One of my first political memories was when, in 1992, then-President George H.W. Bush was skewered for failing to live up to his “read my lips: no new taxes” promise. Even as a child, the message hit me especially hard; I wondered how someone could break such an important – and central – promise to the American people. And, ultimately, that is what cost him his reelection.
Well, it turns out that we’re pretty much in the same situation today. You know the outlook is grim when the New York Times “uncovers,” and actually reports on, President Obama’s quickly unraveling tale:
When Congress required most Americans to obtain health insurance or pay a penalty, Democrats denied that they were creating a new tax. But in court, the Obama administration and its allies now defend the requirement as an exercise of the government’s ‘power to lay and collect taxes.’
That’s odd. Didn’t President Obama tell George Stephanopoulos that the requirement to buy health insurance is “absolutely not a tax increase?”
The problem for the Obama administration, and all members of Congress who supported Obamacare, is that words like “absolutely” and “not” are completely definitive. Just like former President Bush’s “read my lips” statement, there is no backing away from, dodging, or spinning the words. They simply speak for themselves.
This is a gift to conservative candidates and, if I were advising them this November, I would tell them to incessantly hit on this issue. A conservative cannot afford to keep from pointing out that, when the president says one thing, it will often end up meaning something completely different – and much more expensive.
In every single speech or press release, one simply needs to show the side-by-side comparison:
President Obama when trying to pass health care: this is “absolutely not a tax increase.”
Vs.
The Obama administration trying to defend health care in court: this is part of our “power to lay and collect taxes.”
This message is clear and, honestly, I believe few developments could do more to incentivize frustrated voters. Political strategists may layout comprehensive, multi-layered plans, but the roadmap to victory is actually much simpler. Conservatives, independents, and, if 1992 repeats itself, even members of the president’s own party, will respond powerfully when they understand – clearly – the extent to which they have been deceived.
Maybe my passion for this message is because I grew up in New Hampshire, where Pat Buchanan captured this frustration and garnered 40% of the primary vote – against a sitting United States president. After all, the next morning, the headline of our state’s largest newspaper, The Union Leader, summarized the primary election results with the headline, “Read Our Lips.” The newspaper simply, and brilliantly, summarized an unmistakable message from voters: “don’t lie to us.”
Our only hope for reigning in the growth of government is to elect a Congress that respects limited government and individual liberty. Conservative candidates have access to a winning formula that they can use to capture victory in November – as conservatives, we will restrain the growth of government and, when we say that we will not increase spending or taxes, we actually mean it.
Sarah Field is the Director of Policy and General Counsel of Liberty Central, Inc., a non-profit organization whose primary objective is to harness the power of citizen voices, inform everyday Americans with knowledge, and activate them to preserve liberty.