John the Chicago Tribune ran an interesting article on Norquist two Sundays ago:
"If the movement had five more Grovers, you'd be able to close the door and shut the lights on the left,"
chicagotribune.com.
Pipeline leads to White House
By Jill Zuckman
Washington Bureau
June 9, 2003
WASHINGTON -- Those who believe in a "vast right-wing conspiracy" might trace its path to a generic conference room of a nondescript office building here, where fresh bagels and cream cheese await more than 100 conservative activists every Wednesday morning.
The regular meetings have attained such stature that Republican candidates come to make their pitches and ask support; White House and congressional officials provide briefings unavailable to others; and advocates for dozens of conservative causes and clients use the sessions to coordinate efforts.
Overseeing all the activity is Grover Norquist, a baby-faced anti-tax crusader with a clip-on microphone and an enthusiasm unusual in jaded Washington circles.
"To the extent that there is a conservative network, Grover is at the switchboard," said John Pitney, an expert on the Republican Party who teaches government at Claremont McKenna College in California.
The activities of Norquist and his Wednesday meeting, as it's informally called, illustrate the direct, perhaps unprecedented pipeline conservatives have into the White House. Senior presidential adviser Karl Rove, who is in regular contact with Norquist, always sends an emissary and sometimes personally attends the weekly meetings. George W. Bush sent a representative for a full year before he even announced he was running for president.
Norquist is highly specific about his ultimate objective.
"The goal is to reduce the size and scope of government in half over the next 25 years," he said in an interview.
Norquist and the White House are so close that it is sometimes difficult to discern who is influencing whom. But such Bush initiatives as privatizing Social Security, moving Medicare recipients into managed health-care programs, eliminating the estate tax and reforming tort lawsuits bear all the marks of Norquist's thinking.
In another example, Norquist began pushing for Congress to pass annual tax cuts well before the White House said it would press Congress to do the same thing.
The conservative mastermind also has affected lawmakers directly. When Norquist heard last year that the House was considering doubling an airline fee to fund the National Transportation Safety Board, he called then-House Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) and sent a letter of opposition to every lawmaker who had signed an anti-tax pledge Norquist promotes.
Within hours, the fee was dead.
At his Wednesday sessions, Norquist, 46, sits at the center of a long conference table, like a cross between a maestro and a master of ceremonies, as he calls on one conservative leader after another to report on their activities.
He peppers his speech with "peachy keen" and "neato," and he views political players as either unequivocally good or irredeemably bad. He is trying to form similar Wednesday groups across the country; there is one in Illinois that functions by conference call.
Among Norquist's goals is placing former President Ronald Reagan's name on buildings across the country. Children see the names of Presidents Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy on their schools, he argues, and it's important for them to appreciate the conservative Reagan too.
Norquist calls his Wednesday meeting a "center-right coalition," and he says it is made up of those eager to be left alone. From gun owners and home schoolers to property rights advocates and anti-taxers, the attendees want government to stay out of their business.
On issues that spark dissent among the troops-- abortion, school prayer and trade among them--Norquist tamps down debate and urges people to move on.
"In a properly run movement, you don't eliminate conflict, you manage conflict," he said.
Calling on Norquist
The meetings give the activists a place where administration and congressional officials will hear their concerns. In turn, the White House often finds itself asking for the help of Norquist and his group.
"Any entity as savvy as this White House knows that they can call Grover and consider it done," said Kellyanne Conway, president of the Polling Company, a Republican firm she started at Norquist's urging. "That's an important reputation to have."
For example, the White House asked Norquist for help in pushing Congress to confirm judicial nominee Miguel Estrada. Norquist used his national network of contacts to successfully push 10 state legislatures to pass resolutions calling for the nominee's confirmation.
Norquist also has persuaded state legislatures to formally support Bush proposals on using force against Iraq, abolishing the estate tax, reforming the tort system and building a national missile defense shield.
Norquist believes such state resolutions can be more powerful than inside-the-Beltway lobbying. "That's a state legislature saying, `Hey, we noticed; we know what's going on; we're watching you, senator,"' Norquist said.
As president of Americans for Tax Reform, a $3 million-a-year operation, Norquist has been responsible for persuading about 250 members of Congress and the president to sign an anti-tax pledge in an effort to reduce the size and scope of government.
