GOP gubernatorial candidate Joe Heck joined Gov. Jim Gibbons this week in signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. In doing so, Dr. Heck issued the following statement:
“Some say this pledge ‘ties the hands of the governor,’ rather I have come to believe that it is a way to prevent elected officials from balancing the budget on the backs of hardworking Nevadans and their small businesses.
“As I was growing up, my father always told me that the two things a man will always have are his word and his handshake. I have lived by those words as a man of honor and principle. If I say I won’t raise taxes, I won’t. But the current political environment, at all levels of government, has caused constituents to take pause when given such verbal assurances by elected leaders and candidates for office: too many promises have been broken.
“I empathize with voters who are tired of hearing one thing on the campaign trail, only to hear something else after the election and it is for this reason that I am signing the pledge – to clearly demonstrate my resolve on holding the line on taxes in Nevada.”
Amen, brother.
Meanwhile, fellow GOP gubernatorial candidate Mike Montandon told me Friday evening that his campaign will issue his own “no new taxes” promise to voters. We’ll have to wait and see if it’s as airtight, no loopholes, as the one which has been sponsored by Americans for Tax Reform for the last 25 years or so.
And in a Las Vegas radio interview on Friday, GOP gubernatorial candidate Brian Sandoval said tax hikes were not an option in the current economy, or even when the economy turns around. Then again, we’ve read lips to that effect before.
Democrat gubernatorial candidate Rory Reid has made no such commitment, verbally or in writing, to the working families and small business owners of Nevada. Then again, Rory Reid hasn’t taken any positions on any of the tough issues yet. Go figure.
