Posted on 03/29/2004 5:25:31 AM PST by freepatriot32
Oregon Libertarian Tom Cox is following up on his promise: He said last year -- when he was chairman of the state Libertarian Party -- that Republican legislators in his state who voted to approve a tax hike would be opposed when they came up for re-election. He is now running against one of those Republicans.
And his move has been noted -- and applauded -- by local media and lawmakers alike.
The Salem Statesman Journal, in the capital city, pointed out that both Libertarians and some Republicans said they would do their utmost to kick those lawmakers out of office, but that Republicans had not stepped up to the plate to challenge GOP incumbents.
Only Libertarians are fielding opposition to the 10 tax-increasing Republicans, and Cox stands a good chance of winning his campaign against incumbent Rep. Mary Gallegos for the state House District 29 seat, the Statesman Journal reported.
Cox ran a high-profile gubernatorial race in 2002, then was a spokesman on three state-wide ballot initiatives -- including Measure 30, which would have raised taxes by $1.2 billion over three years -- so he enjoys strong name recognition in the state.
The facts that Measure 30 was defeated in February by 59 percent of the state's voters and that the Libertarians were given much media attention in the tax hike's defeat shed an even more positive light on Cox's race, since he was a primary opponent of the measure.
Cox also has the public support of at least three incumbent legislators: "He's had several Republicans coming to him, saying 'I think you have a real good shot at this,' said Elizabeth "Pith" Lourdes, one of Cox's campaign workers.
"We have an extremely good chance against Gallegos," Lourdes said. "She is not doing an entirely bad job, but she voted to raise taxes a couple of times."
And those tax-raising votes are enough reason to want any incumbent out of office, she said.
"Gallegos is a very nice lady, but nice doesn't get the job done," she added. "She was under pressure, and she took the easy way out."
Two Democrats -- Chuck Riley and Elena Uhing -- have also filed in the District 29 primary. Riley was the party's nominee in 2002, when Gallegos won her first term.
Cox doesn't have to run in the primary, making for a three-way race in November.
You are correct, especially when they say an anti-Republican LP press release is pro-Republican and nowhere in the wrods is there a critical word about a democrat.
JMO, you are witnessing a window into a drug infused world that hasn't left the late 1960's.
So, is the criticism of the republicans on this issue valid or not?
Were they (the republicans) right to vote to raise taxes by $1.1 billion dollars on the Oregon taxpayers?
We all agree that the actions of the democrats were wrong, but what about the republicans?
Huh?
I think I've just been given a non-answer answer.
What are you trying to say?
Do you support the republicans who voted to raise taxes by $1.1 billion?
Yes or no?
Huh?
I think I've just been given a non-answer answer.
What are you trying to say?
I wasn't trying to analyze why they did what they did. I don't care why they voted to raise taxes by $1.1 billion. Clearly they were going against the wishes of at least 60% of the voters because this tax increase was ash-canned at the ballot. So the state can't be all that liberal.
The only thing I want to know is this:
Do you support the republicans who voted to raise taxes by $1.1 billion?
Yes or no?
Apples and oranges.
The $15B bond is not a tax and it is not permanent.
The tax issue in Oregon was to have been permanent and it had nothing to do with democrat MIS-management or with keeping their state out of bancruptcy.
Another non-responsive response.
Do you support their votes to raise taxes by $1.1 billion?
Yes or no?
More attempts to misdirect the discussion of the issue at hand.
This article has nothing to do with any of this.
Please try to stay on topic.
To wit; there a number of republican legislators in Oregon who voted to raise taxes by $1.1 billion.
Do you support them?
Had you been paying attention to the discussion at hand instead of trying to misdirect it, you would have seen that I posted this information on post #104.
Read on. This is what you and Dane are supporting with your silence.
"The only thing needed for evil to prosper is for good men to do nothing" --Edward Burke.
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http://www.cse.org/informed/issues_template.php?issue_id=1664
Measure 30 provides Oregonians the chance to say no to the $1.1 billion tax package passed by the Legislature. More than 100,000 Oregonians signed petitions expressing their disapproval of the actions taken by legislators and a governor who has already gone back on his inaugural promise not to raise taxes. When ballots are counted Feb. 3, thousands more will echo this sentiment. Barely one year after the defeat of Measure 28, voters will again attempt to get a message across: Taxes are not the solution to Oregon's economic situation.
Tax advocates say Measure 30 is simply a temporary surcharge on income taxes. Not true. The package is a compilation of seven different taxes, many of them permanent. Measure 30 not only contains income tax increases, it also raises property taxes (sending revenue to state, not county, government), reduces and eliminates seniors' abilities to deduct costly medical expenses and imposes a host of business taxes, ultimately forcing job loss and increasing consumer costs. Legislators did not miss their chance to tax SUV owners and smokers, either.
The tax-and-spend factions of state government would have you believe they need this additional money to provide important state services. What they fail to mention is that between 1989 and 2003 Oregon's general fund budget increased an astonishing 151 percent, faster than any other state. The proposed tax increases would permanently cement wasteful indulgences into Oregon's budget, meaning more expensive government for generations to come.
And now, Gov. Ted Kulongoski is holding state services hostage, trying to force Oregonians to buckle under the pressure and pass these new taxes. He plans to deny legislators the opportunity to go back to Salem and craft a responsible solution to the budget situation. In order to satisfy an insatiable hunger for more tax money, our governor is willing to sacrifice the well-being of Oregon's families and the quality of life that those dependent on state services deserve.
We should be diligent about job creation, economic development and the encouragement of economic activity within the state. Rather than looking at various schemes to take more money from targeted groups of Oregonians, the state should be looking at existing agency fund balances, vacant positions, further PERS reforms and other money already available in the system.
Instead, politicians and special interest groups have asked hard-working men and women to fund the largest tax increase in Oregon's history because they could not make the difficult choices families are faced with every day.
This election is about common sense and fiscal responsibility. It is about government accountability for its actions and use of tax dollars. Most importantly, this election is about government listening to its constituency and representing the citizens who elected them. Oregonians cannot afford new taxes, and they deserve a government willing to protect our economic health.
Ignorance is bliss...
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