Too Good for Their Own Taxes
That could be the alternate title of Celia Cohen’s latest soft shoe — this time around Senator Colin Bonini’s past tax issues with the IRS. His tax issues resulted in a lien on his house for a short time. Now, Bonini’s story looks plenty incomplete here and we could spend alot of time taking a look at some details that don’t entirely add up, but I want to get to another point.
That point being the complete silence by the local winguts who had a great deal to say about Timothy Geithner’s and others’ pretty small tax problems when they were being vetted for various positions. Let’s refresh our memories at Delaware Politics. In that post, Obama nominees with tax issues were called “tax cheats” and called upon the Senate Finance Committee to reject any nominees who had any record as a “tax violator”. Charlie Copeland dramatically places the back of his hand over his forehead to manage the case of the vapors that Tim Geithner’s tax problems (cleared up, I should say) was causing him.
So when do they (and these blogs) call Bonini a “tax cheat” or proclaim that Bonini “can’t figure out his taxes”? Do you think that these repubs who were so clear that being a tax violator automatically made you unsuitable for office are preparing a case to remind people that a man who can’t do his own taxes isn’t fit to run the Treasury of the State of Delaware?
Yes, I crack myself up too. But while these local repubs furiously scribble on their hands looking for today’s lame excuses for their own hypocrisy, let’s think of Bonini’s tax issues in a larger frame.
Bonini was also the purveyor of last year’s clusterf*ck of a Republican “budget response” to the looming deficit. A response that was short of properly sourced information; short on concrete actions that would actually and immediately reduce the deficit; and short on real ideas for any long-term budget reductions. basically, it was a recycle of the usual local hobby horses against the prevailing wage; early retirements to reduce the size of government (which doesn’t do anything about the job that just got vacated); and a proposal for the Californication of Delaware budgets. No budget was actually included, no budget line items were analyzed, no numbers were made to make sense.
I’ve long made the point about the basic innumeracy of the GOP. Their philosophy towards numbers seems to be that as long as there is an ideological proof, the numbers proof can go fuck itself. With a caveat that applies to making sure that their friends get all the taxpayer money they can eat — those numbers they keep with precision.
But what you can take to the bank is that someone who can’t follow the numbers is certainly no someone who can even identify wasteful spending, much less do something about it. Someone with no grasp of how data gets managed and published is in no position to provide any certifications that the state is actually stating its financial position truthfully. And what does that have to do with Bonini’s taxes? It seems to me that evaluating Bonini’s fitness for the job based on his “tax violator” status should be done in accordance with the same standards they used for Tim Geithner, et al — asking for him to stand down from running for this post.
Tags: Colin Bonini, Republican Hypocrisy
*yawn*
Isn’t it lovely how journalist Cohen can innoculate a candidate with her awesome journalism?
That is the kind of first rate journalism that some people will pay big bucks for.
I wonder why this is even worth discussing. It shows the denigration of political discourse. As least Cohen dealt with the boring facts of it. I have to agree with anon1.
I hate the way the IRS uses heavy handed tactics to cut off negotiation. He shouldn’t have used a Democrat lawyer. Just pay it even though you may not owe it. At least put up a defense so you can negotiate. One day we shall abolish the income tax and stop the bullying.
The story that I read is that Bonini took care of business even though he believed he was wronged. I feel for him.
The bullying IRS should concern itself with what adults do in thier bedrooms, not with mere taxes.
I wonder why this is even worth discussing.
And one of our resident hypocrites shows up. You found tax issues worth discussing when it was Democrats with the tax problems. But suddenly this guy has been *victimized* by the IRS.
But hey, making their hypocrisy into a performance art is apparently the new GOP goal.
This guy is running as a fiscal watchdog and he can’t even keep up with his own taxes? That’s a problem for him.
David Anderson, Nov 27th 2009…
Nice catch, Jason!
LOL!
OMG, LOL!
That’s *totally* gonna hurt.
Very nice, Jason and thank you for providing the most fun I’ve had here in a really long time…..
Thanks, but finding instances of hypocrisy over there isn’t exactly tough.
Republican David on Christine O’Donnell:
“At least she is an anti-tax candidate so a tax lien won’t hurt her base.”
How do you make $125K and come up with an $18K disagreement with the IRS?
The moral of the story: Get an accountant. If you are filing anything more than an EZ form and you try to be your own accountant, you have a fool for a client.
Or even Turbo Tax for Christ’s sake.
Anyone see Colin on Chan. 28 yesterday. What a clown. The guy had on a blue shirt, yellow tie and bright orange socks. It was truly laughable. Him and Charlie Copeland discussing the problems in the City of Wilmington were hilarious. Trying to cater their conversation to blacks hoping they would get them to switch to repukes was so naive they truly made fools out of themselves. While the prison industrial complex is filling up rapidly under Beau Biden, while the proscecutors in his office demand a 100% conviction rate, while they have convinced legislators they need more “pile on charges” to people they are arresting, while the AG’s office are forcing more and more plea deals to people who can’t buy an attorney to fight them,thereby filling up the prisons for decades, I wonder how long the citizens will take the abuse coming out of Beaus office. It appears he and his cronies care less about the guilt or innocense of someone caught in their trap, they are about making a record for Beau so he can run on for higher office. We need an out of state investigative reporter to come to Delaware and do a thorough investigation into the AG’s office.
Having met the Rotund Glad Hander I feel no sympathy for him or those like him. It seems the more money people have the more thier “victims” of the IRS. Bonnini’s a joke and has been since landing in the states Senate. Let him be judged as he has judged others.
Bonini’s number was on my Caller ID Three times within the last two days.
WTF?