So now Romney is trying to blame Obama for coming up with his tax plan

[ProSense]

So now Romney is trying to blame Obama for coming up with his tax plan

by Jed Lewison

Just when you think Mitt Romney has reached the pinnacle of absurdity, he somehow manages to reach new heights. The latest example: now he's claiming that his tax plan—the one that the Tax Policy Center says would force the middle-class to pay the cost of tax cuts for the wealthy—is actually Barack Obama's fault. For real:

While the tax study has emerged as a major component of the economic debate at the core of this year’s presidential campaign, Mr. Romney did not allude to the analysis to contest its conclusions as he campaigned in Colorado on Thursday. But in an interview with conservative Fox host Sean Hannity, Mr. Romney said “my plan is very similar to the Simpson-Bowles plan.”

And, Romney said of Simpson-Bowles, "that was his commission." So I guess that means Romney realizes his tax plan is so politically toxic that instead of defending it on its merits, he'd rather baselessly accuse President Obama of having come up with it first. There's a little problem with that strategy, however.

The Romney proposal, however, has little in common with that bipartisan deficit-reduction proposal from a majority on the fiscal commission that Mr. Obama created in 2010. The Simpson-Bowles plan called for reduced income tax rates, but it would have raised about $2 trillion more in tax revenues over 10 years, mostly from high-income taxpayers, and cut spending to reduce the federal debt.

So, as Stephen Colbert would say, Mitt Romney's tax plan is "very similar" to the Simpson-Bowles plan if by "very similar" you actually mean "completely different."

It's actually a pretty good indication of just how bad Romney's position is that he would resort to this sort of (as he would say) balderdash and poppycock. Yesterday, the best they could do was attack the study's authors instead of attacking the substance of the study. Now Romney is saying his plan is actually Obama's plan. And you don't have to read very far between the lines to realize that if Mitt Romney had one wish it would be that political Etch A Sketches were real.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/03/1116326/-So-now-Romney-is-trying-to-blame-Obama-for-coming-up-with-his-tax-plan

Guess Mitt didn't get the memo: Simpson-Bowles sucked. Then again, so does Mitt's messaging.

"If you're responding, you're losing!"
http://www.politico.com/blogs/burns-haberman/2012/07/romney-if-youre-responding-youre-losing-128679.html

NYT on Romney's "increasingly desperate attempts" to dismiss a study of his tax plan
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021064094

Obama Camp Releases Digital Tool To Compare Personal Impact Of Obama And Romney Tax Plans
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021061238

Who is fighting for middle class tax cuts?
http://www.barackobama.com/tax-calculator

[uponit7771]

1. There's something mentally wrong with rMoney, even if it's on a reduced level rMoney is

...screwed up in the head IMHO.

I wouldn't let the guy watch children for too long....seriously

[DCKit]

3. You ain't wrong:

[Scuba]

2. The Repukes know they make no sense; they don't care. They figure they'll just swamp the airwaves..

... with anti-Obama and pro-Rmoney ads and that will be enough.



Sure hope they're wrong, but I'm damned afraid they might be right.

[lpbk2713]

4. Which plan would that be, Mitt?

I mean, you've had so many.

[ProSense]

5. LOL! It must be

the one he plans to announce "retroactively."

Doesn't Mitt know that it's dangerous to run too fast in flip flops?

[Quantess]

6. Romney is the flip-floppin'est of flip-floppers

of all time, I think.