The American Spectator

When Mitt Romney was asked in a GOP debate to name a Hispanic he would like to see his his Cabinet, the first name that came to mind was Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval.

In addition to being pro-abortion, what makes Sandoval unique among Republican governors is he’s one of the few to reject the Tea Party principles of smaller government and refuses to sign an anti-tax pledge.

As American Spectator Contributing Editor Grover Norquist noted in the March print edition:

 The importance of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge can be seen in Nevada where a Republican governor Sandoval was elected promising never to raise taxes. But he wouldn’t put it in writing by signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. He said his word was good enough. He lasted less than six months before he signed a $620 million “temporary” tax increase over the next two years. “That $620 million hike is scheduled to expire in 2014,” notes conservative activist Chuck Muth of Citizen Outreach. “Considering how he reneged on his verbal promise to the voters last year, we’d feel a whole lot better this time around if Gov. Sandoval would sign the Tax Pledge this year. Fool us once…”

And Grover accurately predicted the future, as those “temporary” tax hikes are being extended indefinitely:

Gov. Brian Sandoval said today he will propose continuing the 2009 tax increase to avoid further cutting education and other services when he builds his budget for the next biennium.

Sandoval’s stance is in sharp contrast to his budget approach two years ago, when he vowed he would allow the 2009 tax increase to expire as planned.

Sandoval ultimately included that revenue when a Nevada Supreme Court decision threw into question more than $600 million in local government funds he had planned to use to plug the budget hole.

But Sandoval said he doesn’t view the extension of the sunsets as a tax increase.

“Let me be clear, as I’ve said before, the economy is improving, but I believe we must begin this budgeting process with all the information available,” Sandoval said in a written statement. “In addition to avoiding further cuts to education, this decision means there will be no need for tax increases in the next session. Nevadans will pay no more than they are in the current biennium.”

This should be confirmation as to just how important ATR’s pledge is to the conservative cause.