ProgressMass Calls on Senator Scott Brown to Join National Republicans and Conservatives in Urging Mitt Romney to Release His Tax Returns

 

For Immediate Release: July 23, 2012
Contact: Mathew Helman, Communications Director
E-mail: mathew@progressmass.org, Cell: 617-821-8004

BOSTON - This morning, ProgressMass staff hand-delivered a letter to the campaign office of Massachusetts' Republican junior Senator, Scott Brown.  The letter, the text of which is below, calls on Senator Brown to join numerous other Republicans and conservatives across the country in publicly urging the presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States, Mitt Romney, to release a substantial number of years' worth of his own personal tax returns.

The letter references the benchmark of twelve years of tax returns set by Mitt Romney's own father, George, who ran for President in 1968, and who famously said of candidates releasing a minimal number of years' worth of tax returns, "One year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show."  The letter also references remarks by Republican Scott Brown's own campaign manager, Jim Barnett, who suggested that failure to release tax returns for public scrutiny is an indication that a particular candidate for office is "clearly hiding something."

"Republican Scott Brown and his campaign have taken great pains to note the tax returns and other records that Senator Brown has allowed the media to view in the name of transparency," noted Michael Fogelberg, Executive Director for ProgressMass.  "It would be hypocritical for Senator Brown to refuse to call on Mr. Romney to release more of his income tax records.  Mr. Romney should meet his father's standard for transparency and public disclosure."

"Despite a voting record to the contrary, Republican Scott Brown claims he is not driven by Republican partisanship," said Mathew Helman, Communications Director for ProgressMass.  "Senator Brown has an opportunity to demonstrate a bare minimum level of independence from Mitt Romney by publicly calling on Mr. Romney to, at long last, follow tradition and release a substantial number of years' worth of tax returns."

Numerous national Republican and conservative leaders across the country have formed a growing chorus calling on Mitt Romney to release a substantial number of years' worth of tax returns.  Comments include:

"He should release the tax returns tomorrow.  It's crazy.  You gotta release six, eight, ten years of back tax returns."
-Bill Kristol, editor of the conservative publication "The Weekly Standard," on "Fox News Sunday," 7/15/12

"Put out as much information as you can.  Even if you don't release twelve years' worth of tax returns, at least three, four, five."
-Michael Steele, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and former Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, on MSNBC, July 2012

"'I think he should release his financial records...'  Jones said he's not a financial expert, but he said Romney should release the last 6 -7 years of records."
-CNN Interview with Congressman Walter Jones (R-NC), 7/12/12

"There's clearly a problem with the tax returns; otherwise, he would release, you know, ten years of tax returns.  He's only released on year of tax returns.  That's a problem."
-Republican Strategist Rick Tyler on MSNBC, 7/16/12

Additional national Republican and conservative leaders supportive of Mitt Romney releasing his tax returns include Republican U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Richard Lugar of Indiana, as well as conservative columnist George Will, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, Alabama Governor Robert Bentley, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, and many others.

Sources:
·    Politico, Mackenzie Weinger, "Republicans tell Mitt Romney to show tax returns," 7/17/12
·    ABC News, Jilian Fama, "Conservatives Support Romney Releasing Tax Returns," 7/18/12
·    ThinkProgress, Annie-Rose Strasser, "20 Prominent Republicans Who Want Romney To Release More Tax Returns Right Now [UPDATED]," 7/17/12
·    Talking Points Memo, Benjy Sarlin, "Growing Republican Chorus Pushes Romney To Release Tax Returns," 7/13/12

The full text of ProgressMass' letter to Senator Scott Brown is below:

 

July 23, 2012

Senator Scott Brown
c/o Scott Brown for U.S. Senate
337 Summer Street, Suite 100
Boston, MA 02210

Re: Joining Your Fellow Republicans and Conservatives in Calling on Presumptive Republican Nominee for President Mitt Romney to Release His Tax Returns

Dear Senator Brown,

As part of your campaign for U.S. Senate this year, you have allowed the media to review six years of your personal tax returns.  Such an act is done as a display of transparency to voters, to offer confidence that those running for public office operate with integrity in their own personal finances.  Indeed, your own campaign manager, Jim Barnett, has commented in the past that failure to release tax returns for public scrutiny is an indication that a particular candidate for office is "clearly hiding something."

As you may know, the candidate you have endorsed for President of the United States, Republican Mitt Romney, has refused to release his own personal tax returns for any year prior to 2010.  Such intractability is a slap in the face to the American people, especially considering that Mr. Romney points to his financial success as a chief qualification for his candidacy for President of the United States.  Indeed, by your own campaign manager's standard, Mr. Romney's failure to release his own personal tax returns must be an indication that he is "clearly hiding something."

In that spirit, Senator Brown, join the growing chorus of Republicans and conservatives across the country in publicly calling on the presumptive Republican nominee for President of the United States, Mitt Romney, to release a substantial number of years' worth of his tax returns.

It was Mitt Romney's own father, George, who began the tradition of candidates for President releasing their tax returns for public scrutiny in 1968, when he released twelve years of returns.  It was also the senior Romney who said of releasing a minimal number of years' worth of tax returns, "One year could be a fluke, perhaps done for show."  In order to avoid meeting his father's measure of being a "fluke," Mitt Romney ought to match his father's benchmark of transparency and fully release twelve years' worth of tax returns.

I hope you will put your Republican partisanship aside in this instance and do the right thing in the name of transparency and public accountability.  Call on Mitt Romney to release his tax returns.

Sincerely,
Michael Fogelberg
Executive Director, ProgressMass

 

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