Once You Make A Promise…
When I first ran for State Senate in 1990 (the race for the Legislature I lost), I had a meeting with Senator H.L. Richardson, the man who was the conservative movement in California for many decades. In that meeting he gave me the look that only he could give and said “When you make a promise to the voters in an election, it is a covenant. You vote the way you promised until the next election, even if you come to believe the promise was wrong when you made it. You then explain to the voters in the next election why you think that promise was wrong, and that you changed your mind. If they re-elect you, then, and only then, can you vote in the manner that you believe is correct based upon your changed position.” I took that advice to heart. In my time in the Legislature, I voted in accord with my promises as long as my election lasted. If I changed my mind while in office, I still voted the way of my original promise until the next election, and then only after I informed those who voted for me of my changed position.
These days, the debate is over the Americans for Tax Reform’s pledge not to vote for new taxes. I signed it the first year Grover… Read More