Grover Glenn Norquist (born October 19, 1956) is an American lobbyist, conservative activist,[3] and founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[4] He is best known as the promoter of the "Taxpayer Protection Pledge", which was signed by 95% of all Republican Congressmen and all but one of the 2012 Republican presidential candidates, to oppose increases in marginal income tax rates for individuals and businesses, as well as net reductions or eliminations of deductions and credits without a matching reduced tax rate.[5]
Norquist grew up in Weston, Massachusetts. He is the son of Carol (née Lutz) and Warren Elliott Norquist, a vice president of Polaroid Corporation.[6][7] Norquist became involved with politics at an early age and in his early teenage years he volunteered for the 1968 Nixon campaign, assisting with get out the vote efforts.[8] He graduated from Weston High School and enrolled at Harvard University in 1974, where he obtained both a B.A. and an M.B.A.. While in college, Norquist was an editor at the Harvard Crimson and helped to publish the libertarian-leaning Harvard Chronicle.[9] Norquist has said: "When I became 21, I decided that nobody learned anything about politics after the age of 21."[8] He attended the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia,[10] an organization that teaches conservative Americans how to influence public policy through activism and leadership.[11]
Early in his career, Norquist was executive director of both the National Taxpayers Union and the national College Republicans, holding both positions until 1983. Afterward, he served as Economist and Chief Speechwriter at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce from 1983 to 1984.[12]
Norquist traveled to several war zones to help support anti-Soviet guerrilla armies in the second half of the 1980s. He worked with a support network for Oliver North's efforts with the Nicaraguan Contras and other insurgencies, in addition to promoting U.S. support for groups including Mozambique's RENAMO and Jonas Savimbi's UNITA in Angola and helping to organize anti-Soviet forces in Laos.[9]
Norquist is best known for founding Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) in 1985, which he says was done at the request of then-President Ronald Reagan.[13] Referring to Norquist's activities as head of ATR, Steve Kroft, in a 60 Minutes episode that aired on November 20, 2011, claimed that "Norquist has been responsible, more than anyone else, for rewriting the dogma of the Republican Party."[14]
The primary policy goal of Americans for Tax Reform is to reduce government revenues as a percentage of the GDP.[15][16] ATR states that it "opposes all tax increases as a matter of principle."[17] Americans for Tax Reform has supported Taxpayer Bill of Rights (TABOR) legislation[18] and transparency initiatives,[19] while opposing cap-and-trade legislation[20] and Democratic efforts to overhaul health care.[21]
In 1993, Norquist launched his Wednesday Meetings series at ATR headquarters, initially to help fight President Clinton's healthcare plan and eventually becoming one of the most significant institutions in American conservative political organizing.[9] The meetings have been called "a must-attend event for Republican operatives fortunate enough to get an invitation", and "the Grand Central station of the conservative movement."[3]
In 2009, Norquist received $200,000 in annual compensation for his part-time job (24 hours per week) with Americans for Tax Reform, plus an additional $22,419 in other compensation from ATR and related organizations.[22][23]
As a nonprofit organization, Americans for Tax Reform is not required to disclose the identity of its contributors. Critics such as Sen. Alan Simpson, have asked Norquist to disclose his contributors; he has declined but has said that ATR is financed by direct mail and other grassroots fundraising efforts. According to CBS News, "a significant portion appears to come from wealthy individuals, foundations and corporate interests."[3]
As of late 2011, 238 of 242 House Republicans and 41 out of 47 Senate Republicans had signed ATR's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge", in which the pledger promises to "oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rate for individuals and business; and to oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates."[5][24]
In November 2011, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) blamed Norquist's influence for the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction's lack of progress, claiming that Congressional Republicans "are being led like puppets by Grover Norquist. They’re giving speeches that we should compromise on our deficit, but never do they compromise on Grover Norquist. He is their leader."[25] Since Norquist's pledge binds signatories to opposing deficit reduction agreements that include any element of increased tax revenue, some Republican deficit hawks now retired from office have stated that Norquist has become an obstacle to deficit reduction.[26][27] Former Republican Senator Alan Simpson, co-chairman of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, has been particularly critical, describing Norquist's position as "[n]o taxes, under any situation, even if your country goes to hell."[3]
Norquist was listed as one of the five primary leaders of the post-Goldwater conservative movement by Nina Easton in her 2000 book, Gang of Five.[28] Working with eventual Speaker Newt Gingrich, Norquist was one of the co-authors of the 1994 Contract with America, and helped to rally grassroots efforts, which Norquist later chronicled in his book Rock the House.[9] Norquist also served as a campaign staff member on the 1988, 1992 and 1996 Republican Platform Committees.
