rnc chair reince priebus firing back at harry reid. >> as far as harry reid is concerned, listen, i know you might want to go down that road. i'm not going to respond to a dirty liar, who hasn't filed a single page of tax returns himself, complains about people with money, but lives in the ritz-carlton here down the street. >> you just called him a dirty liar. you think harry reid's a dirty liar? >> i just said it. >> greta: rnc chair reince priebus joins us. i'll give you a do-over. do you want to standby that still? >> it's the truth. he is what he is. using the position of majority leader on taxpayer money on the floor of the senate, i mean, it's just a pathetic maneuver on behalf of harry reid. i do have another good job for him, since we have a new sherlock holmes among us in harry reid, he ought to find all of his anonymous sources and tipsters out there, and he ought to investigate what david fluff is doing with the group affiliated with the iranian revolution army. we'll take our sherlock holmes, harry reid, and put him in charge of that investigation since he's so good at it. >>

if the choice is between harry reid or romney no, question that harry reid is right. low-life priebus who is the chair -- i can't belief the republicans would put somebody who looks worse than jersey city alderman. >> greg: why do you say that? >> andrea: you always go to insults. you always go to insults. you always insult people. >> bob: is dirty insult a lie? you don't consider at it cheap shot? >> greg: you called romney a punk. >> bob: i took it back. >> greg: true. >> bob: if priebus says harry reid is a dirty liar he must know that romney's taxes are there and fine. so shut your mouth up and bring taxes out? >> eric: knowing whether or not romney paid tax doesn't make reince priebus obligated. >> bob: you let him call somebody a dirty liar? >> kimberly: what is -- whatever. >> eric: bob has a point. maybe he didn't have to say dirty liar. no, harry, you're a liar. would that -- >> kimberly: all right. since it's the olympics and if everybody wants to place semanic gymnastics, take out the "dirty." but the behavior that is inappropriate is harry reid. where is t

>> well, look, i mean harry reid speaks for harry reid. i don't think you should go out and make accusations that based on sources that you're not going to reveal. however, i don't think, i know people are saying that president obama needs to denounce this. i don't agree with that. bill: why not? >> he is not harry reid's --. bill: speaking on behalf of him. >> he is not responsible, we don't know he is speaking on behalf of him. harry reid decided to do this, barack obama didn't decide to do it. and it is not barack obama's responsibility to, you know, what harry reid says. bill: okay. all right. >> i think, and honestly i think the more that republicans complain about this the more we talk about the fact that romney hasn't released his tax returns. the constant griping just keeping it on the topic. bill: the more you talk about it, the less you talk about the jobs number in america. >> i think it raises the question, you're calling him a dirty liar. why not just release the tax returns? seems like we can put this all to rest but --. bill

harry reid is not going to back down. interesting thing, this is probably more time he's got in in front of the camera. bizarre political world we live in, craig crawford, thank you as always, for your time. >> good to be here. >> steve colbert looks at muslim in filtration, being funny on purpose. coming up next. >> still to come, new battles in the war on women. first, conan takes on the future dream team. lou boston after michelle obama and betty wright for romney? when it doesn't fit anywhere else we put it in the view finder. >> muslims infiltrated our government. didn't you know that the congressional cafeteria service crescent rolls? that's nothing moren warm, buttery jihad! >> we've all seen the little paper cups you fill with ketchup. they're called soufflÉ cups and not as common as they used to be. you like ketchup cups. >> yes. >> they're very cool. you're using it wrong. >> i didn't know that. >> yes, you are. >> oh, i see. >> yes, with simple pulling the top of the cup spreads out tongue the cup intota bowl.

