Nothing against the owners, patrons, or the dining establishment, but there is something poignant about Paul Ryan getting booed in Miami by a conference hall full of AARP members, and him waking up the next morning to make an appearance at Versailles Restaurant in the same city. If Rep. Ryan is trying out for the role of Marie Antoinette, he just might land the role. Seniors can’t afford private medical insurance? Let them eat cake!
I’m still struggling to understand why Mitt Romney’s family attorney (aka, his “blind” trustee) decided to tell everyone that Romney didn’t claim all the charitable deductions that he was entitled to declare. Were we all supposed to be like “Yeah!! There’s a man who keeps a promise to pay at least 13% of his income in taxes”? Or were we supposed to be like, “Yeah!! Look at how generous this guy is”?
Was this a matter of Romney not wanting to give a charitable contribution without us all knowing about it?
To be clear, I understand the motivation for wanting the keep the effective rate at 14.1% rather than 9%. But it is much less effective when you tell us all that you overpaying your taxes in order to avoid looking bad.
I mean, first of all, you look like a dolt to yourself and your peers. Romney, remember, famously said that he wouldn’t even be qualified to serve as president if he paid one cent more in taxes than he was legally obligated to do. So, he says that, and then goes out and pays a lot more in taxes than he was legally obligated to do. And his lawyer makes sure that we all know this when there was really no reason for us to know it. There’s no crime in failing to claim a charitable donation on your taxes.
While we try to figure these things out, maybe we should also attempt to predict who Romney will choose to insult next. One thing is almost certain. We won’t have to wait long to find out.
