Our political insiders were, not surprisingly, split along ideological lines about whether these issues will affect the race for the White House.
| Mitt Romney is taking some heat for only releasing two years of his tax returns. In your opinion, is that enough information, or should he release more? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican insiders | Democratic insiders | Utah Policy readers | |
| 2 years is enough | 67% | 7% | 40% |
| He needs to release more | 26% | 93% | 60% |
| No opinion | 7% | 0% | 0% |
"He needs to release more, as opportunist Democrats will look to make Romney's tax returns the 'birth certificate' of this election cycle. Romney just needs to fire back with this: 'Obama is more concerned with how I spent my money than how he spends your money Romney, out. (mic drop).'""Technically it is enough. It is only an issue to create an issue. It satisfies prurient interests and confirms that Mitt is very rich. This is not justification enough. If the IRS has not audited Mitt to determine his compliance with IRS rules they should and then leave it at that."
"I doubt what he did with his money is illegal. It's what's legal that the public will find disturbing. I expect he was able to take advantage of tax law (written by the likes of Bain lobbyists and passed by those who accept contributions from those lobbyists) that allow him to shield much of his income from taxation. And this from someone who is advocating even lower taxes on the wealthy."
"They are just trying to deflect people's attention from Obama's dismal record."
"Narrative of 2012 election: Republicans - 'The economy stinks and it's Obama's fault.' Democrats - 'Hey, look! A squirrel!'"
"If you are claiming to be a Captain of Capitalism, let's look at the entire record."
"When Obama releases his college transcripts and marijuana expense reports, Mitt should release his taxes."
"The only way he will put the issue to rest is full disclosure. If the returns show that he paid a lower rate of taxes than most Americans, oh well. He can respond by pointing out that the system is stacked in favor of the rich and that is the American, laissez-faire, free-market capitalist system which 'liberals want to destroy' by 'unfairly' taxing the most successful."
"What is Romney hiding? I don't want a President who uses overseas bank accounts as tax shelters. Is he ashamed of the United States or doesn't he think it is a secure country?"
"No brainier. He needs to release more both to defang the Obama attacks and just because it's the right thing to do. If he doesn't release more he's handing Obama campaign strategists a loaded gun."
"It's time for the birthers to recognize that their candidate also needs to release crucial documents. In fact, Romney's finances are as important for voters to have as Obama's birth certificate."
"Presidential candidates (including Mitt's father George) have traditionally released several years of tax records and that is what makes this a problem for Romney. His departure from the long-standing tradition fuels the speculation that he has something to hide."
"If he has any chance of beating Obama, he will have to come clean as to how much taxes he has paid on his personal wealth."
"As long as he paid his taxes, it is no one else's business."
"This on top of the bank accounts, the questions over his involvement in Bain, and issues with inconsistencies is becoming the lens that people are viewing Romney. This is John Kerry 2.0, the hider."
"The appearance of something to hide is intense. The only way to deal with it is to hand over more."
"He's running for president, not dog catcher. The public has a right to know who the leader of the free world is going to be, and when you're running on how great you are with business, tax returns are telling."
"He certainly looks like he has something to hide. You also can't help but think this is part of his conditioning as a Mormon -- the refusal of the LDS church to release its financial information has to somehow make him feel more justified in using the same tactics to conceal his finances."
"Mitt has been very successful in business. That's nothing to be ashamed of. He should follow his father's example and release all of his tax returns going back to 1999 to prove once and for all that he was not being compensated by Bain during the years the Obama administration has tried to pin on him. And when did we suddenly become anti-globalization, anyway? If Bain found a lower cost of production in a third-world company for their companies, there is nothing wrong with that. It's called capitalism."
"He is clearly hiding something that he does not want the American public to know about."
