Matt Collins
11-29-2012, 02:36 PM
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2012/11/29/republicans-and-taxes/
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, the false congressional fiscal conservatives in the Republican Party began to reveal their true selves. Led by the Republican presidential standard bearer in 2008, Arizona Sen. John McCain, at least a half-dozen Republican members of Congress have renounced their public promises never to vote to raise taxes. In the case of Sen. Bob Corker, (R-Tenn.), Congressman and Senator-elect Jeff Flake, (R-Ariz.), and Rep. Peter King, (R-NY), they had re-stated their promises, directly or indirectly, as recently as last month during their successful campaigns. Did they blatantly dupe the voters? Did they genuinely change their minds? Did they ever sincerely accept the pro-freedom anti-tax logic?
Here is what Reason Magazine has to say about Senator Flake -
http://reason.com/archives/2012/10/22/libertarianish-candidates/2
With endorsements from FreedomWorks, the National Rifle Association, and Citizens Against Government Waste, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) is considerably more Barry Goldwater than his fellow Arizonan Sen. John McCain (who has also endorsed him). Flake, a five-term congressman, has a 100 percent lifetime rating from Club for Growth and a rating of “Libertarian” (the highest possible ranking), from the Republican Liberty Caucus. Flake spent most of the 1990s heading up the Goldwater Institute, an Arizona free market think tank, before successfully running for Congress in 2000.
Flake is a social conservative on abortion and gay marriage, but he voted to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and has worked to liberalize immigration laws. He is definitely not a nativist when it comes to national immigration policy. “I have no sympathy for those who are running drugs or doing human smuggling or criminal activity but that’s a very small part of those who are simply coming here to make their lives better,” he says. “I think we ought to make sure we have a legal framework for them to come and work and then return home.”
Flake is strong on taxes and spending, with a 91 percent rating from the National Taxpayers Union. Flake has voted with libertarians on some civil liberties issues, though he is uncomfortable with the libertarian label and does not consider himself one. He has been critical of the PATRIOT Act, particularly the warrantless surveillance aspects, and has offered a variety of amendments to weaken it by requiring the head of the FBI to personally approve requests for library or bookstore records, allowing for recipients of national security letters to consult an attorney and challenge them in court, and putting a stop to judges preventing people from knowing about impending government searches of their homes. Flake has also pushed to end the trade embargo with and ban on travel to Cuba.
The strikes against Flake are serious: his initial votes for the PATRIOT Act, the Iraq War, and the Troubled Assets Relief Program. Still, Flake has the potential to pull the Republican caucus in the U.S. Senate in a more libertarian direction. But only after he faces the toughest challenge of his political career, former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona.
Arizona may be a red state but it’s also a magnet for people looking to escape heavily regulated and taxed blue states such as California. Carmona, a retired vice admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, excites Democrats because of his Hispanic background and his bipartisan appeal as an appointee of George W. Bush. Unlike Flake, Carmona did not face any primary challengers, allowing him to steadily raise money while focusing on the general election. Every poll has shown Flake with a lead, but an ugly Republican primary against Will Cardon, a wealthy businessman, has had an impact on his favorability and has some local Republicans worried.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend, the false congressional fiscal conservatives in the Republican Party began to reveal their true selves. Led by the Republican presidential standard bearer in 2008, Arizona Sen. John McCain, at least a half-dozen Republican members of Congress have renounced their public promises never to vote to raise taxes. In the case of Sen. Bob Corker, (R-Tenn.), Congressman and Senator-elect Jeff Flake, (R-Ariz.), and Rep. Peter King, (R-NY), they had re-stated their promises, directly or indirectly, as recently as last month during their successful campaigns. Did they blatantly dupe the voters? Did they genuinely change their minds? Did they ever sincerely accept the pro-freedom anti-tax logic?
Here is what Reason Magazine has to say about Senator Flake -
http://reason.com/archives/2012/10/22/libertarianish-candidates/2
With endorsements from FreedomWorks, the National Rifle Association, and Citizens Against Government Waste, Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) is considerably more Barry Goldwater than his fellow Arizonan Sen. John McCain (who has also endorsed him). Flake, a five-term congressman, has a 100 percent lifetime rating from Club for Growth and a rating of “Libertarian” (the highest possible ranking), from the Republican Liberty Caucus. Flake spent most of the 1990s heading up the Goldwater Institute, an Arizona free market think tank, before successfully running for Congress in 2000.
Flake is a social conservative on abortion and gay marriage, but he voted to repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell and has worked to liberalize immigration laws. He is definitely not a nativist when it comes to national immigration policy. “I have no sympathy for those who are running drugs or doing human smuggling or criminal activity but that’s a very small part of those who are simply coming here to make their lives better,” he says. “I think we ought to make sure we have a legal framework for them to come and work and then return home.”
Flake is strong on taxes and spending, with a 91 percent rating from the National Taxpayers Union. Flake has voted with libertarians on some civil liberties issues, though he is uncomfortable with the libertarian label and does not consider himself one. He has been critical of the PATRIOT Act, particularly the warrantless surveillance aspects, and has offered a variety of amendments to weaken it by requiring the head of the FBI to personally approve requests for library or bookstore records, allowing for recipients of national security letters to consult an attorney and challenge them in court, and putting a stop to judges preventing people from knowing about impending government searches of their homes. Flake has also pushed to end the trade embargo with and ban on travel to Cuba.
The strikes against Flake are serious: his initial votes for the PATRIOT Act, the Iraq War, and the Troubled Assets Relief Program. Still, Flake has the potential to pull the Republican caucus in the U.S. Senate in a more libertarian direction. But only after he faces the toughest challenge of his political career, former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona.
Arizona may be a red state but it’s also a magnet for people looking to escape heavily regulated and taxed blue states such as California. Carmona, a retired vice admiral in the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, excites Democrats because of his Hispanic background and his bipartisan appeal as an appointee of George W. Bush. Unlike Flake, Carmona did not face any primary challengers, allowing him to steadily raise money while focusing on the general election. Every poll has shown Flake with a lead, but an ugly Republican primary against Will Cardon, a wealthy businessman, has had an impact on his favorability and has some local Republicans worried.