Many naive conservatives thought that Governor George Pataki was a different kind of New York Republican.  After all, they delighted in Pataki's slaying of liberal icon Mario Cuomo in the election of 1994, and then Pataki passed an income tax cut and held the line on state spending.

Unfortunately, subsequent actions taken by New York's Republican governor show either a dramatic change of heart, or reveal him to be little more than a wet finger in the wind.  In recent years, Pataki has been more concerned with passing large increases in state spending; loading up New Yorkers with increased government debt; extending various taxes due to expire; and replacing substantive tax cuts with tax shell games.

But his journey over to the dark side was completed late last month. Pataki pushed through a doubling of the state's cigarette tax--making New York's now the highest in the land--in order to pay for a big government health care scheme.  Just to show that Pataki is not alone in his pro-tax position, the GOP-controlled state senate voted unanimously for the tax increase.  State Democrats, of course, enthusiastically embraced the plan as well.

In his state of the state address, this week, Pataki tried to talk about the need for tax reduction once again.  But it is too late.

If New York Governor George Pataki has any real desire to be a vice presidential candidate, the only thing one can say with certainty is that this overt tax increase should ensure that his desire has just gone up in smoke.