A Pledge Ain’t Nothing But a Furniture Polish

Posted by Mary Mancini on August 27, 2007 under Uncategorized |

With apologies to Frank Capra, I was going to call this post about Saturday night’s mayoral debate, “Every time the Congressman Opens His Mouth, an Angel Changes Its Vote.” I altered it after hearing candidate Karl Dean ask candidate Bob Clement the question that’s been on my mind for weeks: “What is your pledge?”

He was referring, of course, to Clement’s promise not to raise property taxes. Channeling the oft-quoted George H.W. Bush (”Read my lips, no new taxes”) Saturday night, Clement said:

“Karl said he didn’t have any intention of raising property taxes. What I said and what he would not is that I would NOT raise property taxes in the next four years. No New Property taxes in the next four years.”

Dean, thankfully, shot back with a long-overdue response:

“I think a pledge is a gimmick. Voters are the only ones who can vote to increase property taxes. Does your pledge mean that you’ll veto what comes out of the Metro Council? What is your pledge?”

Last year taxpayers in Nashville passed a referendum that gave them control over any property tax increase. Regardless, Clement continues to accuse Dean, who as legal director wrote an opinion concerning the constitutionality of the referendum, to be for raising taxes. What he doesn’t divulge is that despite Dean’s opinion, the referendum is now part of the Metro Charter and the authority to raise property taxes rests solely with the people of Nashville. The mayor couldn’t raise property taxes even if our schools were crumbling and our bond rating was in the toilet.

So I’ll echo Dean’s question, what does Bob Clement’s pledge mean? Nothing. It’s hollow and meaningless. It’s also a frighteningly obvious attempt to manipulate the electorate. More frightening, though, is that voters may buy it. It’s as if all some people have to hear is “I pledge to not raise taxes,” and then they pop their fingers in their ears, close their eyes, and repeat, “La la la la, I’m not listening to anything else that might be relevant to the continued growth and health of our city, La la la la….”

In poker there’s something called a “tell.” It’s a visual clue given by a player that inadvertently tips off the other players to that player’s opinion of their hand. The Clement campaign has a tell and it’s most evident during a debate. When the Congressman’s remarks devolve into a discussion about non-existent tax issues, it tips us off that he’s hard-pressed to come up with relevant and concise answers. And even if he does have relevant answers, or even thoughtful ideas, it’s hard to see them through the smoke and mirrors of his “no new taxes” pledge campaign ploy.