A rift over the GOP's tax pledge?
Over the past generation, the GOP's pledge to introduce no new taxes has become the essential conservative credential. But some Republicans are refusing to sign.
Over the past generation, the GOP's pledge to introduce no new taxes has become the essential conservative credential. But some Republicans are refusing to sign.
Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post reports in Saturday鈥檚 paper that a 鈥淔aint rift opens in GOP over tax pledge鈥濃�搑eferring to the pledge that Americans for Tax Reform鈥檚 Grover Norquist has compelled virtually all Republican policymakers to sign.聽 Helderman explains how the ground seems to be shifting:
Why the change in heart?聽 For one reason, because the lopsided, no new revenues (not just no new higher tax rates) stance just doesn鈥檛 make policy sense to many of these Republicans, who can鈥檛 see how spending-side-only approaches are easier than approaches involving a mix of spending cuts and revenue increases:
For another reason, it seems that voters don鈥檛 find a candidate鈥檚 blind allegiance to one man鈥檚 idea of the best fiscal policy very attractive:
What is it that has kept so many Republican policymakers so enthralled with Norquist, despite all the evidence to the contrary that 鈥渘o new taxes鈥� just makes no sense鈥揳nd (perhaps the most puzzling part) despite Norquist鈥檚 lack of charisma?聽 Senator Coburn has certainly been working to get his colleagues to snap out of the Norquist trance; the Post article concludes with this:
[UPDATE 3 pm Sunday:] And this just out from another Republican who鈥檚 even more fed up than Coburn about Norquist鈥� Former Senator and co-chair of President Obama鈥檚 fiscal commission, Alan Simpson, had this to say today on CNN鈥檚 Fareed Zakaria GPS (as reported on Talking Points Memo):