More Republicans are bailing on Grover Norquist’s anti-tax pledge as budget negotiations to avoid the “fiscal cliff” near.
Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., stood with Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., on Meet the Press Sunday, and rejected the pledge, which holds its signatories to not raise taxes during their terms in office.
“I think everything should be on the table,” King said, adding that the 20-year-old pledge may be outdated. “We should not be taking ironclad positions.”
King joins other GOP leaders, including Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., in challenging longstanding anti-tax conservative orthodoxy. The fiscal crisis has exposed how constrained Republican legislators have been by the pledge and lawmakers newly empowered by voters who demanded action on the economy are starting to push back.
In an interview on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Graham explicitly distanced himself from the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge.” “I want to buy down debt and cut rates to create jobs, but I will violate the pledge, long story short, for the good of the country, only if Democrats will do entitlement reform.” Graham also said that he opposed raising taxes on the top 1% of wage earners, even if he was open to capping deductions.
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