Yesterday on Fox News Sunday, vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan couldn't give specifics on the "math" behind Mitt Romney's tax plan and told host Chris Wallace that it "would take too long to explain" how their numbers are supposed to add up -- which they don't.
This Monday on MSNBC, host Andrea Mitchell didn't have any more luck getting Romney surrogate, Gov. Ultrasound Bob McDonnell to give her specifics as Chris Wallace did. McDonnell refused to directly answer any of her questions and instead, just continually changed the topic to attacking President Obama or talking about what governors are doing with state government budgets across the country.
It's a pretty sad day when these guys can't even handle an interview with Mrs. Greenspan or Fox's Chris Wallace without stumbling and twisting themselves into knots trying to defend their policies.
UPDATE: Here's more from Think Progress who flagged this segment Monday as well -- GOP Governor: Asking Whether Romney’s Tax Plan Adds Up Is ‘A Laughable Question’:
Asking the Republican presidential ticket to explain how it plans to give a the massive tax cut to the rich while still balancing the budget and avoiding tax increases on the middle class is “laughable,” Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Monday. [...]
The Romney campaign has faced calls from Democrats, the media, and even other Republicans to get more specific about its tax and budget plans, but has thus far refused. That’s fine with McDonnell, an oft-used Romney surrogate, who could neither explain Romney’s tax plan nor name a single specific spending cut Romney would make as president:
MITCHELL: Where is the math, and is Mitt Romney going to be under pressure in this debate to produce some specifics about how it will all add up?
MCDONNELL: Well, Andrea, first, that’s a laughable question. Where’s the president’s plan? He’s had four years. 23 million people don’t have work. So let’s start with that, the president’s policies haven’t worked.
MITCHELL: The question was asked by Chris Wallace on Fox, it’s being asked by other Republicans. Where is the math? How do you add up those tax cuts even eliminating some deductions? Which deductions would you eliminate? Let’s be specific. And how will you do that and reach deficit reduction? Which programs will be cut?
MCDONNELL: The question is how do you get America back to work? What Paul Ryan just said on your clip is you, you flatten the base and increase the, I mean excuse me, you increase the — you reduce the number of deductions that are out there and you expand the base. That’s typically what works. That can be done in a revenue-neutral fashion, I think that’s what Paul Ryan has proposed, and what that does is make America more competitive.
Romney’s tax plan either adds up to budget-busting deficits or tax increases on middle class families, as the Tax Policy Center found when it filled in the gaps of Romney’s plan in the most generous fashion. Read on...
