As the race for Wisconsin's U.S. senate seat heats up and candidates head to a forum in Milwaukee Wednesday, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin is calling for more transparency from the GOP candidates — namely, the party wants to see their tax returns.
So far, only the Hovde campaign has told Patch that it will release any tax returns, confirming that documents from the last two years are forthcoming.
During a conference call Wednesday morning, party Chairman Mike Tate praised Democratic candidate Tammy Baldwin for releasing 10 years' worth of returns. According to Tate, voters should know about the candidates' finances to see if they "stand to benefit" from tax cuts for the wealthy.
- Related:
"As voters go to the polls in November, they deserve to know whether the candidates they send to Washington to fight for their livelihood are going to side with those forces that are working against the middle class, like hedge fund raiders and corporations that ship jobs overseas, or whether they are actually on their side in this fight," Tate said.
Tate drew on recent reports of the GOP candidates' finances, showing Eric Hovde with $50 million in assets, trailed by former governor Tommy Thompson with $13 million and Mark Neumann with more than $4 million. Though the candidates are not legally required to show these documents, Tate said they should be held to a higher standard.
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"Are they fighting for their own interests or fighting for the middle class people of Wisconsin?" Tate said. "We deserve to know where their priorities are."
Tate also noted reports that Hovde's finances are tied up in a "a complex web of investment firms, holding companies, and stock portfolios," including an investment in the Cayman Islands.
"The public is in danger of heading into an election with a candidate who may or may not be taking advantage of the very tax loopholes and government subsidies that he decries," Tate said.
Hovde to release last two years' returns
Joe Fadness of the Hovde campaign told Patch Wednesday that it will follow the "standard practice" of releasing tax information from the last two years, but he claimed this is all a move by Baldwin to "incite class warfare."
He confirmed that some "finishing touches" are under way on the tax paperwork, which will be released "shortly."
While he could not provide concrete details about Hovde's Cayman Islands investments, Fadness said "the investments do not provide any personal tax benefit to Eric whatsoever."
To Tate's issues with GOP candidates' priorities, Fadness said Hovde supports "lower taxes across the board" to make things easier for "job creators."
Tate did not call for their tax returns by a certain deadline, adding that they "should have done it a long time ago."
Chip Englander, Mark Neumann's campaign manager, dismissed the call for released tax returns, noting Neumann's compliance with all requirements and calling this a distraction from the real issues.
Here's Englander's e-mailed statement to Patch Wednesday morning:
Liberal Democrats like Tammy Baldwin are desperate to distract attention away from the real issues, including Baldwin’s support of crippling federal debt and the tax hikes that are part of Obamacare. This hits middle-class taxpayers right in the wallet – but Baldwin and the Democrats would rather gin up some fake outrage, when they know full well Mark Neumann has complied with every financial disclosure requirement.
Englander did not indicate that Neumann would be releasing tax information.
Requests for comment from Thompson campaign were not immediately returned.
Same issue, different race
Likely Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is surrounded in a similar controversy, with President Barack Obama airing ads about Romney's time at Bain Capital and allegations that Romney has money in so-called "tax havens" such as the Cayman Islands.
Romney has so far released his 2010 tax returns and plans to release them for 2011 when they are available. But, he has resisted pressure to release anything prior to 2010, including his time at Bain.
Check back at Patch.com for regular updates on the U.S. senate race.
Why did you conveniently fail to respond to Hoffa's query into an apparent hypocrisy contained within your original comment in this thread?
I will comment now. I worked in IT for many years. There are just some people that just do not understand how many things can go wrong with a computer system. Confidence like she had is a killer in IT Test, test, test. The County Clerk was wrong for the job, she is resigning, and even Republicans elect poor choices like her. But she was just a blundering sycophant, not corrupt, promoted beyond her competency, and that was always my opinion.
Wow - did you ever drink the left-wing kool-aid! Do I detect an anti-Mormon sentiment in your rant?
I do admire his son's rhetorical skills, also named Jimmy Hoffa, as head of the Teamsters today. His famous 'Let's Take These Son of a Bitches Out!' (in reference to extreme rightwingers like you) was a gem.
All of those charges were little more than a trumped up railroad job orchestrated by the biggest criminals and hypocrites of them all, the Kennedy's! Hoffa was a model inmate, often consulting the guards on their personal problems. Hoffa also never claimed to be anything more than what he really was, nor did he ever claim to be righteous, unlike the lying Kennedy's! All of the Vegas loans were legit! Test Fleet was legit! You trash the mafia despite the fact that Hoffa's loans from the pension fund to organized crime actually made money for the union, which is more than I can say for the Court order trustees that took over the stewardship of the Central State's Pension Fund! You know only what the great Democratic propaganda machine wants you to believe. Try reading some of Hoffa's books - it may wake you up to some realities not found in the mainstream history books! James P. is unfortunately misguided in his ideology and apparently never bothered to read his father's books. There's not much more that can be said about this.
I supported the recall because Scott Walker misrepresented himself and his agenda in 2010. People should have the opportunity to vote for the "real" Scott Walker. Now we all have to deal with him until 2014. I just hope his antics can be kept to a minimum. Yes, I'm voting for Barack Obama. But if he loses the election, the winner will represent our country here and on the world stage. You do realize that extradition requests have been filed on Dick Cheney and other former Bush administration officials in other countries, don't you? (activated or not). If Mitt wins and brings back a phalanx of the same Bush advisors that brought us to war in 2 countries and near economic collapse, it's unlikely to inspire confidence abroad (to say the least). Again, one name in the event of a brokered convention: Jon Huntsman.
