Following in the DCCC’s footsteps, the Democrat Party of Wisconsin recently launched its own attack on the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Sean Duffy came under attack today for promising to take tax hikes off the table.

Democrats issued a release purposely misleading voters on the meaning of the “No New Taxes” Pledge. This same attack was tried earlier in the year during the HI-01 special election and two weeks ago in Michigan where Rep. Mark Schauer’s claims were deemed “not true” by the Jackson Citizen-Patriot.

FactCheck.org’s Director Brooks Jackson wrote the following about Democrats’ attempt to distort the intention of the Pledge:

We find the ad to be false. The pledge only protects corporations from an increase in taxation overall. It explicitly allows elimination of any specific tax deduction or credit if matched dollar-for-dollar by an overall cut in rates. And it says nothing about jobs…This attack ad is false.

To read ATR’s official statement on Democrats’ attempts to mislead voters on the meaning of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, click read more.

State Democrats Launch “Blatantly False” Attack on Sean Duffy
Democrats try to distort Duffy’s “no new taxes” promise

WASHINGTON, DC--The Democrat Party of Wisconsin recently issued a deliberately false attack on Republican Sean Duffy for signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Their claims mirror the misleading charges made by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) earlier in the year – claims that the non-partisan FactCheck.org agrees are “blatantly false”.

The “No New Taxes” Pledge commits a signer to “oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses and oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.” By making this promise, Duffy has taken tax hikes off the table -- something neither Democrat candidate has done.

This is not the first time Democrats have tried to misrepresent the meaning of the Pledge. During the special election in HI-01, the DCCC ran misleading attack ads against the Pledge. FactCheck.org, a non-partisan "consumer advocate" for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics, responded by condemning the DCCC and agreeing that the ads were “blatantly false.”

Two weeks ago in neighboring Michigan, Rep. Mark Schauer (D-Mich.) made similarly incorrect claims about Tim Walberg and the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. The Jackson Citizen-Patriot, a Jackson, MI newspaper, deemed Schauer’s claims “not true.”

“Democrats are desperate to take voters’ eyes off of their dismal performance as stewards of our economy. That’s why they continue to roll out this disturbingly false claim about candidates and the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Quite simply, there has been no improvement in the economy or in job growth since Democrats took over. They have nothing to show for themselves in the run up to November,” said ATR President Grover Norquist.

The idea behind the Taxpayer Protection Pledge is to protect against tax increases and to promote revenue-neutral tax reform. This is a concept that Democrats fail to understand as they continue to betray voters trust on the issue of taxes.  

“Sean Duffy has committed to never raising taxes on his constituents while his Democrat opponents have left the door for tax hikes wide open,” continued Norquist.

Click here for a printable pdf of the release.

Posted by Adam Radman on Wednesday, August 25, 2010 3:53 PM EDT

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