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Democrats Win by Dressing Up As Republicans
Study shows Democrats take control of Congress
by using conservative message

Washington, D.C. – The midterm elections of 2006 are characterized by a change in command of

Out of 27 Projected Democrat Pick-ups…

the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. However, an analysis of Democrat campaign websites shows that those who defeated Republicans, did so using a conservative message of lower taxes and accountability.

The analysis by Americans for Tax Reform, shows that of the 60 key House races, only 3 Democrats included a call for higher taxes on their campaign websites. Of those 3, only 2 won. Conversely, at least 18 Democrats stated that they support some form of tax cuts. Nine Democrats supporting tax cuts won, 7 lost, and 2 races are still undecided. Of the 21 Democrats that did not take a stance on taxes, 11 won, 8 lost, with 2 races still undecided.

"The switch of power in Congress does not represent a movement toward liberal ideology,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “Democrats finally figured out that voters don’t want their taxes raised and are willing to support those who campaign on a platform of tax relief.”

"Moving forward, the challenge will be to hold Republicans and Democrats to their campaign platforms of cutting taxes,” continued Norquist. “Without a majority of members of Congress putting their taxpayer friendly stance in writing, the Democrats are unlikely to stay true to their constituents.”

One thing is clear: Democrats have earned no mandate to govern from the left. “Far from a repudiation of conservatism, this election is proof that to win elections, candidates simply must promise to rule as conservatives,” Norquist added.

The full text of ATR’s analysis can be found here: http://www.atr.org/content/pdf/2006/nov/2006.pdf

Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) is a non-partisan coalition of taxpayers and taxpayer groups who oppose all federal, state and local tax increases. For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact John Kartch at (202) 785-0266 or jkartch@atr.org.

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