"Sorta unbelievable that - after running in 2008 and knowing the gauntlet that is the Presidential election - that the campaign wasn't much better prepared for such an obvious line of questions. Did they not think the issue would come up? It would have in 08 and it is now."
| Barack Obama is hitting Romney for his work at Bain Capital. Do you think those attacks are registering with voters, or is the Bain issue a non-starter? | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Republican insiders | Democratic insiders | Utah Policy readers | |
| The Bain attacks are a big problem for Romney | 5% | 73% | 39% |
| Voters don't care | 50% | 17% | 18% |
| They're not a problem, but they could become one | 42% | 10% | 36% |
| No opinion | 3% | 0% | 7% |
"Eventually left unchecked, this could become a problem. The sad part is that Team Obama keeps getting it wrong. Wrong dates, wrong assertions, wrong facts. The Bain attack strategy is really about firing up a portion of Obama's base known affectionately as 'Occupiers,' who turned against him 12-18 months ago, as their $100,000 in school debt for English lit degrees and subpar hygiene left them with no job prospects other than producing feature length documentary films about organic farming. Obama needs the drum circles to come together, and maybe, you know, grab a shower, and vote for him in November. But only if hemp arts and crafts is cancelled. Those are the only people fired up about the Bain thing. Most people are tired of watching his policies hurt jobs."
"I don't care, but there are some that will believe anything they hear."
"How can you claim to be a great manager, if your record of management is not disclosed?"
"Governor Romney should be proud of his work to strengthen good companies and liquidate weak companies. We should embrace capitalism rather than criticizing it."
"The attacks work for voters in most of the country but not on Utahns. Our local culture idolizes this type of unregulated business practices."
"This issue takes away from Romney's perceived ability to run the country fairly."
"It is what's we're talking about around the water cooler and in the break room!"
"Ultimately, it doesn't matter. He needs to return the conversation to the economy where he is strong and the President is not."
"Romney's response has been dismal and I think it is starting to stick and become the new norm. It doesn't help him that he is running as the great manager and his inability to manage his campaign is becoming so apparent."
"Bain in and of itself isn't the issue, it is Romney's continual dodging of the questions. If he would have stated his position from the beginning, it would be a dead issue. His bob and weave tactics only serve to make him more unbelievable. Whether or not he is actually hiding anything is become less of an issue than the fact that he is acting like he does."
"The majority of the voting public doesn't give two craps about the presidential race right now. But if Romney can't come up with an answer, it could be trouble in September/October."
"I'm not really sure. Certainly Democratic voters care, but they weren't going to swing Romney's way anyway (unless they're Mormon, and that's still a maybe). Republican voters probably just see it as anti-free enterprise or class warfare, and I don't think it hurts Mitt among them much. Although I do think moderate Republicans or conservative Christians, who are on the fence about Romney anyway, could be turned off and just not turn out to vote if he keeps up this kind of obfuscation."
"The attacks are a problem for Romney, but only because of the ham-fisted way his team has responded. Nobody cares that Mitt Romney is wealthy or that he has complex finances. People do care if their politicians don't seem to value transparency or accountability. Mitt's stonewalling on what should be a non issue is probably more damaging than anything the Obama campaign could dredge up."
"The Obama campaign has been successful at challenging the very issue that Romney touts as his strongest asset-his experience in finance and the private sector."
"Bain did everything that Romney says we should not do as a nation. Bain racked up big debt for companies, took personal profit, and then the companies went bankrupt under a mountain of debt. He also outsourced jobs to foreign nations. This doesn't sound like what we want in a President."
"Bain is an incredible firm that has helped transform multiple companies. Why are we allowing a guy who couldn't so much as run a lemonade stand criticize one of the most capable business people our country has produced?"
"He needs to just be straight up and honest What's the problem? We don't care how much money has - but we do care about attempts for him to hide things, and that's how it appears."
