Lawmakers who vote to let tax cuts lapse for millionaires would not be violating an antitax pledge, says a group led by activist Grover Norquist. House Speaker John Boehner has put forward such a bill, stirring fury of other conservatives. ?
Anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington in Feb. For decades, Norquist has vowed to drive Republicans out of office if they didn?t pledge to oppose tax increases.
J. Scott Applewhite/AP/File
EnlargeThe keeper of the GOP?s antitax oath has rendered judgment on House Speaker John Boehner?s fallback "fiscal cliff" plan that would allow Bush-era tax cuts to expire only for millionaires: It is not a tax increase.
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So decrees Americans for Tax Reform, the conservative advocacy group led by antitax activist Grover Norquist. With that step, the group gives a measure of political cover to congressional Republicans who back the speaker's plan to retain current low tax rates for all but those with incomes higher than $1 million.?
?Republicans supporting this bill are this week affirming to their constituents in writing that this bill ? the sole purpose of which is to prevent tax increases ? is consistent with the pledge they made to them,? said Americans for Tax Reform, in a statement. ?In ATR?s analysis, it is extremely difficult ? if not impossible ? to fault these Republicans? assertion.?
But the statement gives only partial cover, because other conservative groups that throw millions of dollars into political campaigns rattled their sabres on Wednesday, warning Republicans to steer clear of any proposal that does not extend the Bush-era tax rates for all Americans."
If the Republicans support this tax increase, they will lose control of the House in the 2014 elections.... Not only that, but a whole lot of members who thought they were safe and thought they could get away with this will lose in their own districts," says conservative activist and fundraising heavy-hitter Brent Bozell.?
"This is precisely what happened to them six years ago, and they've already forgotten that lesson," he adds. "Republicans were tossed out of the majority when they broke their word on spending. Now they're breaking their word again, and it's not just spending, it's taxes on top of that. Fiscal conservatives just won't stand for this."?
More than two dozen organizations joined Mr. Bozell in opposing any tax increase. Still,?the ATR statement is particularly important for Republican lawmakers,?who now know that?any vote to extend some but not all of the Bush-era tax cuts, which expire at year's end, would not?be considered as a violation of Mr. Norquist's Taxpayer Protection Pledge. More than 90 percent of congressional Republicans and a handful of Democratic lawmakers have signed the pledge, an important political symbol for conservative politicians.
?In this Congress the House has already voted twice to prevent any tax increases on any American," notes the ATR statement issued Wednesday. "When viewed with this in mind, and considering this [Boehner] tax bill contains no tax increases of any kind ? in fact, it permanently prevents them ? matters become more clear. Having finally seen?actual legislation in writing, ATR is now able to make its determination about a legislative proposal related to the fiscal cliff. ATR will not consider a vote for this measure a violation of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.?
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