Grover Norquist’s reply to Saxby Chambliss: ‘His promise wasn’t to me’
So it looks like we have a renewal of last year’s sniping between U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss and Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform and originator of the no-tax-increase pledge that many Republicans – Chambliss among them – say will only aggravate a $16 trillion federal deficit.
Given the dearth of news on Thanksgiving Day, Chambliss’ comments on Norquist and his pledge, made to WMAZ in Macon, drew an inordinate amount of attention. Said Chambliss:
“I care more about my country than I do about a 20-year-old pledge. If we do it his way then we’ll continue in debt, and I just have a disagreement with him about that.”
That kind of rebellious chatter could have an impact on negotiations between President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans that are set to begin in earnest on Monday. Late Friday, Norquist sent us this lengthy response:
Senator Chambliss promised the people of Georgia he would go to Washington and reform government rather than raise taxes to pay for bigger government. He made that commitment in writing to the people of Georgia.
If he plans to vote for higher taxes to pay for Obama-sized government he should address the people of Georgia and let them know that he plans to break his promise to them.
The Senator’s reference to me is odd. His promise is to the people of Georgia.
In February 2011 he wrote an open letter addressed to me when he joined the Gang of Six saying he would not vote for any plan that raised taxes. He would support only tax revenue that resulted from higher growth.
That was a public letter he and co-signers Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn and Idaho Senator Mike Crapo sent to the press to explain their negotiating position as they joined the Gang of Six in early 2011:
Note this excerpt, the final sentence of the letter:“If and when there is a legislative proposal to be presented to Congress and the American people, we look forward to again working with you and all interested parties to support a proposal where any increase in revenue generation will be the result of the pro-growth effects of lower individual and corporate tax rates for all Americans.”
That is certainly a position I support and the only “plan” that I have endorsed is the Paul Ryan budget that brings the budget to balance and pays down the debt without any tax hikes.
Sen. Chambliss voted for the Ryan plan. I miss his point in trying to attack me.
Raising taxes on the people of Georgia to pay for Obama’s reckless spending is not the right thing to do for America or Georgia. We have a problem because Washington spends too much, not because Sen. Chambliss has failed so far to raise taxes on the hard-working men and women of Georgia.
Sen. Chambliss mentions his fear of losing a primary if he breaks his word to Georgians and votes to raise their taxes. History reminds us that when President George H.W. Bush raised taxes in a deal that promised (and did not deliver) spending cuts he was defeated not in the primary, but in the general.
When Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska violated his pledge to the American people, he would’ve won a primary battle. But he withdrew because polling showed he could not win a general election having both lied to his state and raised their taxes.
I would urge all Senators to oppose Obama’s budget that raises taxes on the American people and sets the stage for larger taxes in the future on energy that will hit all Americans and raise the cost of living while reducing the number and quality of jobs in America.
I hope and trust that Senator Chambliss will keep his promise to Georgia and not raise taxes on the people of Georgia.
To be fair, in the WMAZ interview, Chambliss didn’t express “his fear” of losing a primary should he discard Norquist’s pledge. But he acknowledged that such an action would likely enlist Norquist on the side of a primary challenger in 2014.
- By Jim Galloway, Political Insider
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192 comments Add your comment
Attack Dog
November 25th, 2012
5:55 am
Oh please Dixiecans (formerly known as Dixiecrats), follow Grover’s bidding. Nominate a Dixiecan candidate like Tom Price over a Dixiecrat like Clarence Chambliss.
goodwrench
November 25th, 2012
6:49 am
Saxby is a lying hypocrite just like all politicians in Washington. He will do anything and say anything to get through the next election. If he really cared about “his country” he would never have voted for all these meaningless wars and spending causing the deficit. Do you see him rejecting any of the undeserved printed and borrowed federal dollars for UGA and other state government agencies in Georgia?
Let the pain begin by not altering the present course so we can finallly get some sanity in the federal spending waste machine. America is on a course of self destruction aided and abetted by corrupt Saxby and all the rest. There is very little discretionary spending now.
By the way one Michael Burry, MD predicted the economic collapse of 2008 when no one else in government did. Listen to his 2012 commencement address to the 2012 economics class at UCLA.
