Conservative anti-tax lobbyist Grover Norquist took a potshot at Rep. Peter King's (R-NY) marriage in an interview with CNN's Piers Morgan Monday night while accusing him of trying to "weasel out" of the pledge to not raise taxes signed by many GOP lawmakers.
"The pledge is not for life," Norquist said. "But everybody who signed the pledge, including Peter King, who tried to weasel out of it -- shame on him, as the New York Sun said today. I hope his wife understands that commitments last a little longer than two years or something."
King said on Sunday he could not be held to a pledge he signed "20 years ago, 18 years ago," saying "the economic situation is different," prompting The Sun to criticize him in an editorial on Tuesday.
"What is someone like Mr. King, who holds one of the positions in the Congress that places the highest premium on integrity, doing hinting that he won’t keep his pledge to his constituents in respect of taxes?" the editorial said. "Is he, or are any of the potential pledge breakers, of the opinion that the problem with our government is a lack of revenues?"
Norquist's "Taxpayer Protection Pledge," for which he began gathering lawmakers two decades ago, calls for signatories to oppose any attempt to increase individual or business income tax rates. When Morgan noted that his remarks regarding King's marriage were out of bounds, Norquist backed away.
"The commitment for the pledge, as Peter King well knows when he signed, is that as long as you're in Congress you will rein in spending and reform government not raise taxes," Norquist responded. “It's not for 500 years or two generations. It's only as long as you're in the House or the Senate. If he stayed too long, that's his problem."
Watch Morgan's interview with Norquist, as posted by Mediaite on Monday, below.
