Buried within the letter that Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s staff wrote about his decision to keep e-cigs free from any state tax is the real reason for his veto: “There were many conversations about what an appropriate level to tax would be, but ultimately a tax increase on the people of Alaska is not something I can support.”

This is only the second bill that Dunleavy has ever vetoed, not counting budget items, the Alaska Beacon reported.

Dunleavy has played coy with Alaskans about state taxes and finances during his years as a legislator and governor. He continues to do so as a candidate, specializing in evasion.

That’s one reason why he refuses to answer specific written questions from news organizations.

Dunleavy is trying to replay the scenario that allowed him to win the 2018 election, relying on vague assumptions about the future that he hopes no one will examine.

What Dunleavy won’t make clear to Alaskans is what he has made clear to extremist groups Outside—Dunleavy is one of 16 U.S. governors who have pledged to never ever raise taxes.

“Governor Dunleavy has made a commitment to his constituents to oppose all tax increases,” according to the so-called Americans for Tax Reform.

All of the usual Alaska suspects have signed the pledge, which is a favorite with simpletons and con artists.

Of course it was only a year ago that pledge-signer Dunleavy had an underling claim he would support taxes if the Legislature approved them.

“If the Legislature supports these measures, these are revenue measures that the governor would support as well,” Revenue Commissioner Lucinda Mahoney told legislators.

But Dunleavy later contradicted that statement. He said the Legislature had to approve two constitutional amendments—one of which he claimed would ban any tax increase without a vote of the people.

But the details are not so simple.

According to Dunleavy, Colorado’s economic prosperity is due to the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, a 1992 Colorado measure that he and the Koch Network want to see adopted in Alaska. The version Dunleavy is promoting for Alaska is more restrictive than the Colorado plan, where taxes are considerably higher, and it would require government services to shrink as the years pass—especially during periods of higher inflation and population growth.