Norquist was instrumental in securing early support for the presidential campaign of then-Governor George W. Bush, acting as his unofficial liaison to the conservative movement.[9] He campaigned for Bush in both 2000 and 2004.[29] After Bush's first election, Norquist was a key figure involved in crafting Bush's tax cuts. John Fund of the Wall Street Journal dubbed Norquist "the Grand Central Station" of conservatism and told The Nation: "It's not disputable" that Norquist was the key to the Bush campaign's surprising level of support from movement conservatives in 2000.[30]
He has long been active in building bridges between various ethnic and religious minorities and the free-market community through his co-founding of the Islamic Free Market Institute,[31] and his involvement with Acton Institute, Christian Coalition and Toward Tradition.[citation needed]
In 2010, Norquist, whose wife was born into a Muslim family, emerged as an outspoken Republican foe of politicizing the mosque-in-Manhattan issue, calling it a "distraction".[32]
He has also "announced his plan to assemble a center-right coalition to discuss pulling out of Afghanistan to save hundreds of billions of dollars."[33]
Norquist is active in Tea Party politics. Talking at a Florida rally he said "tea party groups should serve as the 'exoskeleton' that protects newly elected Republicans" from pressures to increase government spending.[34]
According to a 2011 memoir by former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Norquist was one of Abramoff's first major Republican party contacts.[35] Norquist and Americans for Tax Reform were also mentioned in Senate testimony relating to the Jack Abramoff Indian lobbying scandal which resulted in a 2006 guilty plea by Abramoff to three criminal felony counts of defrauding of American Indian tribes and corrupting public officials. Records released by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee allege that ATR served as a "conduit" for funds that flowed from Abramoff's clients to surreptitiously finance grass-roots lobbying campaigns.[36] Norquist has denied that he did anything wrong, and has not been charged with any crime.[37]
Norquist's national strategy has included recruiting state and local politicians to support ATR's stance on taxes. Norquist has helped to set up regular meetings for conservatives in many states. These meetings are modeled after his Wednesday meetings in Washington, with the goal of creating a nationwide network of conservative activists that he can call upon to support conservative causes, such as tax cuts and deregulation. There are now meetings in 48 states.[37]
In 2004, Norquist helped California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger with his plan to privatize the CalPERS system.[38] In Virginia's 2005 Republican primaries Norquist encouraged the defeat of a number of legislators who voted for higher taxes.[37]
Norquist serves on the boards of directors of numerous organizations including the National Rifle Association,[39] the American Conservative Union,[1] the Hispanic Leadership Fund, the Indian-American Republican Caucus, and ParentalRights.org, an organization that wishes to add a Parental Rights Amendment to the United States Constitution.[citation needed] In 2010, Norquist joined the advisory board of GOProud, a political organization representing conservative gays, lesbians, transgendered people, and their allies, for which he was criticized by the Family Research Council.[40][41] Norquist also sits on a six-person advisory panel that nominates Time magazine’s Person of the Year.[42]
In business, Norquist was a co-founder of the Merritt Group, later renamed Janus-Merritt Strategies.[43]
Norquist favors dramatically reducing the size of the government.[9] He has been noted for his widely quoted quip: "I'm not in favor of abolishing the government. I just want to shrink it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."[44] Journalist William Greider quotes him saying his goal is to bring America back to what it was `up until Teddy Roosevelt, when the socialists took over. The income tax, the death tax, regulation, all that.`[45] When asked by journalist Steven Kroft about the goal of chopping government "in half and then shrink it again to where we were at the turn of the century" before social security and medicare, Norquist replied, "We functioned in this country with government at eight percent of GDP for a long time and quite well."[3]
Some smaller government advocates argue that Norquist's "obsession with tax revenue" is actually counterproductive with respect to minimizing the size of government, however.[46] Although the Americans for Tax Reform mission statement is "The government's power to control one's life derives from its power to tax. We believe that power should be minimized",[47] critics at the Cato Institute have argued that "holding the line on taxes constrains only one of the four tools (taxes, tax deductions, spending without taxation, and regulation) used by government to alter economic outcomes."[46]