Google his name Michael Burry and you will easily bring it up. Also read his editorial in the NYTimes
April 4, 2010 “I Saw the Crisis Coming. Why Didn’t the Fed?” Burry put his money where his mouth was. Saxby, Mr. B and all the others are lying hot air lunatics intent on destroying Amerika.
Julie
November 25th, 2012
6:55 am
Typical responses from some people who do not understand the democratic process. If whomever doesn’t agree with a comment, then call the person a name. Saxby was democratically elected in an election. That’s not socialism, that is the American voting system in action. If you don’t like it, then leave.
Julie
November 25th, 2012
7:03 am
Regardless of whether a person agrees with Grover Norquist or not, he is not elected, he leads a special interest group. He’s not the king of the United States, he’s a tyrant with an opinion.
Edmund Ruffin
November 25th, 2012
7:20 am
Norquest for US Senate, retire Chambliss. I would actually be willing to see a slight and temporary, if there is such a thing, tax increase if I see a major cut in spending in welfare, obamaphones, earmarks and foreign aid. Until I see the cuts, let the country go over the cliff.
Skip
November 25th, 2012
7:53 am
When did Obama start the phone giveaway? During Ronnie Rayguns term? Admit it Ed, you knew that didn’t you.
ricardus
November 25th, 2012
7:57 am
Saxby Chambliss – think TERM LIMITS !!!
It is time for you to return home and do whatever you do to make a living.
NO! to all tax increases!
red herring
November 25th, 2012
7:59 am
norquist is right, chambliss is wrong—once upon a time before chambliss converted to the democrat party he recognized that it is the spending in washington d.c. that is the problem not the revenue. to keep raising revenue over and over and not cutting spending has gotten us to this point. it is time to dramatically reduce the size of govt. in washington d.c. –removing saxby will be a good start.
Jack ®
November 25th, 2012
8:00 am
Liberals are always right. Never wrong. We need to give them the keys to the national vault and let “fairness” prevail.
mambo
November 25th, 2012
8:09 am
“The Rino must Go!” That will be saxby’s bumper sticker in 2014.
Carl
November 25th, 2012
8:18 am
Cut spending before raising anyone taxes.
Tony
November 25th, 2012
8:21 am
Here a novel idea…before raising taxes on the 53% that actually pay income taxes why not consider taxing the 47% that pay absolutely ZERO income taxes.
Before the left wing bed wetting Democrats start screaming …. remember the 47% is NOT made up entirely of retirees and the disabled.
CC
November 25th, 2012
8:29 am
I didn’t write this, but wish I had:
It’s official; I don’t know anything.
I thought for sure that given such a clear choice, Americans would vote for love of country over revenge.
I was wrong.
I thought, that just as every presidential election in my lifetime, the bad economy would be hung around the incumbent’s neck, sinking him.
I was wrong.
I thought that even those few Americans who were fortunate enough to still be fully employed (not counting those leeching off the public system) would be cognizant of how much pain their neighbors were in and elect someone who would at least try to make improvements.
I was wrong.
I thought that now that FINALLY some of the disturbing truths about our first black president had come to light, voters would reject a man so dangerously at odds with the American experience.
I was wrong.
I thought the 2010 elections and the Tea Party meant something. I thought the enthusiasm on display at Romney/Ryan events, contrasted with the lack of same at Obama/Biden events meant something. I thought Americans would never sell their liberty for the sake of trinkets like cell phones or even big shiny lies like ‘free health care’.
I was wrong.
Never in a million years would I have supposed that America would support a president who left his (our) people to die at the hands of our enemies overseas without lifting a hand to help, then lie about what he watched in real time for over two weeks, then lie about the lie for another month.
I was wrong.
I thought Americans could tell a hawk from a handsaw.
I was wrong.
We were offered the clearest choice we’ve had since 1980, where we had malaise and a misery index on one hand and a shining city on a hill on the other. Back then, we chose the city on the hill. This time the choice was between a man who says 7.9% unemployment and $4.00 gas is the new normal and a guy whose entire career has been about fixing broken entities.
We chose to stay broken. And Broke.
