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Yesterday in answer to a Quin Hillyer post on Newt Gingrich and Senator Tom Coburn I referenced his cite of a posting from Jim Geraghty over at National Review Online.

This has drawn a direct response from Senator Coburn's office in the form of the following e-mail from Coburn aide John Hart. We aren't the mainstream media here....we want Dr. Coburn, for whom we have great respect, to have his response in full. Here it is.

Jeffrey,

I hope you are well. I read your interesting post on Newt. You claim that Dr. Coburn has proposed a $1 trillion tax increase. That is false. Dr. Coburn, like most free market conservatives who are not lobbyists, believes the best tax reform is reform that lowers rates and broadens the base. The plan Grover Norquist was referring to was a $9 trillion deficit reduction proposal called Back in Black. Depicting one of the most-detailed spending cut plans ever released as a “tax increase” proposal is ludicrous and undermines the conservative effort to cut spending and reduce the size of government. Remember, Mr. Norquist believes eliminating spending hidden in the tax code, even Obama stimulus spending, is a tax increase. Most free-market conservatives reject that argument. Defending tax earmarks for ethanol producers and Hollywood movie producers, as Mr. Norquist has done, is the tax increase position. Tax earmarks keep rates artificially high and are a de facto tax increase on everyone who doesn’t receive the benefit. 

Back in Black: http://www.coburn.senate.gov/public/?p=deficit-reduction

Best,

John