Nathan Deal: ‘I never pledged away my First Amendment rights’
Gov. Nathan Deal on Wednesday evening gave his strongest endorsement yet of a sales tax for transportation, pushing back against those who have criticized him for betraying a no-tax pledge by declaring that he hadn’t signed away his First Amendment rights.
At issue is a Americans for Tax Reform pledge that Deal signed in 2010, as a candidate for governor, that said he would “would oppose and veto any and all efforts to increase taxes.”
On the 18th floor of an Atlantic Station building, at a rally of corporate fundraisers, Deal – with Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle at his side — offered this defense:
”First of all, the pledge relates to new taxes that were going to be initiated by legislative action. And as you know, the only tax reform and tax changes that have been initiated since I’ve been governor have been to cut taxes. Last year was a major example of that, to be able to eliminate the sales tax on energy for manufacturing, so we can create more jobs. To increase by $2,000 the couples’ exemptions on their tax returns, to eliminate the marriage tax penalty.
“Now, for those who would interpret [the pledge] that way, I have two things to say. First of all, I never signed a pledge to give away my First Amendment rights. And my First Amendment rights are to advocate whatever I see fit. And as an individual, I do advocate for it.
“Secondly, as a governor, I am advocating for it because this is not a legislatively imposed tax. It is a tax increase that the people themselves will decide about. And for those who say otherwise, it seems to me that they would take away the right of the people to express their opinions of this importance.”
Was this the right time to ask voters for a tax increase? a reporter asked the governor. His reply:
”I’m not asking them, other than to ask them to use their good conscience and to use their good judgment to decide whether or not, in their region, the projects that are proposed to be funded are worthwhile to them, to their families, to their businesses, and to their region. These projects are the kinds of things that not only sustain communities, they also enrich communities by providing more job opportunities.
“And as you know, that has been the top priority for my administration – the creation of new jobs. New jobs are not going to come if people can’t get their employees to their jobs in a timely fashion.”
Afterwards, I asked Cagle if he, too, had felt the push-back from the Grover Norquist contingent of the Republican party. His reply:
”I learned early in my political career, when you do the right thing, you follow your convictions, you don’t have to worry about the consequences. Certainly there are those that disagree with my position. And that’s okay.
“But everyone knows where I stand. I’m about Georgia. I love this state, and I think this is a very historic moment, no different than the big bold steps we’ve taken with the ports and the airport and even MARTA…. The ability to announce to the world that we have an $8 billion investment going into transportation is big news.”
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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106 comments Add your comment
Payoff
June 14th, 2012
12:48 am
When did Deal’s rich contributors pay off the millions in debt he got from his daughter??
Kris
June 14th, 2012
1:32 am
I believe the debt was paid off about 6 months after he got in office. By which lobbyist I’m not sure\h
double
June 14th, 2012
1:49 am
FuturepayorOfyoursocialsec……..If you are 22 yrs. old.Waiting to graduate from middle school from the looks of your post.Could be from breathing all the exhaust pollution,caused by the higher traffic count,when price of gas skyrockets.
l jones
June 14th, 2012
2:31 am
What a load of hooey. Deal and the rest of them signed away their souls to Grover Norquist. I bet he hopes Grover doesn’t punish him for violating his oath of obedience.
BDAWGFAN
June 14th, 2012
3:47 am
I can’t decide which is funnier, the tea party idiots that believed Nathan Deal’s bull about no new taxes or the rebel flag loving rednecks that believed Sonny Purdue’s lies about letting them vote on their beloved racist state flag.
Shine
June 14th, 2012
4:07 am
More cowardly double tongueing from “crooks”!! Boot some kooks!! Vote democrat!!
Shine
June 14th, 2012
4:10 am
Then let the voters decide on the ballot if we want to do away with tax breaks for corporate/business deadbeats, the marriage tax penalty, property taxes, sales taxes, GASOLINE TAXES, etc etc etc .
Put it on the ballot kooks!!!! We dont need you elected kooks to decide for us.
zeke
June 14th, 2012
5:04 am
don’t you just love the the something for nothing crowd
Tom
June 14th, 2012
5:15 am
If the DOT wastes money now, what makes you think they wouldn’t waste it after this goes through? Its a still a tax!!!!
bosshawg
June 14th, 2012
5:16 am
keep voting these lying azz repubs in. cant trust them remember Sonny
Attack Dog
June 14th, 2012
5:50 am
Nathan Deal is a Republican. Dixiecrats knowingly make bad choices just for the sake of saying they won, but then bad mouth their victors. They can pretend to run from Deal or the rest of them, but they can’t hide them.
country boy
June 14th, 2012
6:14 am
Safest thing is always vote no on any tax increase, more than likely it will be a sham!!!!!!
