The further decline of Grover Norquist: "As of this writing, more than a dozen House Republicans including Majority Leader Eric Cantor and 10 GOP senators have distanced themselves from the pledge to one degree or another."
Thirty-Six Congressional Republicans (And Counting) Have Distanced Themselves From Norquist's Pledge | ThinkProgress
By the way, here is the text (or something pretty close to it) of the post of mine from a few days ago that was
deleted because of its use of an anagram of Norquist's name:
Members of the GOP have been giving Norquist and his pledge the big heave-ho that they deserve.
US Representatives Steve LaTourette (R-OH) and Scott Rigell (R-VA), both signers of Norquist's pledge, have publicly repudiated it.
Here they are on CNN on November 16:
Rigell: The Second District sent a businessman to Washington, and I go where the numbers lead me, and a careful analysis of our budget and trying to reconcile that with the Americans for Tax Reform pledge led me to the clear decision that the pledge itself is an impediment to meaningful tax reform. . . .
LaTourette: You know, I signed the Norquist pledge back in October 1994, 18 years ago, and it's a different world.
Here is Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) in an
interview by telephone with a television news station on November 22:
I care more about this country than I do about a twenty-year-old pledge, and I care about the country that we leave our children and grandchildren. If we do it his [Norquist's] way then well continue in debt and I just have a disagreement with him about that.
[The interviewer asks if he is concerned about Norquist using Chambliss's abandonment of his pledge against him if he runs for reelection to his senate seat.]
Well, you know, in all likelihood, yes. But I don't worry about that, because I care too much about my country. I care a lot more about it than I do about Grover Norquist. . . . Norquist has no plan to pay this debt down. His plan says you continue to add to the debt, and I just have a fundamental disagreement about that and I'm willing to do the right thing and let the political consequences take care of themselves.
And here is Rep. Peter King (R-NY) on
Meet the Press on November 25:
First of all, I agree entirely with Saxby Chambliss. A pledge you signed 20 years ago, 18 years ago, is for that Congress. For instance, if I were in Congress in 1941, I would have signed a declaration of war against Japan. Im not going to attack Japan today. The world has changed. And the economic situation is different. Ronald Reagan and Tip O'Neill realized that in the 1980s. I think everything should be on the table. I myself am opposed to tax increases. The fact is that speaker and the majority in leader and the president are going to be in a room, trying to find the best package. Im not going to prejudge it. And Im just saying we should not be taking ironclad positions.
Also that day, on
This Week, Lindsey Graham, though holding the line on not raising tax rates, still rejected Norquist's pledge on other points:
When you're $16 trillion in debt, the only pledge we should be making to each other is to avoid becoming Greece, and Republicans should put revenue on the table. We're this far in debt. We don't generate enough revenue. Capping deductions will help generate revenue. Raising tax rates will hurt job creation. So I agree with Grover, we shouldn't raise rates, but I think Grover is wrong when it comes to we can't cap deductions and buy down debt. What do you do with the money? I want to buy down debt and cut rates to create jobs, but I will violate the pledge, long story short, for the good of the country, only if Democrats will do entitlement reform.