and edi amin is dead and how convenient is that for harry reid? harry reid got him in power and had him killed. >> eric: i concur. >> greg: thank you. >> kimberly: that was very convincing. >> andrea: mark theisen appears orn our network and said i hear harry reid beats his wife. this is a similar thing. >> eric: a lot of people are playing games with it a little bit. here is the real issue. this is harry reid trying to get mitt romney maybe file a lawsuit. >> bob: do something legitimate. >> eric: file a lawsuit that there are no grounds for. be if he fires a lawsuit he has to bring the tax records forward. he doesn't want to do it so he probably won't. he may have not paid taxes and still not broken the law. >> bob: he didn't pay taxes. he won't release the terms. >> eric: completely legal. >> bob: that's fine, you can hide enough money in cayman islands, that's the point. he is not transparent at all. he is hiding his money, not paying the u.s. taxes. he's a freeloader. >> eric: stop. >> bob: he is a freeloader. >> eric: just because you open a

they couldn't hold a candle to harry reid. what harry reid said was the fact of what he was told. to turn it around, all these childish rants this weekend about calling him a liar and all that, it just shows you how scared they are that harry reid was telling the truth. that's a good staff guy there. you're standing up for the boss sticking it to the other side and making points. such as how can you call a guy a liar if he says i talked to someone i assume i have create credibility on their part and they told me this. if you made up you talked to somebody, that's one thing. what do they mean he's a liar about this? >> whatever their meaning is, they're behaving in such a destructive way it trumps everything. there's a debate whether mitt romney should have to release more than one year. the democrats have the better of that argument on the politics and substance. then there's another thing which is what reid is doing. using the senate floor this way is out of bounds and something most leaders wouldn't do. that republicans have so badly mishandled this. not just who you shows but m

but, you know. >> harry reid does not face condemnation in the press. and this is -- i -- this is rather stunning. actually, the most serious criticism he has gotten was from jon stewart who did a segment on "the daily show." so harry reid has shown every inication -- indication that he is just going to keep pushing this. tomorrow morning, we get the july unemployment numbers. if they're anything like what has happened in the last couple of months, that will take over the news cycle for a couple of days. >> greta: he says in a statement tonight -- we don't have the numbers yet to take over the news cycle. he has taken it one step further. he said, he is extremely credible sers. so he has one-upped it. this is what i don't get. senator harry reid is a lawyer. there has to be some sense of decency. he knows you don't start wild rumors about people. at least, i don't think so. if he has it, name the person, have the person come forward. but he knows that the media will take this and run. >> it looks like a wild rumor t. looks like a wild rumor. on the twit

one is that he's guilty of the exact same thing harry reid is doing. actually, even a worse variant of the same thing. that he is now whining about with all of the support in the press. but the other thing, it's more important, and actually, it's the whole largely missed but most important part of the whole mitt romney tax question which becomes crystal clear when you look at his record in massachusetts. that's mr. romney is not only refusing to release his tax returns. not just saying no to that request. he's making positive imperical claims about what is in his tax returns. he's not just saying you can't see them. he's saying no, you can't see them and let me tell you what's in them. >> let me also say categorica y categorically, i have paid taxes every year, and a lot of taxes. >> my view is i have paid all the taxes required by law. i don't pay more than are legally due. >> a spokesperson would only reiterate, mitt romney has paid his taxes in full compliance with u.s. law and he has paid 100% of what he has owed. >> i obviously pay all full taxes,

why the governor is telling senator harry reid to "put up or shut up." and michael phelps last individual race of the olympics. did he go gold? one of the miller twins has a hearing problem. but she got a lyric in her life and everything changed. which one? you'll never know because the lyric is in her ear. 100% invisible. you can't see it, and it's the only device that works round the clock with zero daily hassle. no batteries to change. no taking off and putting on everyday. sound good? call 1-800-411-7040 now. this is the lyric. it's teeny. lyric fits comfortably at the sweet spot right next to your ear drum to minimize background noise and deliver truly natural sound quality. in fact. 95% of users prefer lyric sound quality to their old hearing aid. now the miller twin with lyric can hear and do most everything her sister does 24/7. an invisible hearing aid is wonderful. finding one with zero daily hassle - too good to pass up. call 1-800-411-7040 right now and ask about your risk free 30 day trial. get a lyric in your life. >>trace: governor romney

