Is The Real Tom Harman Standing Up?
By Adam D. Probolsky | 06/30/08 | 05:35 PM EDT | 0 Comments
Following his razor-thin win over Diane Harkey in the 2006 Senate special election, the heretorefore moderate Republican Tom Harman tacked sharply to the right. The big question on the minds of OC political observers was whether this signified a genuine philosophical conversion? Or was Harman changing his ideological stripes long enough to escape a 2008 primary from the Right, specifically from Assemblyman Chuck DeVore.
Maybe we're beginning to learn the answer.
In an article in last week's "Harman Report" entitled "Bigger is Not Always Better," Harman claims "readers of the Harman Report know that I routinely advocate for limited government" and directs them to a study showing that countries that cut taxes and trim government experience greater economic growth than those with high-tax, big government regimes.
I agree wholeheartedly. So why doesn't Harman take his own advice?
I say that because Tom Harman is co-sponsoring a proposal by allegedly Republican Sen. Dave Cox to expand the size of state government by adding 200,000 more kids to the Healthy Families state health insurance program. Harman and Cox want to do this by diverting the Prop. 10 50-cent tobacco tax to way from county First 5 commissions and confiscating those county commissions accumulated funds. Harman and Cox intend to bribe local governments into supporting their government expansion plan by showering them with the confiscated funds (which amount to about $2 billion).
This is exactly the sort of big government pork-barreling behavior that got the GOP kicked out the majority party in Congress.
If Tom Harman wants to "advocate for limited government," he should try actually advocating for limited government. A limited government advocate would call for repealing Proposition 10 and the 50-cent tobacco tax that goes with it. Instead Harman wants to get rid of the local commissions but keep the tax and give the revenue to a state government devoid of any fiscal discipline.
There's a name for politicians like that: they're called Democrats.
But at least we can thank Sen. Harman for answering the question about whether or not his "turn to the right" was just political expedience.
Maybe we're beginning to learn the answer.
In an article in last week's "Harman Report" entitled "Bigger is Not Always Better," Harman claims "readers of the Harman Report know that I routinely advocate for limited government" and directs them to a study showing that countries that cut taxes and trim government experience greater economic growth than those with high-tax, big government regimes.
I agree wholeheartedly. So why doesn't Harman take his own advice?
I say that because Tom Harman is co-sponsoring a proposal by allegedly Republican Sen. Dave Cox to expand the size of state government by adding 200,000 more kids to the Healthy Families state health insurance program. Harman and Cox want to do this by diverting the Prop. 10 50-cent tobacco tax to way from county First 5 commissions and confiscating those county commissions accumulated funds. Harman and Cox intend to bribe local governments into supporting their government expansion plan by showering them with the confiscated funds (which amount to about $2 billion).
This is exactly the sort of big government pork-barreling behavior that got the GOP kicked out the majority party in Congress.
If Tom Harman wants to "advocate for limited government," he should try actually advocating for limited government. A limited government advocate would call for repealing Proposition 10 and the 50-cent tobacco tax that goes with it. Instead Harman wants to get rid of the local commissions but keep the tax and give the revenue to a state government devoid of any fiscal discipline.
There's a name for politicians like that: they're called Democrats.
But at least we can thank Sen. Harman for answering the question about whether or not his "turn to the right" was just political expedience.
TAGS: Tom Harman
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