Last week, Congressman John Campbell announced that he would retire from the House of Representatives. Already, potential candidates are pondering the 2014 election to fill his seat. State Senator Mimi Walters announced that rather than run for a spot on the Orange County Board of Supervisors, she would run for the vacant seat in Congress. Today, she laid out the reasons why on Flash Report. Two reasons, which caught my attention, were “Fiscal Restraint” and “Low Taxes.” Ms. Walters believes that “government, by nature, seeks to expand it’s size and scope” and that low tax rates, in comparison to other industrialized nations, is the best environment for prosperity.
Mimi Walters has a big problem; she voted for SB 11, an odd piece of legislation, designed to extend a temporary tax increase while simultaneously providing regulatory relief for the “cap and tax” law (SB 32). She tried to explain her Machiavellian vote on Fox and Hounds when she said “Governing is about tough choices.” Keep in mind that her vote to increase taxes on every Californian is less than five weeks old.
Here’s the rub. In 2007, then Assemblywoman Walters rallied 46 legislators to sign the Americans for Tax Reform Taxpayer Protection Pledge…and held a news conference. She dubbed herself as leader of the Taxpayer Protection Caucus and proclaimed herself to be a “tax fighter”– she used that moniker in her State Senate election mail piece. Just one year ago, incumbent State Senator Mimi Walters signed the ATR Taxpayer Protection Pledge…again…and ATR told everyone they knew about her fidelity to the Pledge.
Less than one year after that ATR press release, Mimi Walters voted for SB 11 which means Ms. Walters has a bigger problem — she made the Pledge to get elected, then broke it once in office. Don’t believe me, read what ATR said about the SB 11 vote:
The following senators broke their promise to constituents:
Senate Republican Leader Bob Huff of Brea
Senator Bill Emmerson of Redlands
Senator Jean Fuller of Bakersfield
Senator Mimi Walters of Irvine
Mimi Walters is running for Congress and her slogan should be “governing is about tough choices.” In a self-governing society, voting is about tough choices too. The voters of Campbell’s District have a tough choice to make next year, but a politician who makes promises to get elected then breaks those promises, once in office, isn’t a choice to be considered.