Maybe I’m wrong about the ramifications of this choice. Maybe windmills will actually turn out to be a viable energy source. Maybe America diminished will be loved overseas. Maybe a nuclear Iran won’t be a threat. Maybe Israel is over reacting. Maybe western civilization was always over rated. Maybe life under sharia is not bad at all. Maybe when the rest of the world realizes that we have no intention of ever paying back that $16,000,000,000,000.00 (and counting) that we’ve borrowed from them, they won’t devalue the dollar, causing hyperinflation here at home. Maybe China will just keep on giving us money and not demand our hearts, souls, national monuments and marriageable daughters as payment.
I’ve watched my candidate lose elections before but I’ve never felt the way I did last night when this one was called for Obama. It wasn’t bitterness or sadness or even disappointment. It took me a while to figure out what it was. Then it hit me; it was horror. Pure, unadulterated horror. Not because of Obama, but because of what it says about us, the American people, that we chose this.
It shouldn’t have even been close. Faced with the choice between taking charge of our destiny and tackling our financial problems, we opted to get high and have sex. We’ve elected a guy who doesn’t understand that a growing economy that creates more tax payers will bring in more revenue than higher taxes. A Commander in Chief who doesn’t know our military still uses bayonets. A man who wants to control the economy without even knowing the difference between bankruptcy and liquidation. It was one thing to elect an unknown quantity, buying his line of ‘Hope and Change’. It’s something else to deliberately choose his failed policies over someone who has actually achieved success in life. I never dreamed America would do that.
Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, Hello Idiocracy!
Goodbye, recovery.
Goodbye, energy independence.
Goodbye, religious liberty.
Goodbye, liberty and justice for all.
Goodbye, America dream.
It profits a man nothing to lose his soul for the whole world but we threw ours away for cell phones and birth control pills.
In the twentieth century (the American Century), we stepped up to the plate three times and saved the rest of the world from fascism, Nazism and communism. We were the cavalry, always riding to the rescue.
Now, we’ve gotten rid of our horses, spent all our money on windmills, alienated our allies, bowed to our enemies, cut ourselves off from our own natural resources thrown away our children’s birthright and spent their inheritance.
And we did it on purpose.
When the wolf is at the door (and he’s coming, yelling ‘Allah Akbar’) we’re going to find out that there is no one out there to come to our rescue.
On the bright side, maybe it’ll all turn out great.
After all, I don’t know anything.
Cherokee
November 25th, 2012
8:30 am
Sigh, Tony you do realize that the very poorest workers in the US pay no or minimial income taxes because of policies adopted by Ronald Reagan and Bush II, right?
Frankly, they, and you and me too, for that matter, already pay a much higher portion of their income in taxes – when you include all taxes – than the Romneys and Boortzs of the world.
Cherokee
November 25th, 2012
8:32 am
cc you need to go back on your meds.
Anyone who would find a kernel of truth in that tirade is a truly lost individual.
clem
November 25th, 2012
8:40 am
putting some things in perspective regarding the rich:
http://crooksandliars.com/susie-madrak/only-36-1-are-entrepreneurs-and-other
mark
November 25th, 2012
8:51 am
Go Saxby! stand up to the rear of a horse. Who voted norquest my rep!! No one voted for him!! Why does his dumb ideas matter? All because he convinced a bunch of elected republicants the house rules include no new taxes. That is insane. You cannot run a country by listening to koch, norquest, or hanity.
Walter ego
November 25th, 2012
9:03 am
Marks, Reagan raised taxes 3 times. Are you calling hima liberal? I wish the “internets” we’re not anonymous so idiots like “marks” either wouldn’t say such stupid things or would have consequences for it. “I can’t believe a conservative would raise taxes” is about as ignorant as you can get. True conservatives, like Reagan, refuse to ignore the facts.
Tax rates are the lowest they have ever been! How can the lowest tax rates EVER not be low enough? The most prosperous times in our nation’s history all had higher tax rates. We’ve had these tax rates for 12 years and everyone but the top percent are worse off. I’m all for lower taxes but our rates so favor the wealthy that they invest less and trickle down isnt even a drip.
Reagan raised taxes and for half of the republicans he wasn’t conservative enough. What a bunch of idiots half our party is.
Kris
November 25th, 2012
9:08 am
Was Sax drinking kahuna potion juice? As for Grover he needs to slither back into his hole.
rightwing troll
November 25th, 2012
9:18 am
Don’t fret cc…
Every single prognostication, pontification, prediction, and assertion you and your ilKKKs have made for the last 4 years has been either wrong-headed or just plain wrong… you little list of hate follows suit… save your last sentence.
Morons like you voted for W… twice… and the country survived… you’ll survive the re-election of the man chosen to clean up the flaming bag of poo you and yours left us all… And I’m not too concerned about brown skinned men yelling allah akbar coming to our shores, or iranian mushroom clouds, or whatever boogey men make you wet your pants and keep you hiding under your bed at night. Because yours is a hateful, augmented reality grounded on racist and bitter rantings of “entertainers”, turn off the Faux news and step outside. It’s cold and the sun is shining, there’s signs of economic life all around you (outside your ignorant little bubble of faux doom, and despair) and with things looking this up in spite of the stonewall built by you and your elected wingnuts and teatards, there’s no reason to believe it’s not going to get better. Just imagine how good it could be if the treasonous wingnuts and teatards started trying to be part of the solution instead of bullying their way into being the only solution…
You should probably go challenge somebody to a duel…
zeke
November 25th, 2012
9:28 am
If he truthfully was for the country and the people, he will oppose every bill presented by the democrats and Obama that does not reduce socialist spending to 2001 levels! No cuts in Defense, SS, or Medicare, but, cuts in the real entitlements, which are, medicaid, food stamps, adc, wic, ebt, subsidized housing phones, TV and internet, socialist block grants, and any of the other 1000 or so socialist agenda programs!
Real Athens
November 25th, 2012
9:28 am
“After all, I don’t know anything.”
No truer words spoken.
A Liberal in ATL
November 25th, 2012
9:28 am
Saxby and Grover….ugh!
When I was a kid we used to call each other “Grover” as an insult. Who knew what a monumental insult it would turn out to be. I think kids these days call each other Saxby.
A Liberal in ATL
November 25th, 2012
9:33 am
Guess what Zeke, without “socialist spending” states like GA, AL, SC, MS, and other poor southern states would cease to exist. Just to survive, these states receive massives amounts of money from the federal government. The wealthy states actuallly support the south. Would you prefer to go it alone? Good luck with that.
Disgusted Republican
November 25th, 2012
10:03 am
Who in the heck is Grover Norquist that makes him into a demigod as far as Republican policy toward helping our country het out of the mess we are in? It is little self appointed dictators like him who make the compromise that would put our nation back on track impossible! It is the constant infighting between the two parties that has caused this mess fueled by Norquist types on the extreme right and others on the extreme left I
Tina Trent
November 25th, 2012
10:15 am
Bob Loblaw: Do me a favor if you are really a conservative: stop pimping the rape issue.
I worked with political Democrats for many years. There is one thing you need to know about Democrats and crime: they are more stimulated by emptying the prisons to sop their fantasy world of defense bar heroism than making streets safer for real women. Only politically useful rapists mattered for punishment — and frat brothers regardless of guilt. Real criminals were to be pitied — then released.
The left-wing rape exploiters (I do not count service providers here) blew endless VAWA money on themselves, on billboards denouncing all men, and on whinging about so-called hate crime laws while helping the gay lobby hide the fact that women don’t get counted as victims under the sleazy hate crimes regime. They politicized rape activism in ugly ways to legitimate and perpetuate their funding lines. Then, when we had a bill in the legislature to actually do something about real crime, they’d be off at the college campuses screaming at freshmen boys instead of testifying.
So don’t talk to me about conservatives and rape. They were the reliable votes.
Call me unimaginative, but I’d rather belong to the party that has one (I don’t count Mourdock) buffoon making dumb statements about rape than the Party that gets off on getting real rapists out of prison and fights ever effort to control violent offenders, tooth and nail, while accusing innocent men of being potential sexual predators. If you want to whine about something, whine at them. If such things really matter to you beyond political tattle, that is.
And since you didn’t read the fine print, Akin wasn’t anyone’s first choice in his primary — except the leftists in Missouri who banded together to push him into the race thanks to their primary system. It’s not like nominating Cynthia McKinney five times on purpose. Put down the juice box before engaging your mouth next time. Read more widely. It clarifies the issues.