James Jordan
June 14th, 2012
6:19 am
Deal’s a liar, they’re all liars. Just like they lied about getting rid of the Ga 400 Toll, Deal’s lying about the Transportation screw!
Todd
June 14th, 2012
6:25 am
Vote YES and Untie our roads and rail
rawmilkdrinker
June 14th, 2012
6:41 am
And who among us ever believed anything a politician said when he was running for office would be the same after he got elected?
Debbie Dooley
June 14th, 2012
6:52 am
T-SPLOST taxes groceries and other necessities at a time when people are struggling. This is wrong.
Ed Advocate
June 14th, 2012
7:15 am
I have been less-than-thrilled with some of Deal’s policies, but I really admire his position on TSPLOST. He’s been firm, consistent, and principled. Meanwhile, the far right and the far left are campaigning against TSPLOST and pushing the middle together. I hope TSPLOST wins and that GA moderates continue bipartisan pragmatic work to prepare GA for the future.
jaggar
June 14th, 2012
7:15 am
It is extremely sad the politicians have cut education funding at the expense of our children, while giving millions to useless pet projects. All politicians are corrupt being bought out by the highest paying lobbiest bidder. Disgraceful does not even cover it. They need to get rid of the federal and state tax systems and go to Fair Tax. Itis the easiest system.
Edward Ruffin
June 14th, 2012
7:17 am
Randy is right, and enough is enough. I voted for Deal, but I haven’t been happy about it. It was either him or Roy Barnes and we know enough about Barnes to know he ain’t the man. Our choices in Georgia are about the same as our choices nationally, poor to terrible.
Double Zero Eight
June 14th, 2012
7:21 am
Those that are surprised have got to be
kidding. The same old “bait and switch”
that Sonny “pulled” Make a promise just
to get elected with no intention of keeping it.
Seems to work every time. GA voters have
short memories and Deal will easily be re-
elected.
gainesville yahoo
June 14th, 2012
7:28 am
I bought into these guys long ago. Now Im really POed. These people have ran on getting transportation fixed for years to no avail. The one route they have fixed is to their local banks and buddies homes. Im ashamed of you guys.
Now the other side of the coin-if dems had the power this would be a mandate not a choice. It would just be a different road construction company doing the work.
Vote NO please. There are more solutions than billions of dollars. Then vote these crooks out. I dont care who wins, we need real representatives here before the plug gets pulled.
Bob Loblaw
June 14th, 2012
7:32 am
Pretty sad how few people posting on here trust voters to decide about whether or not a transportation plan for 1% of consumption based tax should be implemented.
American
June 14th, 2012
7:37 am
Talk about “political speak” and “double talk”…well, there is no interest like self interest and as a former Governor of Georgia use to say, “he whose bread I eat his song I sing” and these “no tax pledge” Republicans have shown their true colors by endorsing a tax for their special interest friends.
Double Zero Eight
June 14th, 2012
7:47 am
@ Bob Loblaw
I take it you support the voters
deciding on gambling also.
I know people in Cumming that plan to
vote no on their regional tax, but hope the
10 county metro transportation tax passes.
They ride down 400 everyday to work in
midtown. It makes no sense that a county
which borders Fulton is not included(Forsyth),
while one that does not border Fulton is
included(Rockdale).
hiram
June 14th, 2012
7:58 am
BDAWGFAN
June 14th, 2012
3:47 am
I can’t decide which is funnier, the tea party idiots that believed Nathan Deal’s bull about no new taxes or the rebel flag loving rednecks that believed Sonny Purdue’s lies about letting them vote on their beloved racist state flag.
The joke’s on you – Sonny replaced the Confederate “Battleflag” with the Confederate “Stars and Bars”, national flag.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:CSA_FLAG_4.3.1861-21.5.1861.svg
DougH2
June 14th, 2012
7:59 am
Let’s cut transportation taxes. Based on the Republican formula, growth from additional business activity will increase revenue and we will have the money to build new roads and light rail.
