Reid’s no-tax attacks on Romney earn cheers, ridicule

Sen. Harry Reid set the political world aflame and got some blowback in the process after charging repeatedly in the past week that Mitt Romney was failing to disclose more of his income tax returns because "he didn't pay taxes for 10 years."

The Senate majority leader from Nevada said he was told that in a telephone call from an investor in Bain Capital, the private equity firm once headed by the Republican presidential candidate. Reid later said "a number of people" had also told him the same thing.

"His poor father must be so embarrassed about his son," Reid told the Huffington Post, a reference to George Romney turning over 12 years of tax returns when he ran for president in 1968.

Reid refused to reveal his sources, inviting criticism and ridicule but also making Romney's wealth and tax status a major topic in the presidential campaign for another few days – likely more – in the days ahead.

For his part, Romney said at week's end he has paid taxes "every year. A lot of taxes." Still no promise to show his returns beyond the past two years.

As the controversy simmers for the time being, here is a sampling of reaction from the past few days.

-- Alex Seitz-Wald of Salon.com consulted a tax attorney who said the idea that Romney paid zero taxes over 10 years was "highly unlikely." Another said Reid's claim was "preposterous."

-- As a political maneuver, Reid's attack was welcomed by many Democrats, and defended by party-affiliated talking heads on cable news, such as Paul Begala on CNN.

-- Elsewhere, liberal columnist Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast writes: "In a way, Reid’s stratagem is ruthless and brilliant politics, and, in a way, it’s good to see Democrats playing this kind of hardball. I take some pleasure in watching conservatives squirm and kvetch."

But, Tomasky wonders how liberals would have reacted if the shoe were on the other foot. What if Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell in 2008 had alleged on an anonymous source that Barack Obama was linked to shady deals with connected Chicago businessman Tony Rezko?

-- "To anyone concerned about the state of poltical discourse, Reid's charge is a cause for alarm," says the Christian Science Monitor in a piece that quotes a political scientist warning Reid and Democrats not to overplay their hand.

"People like a fair game in certain ways," Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public policy at Princeton University, told the Monitor. “If there’s a perception that this is about innuendo, rumor, and character assassination, it can backfire.”

-- "Harry Reid manages to turn Romney's tax returns into a good story for Romney," is the headline on a piece by Kyle Wingfield of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In bringing up Romney's deceased father, "Reid's tastelessness knows no bounds," Wingfield writes.

-- On FoxNews, conservative columnist Charles Krauthammer says Reid's tactic was "beyond appalling. It's disgusting." Why? Because "it actually is effective. It works, that's why it is so bad."

-- Michael Shear and Richard Oppel of the New York Times point out Reid's accusation against Romney "is hardly out of character for the cantankerous Democratic leader of the Senate."

"On a personal level, Mr. Reid has long been publicly contemptuous of Mr. Romney... a fellow Mormon." they write.

-- New York Times opinion columnist Frank Bruni says the media is not blameless.

"The new shape of the news-media universe doesn’t help," Bruni writes. "Balkanized into micro-niches where partisans can have their passions stoked and prejudices reinforced, it gives reckless allegations many places to land and even stick before they get a sober look. Those allegations are intended and tailored to rally the troops, who are believed to care more about truculence than truthfulness. The ends justify the Reid."

But according to Manu Raju in Politico, for all the criticism being heaped on Reid, there is one person who could not care less: Harry Reid

"The ruthless Senate majority leader sees political gold in his attack on Romney — and he’s got the blessing from President Barack Obama’s campaign for the attack," Raju writes.

"For Reid, he’s got virtually nothing to lose: His approval ratings back home are still upside-down, and he may not even run for reelection when he’s up for a sixth term in 2016," according to Raju.