http://www.thehill.com/news/032404/norquist.aspx
Tax hawks cooling to Norquist By Alexander Bolton
Influential conservatives from an array of anti-tax groups are publicly criticizing Grover Norquist, considered President Bush’s most prominent liaison to the conservative grassroots, for being too close to the White House.
While acknowledging Nor-quist’s contribution to the fight to cut the size of government as head of Americans for Tax Reform, they question whether he can continue as an effective leader of the conservative movement.
The critics cite his decision not to oppose the $395 billion Medicare bill Bush signed into law last year, the cost of which has since swelled to an estimated $521 billion.
They also point to Norquist’s past support of federal rules that would force telephone companies to share with competitors their access to homes, which nearly all free-market advocates oppose.
Conservatives also were outraged by the decision of Norquist’s group to give Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) a “Hero of the Taxpayer Award” in the midst of his fierce primary battle with conservative challenger, Rep. Pat Toomey.
“Everybody in the taxpayer movement read that and thought it was the stupidest thing they had ever seen,” said David Keating, executive director of the Club for Growth, one of the largest conservative political fundraising groups in the country. “It’s a real embarrassment for Americans for Tax Reform.”
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But Edward Crane, president of the Cato Institute, called the award “utterly inexcusable” and said it was ridiculous for the tax group not to take a position on the Medicare bill.
“It’s purely doing the bidding of the White House,” said Crane. “Anyone with any principles for limited government would say throwing a massive new entitlement on top of a bankrupt Medicare program is ridiculous.”
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