Read My Lips: No New Taxes - Vice President Bush and Taxes

Vice President Bush and Taxes

As Ronald Reagan's vice president during the 1980s, Bush endorsed Reagan's policy that tax increases were undesirable but sometimes necessary. Over the course of his time in office, Reagan approved a total of thirteen tax increases, including one of the largest in history in 1982, while also cutting taxes on a number of occasions. In 1984, however, there was some controversy when Bush seemed to diverge somewhat from Reagan's view. Responding to Walter Mondale's admission that if he were elected taxes would likely be raised, Bush also implied that tax increases might be necessary in the next four years. Reagan asserted that he had no plans to raise taxes in his second term, and Bush quickly argued that he had been misunderstood. Bush's statements led some conservatives to begin doubting Bush's dedication to tax cuts.

As the competition to succeed Reagan began in 1986, it was clear that taxes would be a central issue. Grover Norquist, head of Americans for Tax Reform, had created a no-new-taxes pledge and was encouraging Republican candidates to sign it. A large number of congressional candidates signed, as did Bush's primary rivals Jack Kemp and Pete du Pont. Bush at first refused to sign the pledge, but in 1987 eventually acquiesced. (Norquist still urges politicians to sign his tax pledge and claims that almost 50% of congressmen have taken the pledge.) The Bush campaign would later join other candidates in using the tax issue to attack Bob Dole, who had not been clear on the subject. The exact phrase "Read my lips: no new taxes" was used first in the New Hampshire primary, and throughout the primary Bush's pledge not to raise taxes was a consistent, if not central issue.