Smith not bi-partisan on tax increases

For several weeks — and I am sure for many more to come — we have heard how Gordon Smith has worked with Republicans and Democrats to get things done. It appears there is one issue where Smith is not so bi-partisan. The Associated Press notes that:

But on one point of Republican orthodoxy, Smith has barely budged: Taxes.

The story focuses on one of Merkley’s many vote to increase our taxes — in this case the raid of the Corporate Kicker during the 2007 legislative session. The article goes on to say:

Gilbride, the Smith spokeswoman, said suspension of the corporate kicker was approved at a time when the state budget had swollen by near 20 percent.

“Jeff Merkley chose to raise taxes to create a rainy day fund when the state had record surpluses,” she said. “Raising taxes is never the only solution.”

So what was Merkley’s response? Check it out:

“For all his talk of bipartisanship, Smith opposes the most important bipartisan accomplishment of the last legislative session,” Merkley said in a statement.

So let me get this straight — The greatest bipartisan accomplishment of the 2007 session was a tax increase? Wow!