CC
November 25th, 2012
10:15 am
Real Athens@9:28 am:
“No truer words spoken.”
. . . but that is still significantly more than you know.
Michele
November 25th, 2012
10:19 am
I disagree with all those who consider Saxby Chambliss as a “traitor.” He, in my book, has risen significantly over the past few years as a true statesman. Maybe he does not represent you, but in this case he has taken the high road and is doing what is right for the nation. Not one person who holds himself above everyone. Not as a die hard Republican who ignores reality. Saxby Chambliss deserves much credit for his courage to step up and actually try to solve this problem of the country.
Cherokee
November 25th, 2012
10:33 am
Righwing troll @ 9:18 – gosh I wish I could write as well as you
Well said.
Yasser Arafat
November 25th, 2012
10:52 am
You Reblicans are the best friends we ever had. You let every terrorist supporter fool you every time. You guys keep that anti Muslim in the White Houserhetoric and that Muslim Brotherhood taking over the State Department mantra up. Kind like my people fooling everyone and saying Hamas wants peace. Our boy Grover is doing a fanatastic job fooling everyone that his little business makes money off some stupid tax pledge You guys swallow this BS and bow down to our boy like he is Allah. Don’t let the Democrats get away with garbage like this story about our boy Grover:
“”"”"”Not only was Mr. Norquist entangled with the criminal dealings of Jack Abramoff, but documentation shows that he has deep ties to supporters of Hamas and other terrorist organizations that are sworn enemies of the United States and our ally Israel.
According to Senate lobbying disclosure records of his now defunct lobbying firm, Janus-Merritt Strategies, around the years 2000 and 2001 Mr. Norquist’s firm represented Abdurahman Alamoudi, who was convicted two years later for his role in a terrorist plot and who is presently serving a 23-year sentence in federal prison.
Court documents and a October 15, 2004, Department of Justice press release reveal that Alamoudi, the president of the American Muslim Council, was arrested at Dulles Airport in September 2003 upon returning to the U.S after participating in a Libyan plot to assassinate the Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah. “Alamoudi participated in recruiting participants for this plot by introducing the Libyans to two Saudi dissidents in London and facilitating the transfer of hundreds of thousands of dollars of cash from the Libyans to those dissidents to finance the plot,” the release said.
According to the DOJ press release, Alamoudi, a naturalized citizen, pled guilty to three federal offenses:
· One count of violating the International Emergency Powers Act;
· One count of false statements made in his application for naturalization;
· A tax offense involving a long-term scheme to conceal from the IRS his financial transactions with Libya and his foreign bank accounts and to omit material information from the tax returns filed by his charities.
It is important to point out that Alamoudi’s ties to terrorist groups were no secret prior to his arrest.
Alamoudi spoke at an October 2000 rally in front of the White House in support of Hamas and Hezbollah during the period he was represented by Norquist’s firm, according to Senate lobbying disclosure records.. The “Rally Against Israeli Aggression” was sponsored by Norquist’s Islamic Free Market Institute, according to a September 2000 “Islamic Institute Friday Brief.” The Islamic Free Market Institute was created by Grover Norquist and operated out of his Americans for Tax Reform office in Washington, thanks to sizable start-up contributions from Alamoudi, according to a March 11, 2003, article in the St. Petersburg Times by Mary Jacoby.”"”"”"”"”"
http://creepingsharia.wordpress.com/2011/10/11/congressman-grover-norquists-terrorist-relationships-should-give-people-pause/
You Republicans are truly our best friends. It is that Black SOB in the White House we need to be concerned about between those drones killing Al Quaida terrorists and that Iron Dome system, it is not as much fun as it used to be to be a terrorist. Keep your concentration on taxes not terrorism,
Flowery Branch
November 25th, 2012
10:57 am
It is time for America’s newspapers to run a series of articles on the Bowles-Simpson Report, aka the report of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility.
This 60 page document, available free on line, is the highest quality piece of “political” staff work I have seen. It clearly addresses what needs to be done in terms of both taxing and spending. Still, it is a little too long for the busy working person to read, so, a summary should be accomplished for America’s voters.
