Americans for Tax Reform: Thompson Would Hike Taxes ["Worst" of the Republican candidates]

NewsMax ^ | 8 November 2007 | Ronald Kessler

[Spiff]

Reform Group: Thompson Would Hike Taxes

Thursday, November 8, 2007 3:05 PM

By: Ronald Kessler

When it comes to taxes, Fred Thompson is the "worst" of the Republican presidential candidates, Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, tells Newsmax.

GOP hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani have both promised not to raise taxes - Romney even signing an ATR pledge not to raise the marginal tax rate. Thompson, on the other hand, has not signed the pledge and has said high-income Medicare beneficiaries may have to pay more for coverage.

“Thompson didn’t sign the pledge as a senator, and he has no track record of being any good on taxes,” Norquist says. “He won’t say no to tax hikes, and in this town, that means you will say yes to tax increases.

"You can spend the rest of your life raising taxes and you can’t fix the entitlement problem," he says. "We’ve got to say taxes are off the table, and now how do you fix it? With education, we can offer school choice. With social security, it’s personal savings accounts. With Medicare, it’s health savings accounts.”

A lynchpin of the conservative movement, Norquist runs an off-the-record, invitation-only meeting every Wednesday at ATR’s office in Washington. There, roughly 150 representatives of the White House, Republican congressional leadership, and conservative interest groups gather to exchange the latest skinny on politics, strategy, and issues.

Besides the possibility of raising taxes, Thompson has called for indexing Social Security benefits to inflation rather than to wages.

Michael Tanner, director of health and welfare studies at the Cato Institute, has said that pegging Social Security benefits to inflation would preserve the program’s solvency, but could lead to a dramatic cut in benefits.

“It’s about a 25-percent benefit cut by 2040,” Tanner says.

In proposing tax increases to bail out an entitlement program, Thompson is adopting the Democrats’ outmoded solution, Norquist says.

“Thompson is leaving the door open to tax increases in a way that shouts to the Democrats, 'I can be had on taxes,' ” Norquist notes.

A board member of the National Rifle Association, Norquist adds, “Thompson has a troubled history. He is an enemy of the First Amendment on McCain-Feingold. He didn’t think through how damaging this bill would be to conservatives, to the pro-life movement, to the gun movement, to the Republican party.”

Norquist maintains the Democrats wrote the campaign finance bill to “damage” the Republican party.

“McCain pushed it because he was trying to undo the damage he’d done to his own reputation because of his involvement in the savings-and-loan scandal,” Norquist says. “Thompson had no similar excuse.”

The position Thompson took as a senator on tort reform makes him an “opponent of the small business community, and the big business community and entrepreneurs everywhere,” Norquist says. “So the tax issue is front and center. The fact that he refuses to say he won’t raise taxes and in fact all but shouts he wants to walk into a room and raise taxes to fix entitlements means that on taxes, he is the worst Republican running.”

[Nonstatist]

Fred Dole-son wants to be President, kind of.

[Perdogg]

I want the Republicans to come out in favor of the Fair tax.

[lewislynn]

Norquist maintains the Democrats wrote the campaign finance bill to “damage” the Republican party.

Oh so that explains why Bush signed it.

Norquist? Isn't he the terrorist ass kisser/traitor?...We should trust what he says because? __________

[John Valentine]

Norquist is spewing crap here. Mabye he’s senile now.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

In proposing tax increases to bail out an entitlement program

I don't think the Big Guy said this. Is this really true? As a Paul kook who'll support Fred if he's nominated, this may sway my vote.

Thompson's nominated = Well, I'll wait for the official version before going 3rd party

[Spiff]

Norquist is spewing crap here. Mabye he’s senile now.

Or maybe you are. You're the one making baseless ad hominem attacks against a respected conservative who backed up his statements with actual facts. Where's your facts?

[papasmurf]

Well, at least FRed doesn't have a record of raising them, and adding fees in place of taxes like myth romney does.

Romney Balances Budget with $500 Million in New Fees * "His first budget, presented under a cloud of a $2 billion deficit, balanced the budget with some spending cuts, but a $500 million increase in various fees was the largest component of the budget fix." Cato Institute annual Fiscal Policy Report Card - America's Governors, 2004. Romney was rated a "C" overall by Cato.

Mitt Romney: He sure is smooth…but has a little problem with accuracy. He said that he balanced Massachusetts budget without tax increases. The truth is his proposed 2006 budget included some $170 million in increased business taxes. This increase comes on top of previous business tax increases of $140 million during his term, as well as some $500 million in increased fees and other forms or revenue. Cato

[Reagan Man]

Fred is a fiscal conservative and a federalist. He wants to limit government and cut taxes. His record in the Senate shows he was a fiscally responsible legislator.

OTOH, your guy Mitt Romney, has a track record of wanting to nationalize health care. Which makes him no better than Hillary!

[lesser_satan]

ping

[babygene]

Well, the sad truth here is that SOMETHING has to be done about SS and Medicare. Everyone else is ignoring it.

You can either:

1. Cut payments to retirees

or;

2. Raise taxes

It’s a shame that the government took 15% of wage earner’s checks during a lifetime of work and pi$$ed it away. However, ignoring it won’t make the problem go away...

[traditional1]

"Thompson's nominated = Well, I'll wait for the official version before going 3rd party"

Thompson, Guiliani, and Romney are the ONLY candidates who can win the nomination in the Republican list.

Hillary will appreciate your voting third party to assure her a seat in the Oval Office (amounts to a wasted vote when cast for "3rd Party", but hey, you can always say "I stood on principle", while Hildabeast laughs her way into a Socialist State).

[Petronski]

Slick Willard took a tax pledge? Big whoop. He’ll say anything to get elected and has a history of suddenly changing direction, whenever his finger in the wind suggests it.

[ari-freedom]

you support mccain feingold? There’s no question Bush hurt us on this as well as on immigration

[ejonesie22]

Man, facts always screw up a good rant don’t they...

[Hostage]

It’s total BS. The author ‘guesses’ FDT will raise taxes because he hasn’t signed the pledge.

IOW he’s saying, “Sign the pledge Fred Thompson or I’ll tell everyone you are going to raise taxes!”.

This is another gnat finding out the hard way that Fred Thompson will not dance to their tune.

[Spiff]

Fred is a fiscal conservative and a federalist. He wants to limit government and cut taxes. His record in the Senate shows he was a fiscally responsible legislator.

Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform disagrees.

OTOH, your guy Mitt Romney, has a track record of wanting to nationalize health care. Which makes him no better than Hillary!

You are incorrect.

[ari-freedom]

yeah I want the truth here...but I don’t care about gimmicks like a no tax pledge

[mgstarr]

Slick Willard took a tax pledge?

Is that like "Read my lips..."?

[Petronski]

“Sign the pledge Fred Thompson or I’ll tell everyone you are going to raise taxes!"

That's almost as sleazy as Slick Willard.