Frank Wolf, GOP Congressman, Goes After Grover Norquist Over 'No New Taxes' Pledge (VIDEO)

This post has been updated.

Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) launched a verbal assault on unconventional targets Tuesday, taking aim at Grover Norquist and his highly influential tax policy group, Americans for Tax Reform.

In a speech from the House floor, Wolf accused Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform of complicating the deficit-cutting process with their efforts to encourage Republican politicians to sign onto a "no new taxes" pledge, which has recently stretched far past the issue of personal taxes.

"Everything must be on the table, and I believe how the pledge is interpreted and enforced by Mr. Norquist is a roadblock to realistically reforming our tax code," Wolf said, after first clarifying that he didn't "support raising taxes on the American people."

"Have we really reached the point where one person's demand for ideological purity is paralyzing Congress to the point that even a discussion of tax reform is viewed as breaking a no-tax pledge?"

While Norquist and some Republicans have used ATR's "no new taxes" pledge as the basis for their opposition to eliminating tax breaks to certain industries, a move that Norquist has equated to tax hikes, a number of Republicans broke with their party over the summer and voted to repeal ethanol subsidies. That measure eventually failed.

As The Hill reports, Wolf is one of just six House Republicans in the 112th Congress, out of a total of 242, who have not signed onto the pledge. Reps. Richard Hanna (N.Y.), Todd Platts (Pa.), Rob Wittman (Va.), Rob Woodall (Ga.) and Kevin Yoder (Kan.) comprise the rest of the group.

UPDATE:

Norquist has responded to Wolf's comments in a subsequent interview with the National Journal.

“He either doesn’t understand what the pledge is or he is not accurate in how he portrays it,” Norquist told National Journal. “He had a melt-down and a hissy fit and I hope he’ll sober up and get back to the issue of holding spending down, not raising taxes.”

Earlier on HuffPost:

Comments

[Lucky S7even]

02:11 AM on 10/09/2011

nice play mr. wolf. thanks for waking up.

[sf1000000]

10:58 PM on 10/08/2011

Well Congressman...you found yourself...to Grover...your rants are spoken like a man that see's that your power is ebbing away...let's see how many more in Congress find their voices and remember it's the American People that hired you Not Grover ...
Grover...I think your 15 mins is coming to end...back to the trash can with you...

[IolantheLA]

10:01 PM on 10/05/2011

Isn't it interesting how all picture of Grover Norquist AND Andrew Breitbart always look like mug shots?

Andrew Breitbart also looks like a young John Lithgow playing Elmer Gantry.

[davearnold007]

08:25 PM on 10/05/2011

I think Colbert captured Norquist at his most revealing:

"Our grandmothers kidnapped and threatened with death until and unless we raise taxes, as Norquist was asked recently by Stephen Colbert?

Well, answered the unflappable Norquist, we always have our memories and our photographs."

He will be President of the US of A, by proxy, if his one of his minions get elected.

This man has no sense of humor....

I think he would let most of us perish rather than raise taxes on his favorite one percent of Americans...the RICH.

All Hail Grover!!

[DeTex]

08:06 PM on 10/05/2011

Pahleeze people, don't be confused that Rep. Wolf is some kind of hero.

Grover and Wolfie are methanol and rotgut whiskey. Both will make you go blind and kill you for a small profit. One is just a bit quicker acting than the other.

[davearnold007]

08:16 PM on 10/05/2011

Sweet.

FF

[catzoned]

06:16 PM on 10/05/2011

Abramoff ties—money laundering allegations

The Associated Press published a story on June 22, 2006, which described Americans for Tax Reform as being used as an obfuscating conduit to Ralph Reed's receiving over one million dollars from a Jack Abramoff client, The Mississippi Choctaws, to keep other casinos from opening as competitors.

Reed, who founded the Christian Coalition, would not have been able to transparently receive these funds directly from the Choctaw without alienating his religious base.
"In Jack Abramoff's world, prominent Washington tax-cut advocate Grover Norquist was a godsend.

"Moving money from a casino-operating Indian tribe to Ralph Reed, the Christian Coalition founder and professed gambling opponent, was a problem. Lobbyist Abramoff turned to his longtime friend Norquist, apparently to provide a buffer for Reed.

"The result, according to evidence gathered by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, was that Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform became a conduit for more than a million dollars from the Mississippi Choctaw to Reed's operation, while Norquist, a close White House ally, took a cut.
"Without citing any specific group, the Senate panel found numerous instances of nonprofit organizations that appeared to be involved in activities unrelated to their mission as described to the Internal Revenue Service."

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Grover_Norquist

[ursula isaacs]

05:53 PM on 10/05/2011

Kudos to Mr. Wolf for speaking up, but the truth of the matter is that norquist is just the tip of the iceberg. The House republicans are in the pockets of the corporations and the koch bros in particular. This is truly an evil cabal and a blight upon this nation. That is why the anti wall street demonstrations are so important. This abuse must be rooted out at its source. Furthermore, pledge taking should be made unconstitutional and disqualify any public servant from continuing to hold office. It's time for Americans to take a stand against the abuses our congresspeople have visited upon us.What they've done is nothing short of treason and should be addressed as such.The perversion of our democracy must be stopped and it's up to average Americans to make it stop.

[RyanCSmith]

05:36 PM on 10/05/2011

It never ceases to amaze me how one unelected legbreaker who has never worked a real job in his life and was born with a silver spoon crammed down his throat holds more power in Washington DC than the American electorate.

[thecarf]

05:28 PM on 10/05/2011

I've had enough of this over-stuffed man-child stomping his feet, threatening to hold his breath and turn blue over his pledge. It's nice to see that Frank Wolf stood up to him however, I wish nobody had ever signed such a ridiculous pledge. Reps who consider such pledges of all stripes should first consider their primary pledge is the the Constitution and the people behind that document.

Grover Norquist ought to be marginalized as an ideologue, not held up as a sphere of influence. There will be a time to lower taxes and there will be a time to raise them. Right now, this country, that we all live in, requires those resources. By the single-minded nature of his pledge, Norquist puts himself squarely between this country and our interests. He ought to be called out for that, not elevated for it.

[Rangergirl]

05:23 PM on 10/05/2011

Good for him. I wish more republicans had the guts.....he has GN is bad for America... His pledge is bad for America.

[MESGAIN26]

05:10 PM on 10/05/2011

Houston we got a problem lmao , looks like republicans have a crack in the Armor .

[sgraham59]

04:36 PM on 10/05/2011

A Republican With Some Stones Who Da Thunk??

[BREEZIE19682001]

04:29 PM on 10/05/2011

Glover Norquist has not been elected to any office..So it's hard to understand why the GOP would sign any kind of promise to his organization. And then drag this country to it's knees holding to that promise. What kind of lunatics are you.

[bigdaddyvike]

04:19 PM on 10/05/2011

Repubs eating their own young. Gotta love it. I'm still in the dark how Darth Norquist has any hold over repubs. They treat him like a god and hang on his every word.

[brklynivn]

04:14 PM on 10/05/2011

Norquist's boss is the House of Saud, and his job is to make sure their investments pay the maximum. His "tea party" activism is all secondary.

[cindylou1962]

01:19 AM on 10/06/2011

I hate him.