While Rhonda Sivarajah and Phil Krinkie compete in a conservative pander-off by signing Grover Norquist's American's for Tax Reform no-new-tax pledge, St. Cloud area Republican state senator John Pederson has declined taking the pledge in his bid for the Minnesota CD6 party endorsement.
At the paper's Political Quarry blog, St. Cloud Times political reporter Mark Sommerhauser writes in Pederson weighs in on federal debates:
Sivarajah and Krinkie have signed the no-new-tax pledge put forth by the group Americans for Tax Reform, which has become a litmus test for many fiscal conservatives.
But Pederson hasn’t signed no-new-tax pledges in the Legislature and says he doesn’t intend to do so as a congressional candidate.
“I’m not an elected official that’s going to sign pledges really for any purpose,” Pederson said. “I don’t think it’s necessary for me to sign a pledge to earn support from a certain group of voters.”
Moreover, Pederson says reducing federal spending is so important that all options to do it must be on the table. He says he’d be open to supporting a tax increase if it were coupled with reductions in entitlement spending. One example he gave was Social Security, where he says he’d like to see the retirement age increased.
“If there was some type of tax increase that is proposed with an agreement to drastically reduce our entitlements and get our national debt eliminated in a relatively short period of time, I would certainly give that serious consideration,” Pederson said.
Immigration reform: Pederson contrasts with Emmer
There's no word on what CD6 fundraising frontrunner Tom Emmer plans to do about the pledge, but Pederson appears to be distinguishing himself from the 2010 Republican gubernatorial candidate on the issue of immigration. In Saturday's article, Sommerhauser reports:
Many conservatives oppose creating a path to citizenship for people living in the U.S. without documentation, though the issue increasingly has split conservatives in recent years. Many also believe the federal deficit and debt must be reduced using only spending cuts and not tax increases.
Pederson views those issues differently. On immigration, he says it’s simply not feasible to deport the more than 11 million people living in the U.S. without authorization.
“I do think there has to be a path for citizenship for the folks that are here. It has to be something that’s difficult and has some sacrifice tied to it,” he said. “I do not want to move them to the front of the line in front of people who are doing what they’re supposed to do.” . . .
Pederson said he wouldn’t likely support the Senate immigration bill because he doesn’t believe it does enough to boost security on the U.S.-Mexico border and it puts too much responsibility on employers to verify workers’ eligibility.
Contrast that with Tom Emmer's statements earlier this summer to the Central Minnesota Tea Party. Sommerhauser reported in Emmer speaks on Detroit, more in St. Cloud during tea party event:
Regarding the immigration issue, Emmer said current U.S. laws must be enforced. He said the fact that such immigrants are in the country illegally makes it difficult to know how many are actually in the U.S.
“How many of you have heard: ‘We might have 12 million illegal immigrants in this country.’ Well if they’re illegal, how do we know?” Emmer said. “There might be 40 million! How do we know?”
Doesn't sound like Emmer is moving away from his earlier positions that netted a raucous $20 campaign contribution from immigrant-rights activist Nick Espinosa. Pederson's position, on the other hand, is closer to policy favored by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce--and Grover Norquist.
Photo: John Pederson announces his bid to replace a retiring Michele Bachmann next year.(Photo by Alex Svejkovsky, WJON News)
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