Party supports tax-hiking Villines

Steven Greenhut: The Republican Party supposedly was going to withhold its support from candidates who hike taxes, but insurance commissioner candidate Mike Villines is speaking at the luncheon and will receive party support despite his vote to pass a tax-raising budget. Villines promises to cut the cost of insurance through more choice and more options, whereas his opponent, Dave Jones, he says, believes that the public option in health insurance should be the only option.

More tough choices from Republicans: they can choose these moderates who betrayed them or their ideas, or let the horrific Democrats win. Of course, the Dems are really bad, but if Villines wins, then there is no price to pay for breaking pledges and raising taxes.

This is from John Fund in the Wall Street Journal from June, when it looked like Villines would lose the insurance commissioner nomination:

“In February 2009, California’s GOP Assembly Leader Mike Villines broke ranks with his party and agreed to a package of higher taxes championed by Democrats in the state legislature. The immediate reaction was negative: He was forced to give up his leadership post and the tax increases were overwhelmingly rejected by voters in a statewide vote three months later.

“But Mr. Villines also won plaudits from liberal elites and corporate leaders who favored the tax hikes. He collected hefty campaign contributions from big business groups and used the money to launch a candidacy for the soon-to-be vacant job of Insurance Commissioner, a statewide office. Just last month, he traveled to Boston to collect the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage Award for breaking with his fellow Republicans.”

There you go. Many are not standing or clapping.