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A coalition is a pact or treaty among individuals or groups, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest, joining forces together for a common cause. This alliance may be temporary or a matter of convenience. A coalition thus differs from a more formal covenant. Possibly described as a joining of 'factions', usually those with overlapping interests rather than opposing.

Politics and government[link]

A coalition government, in a parliamentary system, is a government composed of a coalition of parties. In Australia, the Coalition is also used to refer to an alliance (coalition agreement) of three parties (the Liberals, Nationals and Country Liberals) existing in federal politics since 1922—this constitutes a parliamentary coalition. A coalition of parties is also an electoral fusion. The Cambridge Dictionary defines coalition as: the union of different political parties or groups for a particular purpose, usually for a limited time.

In international relations, a coalition can be an ad hoc grouping of nations united for a specific purpose. Sometimes, such groups are diverse and are characterized by some degree of commonalities. Sometimes, the degree of uncommonalities would lead some to perceive the group's bond as being ordinarily unlikely; here it can indicate the fact the historical ties may no longer be in operation, and the coalition members, instead, are joined by a new intention, not necessarily prior bonds.

A coalition might also refer to a group of citizens uniting behind a common goal. Many of these are grassroots organizations, like the Christian Coalition.

It can also be a collaborative, means-oriented arrangement, especially a temporary one, that allows distinct people or organizational entities to pool resources and combine efforts in order to effect change. The combination of such persons or entities into one body, as a union, variously organized and structured, but generally less formal than a covenant. Although persons and groups form coalitions for many and varied reasons, the most common purpose is to combat a common threat or to take advantage of a certain opportunity; hence, the often-temporary nature of coalitions. The common threat or existence of opportunity is what gives rise to the coalition and allows it to exist. Such collaborative processes can gain political influence and potentially initiate social movements. According to Sidney Tarrow, four elements are necessary to maintain a coalition:

1. Members must frame the issue that brings them together with a common interest.
2. Members’ trust in each other and believe that their peers have a credible commitment to the common issue(s) and/or goal(s).
3. The coalition must have a mechanism(s) to manage differences in language, orientation, tactics, culture, ideology, etc. between and among the collective's members (especially in transnational coalitions).
4. The shared incentive to participate and, consequently, benefit.

Coalitions manifest in a variety of forms, types and terms of duration:

• Campaign coalitions with high intensity and long-term cooperation
• Federations, characterized by relatively lower degree of involvement, intensity and participation, involving cooperation of long duration, but with members’ primary commitment remaining with their own entities
• Instrumental coalitions, involving low-intensity involvement without a foundation to mediate conflict
• Event-based coalitions that have a high level of involvement and the potential for future collaboration.

A coalition government is currently in place in the UK, with the Conservative Party under David Cameron (current prime minister) joining forces with the Liberal Democrats under Nick Clegg. The conservatives managed to gain 306 seats in the 2010 General Election, thus not giving them an overall majority. The Liberal Democrats gained 57 seats. These two parties formed a coalition allowing the coalition to have a majority. The deal for coalition included places in the cabinet for senior Liberal Democrat officials and a referendum on the alternative vote electoral system.

Economics[link]

A coalition in economics refers to a group of companies that create a mutual trust between each other in order for increased profit. For example, Dunkin' Donuts and Baskin-Robbins create a coalition by having shared stores and thus shared revenue.

Political science[link]

Within political science, coalition theory is using game theory to analyze formation, workings and break-up of coalitions. Coalitions also describe alliances between civil society organizations, such as labor unions, community organizations and religious institutions. Sometimes called labor-community coalitions, coalitions have proven to be an important strategy for social change in many contexts. Yet their power is variable, dependent on the context in which they are organizing and the strategies used by the organizers, as documented in the book Power in Coalition.[1]

Activism[link]

Civil society, activist and nonprofit groups often call themselves "coalitions," but in some instances the organization consists of only one person. The often-cited Save the Plastic Bag Coalition, for example, lists only one person, Stephen Joseph, on the contact page of its website.

Military[link]

A coalition is a collection of countries involved in a military operation who are unified under a single command. An example is the Coalition assembled by George H.W. Bush during the Persian Gulf War, as well as the "Coalition of the Willing", a phrase employed during the 2003 campaign for the war in Iraq led by the United States and its allies.^[1] A contemporary example is the United Nations coalition presently intervening in the 2011 Libyan civil war against Muammar Gaddafi.

Mathematics[link]

Coalitions can be studied as games. The Nash equilibrium defines conditions where rational players can benefit other players in the coalition.

