This editorial ran in the Everett Herald on Tuesday.

Only the lawmaker who approaches each issue with an open mind is likely to recognize a good idea when it’s presented.

So two news releases that crossed our desk last week struck us as troubling. In one, Americans for Tax Reform praised state legislative incumbents and challengers who have signed the group’s long-standing “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” which asks candidates for federal and state office to commit themselves in writing to oppose any and all tax increases.

In the other, Americans United cheered Democratic members of Congress who have signed onto the group’s “Golden Promise” to oppose efforts to add self-directed, “private” accounts to Social Security.

We’re not fans of raising taxes or of digging Social Security into a deeper hole. But public policy issues aren’t simple questions that can be reduced to black and white. Most good public policy takes place within shades of gray, in the compromises forged from varied points of view.

Lawmakers who pronounce themselves unwilling to yield even a little ground on particular issues risk making themselves irrelevant as that issue is debated. When the crucial give and take of public policymaking begins, legislators with their heels dug into the ground tend to be left on the sidelines.

And it’s so unnecessary. Candidates who are against tax increases can make their position clear. Those who oppose President Bush’s proposal to overhaul Social Security can say so without signing away their ability to negotiate positive reforms.

Voters are smart enough to figure out where candidates stand on the issues that are important to them. They don’t need a gimmick that screams, “And I really, really, really mean it!”

And, we suspect, they value candidates who will think for themselves and make the best decision they can based on each set of circumstances.

Case in point: State Sen. Dave Schmidt, a Republican representing Mill Creek, Snohomish, Lake Stevens and parts of Marysville and Everett, is no tax-and-spender. But when legislative leaders were negotiating a roads package that included an increase in gas taxes and vehicle fees in 2005, Schmidt successfully got more than $100 million in improvements to state Route 9 included in exchange for his yes vote.

Republicans in other parts of the county and state held to their no-tax philosophy, and their constituents got zilch.

Voters elect lawmakers to weigh options and make sound decisions. They need leaders who can think on their feet in the best interests of those they serve. Signed pledges are fine for charitable fundraising campaigns; not so much for the political ones.