. >> harry reid really has to put up or shut up. so harry, who are your sources? let's explain who that is. by the way, i understand what you're trying to do. you're trying to deflect the fact that jobs numbers are bad, that americans are out of work. and you're trying to throw anything up on the screen that will grab attention away from e the fact that the policies of the white house haven't worked and the senate haven't got a budget in place for three years. let me also say categorically, i have paid taxes every year and a lot of taxes. a lot of taxes. >> okay. but last night senator reid reinforced his attack releasing a statement saying i was told by an extremely credible source that romney has not paid taxes for ten years. it seems to me what romney is trying to cover up, there's not obama in the economy and all that, but he doesn't want to release his tax returns. why not? >> he does not want -- >> what's he hiding? >> i have no idea what he's hiding. that's the big question. until we do it's speculation. i saw spunk there from romney saying put up or shut u

should harry reid put up or shut should harry reid put up or shut up? facebook.com/carolcnn, your comments later this hour. g of e anti-freeze wash and dry diesel self-serve fix a flat jumper cables 5% cashback signup for 5% cashback at gas stations through september. it pays to discover. [ male announcer ] you work hard. stretch every penny. but chances are you pay a higher tax rate than him... mitt romney made twenty million dollars in two thousand ten but paid only fourteen percent in taxes... probably less than you now he has a plan that would give millionaires another tax break... and raises taxes on middle class families by up to two thousand dollars a year. mitt romney's middle class tax increase. he pays less. you pay more. >>> just about 30 minutes past the hour. the july jobs report is out. and we're getting a snapshot of the nation's economy. the government says unemployment rose to 8.3% in july, but 16 3,000 jobs were also added as you might expect, the numbers have strong political implications. republican presidential candidate mitt romney

second of all, harry reid made the charge, so it is up to harry reid to prove it. i heard wasserman-shultz saying romney can clear it up. romney does not have to clear it up. harry reid made the charge and harry reid needs to prove it. and i hope the media holds into that. and finally, i just wanted to say that i wish that we pass a law that maybe all of them -- harry reid, szollosi, boehner, everyone has to release x number of years records so we can see what everyone of them is going. host: cliff is on the line for republican from california. good or early morning. caller: good morning. the burden is on the accuser and not the accused. that is fundamental. what harry reid is doing is mccarthyism. he is counting on a complete media which so far been pretty cooperative. harry reid has become the story. and even more important, what is obama's role in it? there really has not released his own tax return. if the irs work to divulge what harry reid is saying on the senate floor it would be a felony. romney that a tax return is private -- harry reid cannot possibly kno

. >> but harry reid doubled down. went on the floor of the senate and said well, you know, it's out there that he hasn't paid ten years. it is only out there because harry reid said it two days ago without any evidence of it. >> first off, there's tons of evidence. come on. the one release he prettied up -- >> evidence that he has not paid taxes in ten years? >> evidence of tax avoidance. aggressive tax avoidance. >> harry reid said there's evidence he hasn't paid taxes in ten years. >> he is pointing out he has a long, incredible history of tax avoidance. shell corporation in bermuda, cayman islands, swiss bank accounts, blocker corporation in bermuda, whatever that is. and freshman philosophy. when confronted with something with limited information, you choose the simplest, most obvious choice. what do you think it is, anderson. do you think he secretly owns the bunny ranch brothel? i don't. he is a man of extraordinary personal morality. i grant him that. impeccable personal moral character. i don't think he is sec

