A prominent tax lobbyist has endorsed Richard Mourdock for the US Senate. Grover Norquist says he picked Mourdock because of incumbent Senator Dick Lugar’s refusal to sign a pledge not to raise taxes.
Norquist, Founder of Americans For Tax Reform, praises Mourdock for signing a document known as the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge”
“The pledge was organized; it is a commitment that an elected official or a candidate signs to his or her voters that they will vote against and oppose all efforts to increase taxes,” he says.
Norquist says Lugar’s office had the opportunity to sign the pledge, but refused.
Norquist accused Lugar of raising taxes twice during his career, first during the Reagan administration, and again during the first Bush administration.
Lugar’s campaign released a statement saying the senator has received endorsements of Indiana manufacturing groups, which they say hold more weight than those from Washington, DC lobbyists.
