What stands between Mitt Romney and him understanding that being so casual about remarkable wealth is off-putting to voters? Besides the fact of his remarkable wealth, I mean? Today in South Carolina, he revealed his tax rate and a good deal more:
“It’s probably closer to the 15 percent rate than anything. Because my last 10 years, I’ve — my income comes overwhelmingly from some investments made in the past, whether ordinary income or earned annually. I got a little bit of income from my book, but I gave that all away. And then I get speaker’s fees from time to time, but not very much.”
That "not very much" from speaking fees would be approximately $362,000 - but it's spread out over a year, so you could almost not notice it, right? Right?
As Steve Benen writes, "This is the same guy who recently suggested elected office is only for the rich, thought nothing of dropping $10,000 on a bet during a debate, and considered a $1,500-a-year tax cut for the typical middle-class family to be a meaningless “band aid.”
He's also the same guy who said that he likes being able to fire people, however he meant that, and the guy who says questions about income inequality come from envy, and the same guy who hosed off the car and the dog and got back on the road. No wonder Greg Sargent calls his candidacy a very big gamble for the GOP.