Republican candidate Mitt Romney should release his tax returns without delay, says one of his main backers, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

He told breakfast TV: "Let's get all of the facts out there", adding that he did not think they would reveal much.

On Tuesday Mr Romney indicated he pays about 15% in tax, a much lower rate than most Americans contribute. He says he might release his returns in April.

Rivals want Mr Romney to divulge the details before a key weekend primary.

He is leading the pack in the state-by-state race for the Republican Party's nomination to challenge Democratic President Barack Obama for the White House this November.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16616562

Watching Mitt Romney in the Myrtle Beach debate gave me acid flashbacks to Poppy Bush.

Maybe it was when Mittens decorously noted, in front of the raucous, bloodthirsty South Carolina crowd: “When I get invited, I’m delighted to be able to go hunting.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/opinion/dowd-hunting-dear-sir-delighted.html?hp

David: The people calling for Romney to release his taxes say the public has a right to know where his money comes from. I’m not the closest student of the Constitution, but did I miss something? Which amendment is this right mentioned in? Perhaps it’s a natural right. I don’t think it’s in the Old Testament. The Book of Mormon, maybe?

Gail: Not a sacred rule, perhaps. But I think it makes sense. We’re talking about the presidency here.  We’re giving him/her the power to wage war, blow up the planet, ruin the economy. I think we kind of have the right to pry.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/18/can-i-see-your-tax-return/?hp

The Republican presidential race has been shaken up after Texas Governor Rick Perry quit and endorsed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

But the potential boost to the Gingrich campaign was countered by his ex-wife's claims that he wanted an open marriage.

On a busy campaign day it emerged that front-runner Mitt Romney had not won Iowa's caucuses, as initially declared, because of a mix-up on the vote count.

The four remaining contenders face a crunch TV debate on Thursday.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-16635833

When you hear about the low, low taxes of people like Mr. Romney, what you need to know is that it wasn’t always thus — and the days when the superrich paid much higher taxes weren’t that long ago. Back in 1986, Ronald Reagan — yes, Ronald Reagan — signed a tax reform equalizing top rates on earned income and capital gains at 28 percent. The rate rose further, to more than 29 percent, during Bill Clinton’s first term.

Low capital gains taxes date only from 1997, when Mr. Clinton struck a deal with Republicans in Congress in which he cut taxes on the rich in return for creation of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. And today’s ultralow rates — the lowest since the days of Herbert Hoover — date only from 2003, when former President George W. Bush rammed both a tax cut on capital gains and a tax cut on dividends through Congress, something he achieved by exploiting the illusion of triumph in Iraq.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/20/opinion/krugman-taxes-at-the-top.html?_r=1&hp

When Mr. Romney became governor of Massachusetts, his blind trust gave Goldman much of his wealth to manage, a fortune now estimated to be as much as $250 million.

And as Mr. Romney mounts his second bid for the presidency, Goldman is coming through again: Its employees have contributed at least $367,000 to his campaign, making the firm Mr. Romney’s largest single source of campaign money through the end of September.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/us/politics/close-ties-to-goldman-enrich-romneys-public-and-private-lives.html?hp

4:29 p.m. | Updated TAMPA, Fla. – NBC News is asking that the Romney campaign remove from its ads any references to material from the network in response to a new commercial that consists almost entirely of old footage of its former news anchor, Tom Brokaw, reporting on Newt Gingrich’s legal troubles.

The ad, which uses a 1997 clip from the day Mr. Gingrich was found guilty by the House of ethics violations, prompted a terse statement from Mr. Brokaw on Saturday in which he expressed concern that his work was being used for political purposes he never intended.

“I am extremely uncomfortable with the extended use of my personal image in this political ad,” he said. “I do not want my role as a journalist compromised for political gain by any campaign.”

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/28/nbc-news-asks-romney-campaign-to-remove-ad/?hp