Former Bush campaign advisor: Norquist an impediment to good governing

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Former Bush campaign advisor Matthew Dowd on Sunday slammed anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, blaming his organization for GOP obstruction in Congress.

Dowd said on ABC’s This Week that every member of Congress knew — but refused to admit — that the federal deficit could only be lowered by raising tax rates on the wealthy, cutting defense spending and reforming entitlement programs like Medicare.

“And they also all know that Grover Norquist is an impediment to good governing,” he added. “The only good thing about Grover Norquist is he’s named after a character from Sesame Street.”

Nearly every Republican member of Congress has signed Norquist’s Americans for Tax Reform pledge, vowing to oppose tax increases under any circumstance.

After the 12-member congressional “super committee” failed to create a federal budget to cut U.S. deficits by at least $1.2 trillion over 10 years, Democratic Sen. John Kerry (MA) complained that Norquist was the committee’s thirteenth member. The super committee was tasked with averting the upcoming fiscal cliff, but Democrats said Republicans refused to compromise on raising government revenue.

Also appearing on ABC’s This Week, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said he would violate the tax pledge to generate revenue.

Watch video, via Mediaite, below: