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“Bob McDonnell will not raise taxes as governor”

Now that the transportation bill has passed the General Assembly, and the congratulatory press releases are circulating, I think it’s important to bring one, last item back from the vault for public viewing.

In the early summer of 2009, then-candidate Bob McDonnell refused to take Grover Norquist’s taxpayer protection pledge. He said at the time [1]:

“…I will tell you exactly what I think, because I’ve answered your questions today, and I will tell you that I have no plans to raise taxes.”

I took him to task then, which earned this response from his campaign:

Bob McDonnell will not raise taxes as governor. Virginians know Bob McDonnell, and they know where he stands. They know he keeps his word, and that is reflected in the fact that he kept all seven of the campaign promises that he made when running for Attorney General. He has been a consistent leader fighting for lower taxes, including voting more than 50 times as a delegate to cut taxes, resulting in over $2 billion in tax cuts. He was chief patron of legislation to kill the death tax. He co-patroned numerous other tax cutting measures. Bob McDonnell knows you grow an economy by ensuring citizens keep more of what they earn, and business owners have more money to invest in creating new jobs and expanding their operations. Virginians are certainly not under taxed. As Governor, Bob McDonnell will make Virginia a magnet for new jobs and economic development by keeping taxes low, cutting spending, and reducing excessive regulations.”

Just wanted to put that back on the record…in case someone might have forgotten it.