FRANK WOLF, a 16-term congressman from Virginia's 10th District, is one of the House's most reliable Republicans. The other day on the House floor he took on one of America's most powerful unelected individuals: anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist. In doing so, Mr. Wolf elevated himself from "reliable" to "valiant."
Mr. Norquist, who apparently believes that highways and armies will spontaneously generate without taxes, has strong-armed all but six House Republicans into signing his no-tax pledge. (The estimable 1st District Rep. Rob Wittman, along with Mr. Wolf, is one of the conscientious holdouts.)
The no-tax pledge, promoted by Mr. Norquist's Americans for Tax Reform, holds congressmen to a position of opposing all tax hikes, and forswearing the elimination of all tax deductions unless offset by corresponding tax-rate reductions, thus locking Republicans into an intractable position that precludes not only bipartisan negotiating but also the very "reform" Mr. Norquist's group pretends to support.
Mr. Wolf said his conscience compelled him to speak out about Mr. Norquist, whom he charged with having unsavory connections and using his political power to promote questionable causes. Further, he said that the ATR pledge is thwarting efforts to address the nation's debt problems and eliminate special-interest perks.
As an example, Mr. Wolf cited the summertime efforts of Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to eliminate the ethanol-tax subsidy, a movement blocked by Mr. Norquist. "Have we really reached a point where one person's demand for ideological purity is paralyzing Congress to the point that even a discussion of tax reform is viewed as breaking a no-tax pledge?" Wolf asked in his five-minute speech.
Mr. Wolf cited Mr. Norquist's association with disgraced lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramhoff and with terrorist financiers Abdurahman Alamoudi and Sami Al-Arian, and questioned his advocacy on behalf of Internet gambling interests and Fannie Mae. Acknowledging that lots of lobbyists have clients of various "stripes and backgrounds," Mr. Wolf nevertheless expressed concern that "appearances of impropriety are raised over and over again with a person who has such influence over public policy."
Mr. Wolf is right. You don't have to be a big-government liberal to abominate the Norquist agenda. His brand of take-no-prisoners politicking (including quotes like: "Bipartisanship is another name for date rape") distorts democracy's give-and-take tradition. His no-tax pledge handcuffs those who signed it. En masse, they should repent, recant, and repudiate Mr. Norquist.
This is not an argument for higher taxes or bigger government; it is a discourse against ideologues and for rationality. Mr. Wolf has kicked open the jail-cell door: Do congressional Republicans have the grit to walk through it--and free themselves? Or have they come to love their captor?
Mr. Wolf ended his brief speech with a powerful quote from British parliamentarian William Wilberforce: "Having heard all of this, you may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know."
They know. And so, now, do we.
http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2011/102011/10072011/656801
