Like their allies in the Democratic Party, progressive groups can’t get enough of the Bain Capital attacks on Mitt Romney — particularly the mystery surrounding what’s in his still-hidden tax returns. On Friday, they’re hoping to twist the knife.
Three of the nation’s largest progressive groups, Democracy for America, MoveOn and DailyKos plan to deliver 224,000 signatures “demanding full disclosure” of Romney’s taxes to his Boston campaign headquarters Friday.
The move comes on the heels of efforts by Democrats and the Obama campaign to bring the tax return fight — which plagued Romney on the primary campaign trail — back to center stage.
Team Obama released a new attack ad speculating about what could be in Romney’s tax returns, and calling on Romney to release more than the two years’ worth of returns he’s promised.
The DNC released a web video Tuesday compiling Republicans’ calls for Romney to release more returns.
The progressive groups are echoing Democrats’ central question: What could Romney be hiding? Romney has said his opponents only want to see his tax history to create more attack ads, and has pledged not to give them the chance.
Polls show the public is on Democrats’ side when it comes to the tax returns. A DailyKos-sponsored survey conducted by PPP found 56 percent of respondents think Romney should release more taxes.
The progressive groups say Romney’s decision not to release more returns is especially confusing considering Romney’s own father released many years of tax returns when he ran for president.
“It’s unbelievable in this day and age that a candidate running for the highest office in the land would not opt in for full disclosure of their financial outlook,” Jim Dean, chairman of Democracy for America, said in a statement. “Gov. Romney should have followed in the footsteps of his father and been a leader in transparency. Instead, he’s opted to hide the truth from the American public. Mitt, what are you hiding?”
