Politics: Are Republicans Really Breaking with Grover Norquist?

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Politics Are Republicans Really Breaking with Grover Norquist? The man behind the GOP's anti-tax pledge decodes the buzzwords. By David Weigel Posted Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012, at 03:51 PM ET Grover Norquist is used to it by now. A reporter corners a Republican on the tax extensions/debt deal/fiscal cliff. The reporter asks: Will you break the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and consider raising taxes? The Republican waffles, and the reporter's next call is to Norquist, the president of Americans of Tax Reform, to see whether a heresy has been committed. "Somebody answers a hypothetical—would you raise taxes a teeny bit if someone would give you a jillion dollars of entitlement reform?" says Norquist, taking a few minutes to talk between "some cable news things" on Monday. "That's the question that Sen. Lindsey Graham keeps getting." Over the weekend, Graham had joined the latest round of the game by going on ABC News and appearing to break the pledge, which puts its signatories on record against any net tax increase. "I think Grover is wrong when it comes to we can't cap deductions and buy down debt," said Graham. "I will violate the pledge, long story short, for the good of the country, only if Democrats will do entitlement reform." The Washington Post called this a "break with Grover Norquist." That wasn't how Norquist saw it. "I've talked to Lindsey Graham on the phone after some of his pronouncements, and he's said: 'Oh, I would need 10-1 [ratio of cuts to tax hikes], and it would have to include permanent, unalterable entitlement reform.' I said: 'Lindsey, if that's what it's going ... To continue reading, click here. Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum What did you think of this article? POST A MESSAGE | READ MESSAGES Also In Slate The Internet Wears Shorts Why Are Hotel Rooms So Expensive? First Lady Grace Coolidge Loved Her Raccoon, Rebecca	Advertisement
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