Grover Norquist Responds To Sen. Chambliss: Taxpayer Pledge Is Not About Me, It’s About His Constituents
On Wednesday, Republican senator Saxby Chambliss said he would brush aside his support of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge created by conservative activist Grover Norquist in order to work on tackling the debt problem. Chambliss dismissed the “20-year-old pledge” and said he cares more about the economy than he does about Norquist. Norquist responded on CNN tonight, finding it odd that Chambliss would target him specifically when the Americans for Tax Reform pledge is a promise not to him, but to a politician’s constituents.
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Norquist said Chambliss’ remarks were “confusing” because the pledge was not made on his behalf, but on the behalf of Chambliss’ own constitutents. He also disputed the idea that his own plan would add to the debt, saying he personally supports the bill proposed by Paul Ryan which he said would help pay down the debt without paying taxes.
Joe Johns asked Norquist if Chambliss ever spoke to him with his concerns over the tax pledge. Norquist said he spoke with Chambliss back when the senator was part of the “Gang of Six” in the Senate trying to deal with the budget crisis, and said Chambliss and the other Republicans in the group released a public statement saying they would oppose any tax increases.
Johns brought up similar remarks made by Bill Kristol about Republicans being more open to raising taxes on the rich, and asked Norquist if he’s troubled by a possible trend in the Republican party towards tax increases. Norquist said he’s not concerned because Republican leaders in Congress have made it clear they will not accept tax hikes of any kind, and despite what Chambliss said, Norquist suspected that he might have just answered a hypothetical question “oddly.”
Johns pressed him on whether he would ever consider amending the language or not. Norquist continued to emphasize that the pledge does not make a politician liable to him because it is a pledge to their constituencies.
Watch the video below, courtesy of CNN:
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