The Fair Tax Gains Momentum in Iowa Straw Poll

There have been some very encouraging developments regarding the Fair Tax movement. Brad Warbiany noted in this post that much of Mike Huckabee’s second place showing in the Iowa Straw Poll can be attributed to his support of the Fair Tax. The Americans for Fair Taxation group had a very large presence in Iowa but did not endorse any candidate in-particular. While the Mitt Romney first place campaign bused in supporters and paid their $35 voting fee, the Americans for Fair Taxation did not pay the fee for their members to vote for candidates who support the Fair Tax but apparently still were a major factor in Huckabee’s second place showing.

It seems that the other candidates have taken notice to the grass roots support for the Fair Tax as well. In my previous post, I had listed Ron Paul, Duncan Hunter, and Sam Brownback as “considering other tax reform” (read: on the fence) and Mitt Romney, Rudy Giuliani, and John McCain among those opposed to the Fair Tax. Since writing that post, I found the updated scorecard for the presidential candidates which show that some have changed position and others I misread their position (Duncan Hunter is a co-sponsor of the legislation, not on the fence). While Huckabee is perhaps the most vocal proponent of the Fair Tax, Ron Paul, John Cox, Tom Tancredo, potential G.O.P candidate Fred Thompson and Mike Gravel (the only Democrat candidate who supports the Fair Tax) either endorse the Fair Tax or have stated would sign it into law if passed by congress. Even John McCain who has been on record as being opposed to the Fair Tax has apparently done a 180 to jump on board with the Fair Tax (a last ditch effort to save his campaign perhaps?). By my count, that’s 8 candidates who now support the Fair Tax!

Unfortunately, none of these candidates are considered ‘top tier’ at this point. Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Sam Brownback, and the entire Democrat field (except for Gravel) are opposed to this bold legislation. But who knows, if John McCain and some of the fence sitters could be convinced that the Fair Tax could be a winning issue, maybe some of these other candidates will also see the light. There is still plenty of time between now and Super Tuesday for them to get the message if the momentum continues to build.