Free Press Op-Ed: Granholm = Clinton

If you like what Granholm has done for Michigan, you're going to love what Clinton will do for America.

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Granholm, Clinton, taxes go together

October 30, 2007

BY SAUL ANUZIS

If Gov. Jennifer Granholm is hoping to land a spot in a potential Hillary Clinton administration, she's off to a great start.

Granholm's recent endorsement of U.S. Sen. Clinton, D-N.Y., is a perfect match in the political "Dating Game" that has been going on between the New York senator and Midwest Democrat governors. Both share the view that bigger government and higher taxes will erase Michigan's single-state recession or last-in-the-nation unemployment.

First off, Granholm waxed eloquently on a number of points she felt justified her endorsement of Clinton, yet failed to mention anything with regard to where the senator stands on federal policies that affect our Detroit automakers.

What we didn't hear is whether Clinton will fight to protect the Big Three -- and the hundreds of thousands of Michigan jobs dependent on them -- and oppose the unrealistic fuel economy standards being pushed by the radical left of the Democrat Party. No single issue would have a more devastating impact on our economy.

So far on the campaign trail, Clinton has made extraordinary promises that amount to more than $760 billion in new federal government spending. Her first-term pledges include $80 billion to give every child born in America a $5,000 government grant, and a $100-billion plan for every American to set up 401(k) accounts.

Clinton might want to rethink those plans, though. With all those kids and families investing their government largess in the private stock market, exercising personal responsibility, and making decisions for themselves, just think of how many Republicans will be created.

Like Clinton, Granholm promised on the campaign trail a multitude of government programs and never said that she would raise our taxes to pay for them. Actually, she even promised on statewide television she wouldn't. Once the ballots were counted, it didn't take her long to break that promise, when she told Michiganders of an impending budget crisis that would require new "revenue," which is Democrat-speak for more taxes. Yet even in the shadow of a looming fiscal crisis, Granholm proceeded to outline nearly 20 new state government programs.

Also like Clinton, Granholm failed to make it clear how she was going to pay for these grandiose ideas, but Michigan sure found out earlier this month when she and Democrats in the Legislature passed the largest tax increase in Michigan history in the dark of night, when none of us were watching.

Given all these shared interests, it's clear why Granholm picked Clinton from among the presidential suitors. Moreover, it is becoming clearer why Clinton won't tell us where she will get all this money she plans to spend. If Granholm is any guide, we know exactly where it is going to come from.

Make no mistake, when Democrats run government -- as they do in Lansing under Granholm -- taxes go up. It happens every time, and it will happen in Washington with another Clinton in the White House.

So, as Granholm and Clinton join gleefully in "Holy Taximony," Michigan families had better grab their pocketbooks, because they are in for a fleecing.

A single-state recession, nation-leading unemployment, skyrocketing home foreclosures, and the largest tax increase anyone can remember. That's the governor's legacy. If you like what Granholm has done for Michigan, you're going to love what Clinton will do for America.

SAULIUS (SAUL) ANUZIS is chairman of the Michigan Republican Party. Write to him in care of the Free Press Editorial Page, 615 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI 48226 or at oped@freepress.com.