harry reid looks like a milk shake. it could be anyone. because the entire republican party hates mitt. the people gives him 10s of millions hate him. >> he has the most milk toast endorsements of anyone. yeah, yeah i guess if i have to. >> stephanie: that's what the said the bumper sticker could have, mitt romney ahh. i think occupy started it. john and i were going to a lot of those on the sexy liberal tour on the road. the conversation has become about income inequality and we have central casting for the 1%. >> exactly. >> stephanie: it's harry reid finding his balls or whatever. [ laughter ] >> that was the problem the presidents had with the democrats all along, we wanted them to stand up and be stronger. there was a lot of sense that we were backing down a lot. >> as opposed to most democrats. >> yeah, that's the problem. >> stephanie: and now the president has become more deranged that morgan freeman. [ laughter ] >> yeah i read an article that said he genuinely dislikes mitt romney as a human. that's why he -- like he respected jo

they couldn't hold a candle to harry reid. what harry reid said was the fact of what he was told. to turn it around, all these childish rants this weekend about calling him a liar and all that, it just shows you how scared they are that harry reid was telling the truth. that's a good staff guy there. the kind of guy i was trying to be for years. you're standing up for the boss sticking it to the other side and making points. such as how can you call a guy a liar if he says i talked to someone who i assume has great credibility on their part and they told me this. if you made up you talked to somebody, that's one thing. what do they mean he's a liar about this? >> whatever their meaning is, they're behaving in such a destructive way it trumps everything. there's a debate whether mitt romney should have to release more than one year. and the additional year he's going to release of his returns. the democrats have the better of that argument on the politics and substance. then there's another thing which is what reid is doing. which even some democrats will tell you privately using t

one is that he's guilty of the exact same thing harry reid is doing. actually, even a worse variant of the same thing. that he is now whining about with all of the support in the press. but the other thing, it's more important, and actually, it's the whole largely missed but most important point of the whole mitt romney tax question which becomes crystal clear when you look at his record in massachusetts. that's mr. romney is not only refusing to release his tax returns, he's not just saying no to that request, he's making positive, empirical claims about what is in his tax returns. he's not just saying, no, you can't see them. he's saying, no, you can't see them, and let me tell you what's in them. >> let me also say categorically, i have paid taxes every year, and a lot of taxes. my view is i have paid all the taxes required by law. i don't pay more than are legally due. >> a spokesperson would only reiterate, mitt romney has paid his taxes in full compliance with u.s. law and he has paid 100% of what he has owed. >> i obviously pay all full taxes. i

. >> harry reid has to put up or shut up. harry, who are your sources? let's have harry who explain and by the way harry. i understand what you are trying to do. you are trying to deflect that job a numbers are bad and americans are out of work and trying to throw up anything on the screen to grab attention. >> that was governor romney firing back at senator harry reid of accusing him of not disclosing enough tax return. this is two years of unreleased returns why hasn't he made them public yet. an drea, good to see you. >> thanks, doug. >> let's get to the point here, why hasn't the governor released the returns? >> governor romney released over 700 pages of tax return information and will release his 2011 return five years of -- personal financial disclosure forps when he ran for govern governor and three forms from running from president. this is hundreds of pages of personal financial information and to governor mitt romney's point it is clear why president obama a surrogate do they sink lower and lower to distract any way they can from the terrible

>> harry reid's charges are baseless and they're untrue. and i would ask him one simple question -- have you no sense of decency, sir? >> the mccarthy moment has arrived in the presidential campaign. that was mitt romney's etch-a-sketch guy accusing harry reid of being the moral equivalent of the lying alcoholic republican senator of the 1950s, joe mccarthy who tried to ruin lives on a communist witch hunt which included precious little actual evidence of subversion. this is why romney world thinks harry reid is the new joe mccarthy. >> the word's out that he hasn't paid any taxes for ten years. let him prove that he has paid taxes because he hasn't. we already know from one partial tax return that he gave us he has money hidden in bermuda, the cayman islands and the swiss bank account. not making that up, that's in the partial year he gave us. >> that's not the first time harry reid has said something like that about mitt romney's secret tax returns. but, despite harry reid repeating that, the idea that mitt romney went ten years without p

