October 8, 2002 - Granholm - I do not want to raise a single tax

Back in the rosy nearly-post-Engler days in Michigan back in October 2002 there was a debate between Jennifer Granholm and Lt. Gov. Dick Posthumus. When asked whether or not they would raise taxes this was Jennifer Granholm's response -

I do not want to raise a single tax, except for one - to make sure there is parity between the diesel tax and the gas tax.

I guess Posthumus had Granholm pegged when he responded to her above statement with this -

The question was 'will you raise taxes?' and what my opponent said was, 'I don't want to raise taxes,' not, 'I won't raise taxes.

Anyone surprised that our taxes are going up in Michigan?

One more thing. This is a quote on the Michigan.gov (official state website mind you) from March 30, 2006 and you can read the entire article at www.Michigan.gov -

Republicans have made their intentions clear: They intend to raise taxes for Michigan families by $800 or gut education, health care, and public safety in order to finance a tax cut for business,” Granholm said.

Our plan was revenue neutral and would not raise taxes on Michigan families nor force draconian cuts in education, health care, and public safety,” Granholm said. “The differences between us are striking.

I would say the difference between Jennifer Granholm at pre-election time and Jennifer Granholm at post-election time are striking as well. Remember when the first President George Bush said "No new taxes!" during his campaign? Just thought I would point out that this isn't just a Democrat or Republican thing - it's a politician thing.