Wait! That only works when you can borrow money to make up the shortfall. I’m going to vote NO. But at least they actually asked for an increase instead of trying to hide it as something else. I’m tired of all the money going to the northern part of this area. Why would I pay another 1% sale tax and send even more money that way. If traffic is to heavy, move somewhere else.
honested
June 14th, 2012
8:04 am
It would be great to have a State Strategic Mass Transit Development Tax to support…..
However, all we have is a Pavement Institutional Security and Support plan.
Vote no.
hiram
June 14th, 2012
8:09 am
This is worth a look:
http://www.cwmatthews.com/about/tsplost.php
hiram
June 14th, 2012
8:20 am
This is really worth a look. Note: THERE’S 86 PAGES.
http://media.ethics.ga.gov/search/Campaign/Campaign_ByContributionsearchresults.aspx?Contributor=matthews&Zip=&City=&ContTypeID=0&PAC=&Employer=&Occupation=&From=&To=&Cash=&InK=&Filer=&Candidate=&Committee=
Road Scholar
June 14th, 2012
8:27 am
Tom:”If the DOT wastes money now, what makes you think they wouldn’t waste it after this goes through?”
Please provide specific instances of waste.
Jaggar:”It is extremely sad the politicians have cut education funding at the expense of our children…”
From some of the posts above, some of the adults missed their education also!
For those still whining about the SR 400 tolls……get over it. The money is going to transportation projects in the SR400 corridor, the first being the northern tie to I 85.
If you have not noticed, our transportation needs have increased due to inadequate revenue from the gas tax. While I would have favored a gas tax adjusted to today’s cost of living (tax set in the early 1980’s) this is the best way to fund transportation that the politicians would allow to move forward. The cost of projects have gone up. The maintenance needs have increased due to lower expenditure of funds and a deteriorating infrastructure.
Call It Like It Is
June 14th, 2012
8:34 am
Job creation? Can somebody direct to all of the job creations that will come from this? To my knowledge we have the same exact compaines each and every time working on all these so call road projects. The majority seems to go to CW Matthews, and I dont think they go out and hire 1000’s upon 1000’s of new workers. This plan is poor at best and not well thought out. You are just giving milions of dollars to companines to throw out more asphalt. It doesnt fix the problem.! SAY NO TO NEW TAXES. Come up with a real plan, then come back and see us.
stephen
June 14th, 2012
8:38 am
Pledging allegiance to Grover has predictably put Deal in a box. At least one Republican governor, Jeb Bush, was wise enough to tell him to kiss his @*. Norquist is Exhibit A for the intellectual and moral weakness in the Republican party. Leaders not smart enough or courageous enough to stand on their own principles.
Bigred
June 14th, 2012
8:52 am
NO Deal, Gov Deal. Let Atlanta CHOKE on it’s traffic. Oh and by the way, just say no to new growth andthe problems it brings with it.
Road Scholar
June 14th, 2012
8:57 am
Call it: There has been at least a 30% layoff of engineers in the consulting world for transportation due to the recession. I do not have the numbers in the construction and maintenance area. GDOT staff has been cut from 6300 to 4600 in the past 8 years. (it used to be 12,500 in the 70’s when GDOT did most maintenance and some construction; it has been outsourced as well as consultants replacing staff.) Maintenance needs and costs are up; same with construction and property costs. Many pavements and bridges, which have been maintained in the past, are now in need of major work. This does not include the new projects and widenings needed on many major routes.
Some roads which used to be milled an inch and a half now need full depth replacement of asphalt due to wear and tear. Some are being replaced with concrete to reduce maintenance costs in the long run.Bridges have a 50 year design life; many exceed this lifespan and are in need of comprehensive work.
Gas tax revenues have been down. Now , how do you suppose we fix our roads, address congestion, improve operations and safety, address transit, and prepare for growth?
Monies spent, esp on such an ambitious plan as proposed, will create jobs. Period! Or will these improvements just show up one night?
Marlboro Man
June 14th, 2012
9:08 am
This is a man that wants to get out of debt, the kickbacks will definately help.
td
June 14th, 2012
9:09 am
Edward Ruffin
June 14th, 2012
7:17 am
Randy is right, and enough is enough. I voted for Deal, but I haven’t been happy about it. It was either him or Roy Barnes and we know enough about Barnes to know he ain’t the man. Our choices in Georgia are about the same as our choices nationally, poor to terrible.