It is appalling to note that few of the “leader types” I know have ever heard of the report and even worse, none of the Georgia politicians I know have read it.
Its the blind leading the blind. I say: Put that report in the hands of the voters and we will see some political accountability with regard to taxing and spending.
independent thinker
November 25th, 2012
11:03 am
People like cc are what is wrong with the GOP. He probably thinks Grover is an elected official or party chairman. No clue where Grover makes his money. Probably cc sends him campaign contributions along with Rush.
Best line from “cc”
“”"When the wolf is at the door (and he’s coming, yelling ‘Allah Akbar’) we’re going to find out that there is no one out there to come to our rescue. “”"”"”"”"”
Yeah if we only had W and his wench Condi to protect us. They did such a fine job making us secure before 9-11. When the towers were coming down , W read “My Pet Goat” That took care of that Allah Akbar nonsense didn’t it. Oh yeah cc is right turning Gaza over to Hamas and forcing Israel to unilaterally abandon Gaza was a brilliant move by W and Condi wasn’t it cc?
td
November 25th, 2012
11:15 am
Where are these “True statesmen” on the left? Where are the Dem politicians that say spending is out of control and entitlements have to be cut? Where is the compromise of the left? What “Real” spending cuts besides defense?
Whirled Peas
November 25th, 2012
11:19 am
Cut the crazy spending.
Cut the crazy spending.
Cut the crazy spending.
Whirled Peas
November 25th, 2012
11:21 am
“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men living together in society, they create for themselves in the course of time a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that justifies it.”
Frederic Bastiat
aps
November 25th, 2012
11:27 am
Someone please tell me what law the federal government has passed in the past 20 years that actually helped the people of America? The giveaway programs have increased in cost exponentially each year and only made people greedy and wanting more for nothing. Why do we have support programs that have no strings attached?
td
November 25th, 2012
11:42 am
‘Although Obama and his fellow Democrats repeatedly call on wealthier Americans to pay their “fair share,” they never specify what percentage of the nation’s tax burden the wealthy would have to bear. As matters stand, the top 1 percent of American households paid 39 percent of income taxes in 2009, according to the most recent data compiled by the Congressional Budget Office, and the top 5 percent of taxpayers paid 64 percent.”
“But income taxes, taken in isolation, do not tell the whole story, because lower-income Americans do pay payroll taxes. But even taking into account all forms of taxation, the top 1 percent still paid 22 percent of federal taxes while earning just 13.4 percent of household income. The top 5 percent paid 40 percent of all federal taxes, despite earning only 26 percent of all income. No matter how you slice the numbers, it’s hard to understand why anyone would think the wealthy aren’t already shouldering a burden commensurate with their blessings.”
http://washingtonexaminer.com/examiner-editorial-if-top-5-paid-40-of-taxes-what-is-their-fair-share/article/2513985#.ULJJUWd2zNU
double
November 25th, 2012
11:48 am
WP @11:21 you hit the nail on the head.
CC with all those wrongs you should have wrote it.
GOP: Don’t let the door hit you…This is the attitude the american people are tired of hearing.
fair and balanced
November 25th, 2012
12:20 pm
Boy the cons do such a great job picking their leaders like Limbaugh. , Romney, Grover, Deal etc. All ehtically challenged and morally flawed. Grover has some much unethical baggage with his lobbying history he would make a great Georgia politician. Ya’ll keep idolizing him. Makes the Dems job so much easier.
political arsonist
November 25th, 2012
1:54 pm
norquist is just another almost extinct old white man horse’s ass whose time has passed
honested
November 25th, 2012
2:20 pm
The President should ignore norquist and chambliss.
He should take a couple of months concentrating on the immediate and important problems facing our Country.
Then in February, after the new Congress is seated, he can discuss with them appropriate middle class tax cuts and which excessive military wastes of taxpayer funds are worthy of continued but reduced funding.
honested
November 25th, 2012
2:23 pm
td,
‘Entitlements’ don’t need to be mentioned in these discussions (unless it is to raise or eliminate the 941 ‘cap’).
Entitlements have nothing whatsoever to do with the budget or the need for return to sane revenue collection.
You must be confusing the needs of the Citizens with the ‘entitlement mentality’ of the military.