Computer science[link]

In the computer field, and in the study of cognition, the entities can be called agents or daemons. By definition, agents can form coalitions.

Fiction[link]

• The Coalition, a group in the Star Fleet Universe, the General War era.
• The Trader Emergency Coalition, a playable race in Sins of a Solar Empire.
• In the game Freelancer, there had been a war with two groups; the Alliance, and the Coalition.
• In The Gears of War game series the protagonists go under the name of COGs which stands for "Coalition of Ordered Governments"
• The role-playing game Rifts features a Coalition of their own composed of human supremacists.

See also[link]

• Axelrod's book, The Evolution of Cooperation
• United front
• Coalition (Australia)
• Coalition government
• Collaborative leadership
• Barisan Nasional, Malaysian ruling party coalition
• Pakatan Rakyat, Malaysian opposition coalition
• List of political parties in Israel
• Multi-party system

References[link]

• Power in Coalition

External links[link]

Look up coalition in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Mapleleaf Web - Coalition Governments in Canada

Asma Jahangir
Asma Jahangir, having received the Four Freedoms Award for Freedom of Worship in 2010
Supreme Court Bar Association
Taking office October 27, 2010
President	Asif Ali Zardari
Prime Minister	Yousaf Raza Gillani
Succeeding	Qazi Anwar
Chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
In office 1987 – Incumbent
Personal details
Born	Asma Jilani Jahangir January 1952 (age 60) Lahore, Punjab province, West-Pakistan (now-Pakistan)
Nationality	Pakistani
Children	1 son and 2 daughter
Residence	Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT)
Alma mater	Punjab University (LL.B.) Kinnaird College (B.A.) University of St. Gallen (J.S.D.)
Occupation	President of Supreme Court Bar Association
Profession	Lawyer and Human rights activist
Supreme Court of Pakistan	Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Chief Justice of Pakistan
Notable Awards	Hilal-i-Imtiaz (2010) Martin Ennals Award (1995) Ramon Magsaysay Award Leo Eitinger Award (2002) Millennium Prize Four Freedoms Award (2010)

Asma Jilani Jahangir (Urdu: عاصمہ جہانگیر) (born January 27, 1952 in Lahore) is a leading Pakistani lawyer, advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, President Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan and human rights activist, who works both in Pakistan and internationally to prevent the persecution of religious minorities, women, and exploitation of children.

She was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief from August 2004 to July 2010 (first attached to the former Commission on Human Rights, now to the Human Rights Council). Previously, she served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Arbitrary and Summary Executions. She is also chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Early life[link]

Jahangir was born into a prosperous and politically active family with a history of activism and human rights work. Her father, Malik Ghulam Jilani, was a civil servant who entered politics upon retirement and spent years both in jail and under house arrest for opposing military dictatorships. Her father was imprisoned on several occasions for his outspoken views, which included denouncing the Pakistani government for genocide during their military action in what is now Bangladesh. Her mother, educated at a co-ed college at a time when few Muslim women even received higher education, also fought the traditional system, pioneering her own clothing business when the family's lands were confiscated in 1967 as a result of her husband's opinions and detention.^[1] Jahangir herself became involved at a young age in protests against the military regime as well as opposing her father's detention by then president, Benazir Bhutto's father, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto in 1972. She received her B.A. from Kinnaird College, Lahore and her law degree in 1978,^[2] and her LLB from Punjab University. She also holds an honorary doctorate from University of St. Gallen in Switzerland.^[3], Queens University, Canada and Cornell University, USA.

Work[link]

She has spent her career defending the human and women rights, rights of religious minorities and children in Pakistan. Jahangir was and remains a staunch critic of the Hudood Ordinance and blasphemy laws of Pakistan put in place as part of General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization program in Pakistan.^[4][5] She is a founding member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, and has served as Secretary-General and later Chairperson of the organization.

In 1980, Jahangir and her sister, Hina Jilani, got together with fellow activists and lawyers to form the first law firm established by women in Pakistan. In the same year they also helped form the Women's Action Forum (WAF), a pressure group campaigning against Pakistan's discriminatory legislation, most notably against the Proposed Law of Evidence, where the value of a woman's testimony was reduced to half that of a man's testimony, and the Hadood Ordinances, where victims of rape had to prove their innocence or else face punishment themselves.^[6] On February 12, 1983, the Punjab Women Lawyers Association in Lahore organised a public protest (one of its leaders was Jahangir) against the Proposed Law of Evidence, during which Jahangir and other participating WAF members were beaten, teargassed, and arrested by police.^[7]

