The Daily Background

Aw look, Mitt Romney managed to do something that will make everybody, conservatives and liberals angry. Flashback to his time as governor of Massachusetts:

When Mitt Romney wanted to balance the Massachusetts budget, the blind, mentally retarded and gun owners were asked to help pay.
[…]
In all, then-Gov. Romney proposed creating 33 new fees and increasing 57 others _ enough, he said, to pull in an extra $59 million for the cash-strapped state.

Horseback riding instructors, prisoners, those seeking training to combat domestic violence and used car shoppers were asked to dig a little deeper.

Some reactions. A public affairs prof at Princeton: “It’s a shell game… He can still say he didn’t raise taxes, but fees are taxes by another name. It’s a trick.”

The president of an advocacy organization for blind people: “We renamed him ‘Fee-Fee.’ He was so unwilling to raise taxes that he was wanting to put all these fees in place instead.”

Executive director of a gun advocacy group: “We certainly shouldn’t be paying anything for our Second Amendment right, because it’s a civil right.”

The Club for Growth (a fiscally conservative anti-tax group): “his record is marred by questionable statements and positions, and his fee hikes and ‘loophole’ closures are troubling.”

Way to go, Mitt. You managed to piss everybody off.

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