An article written by Brian Faler of Politico detailed criticism of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s admission that he would be willing to support tax increases.
Faler writes,
Bush’s views are already pitting him against one of his party’s most influential activists, Grover Norquist, the high priest of anti-tax orthodoxy who’s convinced nearly ever elected Republican to sign a pledge not to raise taxes.
As the article highlights, a broken no-tax pledge led to his former President George H.W. Bush’s 1992 reelection loss.
“If my father had thrown away a perfectly good presidency by raising taxes, I think one of the things in life that I would learn is, ‘Don’t do that,’” Norquist said. “But here you have Jeb Bush going, ‘I learned nothing from my father’s self-immolation.”
Bush’s statement is especially poignant given his name has been brought up as a potential contender in 2016.
But Republican strategists say the primary will again surely be stocked with tax increase hardliners who, if anything, will be promising tax cuts.
“I don’t even know if you’ll get out of the starting gate with that kind of message,” said Greg Mueller, a conservative strategist. “That’s a deal breaker for a lot of voters.”