Those who dismiss the Oct. 24-25 conference on tax reform as a Bill Sizemore publicity stunt should take a closer look. Though the Salem conference is widely viewed as nothing more than Sizemore's entree into the 1998 gubernatorial race, the tax-slashing, government-bashing activist has actually put together a useful event. Rather than coming across as an attention-seeking charlatan, Sizemore may finally have grown up. As the conference's panel demonstrates, this is not an arch-conservative dog-and-pony show. Sizemore is interested in bona fide debate on tax reform. The event's key speakers are four respectable tax experts who represent a fair snapshot of political ideologies. Michael Ettlinger of Washington, D.C.'s Citizens for Tax Justice clearly leans to the left. He's balanced by Grover Norquist, founder and executive director of the conservative Americans for Tax Reform. Patrick Fleenor of the Tax Foundation, also from Washington, D.C., stakes out the right side of the middle ground, while Jeff Hamond, a moderate Democrat from San Francisco's Redefining Progress, is his counterpart on the left. In setting up the conference, Sizemore got help from one of the most credible dollars-and-cents experts in Oregon. Jim Scherzinger, state legislative revenue officer, helped Sizemore select the panel and has agreed to examine the proposals that take shape there. Sizemore also says all the proposals must be "revenue neutral"--that is, they must generate the same cash flow that the current tax structure brings in to state coffers. "If this conference was me running for governor," Sizemore says, "it would focus on cutting taxes. But this is about changing how we collect taxes, not how much we collect." Sizemore says the best proposals will be presented to Oregonians in a statewide poll. Sizemore acknowledges, however, that the conference will help his tax-slashing cause. "No one will be able to say Sizemore just went into his kitchen and took out his crayons and drafted a tax-cutting plan without talking to anybody first," he told Willamette Week. "I'll be able to say I tried to get a consensus. Then I can go and write my own." The tax conference demonstrates Sizemore's coming of age in another way as well. The fact that Norquist is a key speaker confirms that Sizemore has enough prestige to receive the blessing of arguably the most influential Republican policy maker in the country. Norquist is the executive director of Americans for Tax Reform, a group he founded in 1985 to build grassroots support for Ronald Reagan's tax-cut package. Touching a nerve, ATR slowly developed into a power center for Republican strategizing, and today, Norquist is credited with designing the blueprint for Newt Gingrich's 1994 "revolution." Gingrich called Norquist the "brightest grassroots activist on the whole tax front" and still speaks with him weekly for help in guiding the Republican program. Norquist also heads an ad hoc group he calls the "Leave Us Alone Coalition," which links disparate pieces of the Republican party. The unifying theme among Norquist's followers is a demand for smaller government. That fits well into ATR's anti-tax crusade, in which it funds tax-cutting measures all over the country. Sizemore dismisses the notion that he's following some form of national playbook. He says he met Norquist at a conference in D.C. four years ago. The two became ideological allies. Sizemore, in fact, has been ATR's Oregon contact for years and, more important, was one of four Oregonians on a 1995 list of 73 regular ATR conference-call participants, ranging from former Oregon state Rep. Kevin Mannix to former Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed. One of ATR's pet causes was Sizemore's Measure 47. ATR contributed $600,000 to its campaign late last election season. Sizemore and Norquist share another common goal: reducing the power of unions. While both men couch their anti-union efforts as a way to shrink government, critics note that it also has the effect of eroding support for political opponents. "Norquist is linked to efforts in lab test states like California and Washington and Oregon to sap union support of Democrats," says political researcher Daniel Junas. The effort in Oregon is being spearheaded by Sizemore, who has offered no fewer than seven versions of ballot initiatives that would either prohibit public employee unions from directly deducting dues from paychecks (widely known as direct deposit) or--broadening the focus to private unions--would require union members to authorize any monies used for political purposes. The idea, according to Junas, comes straight from the Norquist playbook. Norquist is credited with convincing California Gov. Pete Wilson to push the issue through a ballot measure in that state. Now, looking quite gubernatorial himself, Sizemore is pushing the same issue. |
