In a sign of desperation, Democrat Rep. Bill Owens (NY-23) has begun attacking Republican candidate Matt Doheny and the Taxpayer Protection Pledge with thoroughly discredited charges. In their recent attack ad, the Owens’ campaign attempts to distort the meaning of the “No New Taxes” Pledge by linking it to the issue of outsourcing. In reality, the Pledge focuses on preventing income tax hikes for individuals and/or businesses. It’s a tool to protect against dishonest politicians who claim to oppose an “unfair tax credit” in an attempt to raise taxes.

This isn’t the first instance of Democrats using this extremely misleading line of attack against the Pledge. The Democrat Congressional Campaign Committee assailed the Pledge in the HI-01 special election. Factcheck.org condemned the DCCC saying their claims against the Pledge were “blatantly false.” Additionally Jon Ralston, a leading political pundit in Nevada, said the charges made by the Dina Titus campaign against the Pledge were “thoroughly misleading.”

Even after numerous news sources have debunked their claims, Democrats continue to attempt to mislead voters on the true meaning of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

To Read ATR’s official statement on Owens’ attacks on the Pledge, click “read more.”

Bill Owens Campaign Caught Telling Lies about the “No New Taxes” Pledge
Owens campaign desperate to distort Doheny’s “no new taxes” promise

WASHINGTON, DCThe Bill Owens Campaign recently launched a new line of attack on Matt Doheny by attempting to mislead voters about the actual meaning of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. The goal of the Pledge is to protect taxpayers and businesses from tax increases. The Owens campaign’s charges follow the patently false claims 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, Doheny has taken tax hikes off the table for all taxpayers in New York – something Bill Owens has not 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.”

Similar claims about the Pledge were made recently in Michigan, Nevada, and Washington. In Michigan, the Jackson Citizen-Patriot, a Jackson, Michigan newspaper, deemed Rep. Mark Schauer’s claims about the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and Tim Walberg to be “not true.”  In Nevada, Jon Ralston of Face to Face “reality checked” the Dina Titus campaign ad and found the claims made against the “no new taxes” Pledge to be “thoroughly misleading.” King 5 TV in Washington called the accusations against the Pledge and senate candidate Dino Rossi to be a “stretch.”

“Why is Bill Owens going out of his way to shamelessly distort Matt Doheny’s position on taxes? The Pledge signed by Donehy is a promise to constituents and businesses to never raise taxes. Owens has yet to make the same promise and should explain to voters how tax hikes revive a struggling economy and promote job growth in New York,” said ATR President Grover Norquist.

“Matt Doheny has committed to never raising taxes on his constituents while his Democrat opponent has left the door for tax hikes wide open,” continued Norquist.

Click here for a printable pdf of the release.