The first WAF demonstration, however, took place in 1983 when some 25-50 women took to the streets protesting the controversial case of Safia Bibi. In 1983, Safia, a blind 13-year-old girl, was raped by her employers, and as a result became pregnant, yet ended up in jail charged with fornication (zina) sentenced to flogging, 3 years of imprisonment and fined. (Jahangir defended Safia in her appeal and eventually the verdict was overruled by an appeals court due to pressure and protests.)^[8] They would say: "We (their law firm) had been given a lot of cases by the advocate general and the moment this demonstration came to light, the cases were taken away from us."^[9]

In 1982 Jahangir earned the nickname "little heroine" after leading a protest march in Islamabad against a decision by then-president Zia ul Haq to enforce religious laws and stated: "Family laws [which are religious laws] give women few rights" and that "They have to be reformed because Pakistan cannot live in isolation. We cannot remain shackled while other women progress." ^[10]

In 1986 Jahangir and Hina set up AGHS Legal Aid, the first free legal aid centre in Pakistan. The AGHS Legal Aid Cell in Lahore also runs a shelter for women, called 'Dastak'. Look after by her secretary Munib Ahmed.^[11]

She is also a proponent of protecting the rights of persecuted religious minorities in Pakistan and speaks out against forced conversions.^[12]

Jahangir has campaigned against human rights abuses taking place in government and police custody in Pakistan, i.e. rape in police custody is widespread but vastly under-reported; "Women are arrested, raped and sexually assaulted every day in the presence of female constables, who find themselves helpless in such situations." ^[13]

In 1996 the High Court in Lahore ruled that an adult Muslim woman could not get married without the consent of her male guardian (wali). Women, who chose their husbands independently, could be forced to annul their marriages and the repercussions were highlighted by Jahangir, who also took on such cases (i.e. the case of Saima Waheed);^[14][15] "Hundreds have already been arrested. This is simply going to open up the floodgates for the harassment of women and girls by their families and the authorities. The courts have sanctioned their oppression. Thousands more are bound to be affected by this."^[16]

Jahangir has demanded that the government of Parvez Musharraf work to improve the record of human rights domestically. Citing examples of human rights abuses, she wrote, "A Hindu income tax inspector gets lynched in the presence of the army personnel for allegedly having made a remark on the beard of a trader. Promptly, the unfortunate Hindu government servant is booked for having committed blasphemy, while the traders and the Lashkar-e-Taiba activists were offered tea over parleys. A seventy-year-old Mukhtaran Bibi and her pregnant daughter Samina are languishing in Sheikhupura jail on trumped-up charges of blasphemy.^[17]

She is also an active opponent of child labour and capital punishment: "It would be hypocrisy to defend laws I don't believe in, like capital punishment, the blasphemy law and laws against women and in favor of child labor."^[10]

Asma Jahangir served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial Executions from 1998 to 2004, and as the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief from 2004 to 2010.^[18]

In her capacity as a UN official, Jahangir was in Pakistan, when Pervez Musharraf declared a state of emergency in 2007. In November 2006, she participated the international meeting for The Yogyakarta Principles as one of 29 experts. On November 5, 2007, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour indicated that Jahangir was among the judicial and political officials detained by the Musharraf government.^[19]

During her election campaign for the President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan in October 2010, right wing miscreants backed by some elements of the notorious Pakistani ISI indulged in a massive propaganda about Asma Jahangir but their efforts were unsuccessful and she won the elections for President SCBAP. These miscreants resorted to publishing false accusations about her in posters and pamphlets that were put up outside courts and posted to lawyers. They wrongly alleged that Asma Jahangir is supportive of Mr. Narrendra Modi, the notorious Chief Minister of Gujarat, India, under whose rule scores of Muslims were killed in rioting. Ms Jahangir as a United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion was on an official mission to India where she had to meet all State and non-State actors who were involved in her mandate. She visited Mr. Modi and right wing elements show a picture of her with him to accuse her of supporting him while they ignored that she had publicly denounced the violence that had gone on in Gujarat and had denounced the alleged role of the State in it. Her report of the mission is available on the United Nations website at A/HRC/10/8/Add.3 on 26 January 2009 and she also made a press conference where she especially noted the riots in Gujarat and involvement of the State in it in many leading newspapers. http://www.hindu.com/nic/asmajahangir.htm

House arrest[link]

