tax plan delivers a windfall for the wealthy and boosts the burden on lower income families while piling up trillions in new debt should come as no surprise. After all, that's true of every contender in the GOP presidential race. Which means that Mitt Romney, the $250 million man who already pays […]

If nothing else, 2011 was the Year of the Great Republican Lie about taxes. Desperate to preserve low rates for the richest Americans, GOP leaders pretended tax cuts increase government revenues, pay for themselves and magically spur supposed "job creators." On Sunday, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor showed Americans can expect more of the same […]

Why is Mitt Romney alone among the Republican presidential candidates in refusing to release his tax returns? And why is the former Massachusetts Governor also the only major GOP contender not calling for the complete elimination of the capital gains tax? As it turns out, the answer - horrible political optics - is the same […]