Gee, don't let me and other lefties define it for you as interpreted from your posts. Please involve healthcare, guns, unions, food stamps, education, minorities, illegal immigration, role of the central government, privacy, and what to do with "lefties". As to Mormons, they are obviously in the Republican future image.
Social Security? Medicare? Student loans? Are you advocating clamping these teats?
Without getting too specific, here's Hoffa's image on the requested issues/topics: Healthcare - For U&C care, everyone pays their own way directly. Catastrophic insurance coverage offered by a quasi-government agency as well as private providers. Reform Medicare to a self-sustaining program without the need to raise revenue rates on anyone. Clean up Medicare so that only the truly worth are receiving its services. Institute market based reforms including loser pays (English rule) on med malprac claims, up-front pricing on standard/routine procedures/treatments/examinations, and the expansion of non-taxable HSA's. Guns - Abide by the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution. Anyone who abuses the right (by committing weapon crimes) will forever lose such right in this country. Unions - Abolish all public sector unionization. Private sector unionization is fine, but workers must be given the option to join and the unions must be re-certified annually by the membership. Those declining to join will not be privy to any union benefits negotiated under the union contracts or protections Food Stamps - Provide to those who are truly incapable of helping themselves, but monitor to make sure they are being used righteously. Provide as a supplement only when absolutely necessary to those who have liquidated their assets down to necessities only, are helping themselves, but are still having problems making ends meet. Eliminate for everyone else.
Minorities - I'm not sure what you're getting at here. What's good for the country is good for all of it's residents, regardless of skin color or ethnicity. End affirmative action and quota systems in all public and private institutions. Prohibit any governmental / public sector groups that associate according to skin color or ethnicity, such as the Congressional Black Caucus. Start acting like one people - Americans! Illegal Immigration - Zero tolerance! If you're here illegally and get caught - you're gone. No exceptions. Streamline the process for legal immigration. Secure our borders. Role of the Central Government - Constitutionally limited and/or as the mass of the people of the nation desires. Balanced budget with the taking on of publicly issued debt only being authorized in extreme and certain limited circumstances. Privacy - Absolute except where national security is concerned. What to do With "Lefties - They're just as a part of this country as sliced bread. Continue to debate them and continue to beat them with the facts.
You are also good at shining up extreme right wing politics. I see the correlation.
We are well on our way there. We need to view them as life or death adversaries and conduct our activities with this always in mind. Another wacko righty ! Is this something that you disscuss at your KKK meetings on Tuesday nights ?
By John Schmid of the Journal Sentinel Updated: 3:50 p.m. | Wisconsin lost an estimated 11,700 private sector jobs in June and the unemployment rate rose to 7% from 6.8% in May, the state Department of Workforce Development reported Thursday. Hours after the report, the state agency sent a letter to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to complain about the integrity of the statistics. The BLS compiles the figures each month for the nation and each of the 50 states. "As agencies charged with providing timely and relevant labor market information, we have a responsibility to ensure the labor market information we publish is accurate, complete and reflective of what occurs on the ground. Great Job Mr Walker !
Why don't we wait for the revised numbers to come out before we start attacking? After all, we've all seen how inaccurate and unreliable the estimates have become, haven't we?
What does it say of an incumbent when all the ads they run are attack ads? Since they have NOTHING good to run on, and no accomplishments, which group is really incompetent.
I for one would rather see someone smart get elected for a change As for your idea of how to measure patriotism, i would like to suggest another yard stick... How about someone that buys into the american dream? Work hard, get an education and you can do better that your parents... and with a little luck could become very wealthy too. I dont know about you but i think my kids have a better chance where free market opportunities exist, not government mandates and regulations.
Catastrophic health insurance is good for those with the means to cover their own moderate medical expenses without bankruptcy or great hardship. In other words,the upper middle class and above. Would the government role in this to be concerned with coverage for those with pre-existing conditions? Most of your other positions are predictably disguised to benefit those of your race, income and social position, though virtually no one disagrees with stopping people from getting government benefits if they do not deserve them. What I am really looking for is, if all your positions came true, what would society look like? Visualize a movie with a cast of millions and special effects.
J.B. Schmidt's hero, Ronald Reagan truly admired the Latter-day Saints. Reagan's administration included more members of the Church than any other American president, ever. Three served on his personal White House staff. Richard Wirthlin was his chief strategist. Ted Bell served as Secretary of Education, Angela Buchanan was Treasurer, Rex Lee was Solicitor General. His White House included Roger Porter, Brent Scowcroft, Richard Beal, Blake Parish, Jon Huntsman Jr., Dodie Borup and Rocky Kuonen, and there were many other Latter-day Saints throughout his Administration. Fast forward to today. In the Republican primaries, we had Huntsman and Romney. Romney is the winner of those primaries. We will be learning so much about Mormonism in the coming months, and years if Romney wins. My beloved parents died Mormons, and my dear sister and nephew are devout Mormons.
Well, under Obama and the liberal Dem vision, our future would look like Brazil (1985), 1984 (1984), THX 1138 (1971), Logan's Run (1976), Soylent Green (1973), Dark City (1998), Motorama (1991), Prayer of the Rollerboys (1990), etc. Under Hoffa's vision, our future would look so bright, you'd have to wear shades! It would actually look a lot like Roddenberry's Star Trek!