Thread: GOP candidates court Iowa conservatives

GOP candidates court Iowa conservatives
THOMAS BEAUMONT
REGISTER STAFF WRITER


June 30, 2007

Six Republican candidates for president appealed to a key group of Iowa GOP activists in the leadoff caucus state today, each trying to position himself as the right combination of fiscal and social conservative.

Participants in a Des Moines forum included several of the crowded field’s lesser-known candidates, some of whom took subtle jabs at former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the Iowa leader in recent polls of GOP caucusgoers.

“I did not become pro-life because of politics,â€

IowaPolitics.com: Romney, Hunter Avoid Veto Pledge
6/30/2007

By Chris Dorsey
IowaPolitics.com

DES MOINES -- Six of four GOP presidential candidates appearing at a conservative forum Saturday vowed to veto any tax increases were they to reach the Oval Office.

Mitt Romney and Duncan Hunter avoided making such a promise to the forum organized by Iowans for Tax Relief and the Iowa Christian Alliance.

``The best way to make economy strong is by keeping our taxes down,'' said Romney the former Massachusetts governor and the top candidate attending the forum. ``I want to make Bush tax cuts permanent. I want to end the death tax.''

California Congressman Duncan Hunter said: ``I have a record of voting for every major tax cuts. (But) if we have a war or an emergency, I don’t want to make a promise I might not be able to keep.''

But Republicans Tommy Thompson, Mike Huckabee, Sam Brownback and Tom Tancredo made the pledge.

And Tancredo, the Colorado congressman, so pleased the audience at Hy-Vee Hall with this and other answers that he was the only one to receive a standing ovation from most of the audience.

A seventh candidate, Texas Congressman Ron Paul, held a competing forum in the same building since he wasn't invited to the event.

See answers from the other six candidates on topics of interest to conservatives:

NO TAX INCREASE? During your term as President, will you veto ANY increase of ANY tax – including individual income taxes, corporate income taxes, payroll taxes, and excise taxes – and use your veto power to ensure continuation of all the tax relief enacted since January 2001 (for example, vetoing fiscal bills that should, but do not, continue this tax relief)? This question applies to any direct or indirect tax increase, such as repealing, limiting, or delaying income tax indexing. This question recognizes that ending any tax relief is an actual tax increase.

Tommy Thompson: I lower taxes, I don’t increase them. I lowered $16.5 billion in taxes in Wisconsin, more than all the other candidates together. I veto tax cuts, and I will veto any tax increase. No other candidate can make that pledge. The only way we can continue this prosperity is to have the taxpayers in America to have the money in their pocket. I am committed to continue this prosperity.

Mike Huckabee: I would. If we pass the fair tax, it solves many complicated tax issues. I would veto (a tax increase). We must send a strong message to Congress, the system is broken. It needs a complete overhaul.

Sen. Sam Brownback: No tax increases. I think we are taxed to the max. We need to cut spending, period. I would veto any tax increases. We don’t need any more taxes. I have never voted for a tax increase in the house or senate.

Mitt Romney: The best way to make the economy strong is by keeping our taxes down. I want to make Bush tax cuts permanent. I want to end the death tax.

Congressman Tom Tancredo: You bet your life I will.

Congressman Duncan Hunter: I can’t make that promise for a number of reasons. There may be an emergency. There may be a war. I have a record of voting for every major tax cuts. (But) if we have a war or an emergency, I don’t want to make a promise I might not be able to keep.

SPENDING CONTROL? During your term as President, will you submit budgets to Congress that will freeze total non-defense discretionary spending for at least the first two fiscal years beginning after the 2008 general election and will restrict any increase thereafter to no more than the inflation rate, veto any spending that exceeds this limit , and veto any bill that uses budgetary gimmicks (such as claiming non-emergency spending as emergency spending, or waiving budgetary rules restraining taxes and spending) to evade this limit?

Thompson: “I will lower the budget. I will put 10 percent into decreasing taxes.â€