On Friday, Republican Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas) and Rand Paul (Kentucky) became the first of the 2016 presidential hopefuls to sign the Americans for Tax Reform's pledge not to raise taxes. It is obvious, now in its 29th year, the vow crafted by ATR President Grover Norquist is not only an important part of Republican campaigns but a fixture within the modern GOP.
"Nearly all of the [54] Republican senators and [245] Republican U.S. representatives have signed the pledge, along with 13 Republican governors and hundreds of state legislators," Norquist told Newsmax on Saturday, noting the ranks of governors include two presidential prospects, Scott Walker (Wisconsin) and Bobby Jindal (Louisiana).
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is also considering a presidential bid, is a signer of the ATR pledge of long standing. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who has not signed a pledge for the '16 presidential race, did sign the ATR pledge in 2009 as he prepared to launch his winning race for the Senate a year later.
Another governor considering a bid for president, New Jersey’s Chris Christie, has yet to sign the no-tax pledge. But, Norquist told us, "He has given us a verbal commitment not to raise taxes and he has lived up to it as governor."
The lone Republican presidential prospect who is a "non-signer" is former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who also refused to sign the pledge while governor of Florida from 1998-2006.
Earlier this year, Bush spokeswoman Kristy Campbell told ABC News: "If Governor Bush decides to move forward, he will not sign any pledges circulated by lobbying groups."
Along with being a fixture among Republican candidates, ATR's no-tax pledge has become a subject of attack by national Democrats, who often refer to its founder and dub it "Norquist’s pledge." In his 2012 televised debate with vice presidential opponent Paul Ryan, Vice President Joe Biden derided the influence of Norquist (by name) on the Republican agenda.
At the National Press Club in June, in his farewell address after 60 years in Congress, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., charged "the Grover Norquist pledge is to carry out [Norquist's] goal of shrinking the size of government until you can drown it in a bathtub — his words, not mine."
After Newsmax read Dingell's words to him later that day, Norquist replied: "It's very flattering and there's real wisdom in his words. Mr. Dingell is wrong in citing me, but quite correct in citing the pledge as a substantial blow to the left. This is a high honor."
Norquist told us that the ATR pledge "is a public commitment made not to me but to the [lawmakers'] constituencies and to the American people."
On Saturday, he recalled 1986, the first year the pledge was unveiled and "about 100 Republican incumbents in Congress signed it as manes of putting themselves on record against tax rates in the coming tax reform bill."
President Ronald Reagan, Norquist added, while campaigning in six Senate races that year, "would say about a Republican candidate 'he signed the pledge.'"
"Before 1986, no one said they won't raise taxes. They just said how they preferred not to raise taxes and how pained they were after taxes went up. Now they were putting it in writing."
In the crowded 1988 Republican presidential race, Norquist noted, "every candidate signed the pledge except one — Bob Dole. When [former Delaware Gov.] Pete DuPont tried to get him to sign it during a televised debate, he still refused.
"That was before the New Hampshire presidential primary, and voters in New Hampshire understood 'the pledge' because candidates there have been signing a no-tax pledge for years." Dole narrowly lost New Hampshire to pledge signer George H.W. Bush.
Norquist blames the elder Bush's saying "no more taxes" and then breaking his promise as a key factor in his defeat for re-election in 1992. When Republicans took control of Congress two years later for the first time in four decades, the ATR pledge was widely signed by more than 90 percent of GOP candidates.
"A year after the Clinton tax increase, which was passed in 1993 strictly with Democratic votes, Republicans had their biggest victory in modern times riding on a wave of anti-tax sentiment," said Norquist. "And for the next 15 years, from 1994 until 2009, taxes did not go up. That’s a pretty good record."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax.
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