GOP Rep. Frank Wolf: Grover Norquist profits from ‘unsavory people’

By Eric W. Dolan
Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Republican Rep. Frank Wolf of Virginia on the House floor Tuesday attacked Grover Norquist and his anti-tax pledge, which has been signed by nearly every Republican in the House and Senate.

“My conscience has compelled me to come to the floor today to voice concerns I have with the influence Grover Norquist, the president of the Americans for Tax Reform, has on the political process in Washington,” said Wolf, one of only six Republicans in the House to have not signed the pledge. “My issue is not with ATR’s goal of keeping taxes low.”

Those who sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge vow to oppose any and all tax increases.

“My concern is with the other individuals, groups, and causes with whom Mr. Norquist is associated that have nothing to do with keeping taxes low,” Wolf continued.

He cited Norquist’s relationships with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and terrorist financier Sami Al-Arian, and his ties to Fannie Mae and the Internet gambling industry.

“Simply put, I believe Mr. Norquist is connected with or has profited from a number of unsavory people and groups out of the mainstream,” the congressman said.

“I also believe Mr. Norquist has used the ATR ‘pledge’ as leverage to advance other issues many Americans would find inappropriate, and when taken as a whole, should give people pause.”

Wolf added that the anti-tax pledge — which demanded “ideological purity” — had paralyzed Congress so much that even discussion of tax reform was in gridlock.

Norquist calls attacks from GOP congressman ‘disgusting’
By Chris Moody | The Ticket

(AP) Conservative activist Grover Norquist responded to attacks from Virginia Republican Rep. Frank Wolf Tuesday, calling Wolf’s accusations that Norquist was connected to terrorists “disgusting” and saying they were copied from “racist websites.”

Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, a group that has convinced all but six House Republicans to pledge never to raise taxes, has been sparring with with Wolf for some time. Norquist has refused to support a commission that would consider tax increases as a way to decrease the federal deficit–while Wolf has long supported a deficit-reduction plan that would combine spending reductions with tax hikes, a proposal Norquist has fought for decades.

On the House floor Tuesday, Wolf accused Norquist of being associated with terrorist financiers, discussed his connection in 2006 to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff and said that Norquist has used his organization’s pledge “to advance many other issues that many Americans would find inappropriate, and when taken as a whole should give people pause.”

“Some staffer of his went onto the racist websites, you know, dug up stuff from ten years ago,” Norquist said in response to Wolf’s floor speech. “I’m married to a woman who’s Muslim, and it’s sad and it’s disgusting. It reflects poorly on him. I think given his district, he’s going to spend a lot of time apologizing for getting into the gutter and anti-Arab and anti-Muslim bigotry. I suppose this staffer who got this stuff off websites did as much chucking as the idiots who put it forward.”

Wolf submitted a detailed report to the official record that outlined his grievances with Norquist.
“Documentation shows that he has deep ties to supporters of Hamas and other terrorist organizations that are sworn enemies of the United States and our ally Israel,” Wolf’s submitted statement read.

Norquist fired back, calling Wolf’s comments “just a series of rants.”

“It’s just silly,” Norquist said. “It’s just a series of rants that mean nothing and have no effect on anything, and are neither honorable or honest.“
A spokesman for Wolf said the congressman stands by his remarks and intended to send a message to the members of his caucus who have associated themselves with Norquist.

“There’s a clear pattern there,” Wolf spokesman Dan Scandling told The Ticket. “You need to look at who he’s associated with.”