His Wednesday meetings have steadily gained influence since they began in 1993. On a recent rainy Wednesday, the room is packed with conservatives of every stripe. Some pass out literature--including a denunciation of Republican Party Chairman Marc Racicot for being insufficiently conservative--while others chat.
David Keene, president of the American Conservative Union, reports on a conference of conservatives that met in Chicago.
"There really is no Republican Party in Illinois," Keene said. "It's all collapsed around [former Gov.] George Ryan."
Running the gantlet
Charlie Dent, a Republican from Pennsylvania, is hoping for the group's support for an upcoming congressional run. He introduces himself as somebody who can win Democratic votes as he seeks to fill the seat being vacated by Rep. Patrick Toomey (R-Pa.).
The participants immediately pounce on Dent, asking his position on abortion; Dent is essentially pro-choice, and his answer does not satisfy all the attendees. But simply by attending the meeting Dent is able to connect with people from more than 100 groups representing millions of constituents who could potentially help his campaign.
"Any Republican candidate who doesn't go before this group would have to have their head examined, because it's a way to get your message out and get access to endorsements or mailing lists," said Ann Stone, national chairman of Republicans for Choice.
For their part, Democrats are suspicious of Norquist's activities--and a little jealous.
"It is an overt, bald-faced coordination of government and special interests," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said. "It is shameless."
Yet Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) once suggested that Democratic activists should convene a similar group, and now Senate Democrats regularly bring advocates to Capitol Hill for sessions on children's welfare, the environment, civil rights and other matters.
Ralph Neas, president of People for the American Way, a liberal advocacy group, praised Norquist for his candor.
"Grover at times can be harsh, intemperate and insensitive, but he is a true barometer as to what this Bush administration is all about," Neas said. "I don't think there's any difference between the two."
Republicans praise Norquist for his big ideas, and many credit him for helping Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) develop the Contract With America that led to the Republican takeover of the House in 1994.
"He's very good at building fundamental arguments that are philosophically based," Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) said.
Despite such praise, Norquist sometimes faces dissent from within, as in a recent flap over his plan to expand the Republican Party by attracting Muslims. Some conservatives expressed worry that Norquist would inadvertently connect them, or the White House, to groups with terrorist ties.
Paul Weyrich, president of the Free Congress Foundation, said he told Norquist, "I think that you're playing with fire," adding, "We don't really know which of these people are tied to terrorists and which are not."
Frank Gaffney, president of the Center for Security Policy and a Pentagon official in the Reagan administration, raised concerns in a speech about anti-American Muslim groups penetrating the White House.
Banished from meetings
Norquist responded by sending Gaffney a letter denouncing him and demanding he apologize to the president and his staffers. He also banished Gaffney from the Wednesday meetings, which Gaffney had attended for the last five years.
"If religious bigotry is behind it, they can go to hell," Norquist said. "My position is the president's position."
After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, Bush repeatedly urged Americans to embrace Muslim Americans, not shun them. And Norquist has spent years working to recruit Jews, homosexuals and other groups not traditionally found among conservatives.
"The Republican Party and conservative movement needs to be open to all people," Norquist said. "The principle is you should not leave any votes on the table because they think you hate them or have little respect for them."
His supporters say it is that determination that has made him such a success.
"If the movement had five more Grovers, you'd be able to close the door and shut the lights on the left," Conway said.
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About Grover Norquist
Key facts: He's 46. Grew up in Weston, Mass. According to a 1998 interview in Insight on the News magazine, he read J. Edgar Hoover's anti-communist book "Masters of Deceit" when he was 11 years old.
Education: Bachelor's and MBA degrees from Harvard University.
Political career: Former executive director of National Taxpayers Union and of College Republicans. Former economist and chief speechwriter for U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Helped draft then-Rep. Newt Gingrich's Contract With America in 1994 and wrote a book about the GOP movement called "Rock the House." Head of Americans for Tax Reform since mid-'80s. Currently serves on boards of the National Rifle Association and the American Conservative Union.
How he's described: "A thumb-in-the-eye radical rightist" (The Nation), and "Tom Paine crossed with Lee Atwater plus just a soupcon of Madame Defarge" (P.J. O'Rourke).
Favorite movie: "Moscow on the Hudson," according to the Insight interview. He said it's "a celebration of immigration. It's the most patriotic movie ever made!"
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