Update On Pledge Signers

The MJS has done some excellent reporting by calling the 27 Assemblymen who signed various tax pledges - including the one right here at B&S - to see if they would stand by their pledges.  They are updating the report with results as they come in, but only two have said that they lied to people when they signed the pledge and are perfectly willing to vote for tax increases - and neither of them were B&S signers.  The folks who signed the B&S pledge are standing true. 

My favorite comment is this one:

Rep. Sheldon Wasserman (D-Milwaukee): Yes. Wasserman, a doctor, said higher cigarette taxes drive people to quit smoking, thus saving lives. “ I might have signed a pledge, but I also took a Hippocratic oath,” he said.

You know, Sheldon, when you sign a pledge, it’s pretty likely that they kept a record of it, so you can drop the “might.” But it’s nice to see that he’s willing to pander to whomever happens to stick a piece of paper under his nose.

In other news…

Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, said today his group would help any local organizations that want to recall state lawmakers who reverse pledges to vote against tax hikes.

Twenty-seven members of the state Assembly have signed such pledges, but so far three of them have said they could vote for a hike in the cigarette tax.

Norquist said his group would work “hand in glove” with recall organizations by providing them training and the like.