ATR’s Ryan Ellis wrote a letter to the editor in today’s The Wall Street Journal.  “Regarding your editorial ‘Coburn vs. Norquist’ (April 5) in which you insinuate that Americans for Tax Reform’s opposition to net tax increases is tantamount to support for the ethanol tax credit. No. ATR opposes the ethanol tax credit and wants it permanently repealed. It is bad energy policy and bad tax policy.  There are two ways to repeal any tax deduction or credit one dislikes: raise net taxes (as Sen. Tom Coburn proposes), or cut other taxes by at least as much. The latter approach is codified in the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, signed by 237 congressmen and 41 senators (including Mr. Coburn). It ensures additional tax dollars do not flow to the Appropriations committees.”

“Obama ‘Caved’: Why Grover Norquist Thinks the GOP Will Keep Winning” by Aaron Task at the Daily Ticker. “‘It's compromise when you move in the direction you want to go to but not as far as you like,’ Norquist says. ‘It's losing when you move in the direction away from [where] you wish to be. ‘Agreeing to $38 billion in spending cuts vs. the original goal of $60 billion ‘was a compromise for the Republicans and the Tea Party movement, but it was progress,’ Norquist tells Dan and me in the accompanying clip. ‘The goal was not to have a shutdown. The goal was to keep on track to reduce spending from what Obama wanted.’”

From Daniel Gross at the Daily Ticker: “Norquist laid out a stark choice between the two parties when it comes to tax policies and the economy: ‘As for increasing economic growth, Republicans have boatloads of policies: cut marginal tax rates -- for starters take the American corporate income tax rate from today's 35% to the European average of 25%. Reduce the individual income tax rate to 25%. Abolish the death tax which double and triple taxes income earned and taxed already.’ By contrast, he noted: ‘Democrats have no ideas that will increase your 401(k) or the general economy.’”