Norquist published Leave Us Alone: Getting the Government's Hands Off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives,[48] in 2008. In 2012 he published Debacle: Obama's War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future,[49] with John R. Lott, Jr. He has served as a monthly "Politics" columnist and contributing editor to The American Spectator.[50]
Norquist has described himself as a "boring white bread Methodist."[51] In 2004, at age 48, he married a Palestinian Muslim[32] named Samah Alrayyes,[52][53] a Kuwaiti PR specialist who was formerly a director of the Islamic Free Market Institute and specialist at the Bureau of Legislative and Public Affairs at United States Agency for International Development (USAID).[54][55] The couple has two children adopted from abroad.[56] Norquist is said to live a modest lifestyle. According to friend and former roommate John Fund, Norquist's devotion to his political causes is "monk-like" and comparable to that of Ralph Nader.[9]
Norquist has competed three times in the comedy fundraiser "Washington's Funniest Celebrity" and placed second in 2009.[57][58][59] Humorist P. J. O'Rourke has described Norquist as "Tom Paine crossed with Lee Atwater plus just a soupçon of Madame Defarge".[60] He was featured in the article and video "press conference" "Scandalous Photos Reveal Grover Norquist Carried On Secret Affair With Taxes For Years" on the satirical news site The Onion in January 2012.[61]
- Rock the House. Ft. Lauderdale, Fla: VYTIS Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0-9645786-0-9
- Taxes: The Economic & Philosophical Necessity of Real Reform. Minneapolis, MN: Center of the American Experiment, 1996. OCLC 37889749
- "America is freedom" chapter from Deaver, Michael K. Why I Am a Reagan Conservative, Chapter New York: W. Morrow, 2005. ISBN 978-0-06-055976-2
- Leave Us Alone: Getting the Governments Hands Off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives. New York, NY: W. Morrow, 2008. ISBN 978-0-06-113395-4
- Debacle: Obama's War on Jobs and Growth and What We Can Do Now to Regain Our Future. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2012. ISBN 978-1-118-18617-6
- ^ a b "ACU: Board of Directors". The American Conservative Union. http://www.conservative.org/about-acu/board-of-directorsstaff/. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
- ^ "Grover Norquist From HarperCollins Publishers". HarperCollins Publishers. http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/31076/Grover_Norquist/index.aspx. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e The Pledge: Grover Norquist's hold on the GOP cbsnews.com . November 20, 2011
- ^ http://www.cfr.org/about/membership/roster.html?letter=N
- ^ a b "Taxpayer Protection Pledge" (PDF). Americans for Tax Reform. 2011. http://www.atr.org/userfiles/Congressional_pledge(1).pdf. Retrieved December 11, 2011.
- ^ "Grover Norquist". NNDB. 2011. http://www.nndb.com/people/482/000049335. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ Scherer, Michael (January 2004). "The Soul of the New Machine". Mother Jones. http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2004/01/soul-new-machine. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ a b Grover, Norquist (August 23, 2009). "First Person Singular: Grover Norquist". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/14/AR2009081402035.html. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e f g Robert, Dreyfuss (May 14, 2001). "Grover Norquist: Field Marshal of the Bush Plan". The Nation. http://www.thenation.com/doc/20010514/dreyfuss. Retrieved January 10, 2010.
- ^ Horwitz, Jeff (May 25, 2005). "My Right-Wing Degree: How I learned to convert liberal campuses into conservative havens at Morton Blackwell's Leadership Institute, alma mater of Karl Rove, Ralph Reed, Jeff Gannon and two Miss Americas". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/2005/05/25/blackwell_9/. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
- ^ "The LI Difference". The Leadership Institute. http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/aboutus/Difference.cfm. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
- ^ "Grover Norquist: Republican". NewsMax. http://w3.newsmax.com/republicans/Grover_Norquist.cfm. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ ATR | Mission Statement
- ^ Grover Norquist's hold on the GOP WLTX November 20, 2011
- ^ Grover Norquist (April 2009). "National Tea Party Tax Protests" (online q & a). washingtonpost.com. The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/04/15/DI2009041501193.html. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
