“Buy Republican! More Fat Cats, Less Taxes!”

Among GOP, anti-tax orthodoxy runs deep, reports The Washington Post:

[T}oday’s GOP adheres to a “no new taxes” orthodoxy that has proved far more powerful than the desire to balance the budget. *** This orthodoxy is now woven so deeply into the party’s identity that all but 13 of 288 GOP lawmakers in Congress have signed a formal pledge not to raise taxes. The strategist who invented the pledge, Grover G. Norquist, compares it to a brand, like Coca-Cola, built on “quality control” so that Republican voters know they will get “the same thing every time.”

 My heart loves the brand's unique selling proposition: "Things Go Better With Coke Low Taxes." My head knows effective tax rates will be hiked anyway, perhaps via "tax reform." Reason: The U.S. Treasury needs the money. And the money would start to flow immediately, as taxpayers hurry to accelerate bonuses and realize gains before low rates vanish.