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[Grover] Norquist’s posse never showed up
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem May 19, 2005 06:56pm |
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| Category | Editorial |
| News Date | Friday, May 20, 2005 12:55:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | The Virginian-Pilot
© May 16, 2005
Anti-tax crusader Grover Norquist warned Virginia legislators who’d voted to raise taxes last year that their days were numbered. To mailboxes across the commonwealth, he mailed a “least wanted” poster featuring the mug shots of 34 defecting Republican members of the General Assembly.
Norquist, all bully and bluster, vowed that his battle-hardened troops would defeat those untrustworthy lawmakers, including Dels. S. Chris Jones of Suffolk and Robert Tata of Virginia Beach.
“When you have a breach like that, you want to wall it off,” Norquist said months ago. “We have simple lines in the sand, reasonable lines in the sand. Our requests are so reasonable we can afford to be very rough on people who raise taxes when it isn’t necessary.”
But something very odd happened on the way to this epic battle for the future of Virginia: Norquist’s army didn’t show up. He sent out a few scouts instead.
Of the 17 Republican delegates who broke ranks with the leadership last year to approve higher taxes, only six face competition in next month’s primary. And all of the challengers have far less money than their office-holding opponents.
That, of course, says something about the power of incumbency in modern politics. But the fact that few of the renegade Republicans are facing a challenge at all says far more about Virginians’ regard for Norquist. |
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