On November 5, 2007, The Economist reported that "Over 500 lawyers, opposition politicians and human rights activists have been arrested. They include Asma Jahangir, boss of the country’s human-rights commission and a former UN special rapporteur. In an e-mail from her house arrest, where she has been placed for 90 days, Ms Jahangir regretted that General Musharraf had "lost his marbles".^[20][21][22]

Author[link]

In addition to many publications, Jahangir has authored two books: Divine Sanction? The Hudood Ordinance (1988, 2003) and Children of a Lesser God: Child Prisoners of Pakistan (1992).^[23]

One of her major publications is titled "Whither are We!" and was published in Dawn, on October 2, 2000.^[24]

Threats[link]

Jahangir has received numerous threats over the years due to her activism and human rights work^[4][25] and particularly after defending a 14 year old Christian boy, Salamat Masih, accused of blasphemy^[26][27] and ultimately winning the case in 1995,^[28] a mob at the High Court smashed Jahangir's car, assaulted her and her driver, threatening her with death.^[29] Jahangir and her family have been attacked, taken hostage, had their home broken into and received death threats ever since, but she continues her battle for justice.^[10][30][31]

When Jahangir undertook the case of Saima Sarwar in 1999, who was given shelter at Dastak after leaving her husband, wanting a divorce and later gunned down by her family in an act of honor killing, Jahangir received death threats for representing Saima in her divorce proceedings.^{[32][33][34][35]}

In May 2005 Jahangir announced that she would hold a symbolic mixed-gender marathon in Lahore to raise awareness about violence against women. This was following the revelations of cases such as Mukhtar Mai. Tensions boiled over, as Islamist groups and supporters of the political Islamist alliance Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA) armed with firearms, batons and Molotov cocktails,^[36] violently opposed the race, and Jahangir received especially rough treatment from local police and intelligence agents, who began to strip off her clothes in public. Of this Jahangir said "A lot of people tried to cover my back because I could only feel it I could not see my back. When they were putting me on the police van, they assured that my photograph was taken while my back was bare. This was just to humiliate, this was simply just to humiliate me."^[37] A police officer told Jahangir that they had orders to be strict and to tear off the participant’s clothes. In addition she along with other participants was also beaten.^[38]

Acknowledgements[link]

In 1995, Jahangir received the Martin Ennals Award for Human Rights Defenders as well as the Ramon Magsaysay Award for "greatness of spirit shown in service of the people".^[2]

In 2001 Jahangir and Hina Jilani were awarded the Millennium prize, by UNIFEM (the United Nations Development Fund for Women) in collaboration with the non-governmental organisation International Alert.^[10]

In 2002 she was awarded the Lisl and Leo Eitinger Prize.^[4]

In 2005 she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize as part of the 1000 Women for Peace project.^[39]

On May 29, 2010 at the International Four Freedoms Award 2010 Jahangir will receive the Freedom of Worship Medal for her human rights and religious freedom activism in a ceremony held in the Nieuwe Kerk in Middelburg, Holland.^[40]

On March 23, 2010 for services in Human Rights, she was awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the second highest civilian award of Pakistan.^[41]

On October 27, 2010 She won the Supreme Court Bar Association election by defeating her competitor Ahmed Awais and securing 834 of total votes and became the first ever women President of SCBA in the history of Pakistan. .^[42]

On December 10, 2010 she was awarded with the 2010 UNESCO/Bilbao Prize for the Promotion of a Culture of Human Rights, recognizing her efforts as a human rights defender.^[43][44]

Personal life[link]

She is married and has a son and two daughters, Munizae Jahangir, a journalist and Sulema Jahangir, who is also a lawyer.^[45]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Interview 'Pakistan Should Have Taken The Moral High Ground' August 29, 1998
• ABC News - Nightline Interview: A Matter of Honor By Forrest Sawyer February 15, 1999
• Profile of Asma Jahangir 2000
• Democracy is Survival for Women 2000
• RAWA Articles on Asma Jahangir March 2000
• A law to lament By Asma Jahangir June 5, 2002
• Asma Jahangir in her Own Words 2002
• Of Rites and Rights: An Interview with Asma Jahangir By Anniqua Rana September 23, 2003
• News Report on appointment as Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief
• UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief
• Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
• Time Magazine profile April 21, 2003
• Interview with Asma Jahangir By Nermeen Shaikh October 27, 2005
• Interview 'If Pakistan Can Take Up Gujarat Riots, Surely India Can Raise The Balochistan Issue' February 6, 2006
• Gulf News: A profile in courage April 2, 2007
• Declan Walsh talks to Asma Jahangir, Pakistan's human rights champion 20 July 2007
• Under House Arrest, Pakistani Human Rights Leader Asma Jahangir Speaks Out on Musharraf’s Crackdown November 14, 2007
• The Last Word: Asma Jahangir 2007
• Human rights lawyer and activist speaks out against Pakistani military dictatorship February 20, 2008
• Katy Clark speaks with Asma Jahangir on 'Violence in Pakistan' October 28, 2009
• Herald exclusive: An interview with Asma Jahangir January 25, 2011