let's listen to him. >> harry reid really has to put up or shut up. so harry, who are your sources? let's have harry explain who that is. by the way, harry, i understand what you're trying to do, you're trying to deflect the fact that jobs numbers are bad, that americans are out of work and you're trying to throw anything up on the screen that will grab attention away from the fact of the policies of the white house that haven't worked and the senate that haven't got a budget in place for three years. let me also say categorically, i have paid taxes every year and a lot of taxes. a lot of taxes. >> okay. but last night senator reid reinforced his attack releasing a statement saying i was told by an extremely credible source that romney has not paid taxes for ten years. it seems to me what romney is trying to cover up, there's not obama in the economy and all that, but he doesn't want to release his tax returns. why not? >> he does not want -- >> what's he hiding? >> i have no idea what he's hiding. that's the big question. we don't know who is reid's source and until we do it's all

so, harry reid is rome. that is why i am anxious for to us give us the names of the people who have put this forward. >>eric: that was a claim from senator harry reid that has governor romney firing back. >> the word is out he hasn't paid any tacks for 10 years. let him prove he has paid taxes. because he hasn't. we already know from one partial tax return that he gave us he has money hidden in bermuda, the kay men islands and a swiss bank account. >>eric: if harry reid is wrong, does governor romney have grounds do sue? lis, we will start but. senator harry reid making some pretty important accusations that governor romney didn't pay taxes. he didn't say he didn't pay taxes. >> and he is a public figure so if there is a suit going forward, which there will be not, because there is no way he would win, but if he went forward with it, he is a public figure, you have to prove actual malice, he went forward with the accusations having in colleague they were maybe possibly right, in fact, even knowing they were

>> harry reid's charges are baseless and they're untrue. and i would ask him one simple question -- have you no sense of decen decency, sir? >> the mccarthy moment has arrived in the presidential campaign. that was mitt romney's etch-a-sketch guy accusing harry reid of being the equivalent of the lying alcoholic republican senator of the 1950s, joe mccarthy who tried to ruin lives on a communist witch hunt which included precious little actual evidence of subversion. this is why romney world thinks harry reid is the new joe mccarthy. >> the word is out he hasn't paid any taxes for ten years. is let him prove that he has paid taxes because he hasn't. we already know from one partial tax return he gave us, he has money hidden in bermuda, the cayman islands and the swiss bank account. not making that up, that's in the partial year he gave us. >> that's not the first time harry reid has said something about mitt romney's secret tax returns. but despite harry reid repeating that, the idea that mitt romney went ten years without paying any taxes

telling the huffington post harry reid made a statement that is true. somebody told him. it's a fact. jay carney side-stepped a question whether the white house agrees with pelosi. >> i haven't seen that statement. >> the white house also played defense on "washington post" report that could undermine the administration's claims it's getting tough with iran. shortly before joining the white house steph in 2010, david plouffe got $100,000 speaking fee from a subsidiary of the mgm group, which does business with iran's government. the white house insists questions about the company ties to iran were unknown at the time. >> criticism, mr. plouffe, now, for issues and controversies that developed much letter is misplaced. >> but the republican national committee notes media reports dating back to 2005 show the company was doing business in iran. meanwhile, the white house fires back that the top bush officials gave paid speeches to ubs and credit suisse which also did business in iran. bret? >> bret: ed henry live on the north lawn. thank you. more obama voters than mccain vo

governor mitt romney is fighting back with accusations from harry reid. the senate leader attacked him from the senate floor . >> the word is out that he hasn't paid taxes for 10 years. let him prove he has paid taxes. because he hasn't. we already know from one partial tax return he has money hid nen bermuda and kaymen swiss bank account. that is in the partial year he gave us. mitt romney makes more money in a single day than average middle class family make necessary two years. >> but the problem is senator reid did not put up any evidence proving that romney did not pay taxes for a decade. the governor said where is your proof? >> thank you governor huckabee. >> thank you. >> what do you think of the tax problem alleged by senator reed >> guest: >> i think harry reid embarrassed himself and the united states senate and democratic program. you don't make baseless allegation about the nominee for presidency unless you have something other than the imaginary friend who told him about mitt romney's tax return. >> harry reid will not release his tax return

