WASHINGTON —In GOP activist circles, it is known simply as the pledge, and over the past 25 years, it has become the essential conservative credential for Republicans seeking elective office.
Of the 242 Republicans serving in the House of Representatives, all but six have signed the the anti-tax pledge. But an increasing number of Republicans running for Congress this year are declining to sign it.
It is a small sign that could signal a big shift in the GOP’s politics on taxes amid spiraling national deficits.
Of the 25 candidates this year promoted by the National Republican Congressional Committee as “Young Guns” and “Contenders” — the top rungs of a program highlighting promising candidates challenging Democrats or running in open seats — at least a third have indicated they won’t sign the Norquist pledge.
Two of the seven candidates promoted by the NRCC as the “Young Gun Vanguard” — candidates competing in open seats that are considered Republican-leaning — also have declined to sign.
All four of Colorado’s Republican congressmen have signed the anti-tax pledge. Two Republican candidates for Congress, Robert Blaha in the 5th Congressional District and Joe Coors in the 7th, report they have not yet been invited to sign the pledge. Their respective campaigns said the candidates haven’t reviewed the pledge and therefore declined to say whether they would sign it.
Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist, who authored the pledge, insists Americans for Tax Reform, the group he founded in 1986, is ahead of schedule in collecting pledge signatures from congressional candidates for the year. But among Republican challengers, there are defections.
Republican candidates declining to sign indicate that they oppose tax increases, but some are chaffing against the constraint on eliminating tax loopholes. They think those restrictions limit Republicans’ ability to negotiate seriously with Democrats on a deal to tackle the nation’s mounting debt.
“I just think it’s imprudent to hem yourself in where you can’t make a good agreement that overall supports the things you want to do,” said Pennsylvania state Rep. Scott Perry.
Others insist they can make promises to voters without signing a pledge circulated by a Washington lobbying group, a sign that Democrats might be having some success at painting Norquist as a D.C. insider instead of the anti-establishment rebel he portrays himself as.
An erosion of support among candidates would be significant because Norquist has long aimed to collect signatures from Republicans before they take office — encouraging candidates to use their pledges to help to define their tax stance for voters.
In an interview, Norquist said the pledge is as strong as ever. He noted that in the pressure-cooker days of the debt-ceiling debate last summer, Republicans held firm against tax increases and wrested a deal from Democrats to lower deficits through spending cuts.
“That was when the pledge was tested and the commitment of Republicans not to raise taxes was really pushed hard,” he said. “And (President Barack) Obama and the spending interests failed, and Republicans and the taxpayers won.”
What is the pledge for tax reform?
Authored by anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist, the Americans for Tax Reform pledge compels candidates to resist any effort to raise tax rates for individuals and businesses. The candidates also pledge to oppose the elimination of tax credits and deductions unless they are matched dollar-for-dollar with other tax cuts.
