Conservative spotlight: Alan Cousin

Massachusetts Republican Liberty Caucus

Some conservatives want a flat tax. Some favor a national sales tax. Others want cuts within the current general struc ture, which is what the two most prominent rivals for the Republican presidential nomination are offering. But all want cuts.

Despite these disagreements, some conservatives still want to commit the Republican Party as an institution to the concept of the flat income tax. 'I think it was something people didn't pay much attention to before [Steve] Forbes came along," said Alan Cousin, chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Liberty Caucus. Forbes' 1996 presidential campaign made the issue a permanent part of the landscape of Republican politics, but his withdrawal from this year's race leaves no one promoting the idea in the primaries. Alan Keyes favors the abolishment of the income tax.

The Liberty Caucus has the idea of working to elect to the Republican National Convention delegates who will promote putting a flat tax plank in the platform. David Trumball, secretary of the caucus, actually had the brainstorm and is spearheading the attempt in a state known for its liberals of both parties.

"We want to elect 20 out of the elected 30 delegates," said Trumball. "That way we can be sum to have a majority, because 30 of the delegates are elected and seven are chosen by the party. This way we will have a chance to get someone on the Republican Party's platform committee."

Though Cousin considers "the national sales tax the lesser of two evils," he believes he can whip other pro-sales tax folks into line by saying "that a national sales tax, though attractive, is less achievable."

Cousin said in announcing the campaign, "We understand that the delegates who go to Philadelphia in July and August will be pledged to support whoever wins the Massachusetts presidential primary. But how can any Republican not support a flat, fair, and simple income tax, as opposed to the graduated income confiscation system we have now?"

The Liberty Caucus, affiliated with the national Republican Liberty Caucus, is not conservative, exactly. but libertarian. Its website adver; .ses. "In Massachusetts, we've supported: cutting the general personal income tax rate from 5.95% to 5.0%; increasing the cap on charter schools; an end to local discretion in handgun licensing; cutting the unearned income tax rate from 12% to match the general personal income tax iaw."

The group's mission statement includes: "Lower (and fewer) taxes," "lower government spending and less government," "protection of property rights," "deregulation," "private options to Social Security," "term limits," and "the right to keep and bear arms.

Aside from its flat tax campaign, the Liberty Caucus is doing its part to push for more libertarian policies in Massachusetts. "We have some charter schools in Massachusetts, but there's a cap on the number, and we've been supporting legislation to remove that cap," Cousin said. Education, he said, is one of the few areas in which he and other members of the caucus are happy with Republican Gov. Paul Cellucci.

"Overall," he said, I would have to say that the governor has a record not particularly attractive to conservatives. Since he first became acting governor, the size of government has gone up beyond the rate of inflation every year." But the governor has pushed for trying "to create and enforce academic standards in the public schools. That's the biggest area he deserves some credit for because he's taken a lot of heat for that.11

In addition, Cousin said, Cellucci "pushed hard for this income tax cut, from 5.95 to 5%. And he has been holding the line.on some departments like the housing department and the recreation department. A lot of people like the fact that he's strongly pm-death penalty."

The caucus has its own PAC, the Republican Liberty Massachusetts PAC, which gave to seven candidates in 1998. The group has also launched a periodic cable program called "PoliticsTalk." Its first show, taped September 22, featured a half-hour on Social Security privatization.

Cousin, as head of Quincy Citizens Against Rent Control, is trying to defeat a bill in the state legislature (SI946) that would let localities impose rent control on buildings that had federally subsidized mortgages, even though they have been paid off.

Cousin said most caucus members favor George W. Bush over John McCain for President, though some like the latter for reasons "I haven't quite figured out yet." Perhaps it has something to with perceived "integrity," he said. As for himself, Cousin said, he does not like McCain. "It's campaign finance, it's tobacco, it's a whole list of things," he said.

The Liberty Caucus may be contacted at 443 Newport Ave., Quincy, Mass. 02170 (617-770-4188; email: massrlc@yahoo.com; website: www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Congress/1741/index.html).

Copyright Human Events Publishing, Inc. Mar 3, 2000
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