There is nothing more irritating and maddening than the special interest pledge that politicians are asked to sign. And while this tactic has been used by both sides the most notrious and harmful cases of it are of course Grover Norquist's "No Taxes" pledge and the various pro-life/family pledges that religious and other wacky conservative organizations ask candidates to sign. They use these pledges like the Sword of Damocles over candidate and elected officials heads, practically forcing them to act as if the pledge were a binding contract with God himself or face the wrath of the elctorate who feels like some sort of trust has been broken.
I have no idea how much Norquist's "no-tax" pledge has actually affected the ability of Republicans (and some Democrats) to agree to tax increases, but the appearance is that Norquist is the puppet master on tax isues.
This has to stop and so I propose the following be sent to all elected officials and other politicians:
I, _____, do a affirm that the only pledge that binds my actions is the pledge to uphold the Constitution of the United States and to represent to the best of my abilities the people. I do hereby renounce any other pledges that would limit my ability to act and/or vote in a way that may be contradictory to the ideals presented above. I do not disavow or renounce the ideals of any particular special interest pledges that I have made or may be asked to make in the future, but I will not be bound by any such documents. I have but one special interest, the United States of America.
__________
Signed
___________
Date