Monday, June 28, 2010

Tom "the Taxer" Flip-Flops on Anything but Tax Increases

Milwaukee Mayor and Democrat gubernatorial candidate Tom Barrett has provided voters with another reason to doubt his leadership: his recent flip-flop on gay marriage.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that while a member of Congress in 1996, Barrett voted for the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined marriage as between one man and one woman. Conversely, Barrett campaigned against the 2006 state constitution's ban on same-sex marriage.

And Barrett's flip-flopping record doesn't stop there. When Barrett made his first unsuccessful bid for governor in 2002, he supported the early release of criminals who were being held in prison for probation or parole violations. In May, Barrett said he has "serious reservations" about Governor Doyle's early release program.

Ironically, during a 2002 debate with gubernatorial candidates Jim Doyle and Kathleen Falk, Barrett went so far as to say, "I'm all in favor of punishing criminals. I'm not in favor of punishing taxpayers."

Wisconsinites may find it hard to believe these words ever came out of Barrett's mouth considering his legislative record includes voting for the largest tax increase in U.S. history, raising taxes every year as mayor, and voting against reducing income tax rates.

With 62 percent of Americans saying the country is on the wrong track, Tom Barrett's flip-flopping record is unlikely to provide voters with confidence in his leadership to get Wisconsin back on track.