Update: Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, a no new taxes Republican, had twice vetoed a 7 cent gasoline tax hike to pay for road and bridge repairs.
Our national tax revolt began in 1978 with Proposition 13 in California declaring that being the least taxed nation in the industrialized world was just not good enough. No new taxes. It was exasperated with the coming of Ronald Reagan in 1981 who declared the governent was not the solution but the problem. No new taxes. From then on the core of the GOP was to forever reduce taxes. No new taxes.
In 1984 Presidential candidate Walter Mondale saw the writing on the wall and tried reasoning with the American people that we could not keep reducing taxes, he was subsequently laughed off the ballot. No new taxes. Seeing the GOP electoral success Democrats soon found they too had to go along or lose elections. No new taxes. Several years after Propostion 13, California public schools went from being first in the nation to 48th. No new taxes.
In 1990, George Herbert Bush realized the nation was in fiscal disrepair and took back his plegde of no new taxes. It lost him the Presidency to Bill Clinton. No new taxes.
Over the past 25 years infastructure and social programs have fallen into such disrepair that bridges are falling into rivers, bridges known to be structurally unsound. Much to the joy of Grover Norquist and the RNC. No new taxes. And what is the GOP mantra for the upcoming trouncing they will be getting in 2008? Get ready for YOUR taxes to go up and ruin not only YOUR country but YOUR life. No new taxes.