Respondents include -
Fred Adams, Stuart Adams, Jess Agraz, Scott Anderson, Laura Arellano, Patrice Arent, Bette Arial, Neil Ashdown, Bruce Baird, Tom Barberi, Heather Barney, Steve Barth, Jeff Bell, Tom Berggren, Mike Bertelsen, Ron Bigelow, Emily Bingham-Hollingshead, Rob Bishop, Laura Black, Nanci Bockelie, Charles Bradley, Jim Bradley, Ralph Brown, Chris Bleak, Curt Bramble, Joel Briscoe, Ralph Brown, Aaron Browning, Dave Buhler, Ken Bullock, Ric Cantrell, Maura Carabello, Marty Carpenter, Rebecca Chavez-Houck, Kay Christensen, David Clark, Kim Coleman, Peter Corroon, Tim Cosgrove, Fred Cox, Lew Cramer, Gene Davis, Richard Davis, Brad Daw, Alan Dayton, Margaret Dayton, Mike Deaver, Brad, Dee, Joseph Demma, Jake Dennis, Dan Deuel, Jeff Dixon, Brian Doughty, Carl Downing, Randy Dryer, Susan Duckworth, Donald Dunn, Alan Eastman, Becky Edwards, Scott Ericson, Chase Everton, Jessica Fawson, Janice Fisher, Wendy Fisher, Lorie Fowlke, Ronald Fox, Claire Francis, Ryan Frandsen, Adam Gardiner, Jordan Garn, Ernie Gamonal, Luke Garrott, Dave Gessel, Sheryl Ginsberg, Natalie Gochnour, Robert Grow, Karen Hale, David Hansen, Neil Hansen, Joe Hatch, Jeff Hartley, Dan Hauser, Lynn Hemmingway, Deidre Henderson, Neal Hendrickson, Casey Hill, Lyle Hillyard, Kory Holdaway, Randy Horiuchi, Ben Horsley, Bruce Hough, Scott Howell, Greg Hughes, Miriam Hyde, Allison Isom, Casey Jackson, Eric Jergensen, Mike Jerman, Jonathan Johnson, Michael Jolley, Gordon Jones, Leslie Jones, Pat Jones, Kirk Jowers, Jeremy Keele, Brian King, Scott Konopasek, Steve Kroes, Chris Kyler, Carter Livingston, Fred Lampropoulos, Clark Larsen, Douglas Larson, David Litvack, Larry Lunt, Matt Lyon, Ben McAdams, Daniel McCay, Gayle McKeachnie, JT Martin, Maryann Martindale, Jason Mathis, Bob Mayhew, Karen Mayne, Bret Milburn, Derek Miller, Rob Miller, Ethan Millard, Brett Millburn, Karen Morgan, Jeffery Morton, Mike Mower, Holly Mullen, Wayne Niederhauser, Mike Noel, Randy O'Hara, Ralph Okerlund, James Olsen, Val Oveson, Kelly Patterson, John Pearce, Helen Peters, Karen Peterson, Frank Pignanelli, Becky Pirente, Marie Poulson, Jason Powers, Tami Pyfer, Joe Pyrah, Mike Reberg, Jill Remington Love, Lauren Richards, Holly Richardson, Robin Riggs, James Roberts, Luz Robles, Ross Romero, Carol Sapp, Don Savage, Bryan Schott, Shauna Scott-Bellaccomo, Jay Seegmiller, Jennifer Seelig, Patrick Shea, Randy Shumway, Soren Simonsen, Jeremy Slaughter, Brendan Smith, Brian Somers, Carol Spackman-Moss, Robert Spendlove, Barbara Stallone, Howard Stephenson, David Stringfellow, Mike Styler, Shinika Sykes, Juliette Tennert, Gary Thorup, Kevin Van Tassell, Royce Van Tassel, Doug Thompson, Michael Waddoups, Laura Warburton, Chuck Warren, Christine Watkins, LaVarr Webb, Todd Weiler, Alan West, Mark Wheatley, Larry Wiley, Ted Wilson, Carl Wimmer, Mike Winder, Travis Wood, Thomas Wright, Crystal Young-Otterstrom
Results from the UtahPolicy.com/KSL Insider poll can be heard on KSL Radio every Friday and are published on Utah Policy.com every Monday.
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