Another day, another position from Ron on TABOR.

During the Primary, Saxton Liked the Proposal

March 14 AP Debate –Supports General Concept of Spending Limits. “Now the kind of measure that was asked, which was a more general question, should we do something to control spending, absolutely we ought to have the kind of caps that deal with stabilizing this.” [AP Debate at Willamette U, 3/14/06]

April 2 Appearance on Outlook Portland – Not Ready to Endorse It, but Looks Reasonable. “It looks to me to be a more reasonable plan. I’m not ready to endorse it, but it looks more reasonable than the Colorado plan.” [WB’s Outlook Portland, 4/2/06]

April 30 Statesman Journal – Explicitly Says He Supports the Measure. “If the initiative you are referring to is the 'Rainy Day Initiative,' I support it.” [Statesman Journal, 4/30/06]

But Now that He's Not Appealing to His Right-Wing Base, He's Ducking and Weaving

July 14 ONPA Debate – Won’t Be Campaigning For It or Against It. “I do support the concept of a spending limit. The one that’s on the ballot in particular, I’m not out campaigning for or against it, and I don’t intend to be campaigning for or against any measure. Certainly not until we see which ones are actually on the ballot.” [Welches ONPA Debate, 7/14/06]

July 14 (Later that Day) – Supports the Measure. “After the debate, Saxton did not take questions, but his campaign manager, Felix Schein, said Saxton supports the ballot measure, but believes it is imperfect.” [Oregonian Blog, 7/14/06]

July 19 Oregonian – Backs off Supporting the Measure. “His campaign manager, Felix Schein, said later that Saxton supports the proposed measure but finds it "imperfect." Then, in a follow-up interview, Schein backed off again, saying Saxton wants to see if the initiative makes the ballot before commenting on it.” [Oregonian, 7/19/06]

July 31 AP – Now Needs More Time to Study the Proposal. “His campaign spokesman, Felix Schein, said Monday that Saxton remains ‘in favor of the concept of a spending limit.’ But, he added, the candidate wanted more time to study the proposed measure before staking out a public position.” [AP, 7/31/06]

August 3 Lars Larson – Praises it, While Declaring He Will Neither Support Nor Oppose It. “I encourage voters to carefully look at this because it’s a thoughtful measure that sets out an approach on how to measure the growth, how to set aside money for a rainy day. The principles of it are very good. … I’m not going to be endorsing this measure, I’m not going to opposing it publicly. … I will be happy to implement it and be the Governor that’s there to do it.” [Lars Larson NW Show, 8/3/06]

August 4 Declare He Will Not Support TABOR, Leaving Unsaid Whether He Opposes It. “I will not be supporting Initiative 6 [TABOR].” [Saxton for Governor Release, 8/4/06]

After six months, Saxton has taken every side of the measure – leaving us with the same question: Which way will Ron Saxton vote on Measure 48?