Proft is Only Candidate Who Subscribes to the Tribune

January 5, 2010

I’m going to have to renew my subscription to the Chicago Tribune. It’s only right considering they have renewed their subscription to fiscal conservatism and free enterprise.

On Sunday the Chicago Tribune offered Part II in its editorial series in explanation of its call for “The Revolution of 2010” entitled, “Splurge. Borrow. Repeat.”

As part of their well-reasoned and detailed account of the financial peril facing the State of Illinois resultant from tax-and-spend and borrow-and-spend policies of economic illiterates in Springfield, the Tribune did a bit of a compare/contrast of selected gubernatorial candidates.

They rightly pointed out how Gov. Quinn and Dan Hynes are climbing over each other to sign the state’s economic death warrant by imposing massive structural tax hikes. Nothing new there.

On the GOP side, the Tribune provided a quick rundown of comments on tax-spend-borrow policy offered by Andy McKenna, Kirk Dillard, Jim Ryan, and yours truly.

The Tribune referred to the “businesslike understanding” we share.

What we do not share, however, is a businesslike commitment to opposing tax hikes. The other three gentlemen either have refused to rule out an income tax increase or have previously supported tax increases or both.

Let’s take each in turn:

Andy McKenna. During a recent editorial board interview, Andy McKenna refused to take tax increases off the table. Remember, when politicians in Illinois generically say they are “open” to something that is politicalspeak for, “That is precisely what I will do.”

Kirk Dillard. In a December 11 story in the Daily Herald, Kirk Dillard described fellow Republicans who have taken “no tax” pledges as “pandering”. In 2003, Dillard was one of four Senate Republicans to cross party lines and vote for Rod Blagojevich’s $10 billion bond scheme which doubled Illinois’ bonded indebtedness in one fell swoop. In 2008, Dillard was one of only three Republican State Senators to vote to increase the sales tax in Cook and the collar counties to bail out the mismanaged Regional Transportational Authority, an entity that is already subsidized by the state for half of its operating budget each year. Dillard’s vote to increase sales taxes was after he had signed a “no tax” pledge. So I guess it is actually Dillard who is “pandering” when it comes to such pledges.

Jim Ryan. In 2007, Jim Ryan went on record in support of House Bill 750 which, if passed, would have provided a permanent income tax increase in exchange for temporary property tax relief. Bottom line: it was a net $5.5 billion increase in taxes.

Jim Ryan had this to say on Jeff Berkowitz’s “Public Affairs" program:

Jeff Berkowitz: Implicitly, you support the notion of a 5.5 billion dollar net increase in taxes, right?

Jim Ryan: Right. In principle, I support HB 750, right.

Dan Proft. By comparison, I am the only candidate for Governor who, as the Tribune recounts, would, “halve the state income tax, shave billions in spending immediately—and then forbid future spending hikes that exceed the rate of population growth plus inflation.” They left out that I would also cut the corporate income tax in half and eliminate the state’s estate tax too but you get the idea, and so does the Tribune.

With early voting less than a week away and the primary election less than a month away, there is a choice before you. What would you prefer the Republican Party’s rallying cry to be: “Let’s Turn Springfield Upside Down!” or “We’re like the Chicago Democrats except not quite as bad!”

We get the representation we deserve.

There are no innocent bystanders in the economic demise of our state.

The proximate cause of Rod Blagojevich’s injurious second term was the failure of the Illinois Republican Party to present a clear, contrast conservative reform vision for our state and the right candidate to communicate that vision.

If we again blur the lines of distinction between the Chicago Democrats on critical policy issues like tax-and-borrow-and-spend as these three gentlemen are inclined to do, well, you should know better. You have lived this story time and again. You know it does not end well.