should i suppress harry reid. >> eliot: not that you would print that harry reid said it, but if you were in harry reid's position as a journalist. >> it would depend on the source. harry reid claims he has a good source. he's not a journalist. he's not a neutral observer. he's trying to do damage, cause trouble. >> eliot: mitt romney rakes in the money $101 million to president obama's $75 million. does that matter? is it going to matter at the end of the day or are there larger macro-issues that lurk beneath this. >> it matters. money matters. the 801st million dollar. at some point there is going to be diminishing returns. there is going to be enough money that people know who barack obama is or who mitt romney. >> eliot: the last marginal of the last million dollars is not that significant but we're 90 days away so there is argumentation of the general public. the cash on hand, is the differential as big as it would appear an it is. >> oh, yes. mitt romney has more money on the outside coming in to play for him. it looks like obama will be outspend. i don't think he'll be so badl

you think harry reid is a dirty liar? >> i just said it. >> "the wall street journal" also weighed in in an editorial. and i'm quoting from the editorial. like the obama campaign, mr. reid wants to change the conversation from the lousy economy and unpopular democratic policies while destroying mr. romney personally. end quote. a republican strategist is joining us now from washington and cnn contributor from michigan. welcome to you both. >> thank you very much. good morning, carol. >> good morning. so the wall street journal seems to be right, this whole anonymous source thing is sucking up the political air. is calling reid a dirty liar going to make it go away? >> well, i think you see the frustration of republicans in harry reid's attack. it's unsubstantiated. it isn't backed up. republicans know every day that the democrats are making these charges against romney is one day less they're talking about the economy. however, they felt the need to push back on this issue because if they don't then seeds start to grow an

year and said harry reid is simply wrong. >>shepard: thank you. some people run from cops to avoid arrest. but a man says his girlfriend sped off because she didn't want police officers to see her with her top off. details ahead. 't miss red lobsts four crse seafood feast, just $14.99 start with soup salad and cheddar bay biscuits then choose one of 7 entrees plus dessert! four courses, $14.99. offer ends soon. come into redster and sea food differently. throughout our lives. one a day men's 50+ is a complete multi-vitamin designed for men's health concerns as we age. it has more of 7 antioxidants to support cell health. one a day men's 50+. i've been fortunate to win on golf's biggest stages. but when joint pain and stiffness from psoriatic arthritis hit, even the smallest things became difficult. i finally understood what serious joint pain is like. i talked to my rheumatologist and he prescribed enbrel. enbrel can help relieve pain, stiffness, and stop joint damage. because enbrel, etanercept, suppresses your immune system

mitt romney or harry reid? a for romney, b for harry reid or go to our blog at ed.msnbc.com. i'll bring you the results later in the show. >> i'm joined by george miller of california who has his own questions about mitt romney's finances. welcome to the show, congressman. >> thank you. thank you, michael. >> sir, are we going to, you know, get your latest inquiry regarding mitt romney's individual retirement account? we're going to do that in a moment, but do you think senator reid has done anything wrong here? >> no, senator reid hasn't done anything wrong. mitt romney has been dancing around the ring the whole time and finally harry reid cold cocked him with a simple question, make your tax returns public. if you what you say is true, then there can't be any problem in releasing these tax returns over the last many years, but he's refused to do it. >> there's no doubt that pugilistic metaphor does it, the rabbit punches, the clenches. let's throw it to the referee and say you decide if we're punching beneath the belt or not. is it troubling to you that romney won't just re

