ARIZONA DAILY STAR
PHOENIX — When Grover Norquist penned his book last year, the anti-tax, small-government crusader went with a title that pretty much sums up his modus operandi: "Leave us alone."
Now, some state Democrats are saying that's exactly what Norquist should do to Arizona.
Even though he operates from more than 2,000 miles away, the powerful national Republican strategist has been a key figure in Arizona's debate this year over how to balance the state's multibillion-dollar budget deficit.
Chances are you never heard of the guy. But Norquist's many followers in the state Legislature have taken his lead on whether the state should ask voters to raise the sales tax.In particular, 32 lawmakers have bound themselves to a pledge to never raise taxes. No way; no how.
It's a vow they've taken through a group Norquist founded nearly 25 years ago at the request of then-President Ronald Reagan — Americans for Tax Reform.
With Republican Gov. Jan Brewer calling for a controversial ballot referral asking voters to hike the sales tax, many in her party would not agree with the idea until Norquist weighed in recently. Such a move would not violate the pledge, he said, since it's coupled with even larger tax cuts in future years.
Norquist, in an interview with the Arizona Daily Star, says the pledge is one lawmakers make to their constituents — not to him or Americans for Tax Reform.
Democrats, however, say he holds undue influence over Arizona's fiscal policy.
Sen. Debbie McCune Davis, D-Phoenix, calls Norquist Arizona's "shadow governor."
"I think he's in play as we're making decisions here," says the veteran lawmaker, who questions whether her Republican colleagues are more loyal to his pledge than they are to the constitution.
Norquist calls claims like that "silly."
"I don't play any role at all," he said by phone from his Washington office last week. "The constituents make the decision."
In fact, Norquist says he never gave anyone "permission" to support Brewer's referral. He merely said it wouldn't violate the pledge. And even that didn't persuade enough lawmakers to send it to the ballot, as Brewer and GOP leaders are still trying to hammer out a deal.
"That was not an endorsement," he said. "It just said it was revenue-neutral."
Norquist — a now oft-mentioned name in the halls of the state Capitol — says the beauty of the pledge is its simplicity.
"The coin is heads and tails," he said. "It never lands on its side. It's a tax increase or it isn't."
Too soft?
Not all pledge signers are pleased with the conservative mastermind's interjection into Arizona's budget debate.
Even after Norquist signaled the budget was appropriate to vote for, Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu, wasn't budging. Gould says Norquist showed lawmakers how to "game the pledge."
"He caved," says Gould. "Grover doesn't control me. Grover has never controlled me."
In fact, Gould says he'll think twice about signing in the future. "Maybe I'll have Grover sign my pledge," he quipped.
But talking to Norquist, it's hard to see him as a softie on fiscal issues.
After all, this is the same guy who once said he wanted to starve government to a size small enough to drown in a bathtub.
Norquist's own conservative bona fides run deep.
Harvard-educated, he co-authored Newt Gingrich's "Contract With America" in 1994. He's credited with building George W. Bush's grass-roots support for president back in 1999. His close association with Bush, coupled with his longtime friendship with Karl Rove, allowed him to participate in crafting the Bush administration's tax policy.
He's been an easy target for Democrats, who often cite his saucy sound bites.
Norquist once called Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe and Arizona Sen. John McCain "the two girls from Maine and the nut-job from Arizona."
Last summer, aiming to tie Barack Obama to losing Democratic candidates from the past three decades, Norquist called Obama John Kerry "with a tan."
And in a speech this month before the Americans for Prosperity Foundation's RightOnline 2009 Conference, Norquist called Democrats "the takings coalition."
"The left is not made up of friends and allies," he said. "It's made up of competing parasites."
"If we don't let them gnaw on us, they will just as easily gnaw on the guy sitting next to them," he added.
State Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, calls Norquist a smart guy with good ideas. But after signing the pledge in 2004, he chose not to renew his vow in recent years.
Why? He doesn't like taking an oath to an organization.
"Yeah, people say it's to your district, but it's still promising something that someone else is going to hold you to," Paton said.
Arizona on his mind
Norquist and his group have cast their attention to other states, as well.
But with Arizona having the worst budget deficit, relative to spending, in the country, and the tax debate being more heated here than most states, it has been a spot of particular interest. The state also has one of the highest percentages of state lawmakers who have taken the pledge — 30 percent in the Senate and 35 percent in the House.
And the 52-year-old strategist's understanding of Arizona's current political climate runs deeper than that of many of the state's own citizens.
He cites Chuck Caughlin, Brewer's friend and unofficial strategist whom many credit — or blame — for the sales-tax-referral idea.
"I don't understand why Caughlin is taking this approach and pushing this increase," Norquist says.
He knows state Treasurer Dean Martin, the fiscal conservative who is flirting with a gubernatorial bid, possibly against Brewer in a primary.
"He's a good guy," Norquist says of Martin. "He's a serious political leader."
And he blames former Gov. Janet Napolitano for running the state into the red.
It was Napolitano, he says, who grew state spending, only to resign once revenues dropped, for a Cabinet position in the Obama administration.
"It's like starting a fire and fleeing the scene," Norquist said of Napolitano.
While he clearly disagrees with her tax call, Norquist gives Brewer a pass.
"I think one of the challenges is that sometimes politicians think it's their job to raise taxes to cover the costs of other people's spending," he says.
His apparent interest in Arizona has only given Democrats more ammunition to criticize the influence they say he holds over the Legislature.
But state Sen. John Huppenthal, R-Chandler, says he didn't take the pledge out of devotion to Norquist. He took it, he says, because he believes in small government.
"All 17 years I've been down here, lowering taxes has been a way of life for me," he said.
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