SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The governor of Wisconsin has signed it. So have most of the Republicans in California’s Legislature.
To many conservatives, Grover Norquist’s no-taxes pledge has become a badge of honor. To others, it’s a shield that gives lawmakers an easy out from working toward compromise or making difficult decisions.
As lawmakers across the country weigh tough budget cuts, more than 1,200 Republicans nationwide have signed the anti-tax crusader’s pledge to “oppose and vote against any and all efforts to increase taxes.”
Norquist, president of the Washington, D.C.-based Americans for Tax Reform, has become a flashpoint in the debate over state budget deficits.
He told The Associated Press that lawmakers make the promise to their constituents, not him.
