It’s a well regarded fact that Democrat Candidate Maggie “The Red” Hassan, early in her candidacy for Governor of New Hampshire, took a Pledge to veto any sales or Income tax. This is something of an election year tradition. Democrats who have been trying to raise old taxes or pass new taxes for years find the odds of achieving the states highest office against them if they don’t pay lip service to “The Pledge.”
Governor Shaheen fell off the horse and eventually passed the state wide education funding tax. Governor Lynch signed the pledge then later signed off on RGGI, a regressive broad based tax that actually outsourced taxing power to an unelected out of state board. And now Maggie Hassan has stated repeatedly that she has taken the same pledge, but has she?
To her credit, Hassan’s opponent, Democrat Jackie “Tax and Spend Us” Cilley is standing firm on her Democrat roots–eager flying tax monkeys in tow. She’ll sign a broad based tax, any tax actually, given her legislative record. But Hassan is ignoring her radical left wing history and hoping everyone will just take her word for it. And she’s talking it up everywhere she goes.
WMUR Political Scoop.
“I will pledge to veto any sales or income tax and commit to a balanced budget that invests in our priorities.”
Concord Fishwrapper. (If you happen to hate fish.)
In the first debate between the Democratic contenders vying to replace Gov. John Lynch, former state senator Maggie Hassan yesterday cast herself as a candidate closely aligned with the four-term governor as she vowed to veto any proposal for an income or sales tax.
(emphasis mine.)
Conway Daily Sun
“As governor, I will make sure state government spends taxpayer money on the right priorities, and I will balance the budget without an income or a sales tax,” she added.
And How about YouTube.
That’s a lot of “pledging” but according to the Coalition of New Hampshire Taxpayers, they have no record of Hassan signing the official ‘Pledge” to veto any Sales or Income tax. And if you wander off the beaten path you’ll discover that this is not news to the Hassan or Cilley campaigns waging war for the Democrat nomination and doing it over tax policy.
Down with Tyranny (blog)
Joining the SEIU, the state’s largest safety forces unions (New England Police Benevolent Association and the Professional Fire Fighters of New Hampshire) endorsed her over “No Labels”/EMILY’s List ConservaDem Maggie Hassan.
One of the things we don’t like so much about Hassan– and feel disqualifies her for the Governor’s job– was her willingness to sign a right-wing tax pledge. (emphasis mine.)
But when you get to the comments of this same post we learn that…
Hassan didn’t sign the Norquist pledge, but she took the NH Republican pledge. She took the Thomson/Loeb veto a state income/sales tax pledge.
So Hassan has not signed ‘The Pledge.” She has signed a pledge.
That means that Maggie Hassan, if ever she achieves the office, will probably sign the first broad based tax to come her way. It’s probably on her bucket list. Given her record, there is no way she would ever turn up the opportunity, no matter what she has said.