In aiming to be less rigid, some members of the GOP are distancing themselves from Grover Norquist, the man who popularized an anti-tax pledge signed by many GOP members of the House and Senate.
“Every day someone becomes less afraid of Grover Norquist,” Politico‘s Mike Allen told the Morning Joe panel Wednesday morning, just hours before he was due to speak with Norquist at a Breakfast event.
Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, who signed Norquist’s pledge, spoke with Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski Monday and signaled he may join those breaking ranks with Norquist.
“A lot has been said about this pledge and I will tell you when I go to the constituents that re-elected me, it is not about that pledge, it really is about trying to solve problems,” Cantor told the panel.
During his segment on Morning Joe today, Allen continued to speak on the notion that Norquist’s influence was fading in Washington.
“I was asking around town…and somebody said that Grover Norquist now reminds them of a ‘70s rock star who didn’t cut their hair or one of those Japanese soldiers who didn’t know WWII was over,” Allen said. “The times have changed, the math has changed and so we’re going to ask Grover Norquist what is his survival strategy. He runs a $30M operation; he doesn’t want to see that vanish.”
Drew Katchen