do you know that harry reid got rich pimping out [bleep] harry reid makes his money by picking up prostitutes and nevada. you know how i know this? because the word is out. the word is out that he does. the word is out for the same phrase that he was buried by the way, harry reid also said he had a credible source. so why. don't ask me to credible sources though. because i can't tell you. just as he can't tell who has credible sources. now, i am simply making a point when i read a headline. he was serious. he did that on the floor of the united states senate. shame on him and on nancy pelosi. shame on debbie wasserman schultz and i will tell you who else should be ashamed of themselves. barack obama. because in the end, he is behind. it is his campaign that is behind us. and if he wins, lecturing americans apart based on class warfare, running commercials in the one you run at the beginning of the program, if he wins that way, and the price he is going to pay if he will will be governing a nation so divided, far more divided than when he took office because he has managed to turn americans ag

when mitt romney could shut up harry reid. >> harry reid has to put up or shut up. harry, who are your sources? >> the last comment at romney's press conference in vegas on friday. michael shear, you're co-author of a piece in which you said it was hardly out of character for the cantankerous harry trooed hurl a taunting accusation at romney. took several days, but you made reid the issue. >> and i think -- i think when people make unsubstantiated -- charges with absolutely no proof behind them, you know, one option is to ignore them. and -- for the media. that's not really an option here. he goes to the senate floor, as you saw. i think the best we can do is to, a, demand that he give us the proof. and if he doesn't, clearly say as we did in the piece in the first sentence, it's unsubstantiated. >> now harry reid said that he had gotten this from some unnamed person, used to work at bain. won't reveal it. he thinks it's true. he told use -- an original interview with the "huffington post" which reported it straight except for saying it's impossible to verify becaus

a new report explains why mitt romney might owe senator harry reid an apology. this is "the ed show." let's get to work. >> the word is out he hasn't paid any taxes for ten years. >> a shocking new report outlines how mitt romney may have legally dodged taxes. >> let him prove that he has paid taxes because he hasn't. >> david k. johnson will give us the details and eugene robinson is here on the politics. >>> well, seeing as how dick -- excuse me, vice president cheney never misfires -- >> dick cheney never apologized for shooting someone in the face. but sarah palin's got him running scared. >> it wasn't so much governor palin as it was a basic process being used. >> democratic strategist bob shrum will weigh in on the power of palin. >> another day, another lie. from the romney campaign. this time, it's about welfare. msnbc's jonathan alter is here with reaction. >>> governor, what did you buy? >> and mitt romney lets his true colors shine with another out of touch moment. you won't believe what the unemployed millionaire picked up at the hardware store. good

harry reid is a boxer! i think he's been able to land a pretty swift blow on romney because romney has taken the bait which was incredibly foolish, i think for him to engage in this conversation, no upside for him. he goes out and says -- reid needs to put up or shut up when really the only way there can be any putting up or shutting up is if romney puts out his tax returns. of course you've heard republicans really jump on reid and call him a dirty liar. i think reid is just laughing at the whole thing because he has done what he set out to do which is put the focus on mitt romney's taxes. >> bill: absolutely. what is romney talking about? his tax returns. >> exactly. >> bill: harry reid on vacation. keep it up. all right. harry reid is not going to go away. neither is nia malika henderson. we saved that seat at the table for you. at 1-866-55-press. it is the "full court press" on current tv. and your local progressive talk radio station. we'll be right back. >> announcer: this is the "bill press show." th

