In the imagination of liberals and, hence, the mainstream media, Grover Norquist of Americans for Tax Reform is the great Republican bogeyman preventing Congress from coming to a reasonable (read: liberal) deal on taxes and spending. So reporters have been busy the past couple weeks asking Republicans whether they would be willing to violate their Taxpayer Protection Pledge.
Some Republicans, like Sen. Lindsey Graham, Sen. Saxby Chambliss, and Rep. Peter King, have played along, saying that, yes, they’d be willing to break the pledge as part of a deal to reform entitlements and rein in spending. But when it comes to the pledge, the real question isn’t whether Republicans are willing to break it–it’s whether the pledge actually applies in the context of the fiscal cliff.
