Joe Coors Won't Sign Norquist Pledge

DENVER (AP) - Republican congressional candidate Joe Coors says he won't sign an anti-tax pledge because doing so would obscure his own reasons for opposing higher taxes.

The Denver Post reported Friday that Coors told anti-tax activist Grover Norquist he won't sign what's become known as the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.

Norquist is president of Americans for Tax Reform, and his pledge not to raise taxes has been signed by all four of Colorado's Republican congressmen.

Coors told Norquist that signing the pledge obscures the message he wants to give voters: That higher taxes hurt job creation.

The Golden businessman is challenging Democratic incumbent Ed Perlmutter in the 7th Congressional District.

"On more than one occasion, I watched members of the media say that House Republicans will not vote for any tax increases because they signed" the pledge, Coors told Norquist in a letter Thursday.

"To me, this claim is backwards: House Republicans are not against tax increases because they signed your pledge; they are against tax increases because higher taxes harm the overall health of the economy."

Norquist said Coors made it clear he opposes tax hikes.

"If your last name is Coors, it probably sends a signal that you're not some squishy Republican who is going to go to Washington and be talked into doing silly things," he said.

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