- ^ "Cost of Government Day 2008". Center For Fiscal Accountability. http://www.fiscalaccountability.org/index.php?content=cogsub10. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ "The Great Tax Debate". NOW With Bill Moyers. http://www.pbs.org/now/politics/taxcutdebate.html. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ Tom, Bell (May 14, 2001). "Tax-Reform Guru Touts TABOR II". Morning Sentinel. http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/news/local/6959021.html. Retrieved November 7, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "Advocates of Florida Spending Transparency Hold Press Conference" (Press release). Reuters. October 28, 2008. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS249645+21-Feb-2008+PRN20080221. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ Mora, Edwin (August 26, 2009). "Government Agencies Would Need $16.6 Billion in New Tax Revenue to Buy Carbon Allowances Under Global Warming Legislation". CNS News. http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/53039. Retrieved November 7, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "Taxpayer Group Launches Petition to Ask Sen. Ben Nelson to Keep His Pledge" (Press release). Reuters. October 28, 2009. http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS198019+28-Oct-2009+PRN20091028. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ Norquist, Grover; Americans for Tax Reform (May 12, 2010). "Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax: 2009" (PDF). IRS form 990. GuideStar. p. 7. http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2009/521/403/2009-521403587-060b0182-9O.pdf. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
- ^ "Supporting Ohio’s SB5, Grover Norquist blasts GOP mayor, ignores law’s most damaging ‘tenets’". The Washington Independent. November 3, 2011. http://washingtonindependent.com/115149/supporting-ohios-sb5-grover-norquist-blasts-gop-mayor-ignores-laws-most-damaging-tenets. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
- ^ Sean Lengell, Boehner: Grover Norquist just a 'random' guy The Washington Times November 3, 2011
- ^ Scott Wong, Reid: Norquist leads Republicans 'like puppets' Politico On Congress blog November 1, 2011
- ^ Charles Babington Anti-tax diehard looms large in spending showdown[dead link] Associated Press July 3, 2011
- ^ Alison Fitzgerald No-Tax ‘Zealot’ Norquist Emerges as Biggest Barrier to U.S. Deficit Deal Bloomberg News May 24, 2011
- ^ Indiana Monthly, version 24, no. 2 (Indiana): pp. 144–144. October 2000. Bill Kristol, Ralph E. Reed, Jr., Clint Bolick, and David McIntosh are the other four.
- ^ Who's Getting Your Vote?, Reason
- ^ Suellentrop, Chris (July 7, 2003). "Grover Norquist, GOP Prophet of Permanence". Slate. http://www.slate.com/id/2085277. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ Kenneth R. Timmerman (March 1, 2004). "Saffuri's Ties to Terror Suspects; Is Khaled Saffuri, a prominent Palestinian activist with connections to terror suspects, exerting undue influence on the Bush administration, or is he getting a bad rap?". Insight on the News. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1571/is_2004_March_1/ai_113363777/. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
- ^ a b Janet Hook and Tom Hamburger, "New York mosque debate splits GOP," Los Angeles Times August 17, 2010
- ^ Balaker, Ted (January 27, 2011) Where Has the Antiwar Movement Gone?, Huffington Post
- ^ Pillow, Travis (October 25, 2010). "FL: Norquist says tea party should serve as GOP ‘exoskeleton’ after Nov. 2". The Florida Independent. http://www.americanindependent.com/151317/norquist-tea-party-should-serve-as-gop-‘exoskeleton’-after-nov-2. Retrieved February 16, 2012.
- ^ Capitol Punishment by Jack Abramoff
- ^ Schmidt, Susan; Grimaldi, James V. (June 25, 2006). "Nonprofit Groups Funneled Money For Abramoff". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/24/AR2006062401080.html. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ a b c Cassidy, John (July 25, 2001). "Wednesdays With Grover". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2005/08/01/050801on_onlineonly01. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ "CSR in the Cross-Hairs". Business Ethics. Spring 2005. http://www.community-wealth.com/_pdfs/articles-publications/sri/article-rembert.pdf. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ "NRA Leaders: Grover Norquist". NRA Leaders. http://www.nraleaders.com/grover-norquist.html. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ "» Board of Directors & Advisory Council". Goproud.org. June 15, 2010. http://www.goproud.org/board-of-directors-advisory-council/. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
- ^ "The Volokh Conspiracy » Family Research Council vs. the Second Amendment". Volokh.com. June 23, 2010. http://volokh.com/2010/06/23/family-research-council-vs-the-second-amendment/. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
- ^ ‘Random Person’ Coaches House GOP on Tax Message; Pelosi Blames Grover Norquist for Superfailure ABC News December 1, 2011
- ^ Barr, Stephen (January 20, 2005). "Teaching Uncle Sam to Be a Better Buyer". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24738-2005Jan20.html. Retrieved March 23, 2010.
- ^ "Maybe They Forgot What "Conservative" Means". 2004. http://www.1115.org/2004/09/28/maybe-they-forgot-what-conservative-means/. Retrieved September 28, 2004.
