Two More New York Republicans Stand Up To Grover Norquist’s Tax Bullying

Two new GOPers are standing up to Conservative lobbyist Grover Norquist and his stubborn “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” and they’re both New Yorkers.

Upstate GOP congressmen Richard Hanna and Chris Gibson have both said they will not adhere to the guidelines of Norquist’s pledge. Gibson signed the pledge last year when he was a newly elected congressman. Hanna has steered clear of it in the past, and says he won’t sign on now.

The two join a growing list of opponents and defectors of Norquist’s pledge, including notable Republican members of Congress like Long Island Representative Peter King and senators Lindsey Graham and Saxby Chambliss.

“You swear an oath to the Constitution,” Hanna tells the Oneonta-based Daily Star. “That’s enough.”

He went on to say “I know a lot of people are walking away from it. They
did what they did in the moment. I’m not sure anybody thought about the
full ramifications of signing the pledge. They have the right to reflect
on the decision and change their mind. They should have every right to
say: ‘I did it then and it was OK then but it’s not OK now.'”

Norquist’s pledge is basically a promise to their constituents that lawmakers won’t vote to raise taxes under any
circumstances. If a candidate refuses to sign the pledge — or fails to
live up to its requirements once elected to office — Norquist moves
heaven and earth to make sure that person isn’t elected (or re-elected)
to Congress.

As we’ve noted in prior posts, Norquist’s basically the Scut Farkus of the Republican Party.

In
the last Congress, 95-percent of Republicans signed the pledge,
and were subject to Norquist’s bullying. But as the country approaches
the so-called “fiscal cliff,” a number of Republicans are changing their
tune.

As Congressman King explained over the weekend, “if I were in Congress in 1941, I
would have signed a declaration of war against Japan. I’m not going to
attack Japan today. The world has changed, and the economic situation is
different.”

As we reported yesterday, Norquist responded by taking a shot at King’s wife.