>> the harry reid thing or the taxes? >> harry reid? i mean are republicans doing what they need to do? you can't call the president like a, quote, dirty liar, so they are beating unharry reid? >> i'm with those people who think it's outrageous what harry reid has done. it's an unsubstantiated charge pulled out of the air and i think mitt romney should release his taxes and i also think that harry reid should not hurl baseless accusations without having actual evidence to back them up. >> and by the way, he wasn't doing this like ringside in vegas at a boxing match. he was doing it from the senate floor. >> two ways to look at what h r harry reid has done, one is if you want to be cynical, brilliant politics. run three or four or five days minimum of people talking about mitt romney's tax returns rather than the unemployment rate and he did it pegged to the release of the unemployment numbers. the other way to look at it, jon suggested is, a misuse of the office, something harry reid has done before and he doesn't care about the critici

you know what harry reid if you are not going to fact check anything that comes out of your mouth,ly. let me see if i can do this quickly i have a ouija board. can i get in touch with mitt romney's father. spirits, need to speak to one known as george romney, governor romney are you proud of your -- yes, yes. there you go. yes. thank you governor. that's all the time. waiting there is more. why wouldn't i be he's a loving son gave me beautiful grandchildren and who are you (bleep) harry reid to suggest i'm not proud of my son. let's see how you like it when you go poltergeist on your sorry ass you two bit son of a -- i had no idea how precise they were. reid's comments from drawn outrage from the living as well. >> how irresponsible is it for the majority leader of the senate to make a statement that mitt romney doesn't pay taxes. it's speculation. >> nobody double gets and gets two sources anymore. people can say what they want about people presidential candidates or not and it's news. [ applause ] >> jon: they are right. [ laughter ] veronica and the two jug heads are right although

this would be a great opportunity for them to show up harry reid, to make harry reid look terrible if they released these returns and they were fine. right? >> you're right. it would be a big fish they caught. the sales tax and as you say property tax and other taxes. the only thing wrong with that statement is i wish i had thought of saying that myself. that was very, very good. i never thought of that one. let me go back to you, jonathan. the pew poll. when you look at the pew poll's favorability, unfavorability. romney is suffering in this area. only 37% see him as favorable. 52% see him unfavorably. if you're getting pounded by the senate majority leader -- wouldn't you pull it if you could shame someone as big as harry reid, as big as he is in the democratic party? >> absolutely. i mean, the fact that romney is not this second out there with his tax returns i think tells us there must be something in there. they are getting killed on this. this issue keeps coming back and people keep saying, look. presidential candidates, this is what they do. this was a transition that mitt romn

news. >> harry reid's charges are baseless and they're untrue. and i would ask him one simple question. have you no sense of decency sir? is there nothing that you won't do to base yourself and the office you hold in the name of dirty politics? >> eliot: wow fehrnstrom's attack was an adaptation of attorney joe welch's legendary charge which helped take down republican senator joe mccarthy in 1954. with president obama campaigning in florida the romney campaign tried to take him down a notch or two with an ad exploiting the state's miserable economy. >> under president obama 8.6% unemployment. record foreclosures. 600,000 more floridians in poverty. he focused on obama care instead of jobs. barack obama, what a disappointment. >> eliot: but the obama campaign has a new attack ad of its own focused on the new study showing romney's plan would raise taxes for 95% of the country while giving a tax break to the upper 5%. >> mitt romney makes $20 million in 2010. but paid only 14% in taxes. probably less than you. lan that would give millionaires anot

enter senate majority leader harry reid. he drops this bomb shell. >> the word is out that he hasn't paid any taxes for ten years. let him prove that he has paid taxes. because he hasn't. >> jennifer: reid says he learned this tidbit from a bain capital investor. most politicians would have just let sleeping dogs lie. but mitt romney isn't most politicians. take a listen. >> let me also say categorically. i have paid taxes every year. and a lot of taxes. a lot of taxes. harry reid really has to put up or shut up. so harry, who are your sources? >> put up or shut up? you sure you want to say that mitt? put up or shut up? as in put up your tax returns or shut up. why doesn't mitt just stop talking? he's making my head explode. i'm loathe to give any political advice to a republican candidate. but mitt harry reid laid a big fat juicy steak right in front of you, and you should have not taken the bait. when he called you out, you should have said effectively, harry who? and moved on to the job story, or just release the taxes, p