Working Their Way Back to You, Babe

Sunday, my wife and I saw “Jersey Boys.”


The Frankie Valli actor sang,

Working My Way Back to You, Babe.”

As I read Republican gubernatorial candidate Andy McKenna’s press release announcing he had signed the American for Tax Reform’s “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” I realized this might be a step toward the Illinois GOP’s returning to the taxpayer’s side in Illinois.

The song was written after Valli had played around on the road and his wife had left him. Goodness knows local govenment Republicans have played around with raising taxes—think of

  • Crystal Lake Mayor Aaron Shepley’s 75% city sales tax hike and
    the Republican state senators in DuPage County (including Kirk Dillard, now running against McKenna for the nomination) and
  • DuPage County Board Chairman Bob Schillerstrom’s inducing those GOP senators to vote for the bill that tripled the RTA sales tax in the collar counties.

McKenna even lashed out at Schillerstrom and former Governor James R. Thompson for supporting the huge RTA sales tax hike at the Republican State Convention in 2008, leading to a walk out of most of the DuPage County delegation, but cheers from other suburbanites like me.

But, Republican legislative leaders Tom Cross and Christine Rodogno have not become “responsible Republicans” and led the charge to bail out the spend and borrow and tax Democrats who have controlled Springfield since Rod Blagojevich beat Jim Ryan (and me) in 2002.

Maybe they have figured out what I have.

When Blagojevich took office in 2003, he proclaimed there was a $5 billion deficit. I always thought that was a two-year figure that could have been worked off, the way Jim Edgar got out of the hole that Jim Thompson left him.

Every year, including 2003, the Springfield (read “Chicago”) Democrats added a billion dollars to the budget.

Hey, there was no problem.

Come last year and Pat Quinn takes over. He proclaims an $11-12 billion debt.

Let’s do some simple math.

2009 minus 2003 is 6.

Six times $1 billion is $6 billion.

Five billion dollars, plus $6 billion is $11 billion.
Presto Chango!

We know where the Democrats deficit came from.

As Pogo, undoubtedly a Democrat, would say,

“We have met the enemy and it is us.”

Below is McKenna’s press release:

McKenna Signs Americans for Tax Reform Taxpayer Protection Pledge; Challenges Opponents to do the Same

Andy McKenna announced today that he signed the Americans for Tax Reform Taxpayer Protection Pledge, vowing as Governor to “oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes.”“I am pleased to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge because it is wrong to ask the taxpayers of Illinois to do more when their government has done so little,” said McKenna. “I challenge my opponents to sign this pledge and make a commitment to the hardworking men and women of this state that they will not raise taxes.”

While some of his opponents continue to flip-flop on whether they will raise taxes, McKenna’s opposition to tax hikes has been clear for years including his collaboration with Republican Leaders Tom Cross and Christine Radogno to defeat Governor Quinn’s jobs-killing income tax hike.

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) opposes all tax increases as a matter of principle.  It was founded in 1985 by Grover Norquist at the request of President Ronald Reagan.  Since ATR first sponsored the Pledge in 1986, hundreds of U.S. Representatives, more than fifty U.S. Senators and every successful Republican Presidential candidate have all signed the Pledge.


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