Clippertoday:LETTERS - Three cheers for McConkie

Every once in a while it is fun to link to something ridiculous. Today is one of those days!

Consider the following points as you read the letter below.

First, Citizens for Tax Fairness has received no money from Grover Norquist. Second, the group does not collect membership dues. No fund-raising activities have ever occured to finance the group. No bribes to any elected officials have been "dangled" by Citizens for Tax Fairness. Third, take a look at the Tax Pledge provided by the Citizens for Tax Fairness-It is different from Norquist's pledge in a variety of wonderful ways. Need I make four points? Why not? Fourth, "progressive taxation" is not a Conservative principle. Take Karl Marx, in the Communist Manifesto, for example. "In the most advanced countries the following will be pretty generally applicable:..a heavy progressive or graduated income tax."

My thanks to Ron Mortensen, Co-founder of Citizens for Tax Fairness for pointing me in the direction of this letter and enlightening me regarding Citizens for Tax Fairness financial underpinings. Perhaps someone can point me to Irvine's source-it appears to be Irvine? Regardless, Irvine has built such a fine straw-man to beat that I have to say, 'Swing away, Mr. Irvine, swing away.'

"LETTERS - Three cheers for McConkie
Letters to the Editor 25.APR.06
Editor:

Commissioner Dan McConkie has voted against propositions I favor time after time, but I nevertheless sincerely commend him for standing up to a slick intimidation tactic by a small group asking all county commission candidates to sign an anti-tax increase pledge. Commissioner McConkie, correctly, called the ploy an attempt to bind candidates to a policy position which would then be trotted out to politically bludgeon anyone whoever votes for a tax increase, irrespective of the merits and sensibilities of particular circumstances.

The more unfortunate aspect of this transparent tactic is from whence it originated. Its genesis, of course, is Washington, D.C. anti-tax Grover Norquist, the same Grover Norquist who evidently sold what may have been a principled conservative philosophical movement to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Tom DeLay, and the infamous K Street Project, which has sought to turn control over congressional policy to the highest Republican bidders.

It is highly regrettable that this volatile formula for mixing faux-conservative political philosophy with unlimited corporate money would find its way to Utah. Which group of Utah elected officials will be targeted next?

Mr. Norquist and his moneyed allies have dangled campaign contributions in front of Republican congressmen and senators to such an extent that the laudable conservative principle of responsible, progressive taxation has been completely overwhelmed by tax cuts for the wealthy and a very un-conservative reluctance to balance the federal budget.

These mortgage-the-future, big-spenders are not Democrats; they are Republicans, and the immediate beneficiaries are, largely, Republican contributors to Norquist’s pet projects.

If this kind of out-of-kilter fiscal policy or money-for votes fund raising is the goal of Citizens for Tax Fairness, or whatever the clever nom du jour, three cheers for Commissioner McConkie — who will still vote against my requests and positions again and again.

David R. Irvine

Bountiful"
Clippertoday:LETTERS - Three cheers for McConkie