Growing Chorus Of Conservatives And Voters Want Romney To Release Tax Returns

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More conservative pundits are joining in calling for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney to release a significant number of tax returns from past years. On Tuesday, a new poll showed that a majority of voters agree with those conservative critics ' as well as the reelection campaign of President Barack Obama ' that Romney should release his tax records.

RELATED: Bill Kristol On Fox News Sunday: Mitt Romney Should Release Tax Returns Tomorrow

On Monday, Fox News senior political analyst Brit Hume told Bill O'Reilly that he didn't see the tax records issue making a difference among voters, but 'anytime it's an issue between disclosure and non-disclosure, you always wonder whether it's better just to put it out there.'

Hume says that the release of those tax records would show that Romney is both rich and has offshore bank accounts. 'I guess the Obama team would have some sport with that for a couple of days and the media, in its cooperative way, would play along,' said Hume. 'But I'm not sure how much that is going to matter.'

Hume continued, saying that the electorate is going to be well aware by November ' if they are not already ' that Romney is a wealthy man. 'If you don't trust the private sector and you don't trust rich guys, you're not going to vote for him anyway,' Hume concluded.

Hume joins Weekly Standard editor Bill Kristol who said on Fox News Sunday that Romney needs to release as many his tax returns as he can ' approaching the decades of returns he submitted to Sen. John McCain in 2008 when he was being vetted for the vice presidency.

Those prominent conservative voices, backed up by consistent pressure from the Obama campaign, are joined by a majority of the electorate. A poll conducted last week by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling on behalf of the Service Employees International Union / Daily Kos showed that 56 percent of registered voters, and 61 percent of independent voters, say they want Romney to release his last 12 years of tax returns.

The calls for Romney to release his returns, as well as the Obama campaign's relentless attacks on Romney's tenure at Bain Capital, do not appear to be taking a toll on the head-to-head polling numbers. In the SEIU/Daily Kos poll from PPP, Obama leads Romney by 48 to 46 percent with 7 percent undecided.

Nate Silver, political analyst with the New York Times, wrote earlier that the race has largely been stable over the course of the last several months showing that the Bain attacks have had a limited impact on his overall support. PPP's Tom Jensen made a similar observation on Twitter when he wrote 'For the last month now we've found Obama at 48% or 49% and Romney at 45 or 46% every week. Basically no fluctuation.'

Silver's point was that Romney was overreacting to the Bain attacks by demanding an apology from the Obama camp for saying he could be guilty of a felony. But the Republican presidential candidate's GOP critics have largely drawn a distinction between the attacks on Romney's record at Bain and his tax records. Hume told O'Reilly he does not see the issue resonating with voters, but the PPP poll shows that if Romney withholds his tax records it could harm his support among the electorate.

While the polls show Romney can survive the Bain assault by the Romney campaign, they also suggest that the tax records issue will hurt Romney with voters in the near future. It remains to be seen whether Romney will take the well-meaning advice from his political allies.

Watch the segment below via Fox News Channel:

h/t Politico

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• Willard has something to hide,  he probably didnt have to pay taxes for some years.  Shit happens, live with it and man up.  release your taxes like your dead father told you to do.

• Better get em out there Willard! It will be fun for you to explain how you pay a lower tax rate than the average guy by setting up offshore shell corporations.

• I think Romney should taunt Obama by releasing one tax return every 3 weeks. LOL. It will be like pigeons going for corn seeds.

• big meanie girl is winning. cutter twentysixteen.

• Sadly, Mitt is NOT the man his father was.

  Mitt has become the quintessential whiny b*tch during this campaign, where his father was a man of honor and integrity when he ran for the Presidency. 

• Who else gets the feeling that Right wing loons are now faced with the fact that Mitt was the wrong pick. He is so wooden yet remains hollow. He does not want to show his tax returns for the simple fact that most of his wealth is overseas, like all the jobs he created.

• My favorite excuse as to why he won't release them, and I just heard it today twice ' Once from HopeyChangey, and once from some other right winger, is that 'the reason he shouldn't release his tax records is because the liberals will just want him to release more stuff.'

  Yep folks, this is not a joke.  This is their real defense.

• Looks like Fox news hosts are now turning on Willard. If Willard loses them all he has left is the far right fringe on radio to deliver is retorts.

•  Even sadder, we have no idea who Barry's father was but we do know who his Marxist mentors are!

• Romney probably does have something to hide, just like President Obama and his college records''everybody has something to hide

• Maybe ONE day one of you right wingers will be able to defend Romney without using a 'Well, Obama did this.. Or 'Obama did that'' statement.

  Listen, I know it's tough being a conservative and having a Presidential candidate who is essentially a Democrat.  Weren't you just calling him a RINO 6 months ago?

  Let's see'.

  He opposed the teaching of intelligent design in public schools while he was governor. 

  Regarding gays he said, 'We must make equality for gays and lesbians a mainstream concern.'

  Concerning abortion, he was photographed at a Planned Parenthood fundraiser in 1994 where his wife made a monetary contribution to the organization.

  Now that doesn't sound 'Severely conservative' to me'.

• While the polls show Romney can survive the Bain assault by the Romney campaign, 
  Hey Noah, is that what you meant?

  (Please and/or you can delete this message once you read this)

•  It is Noah Rothman.

  What did you expect?

  While the polls show Romney can survive the Bain assault by the Romney
  campaign, they also suggest that the tax records issue will hurt Romney
  with voters in the near future. It remains to be seen whether Romney
  will take the well-meaning advice from his political allies.
  

•  Ron Paul said today that Willard needs to release his tax returns. Willard's defense now is his Top surrogate Sunuun going birther. WOW This people will say any lie. They all liars.

• I guess Dan Abrams can't afford editors. 

• Huh? That is one dumb analysis there, Hume. Romney has nothing to lose from these attacks? How the hell do these people get to such lofty positions talking rubbish like that?

• It will continue to grow to where Romney may face a revolt at the convention. Get out the popcorn and enjoy the circular firing squad to come.

• Mitt is not the man his mother was.

  He was at one time, but he sold his manhood to the Teabags.

• But ' but ' but ' Obama's transcripts!

• I expect nothing. As of right now it is just a rush to a deadline mistake.

  Do simple editing mistakes need to be partisan?

  Get a friggin life people.

• Meanwhile Obama hides his records.