While Republicans Cave on Taxes, Rand Paul Stands Firm

Philip Hodges

11/28/2012

Source …..

Top Republicans in the House and Senate have been breaking their pledges not to raise taxes. They’re being good “team players” and abiding by the quip, “You’ve got to go along to get along.” Daily Mail quoted 2 top Republican lawmakers and their excuses:

“‘I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge,’ Senator Chambliss, who signed the ‘Taxpayer Protection Pledge’ when he first ran for Senate, told reporters on Thursday. ‘I agree entirely with Saxby Chambliss,’ King said Sunday on NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’ ‘A pledge you signed 20 years ago, 18 years ago, is for that Congress. ‘The world has changed, and the economic situation is different,’ he said.”

Representative Peter King said that legislators should not have “ironclad positions.” That’s another way of saying that legislators shouldn’t have backbones. They should just do whatever it takes to “come to an agreement” with the President. There’s no need for core principles that only get in the way when trying to make a deal the Democrats. Such wishy-washy behavior is what led us to this financial crisis in the first place.

There’s at least one popular lawmaker that’s taking his pledge not to raise taxes seriously (as well as his oath to the Constitution). Senator Paul from Kentucky vowed on Fox News not to accept any deal or compromise that raises taxes. According to CNS News, Paul isn’t going to be one of those compromising team players:

“Paul says the only way he’d raise tax revenue is through economic growth: ‘You don’t have to raise rates or even close loopholes,’ he said. ‘If your economy was growing — you know, when the economy was growing for four years after the Bush tax cuts, we had plenty of revenue. Revenue went down when the recession came. The reason we have a lack of revenue in Washington is too much spending and no economic growth. So we don’t have economic growth. If the economy were growing at 4 percent right now, we’d have plenty of revenue. But you don’t get the economy to grow by raising taxes. That’s what they want to do now, and I think it’s absolutely the wrong thing to do.’”

Senator Paul said that he expects there to be an “enormous, ugly bill” voted on before Christmas that will include things like an extended debt ceiling and other compromises. He said that it would probably pass.

The media have used the term “fiscal cliff” to whip everybody up in a fear frenzy in order to justify “doing something” right away. This is how the most egregious bills get passed, and it is during those times that conservatives have to stand firm.