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09/24/2003 Archived Entry: "Reading Ahnuld's Lips"

READING AHNULD'S LIPS ON TAXES: Ramesh Ponnuru has a great piece on Arnold Schwarzenegger and the no-tax-increase pledge in NRO. It is an oversimplification to say that the division between conservatives over Schwarzenegger versus McClintock is purely about social issues like abortion, although this is undoubtedly a component. But a major source of conservatives' trepidation is whether Arnold is a solid fiscal conservative. His refusal to unequivocally rule out tax increases is an example of why this is being questioned.

Does a symoblic pledge matter? It does when you consider that even Republicans with anti-tax records who have refused to sign it have a history of raising taxes.