Once-Powerful Grover Norquist Losing Clout Among Republican Leaders

Congress is working to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff," a combination of tax increases and budget cuts that happen Jan. 1 if the federal government doesn't change laws passed in 2010. Republicans have been leery of raising taxes, but now they seem to be on board for some proposals after interviews on Sunday talk shows. Some leading GOP figures denounced Grover Norquist from Americans for Tax Reform and his "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" signed by more than 275 incumbents during the 2012 election cycle.

* AFP reports GOP strategist Matthew Dowd told ABC News that Norquist "is an impediment to good governing. The only thing good about [him] is he's named after a character from 'Sesame Street.'"

* Some prominent Republican legislators to Congress have bucked the Taxpayer Protection Pledge. Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Rep. Peter King of New York and Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina all refuted the pledge, according to ABC News.

* Graham told ABC, "The only pledge we should be making ... is to avoid becoming Greece. Republicans should put revenue on the table."

* Chambliss said, "I care more about my country than I do a 20-year-old pledge," also according to ABC News. King wholeheartedly agreed with the Georgian.

* Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., also broke with Norquist. According to the Washington Post, Corker said, "The only thing I'm honoring is the oath I take ... when I'm sworn in this January."

* Despite the perceived defections, Norquist isn't worried about his "no tax increase" pledge. He told the Washington Post that neither Chambliss nor Graham would vote for a tax increase "between now and 2014."

* Norquist further asserted that Chambliss made his pledge to the "people of Georgia" and not to the founder of Americans for Tax Reform. The tax policy guru felt it was "odd" that the senator attacked him after a stance in early 2011 eschewing tax increases, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

* The Wall Street Journal notes in an exclusive interview that the Washington insider claims Democrats have tried to "trick Republicans into breaking the pledge... this isn't my first rodeo."

* The Journal article also reveals President Barack Obama agreed to keep Bush-era tax cuts on the books for two years.

* Norquist founded Americans for Tax Reform in 1985 at the request of President Ronald Reagan. The no-tax pledge was signed by 238 House members in the 112th Congress and 41 senators. Additionally, 13 governors and 1,244 state legislators have also signed on.

* The pledge encourages elected officials to "oppose any and all efforts to increase" marginal income tax rates on individuals and businesses. The verbiage of the pledge also rejects notions of limiting deductions that taxpayers can take to reduce income tax liabilities to the federal government.

William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/once-powerful-grover-norquist-losing-clout-among-republican-221300322.html

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