Grover Norquist, the powerful head of Americans For Tax Reform, has been able to dominate Republican thinking for a generation, with the goal of NEVER raising taxes EVER again!
But suddenly, after Republican defeats in the recent election in both the House and the Senate, we are seeing the beginnings of “divorce” proceedings by such Republican luminaries as:
Senator John McCain of Arizona
Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina
Senator Saxby Chambliss of Georgia
Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee
Congressman Peter King of New York
Congressman Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House Majority Leader
The difference from the Presidential campaign, when all of the GOP candidates refused to accept a deal of one dollar in tax increases for ten dollars of budget cuts, is long gone, a part of distant history, as the Republicans understand the concept that taxes must go up, and that the wealthy cannot have the same advantages they had for ten years under the Bush tax cuts.
This is a good beginning step, but it is a long way from ‘divorce” in theory to actual vote for tax increases.
So we shall see how far this goes!