- ^ William Greider "Rolling back the 20th Century", The Nation, May 12, 2003. 276. 18. p.11-19. Paid subscription required.
- ^ a b Jerry Taylor and Peter Van Doren, Why Grover Norquist Is Wrong About Taxes Forbes August 25, 2011
- ^ Mission Statement[dead link] for Americans for Tax Reform
- ^ "Leave Us Alone: Getting the Government's Hands Off Our Money, Our Guns, Our Lives". HarperCollins. http://www.harpercollins.com/books/9780061133954/Leave_Us_Alone/index.aspx. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ Task, Aaron (Fri, Mar 16, 2012). "‘Debacle’: Grover Norquist’s Case Against President Obama". Yahoo! Finance. http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/debacle-grover-norquist-case-against-president-obama-160608333.html. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
- ^ "Grover Norquist". The American Spectator. http://spectator.org/people/grover-norquist/all. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
- ^ Sullivan, Andrew. "Grover Norquist's Faith". "The Daily Dish", The Atlantic, January 6, 2010
- ^ "2004 Annual Report". Marriages Recorded in Weston. http://weston.govoffice.com/vertical/Sites/%7B264E11B6-4A4A-4EC0-B631-35FE907B479E%7D/uploads/%7B0B83AF69-4B5A-4FA7-9D4B-30EF1A5B2D8F%7D.PDF. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ Gay, Sheryl (August 31, 2004). "Political Points - Of Marriage Vows and No Tax Pledges". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/31/us/political-points.html?sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ "3rd NAAP Annual Conference". Network of Arab American Professionals. http://www.naaponline.org/conference05/speakers.cfm. Retrieved November 7, 2009.
- ^ Sperry, Paul E. (2005). Infiltration: How Muslim Spies and Subversives Have Penetrated Washington. Thomas Nelson Inc.. pp. 276–294, esp. 287. http://books.google.com/books?id=Dw1mHo6zjKwC&pg=PA287&lpg=PA287&dq=Samah+Alrayyes+grover+norquist&source=bl&ots=3FCd810L4y&sig=YgnbwvKS4UdI3QVz1tFnkjYV8VM&hl=en&ei=4UGqSZWQIJ-atweqkPD7Dw&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=25&ct=result#PPA287,M1. "The relationship gives literal meaning to the notion that Norquist is in bed with Islamists."
- ^ "Watch out, Angelina! Norquist adopts from abroad". The Hill. http://thehill.com/capital-living/in-the-know/20559-watch-out-angelina-norquist-adopts-from-abroad. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
- ^ Daniel Stone (October 1, 2009). "Washington’s Funniest Celebrity? Hard to Say.". Newsweek. http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/thegaggle/archive/2009/10/01/washington-s-funniest-celebrity-hard-to-say.aspx.
- ^ Kristina D’Ambrosio, Vanessa Meccarielli, and Mary-Kate Rasa (1 October 2009). "DC's Funniest!". The Scene. BisNow. http://www.bisnow.com/washington_dc_the_scene_news_story.php?p=5535. Retrieved March 21, 2010.
- ^ The Americans for Tax Reform Foundation also issued a $5,000 grant in 2009 to the Funniest Celebrity Charity Fund.Norquist, Grover; Americans for Tax Reform (12 May 2010). "Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax: 2009" (PDF). IRS form 990. GuideStar. p. 27. http://www.guidestar.org/FinDocuments/2009/521/400/2009-521400492-06092d9a-9.pdf. Retrieved 25 November 2011.
- ^ "Speaker Bio: Grover Norquist". Leadership Institute. http://www.leadershipinstitute.org/breakfast/bio.cfm?speaker=3368. Retrieved October 31, 2009.
- ^ "Scandalous Photos Reveal Grover Norquist Carried On Secret Affair With Taxes For Years," The Onion, issue 48-02, January 12, 2012
- Interviews
- Happy Warrior, Reason Magazine, February 1997
- Transcript: Bill Moyers Interviews Grover Norquist, NOW with Bill Moyers, January 10, 2003
- Grover Norquist on Leave Us Alone, National Review Online, 2008(?)
- The Pledge: Grover Norquist's hold on the GOP, 60 Minutes, November 20, 2011, video interview and related reports
| Persondata |
| Name |
Norquist, Grover |
| Alternative names |
Norquist, Grover Glenn |
| Short description |
Conservative Lobbyist |
| Date of birth |
October 19, 1956 |
| Place of birth |
Sharon, Pennsylvania, United States |
| Date of death |
|
| Place of death |
|
