Did You Hear the One About the Career Pol Who Kept His Word? Me Neither.

If there is one defining principle of Republicans it is lower taxes; or, at least, as it has become watered down in recent years, no new taxes. Or, as the TEA party is named: Taxed Enough Already! 

 But, as we have learned the hard way, you cannot depend on a professional politician. Many talk a good game but “by their votes ye shall know them.”  Even the career pols who vote fairly consistently may be doing so only because their district is predominantly of their party. But when it comes to their careers don’t expect their consistency or stated principles to hold.

The current case in point is Americans for Tax Reform’s No New Taxes Pledge*.  Which Republicans will renege on their solemn pledge to their constituents not to vote to raise taxes?  They would eliminate a deduction but only if an offsetting reduction in spending is firmly tied to it. 

 Already, Georgia Senator Saxby Chambliss has said he would not honor his pledge  signed 20 years ago not to raise taxes --even though he had used a graphic of the pledge as a backdrop for his campaign speeches! OK, what has changed?  Well, yes, Obama’s spending spree and borrowing from future generations is much worse than we have seen in all of our country’s history. So, does that justify raising taxes on his constituents? He has his reasons and whatever they are it seems to us that he has lost sight of the problem: It's the spending, stupid! Doesn't he understand that simple, basic principle?  See the Chambliss renege here http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&v=B2bkI-KZxz4&NR=1       

  Sen. Chambliss says that Grover doesn’t have a plan. And he’s the Senator, not Grover Norquist! It is his responsibility to see that budgets are balanced. Hell’s bells --the Senate hasn’t even passed a budget in years! What has he been doing there for 18 years? Enjoying the perks and building his substantial retirement fund, of course, but he was also voting for greater spending without having the revenue to pay for it and voting against any spending cuts. See his voting record

Senator Saxby Chambliss has to share the blame for our financial mess. The longer they spend at the FedGov trough, the more integrity professional politicians tend to lose.

*The pledge that the House members took reads as follows:

“I, [name of candidate], pledge to the taxpayers of the state of [name of state], and to the American people that I will: One, oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses; and two, oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.”

ALERT: 1/26/2013 Saxby Chambliss has decided to retire next year rather than face a concerted challenge — from his right — for the Republican nomination to a third term as a Georgia senator.

Other Senators who could be expected to break their word are Bob Corker (R-TN) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC) along with other career pols of both House and Senate. Interestingly, Heritage Action Scorecard, the conservative rating of all votes shows Chambliss at 72%, Corker at 75% and Graham at 72% --all in the middle of the Republican pack, showing their “flexibility” on principle. Americans for Democratic Action, the liberal rating group is so extremely statist that any vote that in any way restricts the size or scope of FedGov gets a zero -- plus, they count only certain votes so we don’t have a reliable liberal scorecard yet. If you take the conservative scores and calculate the inverse percentage as the liberal rating it should give a reasonable idea of where the pol stands on average. Remember, it is not what they say it is what they do –watch their votes and let them know you’re watching.

In the meantime, please go to www.termlimits.org and sign the petition to term limit congress.