Bernie Becker writes for The Hill: “The White House debt ceiling meetings look set to fire up again on Wednesday, after the Gang of Six proposal may have given a shot in the arm to the grand bargain President Obama was discussing with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). Norquist, the president of Americans for Tax Reform, said the new proposal ‘punts many decisions to the Senate Finance Committee. It deals in ranges rather than specifics. When it is eventually written down in legislative language and every American can read it, taxpayers will then learn whether the ‘plan’ raises taxes or cuts taxes and seriously reduces spending or fails to mandate spending reductions.’”
Martin Gould writes for Newsmax: “The compromise ‘Gang of Six’ plan to get out of the debt ceiling crisis was gaining traction on Capitol Hill on Wednesday — even as members of both parties attacked it. Grover Norquist, the low-tax advocate who has become a powerful voice among Republicans, also was less than enthusiastic about his backing, signaling that opposition among House Republicans is likely to grow in the days to come. When the plan was announced on Tuesday Norquist took a wait-and-see stance. Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, complained that the gang plan was not written down. ‘Nothing [to] praise or criticize,’ he tweeted before sending another message slapping down the National Journal for saying his organization had backed the plan. ‘Absolutely not,’ he wrote. ‘Obama did . . . makes you wonder how big the tax hike is.’”