Grover Norquist: Jeb Bush Shouldn't Have Answered Tax Question

The influential president of Americans for Tax Reform, Grover Norquist, criticized former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush during an appearance on CNN Friday, saying that Bush insulted Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney when he equated signing a pledge to never raise taxes to outsourcing of one’s “principles and convictions.”

Bush told the House Budget Committee at a Friday hearing that he would support tax increases in order to reduce the growing deficit.

“If you could bring to me a majority of people to say that we’re going to have $10 in spending cuts for $1 of revenue enhancement — put me in, Coach,” Bush said.

Romney specifically rejected the 10-to-1 deal during a GOP presidential debate in August.

“One of the guys who most famously got taken in was [Jeb Bush’s] dad … At the end of the day, the tax increases were real and none of the promised spending cuts happened,” Norquist said, according to Politico. “He ended up endorsing the policy that ended his father’s presidency.”

Norquist told Politico that he chalked it up to Bush being politically rusty and engaging a hypothetical question he shouldn’t have answered.

“When you’re asked a question like, ‘would you take a 10-to-1 deal,’ that’s like being asked what color unicorn you like,” Norquist said. “He’s not from D.C. Everyone in D.C. has been asked this question and they know the answer is: we don’t need to raise taxes, we need to cut spending.”

And conservatives has sharply criticized Democratic spending and tax plans, which typically call for immediate tax cuts with hypothetical spending cuts to take place over a 10 year window, maybe.