Saturnino Cunanan Ocampo (born April 7, 1939) is a former Filipino partylist representative, journalist, and writer. As party president and first nominee, he led the partylist group Bayan Muna in three successful elections. He was a member of the House of Representatives, and Deputy Minority Leader in the 14th Congress of the Philippines. He has done work in human rights and other areas. After his three terms as congressman, he ran for senator in the May 2010 elections; together with Representative Liza Maza of the women's partylist group GABRIELA, Ocampo became a guest senatorial candidate of the Nacionalista Party, a mainstream Philippine political party and supported its presidential standard bearer, Senator Manny Villar. After the elections, on Aug. 21, 2010, Ocampo started a weekly opinion column in the Philippine Star titled "At Ground Level".

Martial law[link]

President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law on September 21, 1972 and Ocampo, among others, went underground. In 1973, Ocampo co-founded the National Democratic Front, seeking to unite various anti-dictatorship forces.

In 1976, he was arrested and incarcerated as a political prisoner. For the next nine years he was severely tortured in various prison camps. At one point, he shared a cell with detained Philippine Collegian editor-in-chief Abraham Sarmiento, Jr. Though tried by a military court for rebellion, he was never found guilty. In 1985, while on pass to vote at the National Press Club annual elections, he escaped from the soldiers guarding him and rejoined the underground revolutionary movement.

After the dictatorship fell in 1986, and President Corazon Aquino called for peace talks and Ocampo headed the NDF peace negotiating panel. When the talks collapsed due to the killing of 18 farmers at a rally near the Malacañang Palace on January 22, 1987, Ocampo returned to the underground.

In 1989, he was rearrested together with his wife, Carolina Malay. Three years later in 1992, a year after his wife was released, he was freed. Neither was found guilty of any crime.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Satur Ocampo official profile from the House of Representatives of the Philippines
• Satur Ocampo official profile from the Bayan Muna website
• Bayan Muna - official website
• [1]

v t e Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Political party-lists Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT Teachers) • Anakpawis · Bayan Muna · GABRIELA Women's Party · Kabataan party-list Affiliated organizations Kilusang Mayo Uno Notable people Leandro Alejandro  · Crispin Beltran  · Teodoro Casiño · Neri J. Colmenares · Luzviminda Ilagan · Rafael V. Mariano · Liza Maza · Ninotchka Rosca  · Satur Ocampo · Etta Rosales · Joel Virador

Grover Norquist
Grover Norquist in September 2011.
Born	Grover Glenn Norquist (1956-10-19) October 19, 1956 (age 55) Sharon, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Residence	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Nationality	United States
Education	B.A. 1978, M.B.A. 1981
Alma mater	Harvard University
Occupation	Conservative Lobbyist
Organization	Americans for Tax Reform
Home town	Weston, Massachusetts
Board member of	National Rifle Association, American Conservative Union[1][2]
Spouse	Samah Alrayyes Norquist
Children	Two (adopted)

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]

Early life[link]

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]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

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]

Americans for Tax Reform[link]

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]

Taxpayer Protection Pledge[link]

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]

Other political activities[link]

National politics[link]

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]

Involvement with Jack Abramoff[link]

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]

State and local politics[link]

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]

Boards and other activities[link]

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]

Views on government[link]

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]

Personal life[link]

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]

Writings[link]

• 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

See also[link]

conservatism portal

• Democratic International
• K Street Project
• Starve the beast

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Grover Norquist

• Official biography from Americans for Tax Reform
• Column archive at National Review Online
• Column archive at The Guardian
• "Marquis Who's Who, 2008" (purchase required). https://cgi.marquiswhoswho.com/OnDemand/Default.aspx?last_name=norquist&first_name=grover. Retrieved November 27, 2011. 
• Grover Norquist at WhoRunsGov at The Washington Post
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Grover Norquist at the Internet Movie Database
• Grover Norquist on Charlie Rose
• Works by or about Grover Norquist in libraries (WorldCat catalog)
• Grover Norquist collected news and commentary at The New York Times
• Grover Norquist at the Notable Names Database
• Grover Norquist Career

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