And what are your ideas? What should we be doing? Why are you not running for office since you know the correct path for us all to take?
hiram
June 14th, 2012
9:10 am
Worth a look:
http://media.ethics.ga.gov/search/Lobbyist/Lobbyist_Name.aspx?&FilerID=L20060475&Type=LG
td
June 14th, 2012
9:23 am
hiram
June 14th, 2012
9:10 am
Yes, sunshine is the best. They need to make the database faster and easier to search(you should be able to search on your legislators name and find all gifts he/she received from which lobbyist). This is the answer and not some stupid gift ban. Let the voters look and decide if they like the gifts or not.
markie mark
June 14th, 2012
9:33 am
a couple of thoughts…..I agree with the “concept” of the transportation tax….but they lost me personally when they reneged on the deal they made with me 20 years ago to sunset the GA 400 toll….I am not going to buy their BS again…..Tax money is crack to a politician…..
@Kris – if you are going to quote someone, for gods sake have a better source than Cynthia freakin Tucker…..
hiram
June 14th, 2012
9:38 am
td
June 14th, 2012
9:23 am
hiram
June 14th, 2012
9:10 am
Yes, sunshine is the best. They need to make the database faster and easier to search(you should be able to search on your legislators name and find all gifts he/she received from which lobbyist). This is the answer and not some stupid gift ban. Let the voters look and decide if they like the gifts or not.
If the politicians aren’t willing to implement “some stupid gift ban”, lobbyist and campaign contributor reports should be published in the newspapers for naive voters who are not computer literate.
td
June 14th, 2012
9:42 am
hiram
June 14th, 2012
9:38 am
I am not opposed to printing it but the question is do you really think these “naive voters” would really read the newspaper?
Self_Made
June 14th, 2012
9:45 am
People comparing TSPLOST projects to the Northwest Corridor and claiming that this “smarter investment” in a private-public partnership obviously have forgotten that the “public” portion of that investment was made with FOUND MONEY caught up in prior year projects. Until that little miracle showed up, the vaunted Corridor was DOA as well.
But hey…you’re getting yours, right?
n
June 14th, 2012
10:00 am
Raise the gas tax.
Better than taxing groceries to pay for asphalt and road builder mansions.
hiram
June 14th, 2012
10:02 am
td,
The politicians have made it as difficult as possible to navigate what is left of the ethics.gov site, and the information you find there is far from complete. I know from personal experience that candidates routinely omit information from their disclosure reports, if they even file one.
Any politician that objects to the public knowing who they are receiving “stupid gifts” from, shouldn’t be a politician. That would include almost everyone currently serving in public office in Georgia. Informing voters is the last thing they want to happen.
td
June 14th, 2012
10:14 am
hiram
June 14th, 2012
10:02 am
This is why my idea is the way I feel is best:
All lobbyist must report any gift within 24 hours to a agency that has a searchable database open to the public and downloadable (penalty for lobbyist is banned from lobbying for 1 month 1st offense, 1 legislative session for a second offense and lifetime for third).
Mike McGill
June 14th, 2012
10:26 am
there should be a law (common sense really) that elected officials can only take an oath to their position not to some third person screw up – Georgia be smarter the Norquist and his cronies — don’t vote for anyone who takes an OATH to anything except to do the job for which they win the election — anything else is a slap in the face to the voter –
BrittanyUnderwood82
June 14th, 2012
10:36 am
A vote for this referendum is a vote for change that you can see and that will directly impact you. Traffic has become so common that we take it as second nature in GA. However, with the passage of this referendum roads will be widened, bottlenecks such as I-285/I-85N will be improved upon and there will be more transportation options available.
Lets also not forget that GRTA is dependent on the passage of this referendum. We need the continued use of GRTA for its services that it provides to get residents around the city.
Cobb resident & voter
June 14th, 2012
11:20 am
This TSPLOST initiative is not the only choice. There are alternatives but those will require voting NO on July 31st to ensure we have a more beneficial list of projects. I am voting NO to the TSPLOST but am open to reconsidering it in two years.
http://mdjonline.com/view/full_story/18977967/article-To-get-better-value-for-tax-dollars-than-they-will-from-TSPLOST–voters-should-go-to-plan-B?instance=home_top_bullets
WOW
June 14th, 2012
11:33 am
@ Brittany
Can anyone guarantee that the passage of the TPSLOST will accomplish all of this?
@ Cobb Resident and voter
Thanks for the article. I was not aware of those alternatives that are required to be completed.
John
June 14th, 2012
12:40 pm
This is a bold face lie. Just like Sonny’s lie about GA 400. Think the tax is going away? I thought the toll road was going away too.
Say no to the SPLOST and SRTA!