Why Norquist Hearts Perry

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Why Norquist Hearts Perry

Will America’s leading anti-taxer lift his soul mate into the White House?

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He hasn’t made any kind of public endorsement, but all signals point to Perry as Norquist’s ideal candidate in the GOP field. “I think that he is the full package as far as Grover Norquist would be concerned,” says Cal Jillson, a professor of political science at Southern Methodist University. “Rick Perry would be a very staunch Grover Norquist advocate of no tax increases and very limited new revenues to government.”

Norquist’s political blessing—or curse—can carry serious weight with Republican establishment and Tea Party types alike. While he’s an unknown figure to most Americans, Grover Norquist is perhaps the most powerful Republican in the country. He’s never held elected office, but Norquist has managed to convince 95 percent of congressional Republicans and more than 1,200 state legislators to sign a pledge foreswearing all tax increases. He was the leading figure to push the Bush tax cuts. His economic philosophy has become required doctrine for anyone who wants to run as a Republican.

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It’s unlikely Norquist will publicly endorse any candidate in the GOP primary next year. He has convinced each of the contenders (save going-nowhere Jon Huntsman) to sign his Taxpayer Protection Pledge. He’d lose sway over the eventual nominee if he chose to campaign on behalf of a primary opponent. But he’s played a major behind-the-scenes role in past Republican nomination processes. During the 2000 campaign, Norquist maintained his independence from George W Bush’s campaign even as Americans for Tax Reform ran ads attacking John McCain during the primaries.

But as Robert Dreyfuss reported for the The Nation in 2001, Norquist was the key in convincing the Washington establishment to get behind Bush. “At the time, for most conservatives Bush was an unknown quantity, and his closeness to his father (whom Norquist excoriated in his book for faithlessness and errors of political judgment) made the right queasy,” Dreyffus wrote. “Others in the race, like Steve Forbes, Alan Keyes and Gary Bauer, all had appeal to the far right—but Norquist … started spreading the word that the right ought to line up behind Bush.”

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http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=why_norquist_hearts_perry